TAXPAYERS could end up footing a £40million bill for an empty building as part of a controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) if a troubled Burnley school closes.

Hameldon Community College is committed to paying £1.7m annually for the next 19 years which would have to be picked up by Lancashire County Council if the school shuts down.

Education bosses are holding a consultation on the future of the secondary school which has suffered declining student numbers and falling standards.

The Coal Clough Lane school is also likely to have an overall deficit of £2.5million by the end of this financial year, which is predicted to rise to just under £4m by 2020, which would again be picked up by the council.

With only 275 pupils on the roll and only 35 parents putting it as their first choice this September, the school's income has 'dropped significantly'.

Community leaders described the situation as disastrous and warned the empty school could become a vandalism hotspot.

The £22m site was one of a number of schools funded under a PFI scheme, which are built and operated by the private sector, as part of the Building Schools for the Future project.

County council bosses said the status quo at the school was 'untenable' given the educational standards, financial deficit and pupil numbers and are now proposing a consultation on its possible closure.

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A letter sent to the county council in March from the chairman of governors Alex Bird expressed concerns that the school would be unable to meet its 'statutory responsibilities to provide the standard of education pupils are entitled to receive'.

A council report said the school had been forced to rely on temporary staff and would likely be placed in special measures were it to be inspected by Ofsted.

County Hall bosses said it was also unlikely the school would be able to recruit a capable headteacher.

The report said: "As Hameldon Community College was opened as a part of the Building Schools for the Future Initiative, a contract exists with the PFI partner which would leave the authority with an ongoing financial commitment in the order of £1.7m per annum towards the total annual cost over the next 19 years if the school were to be closed. This would total £40m.

"Bearing in mind the need for future secondary places, were the school to close, it would be necessary to identify a continued use for the site, including educational use which is of high quality, such as allowing another local school to take ownership of and expand onto the site."

The 66 pupils who were offered a place for this September would be asked to put forward a further preference for another school were it to close.

A spokeswoman for the council said the £40m includes facilities management and future maintenance costs.

Sam Ud-din, Lancashire division secretary for the National Union of Teachers, said PFI investment ends up being much more costly.

He said: "The consequences are as soon as there is any tightening of the budget the consequences for anyone holding that budget become extreme.

"Over the whole of the contract the actual cost is much more than if the local authority had been allowed to keep the responsibility for the building.

"PFI has allowed private industry to make a considerable amount of profit and it is the taxpayers who will end up paying all the bills and will have no control over the actual amounts."

He added the amounts can end up being exorbitant for the 'most trivial of repairs'.

Cllr Mark Townsend, leader of Burnley Council, said: "Obviously it is is a lot of money and shows these PFI contracts have a long term impact.

"It puts into sharp focus that there has to be a long term viable solution found for the building.

"It is disappointing we are in this position."

He said there needs to be an overall look at provision in Burnley with a focus on quality rather than the number of buildings.

Former Burnley MP and leader of the Liberal Democrats on Burnley Council, Cllr Gordon Birtwistle, said the PFI was 'always going to be a disaster'.

He said: “It was always going to fail and it will fall on the taxpayer to foot the bill as they always do.

“In my opinion, it wasn’t needed and when it was built, it was built in the wrong place and if Lancashire County Council don’t act quickly, it will become a £22m vandalism hotspot.

“The last administration were a disaster, so the new lot need to get the ball rolling as there is huge potential in the building as an educational facility and it can’t be left to rot.

“Could Lancaster University or UCLan take it on as a faculty?

"Burnley was built on engineering so having an engineering faculty in the town would be a huge boost.”