Petition signed by 1,000 to halt sale of site

Campaigners hand petition to Amber Valley Borough Council about the sale of former Heanor College campus

Residents campaigning to halt the sale of the former grammar school have handed a 1,000-strong petition to the borough council – insisting they “will never give up” on the asset.

On Sunday, Heanor Grammar School Action Group handed a petition totalling 1,008 signatures to Amber Valley Borough Council, which calls for plans to sell the site to be scrapped.

The petition is the latest ploy by campaigners who have been ramping up pressure on owners Derby College, and the borough council.

Group spokesman Leonie George said: “We want people to know that we will not give up – and we will not go away.”

She added: “We carried out the petition in ten days as the bidding period has been so short therefore we were gathering over 100 names per day. We have spoken face to face with at least 75 per cent of those signatures as a number were online.”

Leonie said that the group would be presenting the petition to Derby College on Wednesday.

We asked Derby College and the borough council for a comment. Neither party did.