School to close while Millbay's 'mystery' metal is dug up

A city school will close on Monday as digging work begins to discover exactly what two metal objects are under a Millbay site. Millbay Academy - often known as 'the Red school' - has announced it will temporarily close as a "precautionary measure" while investigative works gets underway at the land between Bath Street and Martin Street.

The council-owned land is in the early stages of development to transform the entire site into new Plymouth Community Homes affordable housing. As part of the ground investigation works, two metal objects were identified underground and the council has stressed that they could be any number of things, including reinforced concrete or pieces of track from the old railway station which was located nearby.

While the council has made absolutely no mention of World War II ordnance, Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport revealed to his Facebook followers that the objects were "magnetic" and reminded them that "after our experience of the Second World War bomb in Keyham, I know some people may be worried about what these objects could be. I have been working with the city council to make sure we have a thorough plan to investigate the site and keep people safe at every stage."

He went on to reveal that "experts including Brimstone UXO and colleagues from the military bomb disposal teams, will be carrying out an ‘uncovering’ to establish what the anomalies are. During this work there will be no need to evacuate or extend the existing cordon - currently limited to the site itself."

He also warned that if experts did find World War II ordnance "they would need to assess the device/s and determine how best to make them safe. To do that, there is a small percentage chance that the cordon (currently limited to the site itself) would need to be extended. Details of how much the cordon would be extended or for how long, would be determined by experts’ assessment of the device/s size and stability and their plan for making safe."

In a statement posted on its website the school announced: "Millbay Academy will be closed to secondary school students on Monday, 18th November 2024, as a precautionary measure.

"This decision supports safety during investigative work on two underground objects identified near the school site. While these items are likely harmless remnants of old infrastructure, further inspection will be carried out by Local Authority experts to confirm."

To ensure children do not miss out on lessons, the school has said it will provide "online learning resources via Google Classroom".

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