New Boys Academy - Judicial Review anyone?

[Adam Glasser]

Southwark Planners are recommending approval for the proposed Boys' Academy on Peckham Rye. This key decision is due this Wed 2nd July at a special Planning Meeting open to the Public. Many of us involved in the campaign for a new school are against the proposal in its current form and are a seriously considering instituting a Judicial Review if it is passed, so bad is the building that they are proposing. At every level there has been an absence indeed terror of open Public Debate and Consultation.Many of the Councillors I have spoken to in favour of the proposal show absolutely no sign that they have properly studied the details of the Planning Application. There has been massive political pressure to push this through at any cost.

Here are the key flaws in the proposal:

? The disastrous previous application was withdrawn (Aug 2007) according to the Harris Federation so that the community could be consulted. Consultation was a sham because the fundamental issue of the size of the school was specifically off-limits.

?? the size of the school is a fundamental planning consideration. It affects and seriously compromises the school's internal and external environments. The size was unilaterally increased and the 6th Form split over both sites by the Harris Project Steering Group in Jan 2007 without any consultation. (This in itself is vulnerable to legal challenge because it is a substantial change to the Expression of Interest put in to the Goverment and negotiated with the community).

?? there is a serious shortfall in external play space and a

total lack of outdoor sports facilities. Harris say that local alternatives "could" be used. That is insufficient. Sports

facilities are essential so the application should not be approved

without binding agreements in that regard. Further, there is no assessment of the disruption to the the school timetable caused by

the logistics of transporting 950 pupils to these locations, all

of which are at least 15 min away. Each PE lesson will take 30min

out of the school day. How will this school produce fit and healthy students when they are offered second class sporting

opportunity and only 100 out of 950 will be able to park their

bikes here?

? considering the extreme dependence on off-site facilities, there is no credible explanation of how buses, coaches, staff cars and all service deliveries will function on the single entrance to the school off the main road. This differs completely from the model on which the plan was based - the Harris Girls' Upper Site, which has its own car park, separate service road for deliveries and which has ample off street parking on a comparatively quiet road

?? the internal school environment is compromised. The

fancifully named "Agora" is nothing more than deep and narrow

lightwell. It is a soul-less place. Squeezing 3 rows of classrooms

into a single enclosure means that the middle of the building is

deprived of natural light and ventilation. It is because of this,

and not the noise on Peckham Rye, that mechanical ventilation is

required - added to that is the noise from the playground designed for 450 pupils at a time, which will be in constant use due to the need to stagger recreation times.

?? It is obvious that Harris is intent on shoe-horning the wrong

school on to this site. Tight sites are not unique but they are

the exception and not the rule. Exceptional constraints demand

exceptional responses. This third rate design fails dismally to

meet the challenge. Twice the Southwark Review Design Panel has outlined its fundamental failings in terms of its urban design and school design.

? Harris Federation has failed to listen to the community. Its architects have failed to listen to the Design Panel. Between them, they intend to foist an oversized school into a poorly designed building that will deny its students the uplifting environment they deserve and that will raise two metaphorical fingers to the well-loved surroundings of Peckham Rye for generations to come.

?? This is the right site for a much-needed school. This is the wrong school for this site.

Anyone with an interest in these issues is asked to turn up at the Southwark Town Hall this Wednesay 2nd July 6.30pm. The Planning Committee should stand firm against the intense political pressure of past months and reject this fundametally flawed application.

Adam Glasser

[AllforNun]

What school would you like to see, something like the little primary in Dulwich Village, conkers in autumn, ivy growing up the walls and house prices spiralling out of control. I mean the amount of buses rolling up to Alleyns and Jags is a sight to behold but everyone there seems ok about it ?

[AllforNun]

mechanical ventilation !!

surely you mean air conditioning. Hands up if you work in an office with the dreaded mechanical ventilation, er sorry air conditioning.

I hear the Liberals are playing public face, private face on this issue.

