The school in question opened in September 2014 under the Patronage Divesting Process. The divesting of the school was facilitated by transfer from the Church of Ireland. The Church of Ireland Trustees, who own the property, and the new school Patron engaged directly with each other in relation to the leasing arrangements for the property. A draft lease was drawn up but was not finalised and executed between the parties.
On foot of a request from one of the parties and given that the school has been in place on the property since 2014 and cognisant of the need for additional accommodation to be made available from the property, the Department agreed to engage with the representative of the landowners with a view to regularising the position in relation to the lease.
The Department and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office have been liaising with the property owner and its legal representative on the draft lease, which is at an advanced stage. This is being actively progressed by the parties with a view to finalising the lease as soon as possible.”