A SCHOOL that parents fought for years to keep open will now be demolished.

Lyndale School in Eastham will be knocked down, almost four years after a hard-fought campaign to save it was defeated.

Globe readers had taken the school to their hearts and had raised more than £80,000 to provide a sensory garden for the extremely vulnerable young pupils.

The council's decision to close the school on Lyndale Avenue was made back in 2014, when parents were devastated after their petition backed by more than 10,000 people was turned down.

Voice of the Globe: Dream's don't come true for Lyndale children

In a letter to Wirral’s former chief executive Graham Burgess, presented along with the petition in October 2014, the parents of Lyndale pupils said: “The petition is an expression of the concern of parents, and the wider community, that the most vulnerable children in our society may be left without the care and protection that they so desperately need, and which it is a duty of a caring society to provide.

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Pictures and emotional message on display at the schools leavers' assembly in July 2016

"We hope that Wirral council hear our concern, and do their best to join us in all our efforts to ensure that the children continue to have the best of care.

“Parents believe that this can be achieved by providing adequate funding so that Lyndale can continue to meet the needs of the children; and by providing a two – 19 facility so that children there can have a smooth and stable provision of services throughout their school lives.”

Below: Scott Howell with carer Carolyn during the leavers' assembly. Pictures: Geoff Davies  

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But after a consultation and various debates and meetings, the school, where many of the pupils who attended had profound and multiple learning difficulties, closed its doors for the final time in 2016, having been deemed “surplus to requirements” by Wirral council.

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Emma Smith and Alex Brie with teaching assistant Collete during the final leavers' assembly

The consultation began after the council said the school’s position was compromised “by its small size and falling roll, which both contribute to a difficult and potentially worsening financial position”.

Pupils were then moved to other schools in Wallasey and Pensby.

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Headteacher Kim Owen (pictured, above) who was presented with flowers by parents after the assembly

Now, according to planning documents, it will be knocked down after it fell into disrepair and became a safety hazard.

Demolition plans were approved by Wirral Council last week, with the documents saying that the school was “not required as a council asset”. The process would mean a saving for the local authority, they said.

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Mia Wright and teacher Julie Lawrence take part in the assembly 

Eastham ward Cllr Phil Gilchrist said he wanted to see the site become affordable housing, something the area “was in great need of”.

He explained: “Parents were very distressed at the time and a number challenged the decision right through to the bitter end. They wanted the best for their children. It was a very emotional period.

“The building has been empty for some time and we have been debating the future use of the site. We want to see it become social and affordable housing. There’s a need for it this end of the borough.”

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Alex Brie, whose mum Chrissie fought tirelessly to keep his school open, enjoys the leavers' assembly 

The planning documents said the single-storey building will be demolished using “traditional methods”, but the process had been delayed while environmental surveys and other processes were carried out.

The site will be cleared and layered with a top soil until further notice, but despite Cllr Gilchrist’s calls for social housing, details of future development are “not known at this time”.