During the meeting, the council reached a consensus to submit a response to the consultation that clearly stated its opposition to the Westmorland and Furness Council's proposal.

The controversial plan involves allocating funding from housing developments to expand the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision at Beaconside School and increase of the number of school spaces, and add additional teaching capacity to the school building. The funding is known as 'Section 106 funding' and aims to ensure that sufficient school places are available for both the existing local population and those residing in new housing developments in the Penrith area.

The consultation revolves around the Council's proposal to augment the number of mainstream school places at Beaconside CE Primary School while also establishing additional specialist places within a resourced provision, which offers specialised support SEND within a mainstream setting.

Under the council's plan, there would be an influx of 119 additional pupils over a phased period, accommodated through the creation of new classroom space and an expansion of the existing school building.

Various concerns were raised by the six councillors at the meeting regarding the consultation process and a recent briefing event held at Beaconside School.

Councillor Knaggs expressed his disappointment, noting, "From the point of view of parents attending, it was a disastrous turnout," further indicating that he did not believe any parents had attended the event. Additionally, it was pointed out that the consultation document published by Westmorland and Furness Council featured pictures of children in red uniforms, whereas Beaconside School's uniform is blue.

The subject of other schools in the town was also brought up, with the revelation that Westmorland and Furness Council was considering phasing out special education needs at North Lakes, with Beaconside slated to become a SEND center of excellence.

Throughout the discussion, the Town Council members in attendance zeroed in on the failure of plans to build a new school as part of the Carleton housing developments and the allocation of Section 106 funds from the development to expand Beaconside School.

Penrith Town Mayor and Council Chair, Cllr Lawson, expressed reservations about the entire consultation plan, stating that it "felt rushed" and seemed to lack consideration of what is best for Penrith.

At the conclusion of the discussion the six councillors present at the meeting unanimously agreed to submit a response to Westmorland and Furness Council, is against the plans set out in the consultation to expand primary school spaces and create additional SEND spaces at Beaconside School in Penrith.

For those interested in participating in the ongoing consultation, it is open to the public until October 31, 2023, and can be found via https://goto.penrith.town/expansion-of-beaconside-primary-school