County Hall accused of abandoning derelict city school

Green councillors for Sewell ward have accused Norfolk County Council of neglecting Angel Road Junior School in Norwich.

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Norfolk County Council has been accused of abandoning a derelict city school that locals say has been taken over by vandals. Councillors at City Hall have made the claims against the authority after months of no updates about the future of Angel Road Junior School in north Norwich. Green Party councillors for the Sewell ward, Gillian Francis and Alex Catt, said that the building has "become a target for anti-social behaviour and drug dealing since being seemingly abandoned by Norfolk County Council.

" Gillian Francis (left) and Alex Catt, Green Party councillors for the Sewell ward (Image: Norwich Green Party) It comes after people living near to the school, which closed suddenly in 2021 after tiles started falling from the ceiling , said that vandals were regularly breaking into the building. The site is currently leased by the Evolution Trust, which runs Angel Road Infant School, on the same street, and Angel Road Junior School, which has relocated. The derelict site is due to be returned to Norfolk County Council.



However, the government told County Hall the return needs to be tied in with renewing the lease for the infant school site. The current lease on Angel Road Infant School is due to expire in 2035 - meaning unless current renegotiations conclude the junior school site will remain in limbo. After a recent visit to the site, Cllr Francis said: "It is a great disappointment to me that those who have the ability to turn this site into a thriving resource for north Norwich, are not willing to be proactive and work together to make this happen.

" The councillors described the school site as unrecognisable (Image: Norwich Green Party) During their trip to Angel Road, they saw multiple open windows and evidence that people were using pallets and wheelie bins to climb up and enter the first floor of the building. The pair have described the site as "unrecognisable from the well-maintained and functional school it was two years ago." READ MORE: Derelict school has become drugs hangout says neighbours Cllr Francis and Cllr Catt are calling for urgent action from Norfolk County Council to immediately secure the site, maintain it, and bring it back into use for the local area.

The site has become overgrown (Image: Norwich Green Party) A petition has been launched by the Norwich Community Land Trust to save the site so that it can be a hub for children with Special Educational Needs, community groups and businesses. While Norfolk County Council owns the site, the Evolution Trust still leases the building and negotiations to transfer the site back to the council continue to rumble on several months after they began. Cllr Penny Carpenter, Cabinet member for Children's Services at Norfolk County Council (Image: Norfolk Conservatives) Penny Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Norfolk County Council: "We are currently renegotiating the terms of the lease with Evolution Trust, to ensure that the building can be transferred to the county council as quickly as possible.

"We will then be able to fully consider options for the site, which will include exploring future use for education in the first instance.".