I see that the farce of the Portland Academy is continuing. It is being described as a ‘boost to the local economy’. To the outsider it appears that the proposal is that the excellent Royal Manor School, furnished to a high standard and more than adequate in size, will be shut, along with all the Tophill primary schools and moved to an industrial estate. As an ex-worker from said estate, I can understand the ‘boost to the local economy’. It will cost a fortune to convert the cold, draughty, 1950 offices into modern classrooms. Providing the same area of playground and playing fields presently enjoyed by the pupils will be impossible. A further ‘boost to the local economy’ will presumably come from the closing of the hotel/conference centre. These are struggling to survive but any guest that wakes up with a thousand youngsters outside his window won’t be back. Ensuring the school run mums don’t choke off the other businesses on the park should give the planners a few headaches too. We may end up with the best educated kids in the dole queue.

Why were only the parents invited to the the public discussion? Their children will mostly be out of school before this monstrosity is complete. Us council tax payers will be funding it for the rest of our natural.

Still think of all that lovely re-development land – I wonder who’s going to benefit from that?

Ian Hall, Reforne Portland