Campaigners today claimed council bosses had given themselves an extra 20 days to answer tough questions about plans to close nine Shropshire schools – but had refused to extend the consultation period.

Heather Dale, from the steering group at Stiperstones CE School, near Shrewsbury, said officials at Shropshire Council were struggling to deal with the huge amount of mail from angry parents, teachers and others who were fighting to save the under-threat schools.

And as a result she claimed the council was now giving itself almost three weeks extra to respond to questions from the public over the proposals.

Mrs Dale claimed the council’s consultation document for Stiperstones School was littered with mistakes and said the new time limit would mean that parents were unable to formulate a proper response to the consultation before it closes.

David Taylor, the council’s director of children and young people’s services, admitted at a public meeting earlier this month that the document contained a number of mistakes.

Shropshire Council today said it tried to provide responses as quick as possible, but in some cases letters were more complex and extra time was needed.

Mrs Dale today said: “The council have now decided to extend the amount of time they have to reply from the 10 days set down in their constitution and given themselves 30 days

“This means we have no chance of getting clarification on any of the incorrect information given to us by the council before the end of our six week consultation period. In fact consultation is effectively over, it is now a one way process – we write letters and receive no reply within the necessary time frame.”

Felicity Roberts, spokeswoman for Shropshire Council, today said the consultation process was due to end on April 8 and had taken place on an “unprecedented scale”.

She said: “In all cases we endeavour to acknowledge receipt of responses to the consultation within five days and to provide a formal response within the next 10 days. However where letters require more complex and detailed answers we may need more time to reply and in these cases the recipient is informed.”

Meanwhile, Shrewsbury Town Council has called for a full investigation into the possibilities using the Wakeman School, the secondary under threat in the proposals, to accommodate other students in the town

The council issued the calls at a meeting last night and said it would be inviting members of Shropshire Council to a meeting on April 18 when they would make a final stance on the matter.

By Russell Roberts