The education minister says there are no concrete plans to provide a new school at a potential new housing development in Ballasalla.

Land at Crossag Farm has been set aside for housing within the Area Plan for the South with plans for a new school there also mooted.

Ballasalla Primary School is already set to install two mobile classrooms on its land due to the school roll nearly doubling in five years.

Plans were put forward in 2015 for 35 new homes at Crossag but they never came to fruition.

At this week’s House of Keys sitting, Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse asked Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) Minister Daphne Caine what actions have been taken regarding funding and building a primary school on the Crossag Farm development.

She told the House her department is aware of the proposals contained within the area plan for the south regarding the potential for a new school.

She said: ‘Should any plans progress around the development of this site the department remains ready and able to be involved in any discussions.

‘However, at this stage no decisions or commitments have been made which will see the development of a new school.’

Mrs Caine conceded the numbers at Ballasalla Primary School, have risen sharply which have nearly doubled in the last five years.

She said there were no current plans for a new school and says there will be a double mobile classroom in place at Ballasalla school by the autumn term

In February, Ballasalla Primary School submitted a planning application for the two mobile classrooms which have since been approved by the planning committee.

The school said demand for places has risen considerable following the building of new estate Reayrt Mie and the reconstruction of the Clagh Vane estate.

In the planning statement, the applicant says: ‘The school roll has risen steadily over recent years with the re-construction of the Clagh Vane estate, and the large Reayrt Mie residential development, from 95 in 19/20, to 137 in 22/23, 143 in 23/24 to a roll of 167 in September 2024.

‘With the development continuing in Ballasalla it is anticipated that the school roll will continue to grow over the next few years.’

The double mobile will provide a useable space for pupils who require quiet, supportive spaces away from the classroom environment.

The application said: ‘Given the rising number on roll and the specific needs within the school, a double mobile classroom is deemed necessary rather than a single one.’

The application involves the removal of the existing community cabins and replacing them with the double mobile classroom building.

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