OVERWHELMING opposition by people in Ramsbottom to the proposed closure of St Paul's CE Primary School has fallen on deaf ears. The council's executive has ignored their protests.

After it was threatened with closure, parents with youngsters at the school, and other residents, formed an action group to try to save the historic building in Crow Lane, which has taught generations of the same families.

They also held a protest meeting to demonstrate the strength of their feelings but members of the executive decided to approve plans to close the building and accommodate the pupils at St Andrew's Primary School.

There will now be a two-month appeal period where the action group will attempt to tighten their case further before it goes to the meeting of the Schools Organisation Committee.

Irene Todd, who has two children currently at the school and two children who have now left, said: "We are still very positive that the school won't close. We will overturn the decision at the Schools Organisation Committee if we can convince the scrutiny panel that we have a good case for the school remaining open. I am sure we can do that.

"We didn't really expect to get anywhere with the executive. They have blatantly ignored everything we said.

"We are also submitting a formal procedure complaint to the council's solicitor about the way it has been handled.

"We were supposed to be given a three-day consultation period before the executive and were only given two.

"If we stop the closure at this stage it will then be taken even higher for a decision.

"We now have to continue our campaigning and keep the high profile of the school.

"At the end of the day there's a school there and come September it will need filling."

Bury Metro Council commissioned a review of primary schools in the area and put forward three proposals.

The other options were to close St Paul's and make room for the pupils at St Andrew's or to continue with each school as they were.

The Manchester diocese responded to Bury Metro's consultation exercise on the future of the school to recommend it be closed, along with St Andrew's in Bolton Street and a new renamed school be developed on the site of St Andrew's.