Council wants to demolish former Mablethorpe school for ‘future development’

Lincolnshire County Council wants to demolish a former secondary school in Mablethorpe to prepare it for “future development”.
The former Monks' Dyke Tennyson College site in Mablethorpe.The former Monks' Dyke Tennyson College site in Mablethorpe.
The former Monks' Dyke Tennyson College site in Mablethorpe.

In an application to its own planning department, the county council says the Monks’ Dyke Tennyson College buildings are “becoming unsafe, vulnerable to arson and attracting vandalism and anti-social behaviour”. It added that the buildings are “no longer fit for purpose”.

The Mablethorpe campus closed its doors for the final time in July 2016 after merging with the Louth site of Monks’ Dyke Technology College, which itself was amalgamated into Louth Academy.

At the time Lincolnshire County Council said there were falling pupil numbers and the site was financially unsustainable.

It had celebrated its 50th anniversary the previous year, and boasted being the first secondary education in the area when it opened in 1965 as The Tennyson School.

In September 2019, Springwell Academy – which houses 14 to 16-year-olds who can’t access mainstream education and are at risk of exclusion – was opened on part of the site.

The council is negotiating the removal of a memorial tree located at the front of the school with the family.

As part of the works, it is planned to keep some areas such as the tennis courts, fencing, and other hardstanding.