At the Council meeting on 20 November, a motion was proposed by Liberal Democrat and other opposition councillors calling on Merton Council to reconsider their controversial plans to appropriate open space on Dundonald Rec to expand Dundonald Primary. Cllr Iain Dysart, who signed the motion for Merton Lib Dems, said: “We were pleased to introduce […]

Nick Clegg has announced that from next year, all children at infant schools will get free school meals. This will save families around £437, helping to cut the cost of living. Mr Clegg said: “My ambition is that every primary school pupil should be able to sit down to a hot, healthy lunch with their […]

The Wimbledon Guardian reports that the plans to expand Dundonald primary onto Dundonald recreation ground have suffered another setback, after objections to the expansion by Sport England (the body that promotes and protects sports facilities) were reinstated. The setback comes just two weeks after Merton Council won a legal case to remove restrictions imposed by […]

Merton Council is being investigated for ‘maladministration’ by the Local Government Ombudsman. The claim was brought by the Protect Dundonald Rec Group over the way the Council handled the planning application into the expansion of Dundonald Primary onto part of Dundonald Rec. WimbledonSW19.com has more.

London’s Mayor Boris Johnson has said in a letter that he will not intervene in Merton Council’s plans to build on part of Dundonald Rec. Merton Council’s planning application committee approved plans to expand Dundonald Primary onto the Rec on 17 January 2013, but also had to consult Boris, who is responsible for protecting open […]

Merton Council’s planning application committee has tonight approved plans to expand Dundonald Primary onto part of Dundonald Rec. Under the plans the public will lose full or partial access to around 5% of the Rec. The Council is also seeking removal of the legal protection against building on the Rec. However, it is still open […]

In December it was announced that Merton Council’s plans to expand Dundonald School onto the Rec were delayed whilst the Mayor of London’s office decided made a decision on how far the plans contravened London planning rules (see the Wimbledon Guardian story here). Today, the Dundonald Lib Dem Focus team has seen the formal response […]

It was announced today that Merton will receive an extra £5.3 million for schools in 2012/13. The cash is an increase in the Pupil Premium funding, which targets extra money to schools depending on the number of children from disadvantaged backgrounds they have. The Pupil Premium is a major Liberal Democrat priority that is being […]

Merton is get an extra £2.2 million to deliver 15 hours free weekly childcare and nursery schooling for two-year-olds from the most hard-pressed families, the Coalition Government has announced. This is great news, and comes on top of nearly £500,000 more for building projects to support ‘early years’ schooling, for example, converting part of an […]

Merton Council have submitted a planning application to expand Dundonald Primary. As well as refurbishing the existing school building, the pavilion will be demolished, and a new two storey extension to the school will be built “partly sited on Dundonald Recreation Ground”. There is a legal protection against building on the Rec that Merton Council […]