Nottingham BSF appeal 'likely to have failed'
Nottingham's bid to secure a cancelled £79m of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding is 'highly likely' to fail.
The council said the secretary of state was not minded to return funding to any of the local authorities who took legal action earlier this year.
Nottingham was one of six councils which took action against the government's decision to axe the BSF project. They won the right to have their applications for funding to be reviewed in March this year.
However, the council released a statement which said it was "bitterly disappointed" to learn that the secretary of state for education is unlikely to fund any of Nottingham's BSF projects which were the subject of a judicial review.
The statement said the decision, which is yet to be finanlised, "suggests that the five month consultation process has been a waste of time and effort".
Councillor David Mellen, Nottingham City Council's portfolio holder for children's services, said: "This announcement is subject to further representations from the authorities involved and we will of course be making our case for Nottingham's schools.
"If the funding is not made available, the knock on effect will be felt much more widely than just Nottingham's schools. The withdrawal of this funding will be a lost opportunity to the city as a whole.
"Our award-winning BSF programme has had a hugely positive impact on Nottingham's economy by creating jobs and supporting local businesses and it is frustrating that this is unlikely to continue during these tough times".
