Rugby Borough Council’s Conservative administration was heavily criticised last night for its failure to plan for the town’s rapidly increasing population.

At a meeting to discuss the lack of secondary school provision and then non-appearance of the long-promised secondary school in the North of Rugby, Labour councillors pointed out that there had been a total failure to work together between the Borough and County councils, both of which are Conservative administrations.

The Labour Opposition’s spokesperson for Education at County and Borough, Cllr Barbara Brown, said:

“Between 2011 and 2021, the population of Rugby rose by an astronomical 14.3%, the largest growth of any Local Authority in the West Midlands. A failure to plan strategically for a sound infrastructure in the light of this level of growth is appalling.

“The fault lies squarely with the Tories, who have failed to look at the bigger long-term needs of Rugby’s communities. Today we are discussing school places, but the same principle applies equally to every single public service in the town, be it health provision, dentistry, transport or town centre growth.

“Labour councillors have spoken about the need for a secondary school in the north of Rugby for years, and received mixed, confused messages and promises about what could be done. Now, we hear our arguments for a school presented back to us by the Conservatives as if they have just thought of them. Enough is enough. Rugby deserves better than this.”

Leader of the Labour Group on Rugby Borough Council, Cllr Maggie O’Rourke, said:

“Like so many parents in the Borough, my Labour colleagues and I are astonished at the local Conservatives’ lack of capacity to plan for there to be suitable school places. It’s almost as if even though they’re elected politicians leading our local councils, they don’t actually believe in local government and don’t feel responsible. At both County and Borough level we see a failure by the Conservatives to forward plan, with local families bearing the consequences.

“The Conservative County Council’s ‘Education Sufficiency Strategy’ is deficient, not sufficient, and is failing to provide local schools for local children. The Rugby Conservatives should have heeded the words of Churchill in their reckless management of the Borough: ‘He who fails to plan…plans to fail’. In Rugby Labour we are holding them to account, and we urge people to make their views clear in May’s local elections.”