[alice]

Look just for clarity..are you saying that there will be classrooms without windows?

tunnel under forest hill road/ peckham rye would speed access to sports area

[Muttley]

AllforNun Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What school would you like to see, something like

> the little primary in Dulwich Village, conkers in

> autumn, ivy growing up the walls and house prices

> spiralling out of control. I mean the amount of

> buses rolling up to Alleyns and Jags is a sight to

> behold but everyone there seems ok about it ?

Er, I think you'll find that Alleyns have several acres of sports fields, including an all-year hockey pitch. More to the point, the boys (and girls) at Alleyns can all play casual games of football and cricket in the yard/on the fields during break, while still within the safe confines of their own school. If the Harris Academy were to go even a quarter of the way to having the outdoor recreation space that Alleyn's has, I suspect most parents would be delighted. I really want this new school to work, but I'm afraid the 'sardine can' image that's become associated with it is likely to stick. 500 on that amount of land might be reasonable. But 950 boys is just ludicrous.

[EKB2]

Muttley, I agree. What does it say to a teenager to know that he's studying in a 'specialist' school that doesn't even have the facilities for its specialism, sports!!! And I agree with that the injustice of the Alleyns and the Dulwich Colleges down the road are a huge, huge factor in why this is so upsetting to me. It both breaks my heart and infuriates me to think that anyone can really, truly, justify this kind of inequality in my life time.

What's perhaps most sickening, is the idea that the school, otherwise showing all the characteristics of one destined to fail, is supposed to be saved from this fate by a 'strong ethos' and a micromanagement scheme that promises to have all the hallmarks of military discipline. How vulnerable is that in the long run! And how can all the professional judgements of people involved - architects, planners, transport experts, not to mention teachers - and the vast majority of those of us who responded with a 'no thank you' to THIS school, though making it clear we want A school... how can all that have been so spectacularly ignored.

Shame on those promoting this! Yes to a good, up-to-date school. No to this idiocy. Suggesting the 'choice' between this and nothing is probably an insult, possibly a joke.

EKB2

[AllforNun]

Thanks again Mutley, you too can have all those feilds to run around in, 16 -18 Grand a year and they too can be yours.

So back to reality we are talking about State schools. I think the sports academy is a great idea. Maybe we will get an olympian out of it in years to come, now that would be good. Maybe we would get a few sports facilites in Peckham Rye Park like the new ones in Dulwich Village Park. Wow the future could really be bright.

[Muttley]

Allfornun, clearly you don't see any incompatibility between a sports academy for 950 and a postage stamp school site. If the school were to have access to Peckham Rye Park as a sports field that would clearly change things, but it's a public park, so I'd be surprised if they're going to allow part of it to be taken over for school use. Rather than compare Harris with Alleyns, it might be more enlightening to compare Harris with Kingsdale in Dulwich (with its new sports hall and outdoor playing fields.)

[AllforNun]

Lets hope not Kinsdale is really struggling - architectual wonderment or not.

Dulwich park is also public but has seen a big increase in it's facilities and is used by numerous local schools. Also it has a horse riding track - anyone have a horse ?

and it's 750 fulltime students not 950

[Muttley]

>

> and it's 750 fulltime students not 950

According to Harris' website:

"We will start with 150 Year 7 boys in September 2009 only reaching 950 students by 2015." So Harris seem to think it will be 950, but Allfornun you appear to know something that Harris don't.

[Monks]

Does anyone know exactly where on Peckham Rye its planned?

[AllforNun]

Yes............ maths.

[Muttley]

AllforNun Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yes............ maths.

In an attempt to clear up any confusion on this, last night it was made clear that there WILL be 950 pupils on the site. 750 will be years 7-11, 200 will be sixth form. There will be a further 200 sixth formers at the Waverley Girls site. Some girls/boys will switch sites for certain subjects, so this is the equivalent of 950 fulltime students on the boys' site.

[Administrator]

There are three separate discussions on the Academy, so to avoid confusion I am locking this one and please use Harris Academy for boys on Peckham Rye approved to comment further.