Speaking on the issue Carla Lockhart MP said, “I have been very clear and consistent in my opposition to the current Development Proposal that will see the Lurgan Campus closed and the young people being bussed to the Portadown campus. This proposal does not have the support of the overwhelming majority of the local community and therefore I have and continue to call on the Department to halt the process and endeavour to find a solution that retains the children in Lurgan and ensures the future of the Dickson Plan within the local area. I believe the current Development Proposal is flawed. There is little to no information surrounding the cost of transport, the impact it will have on intake, and the fact that the facilities at Portadown are already at capacity.

It is imperative that this process is halted. A suggestion of a facility being constructed/incorporated on the Lurgan Junior High School site needs seriously explored and to that end I have been lobbying the Minister to reject the current Development Proposal and with haste look at the solutions that retain the children in Lurgan and underpin the much loved and hugely successful Dickson Plan form of education. This is about the children, their education, the sub-standard facilities they are currently subjected too. It is essential that we get this right and therefore I believe the majority of the community has spoken and therefore it is time to step back from the current proposal and work towards a local solution.”