Judith Kerr Primary School - New Southwark Plan

[Ander]

As some of you may be aware, Southwark Council is consulting on its New Southwark Plan (the "Plan") to manage regeneration and development from 2018 - 2033. Here is a link to the Plan Options Paper for further background: www.southwark.gov.uk/newsouthwarkplan

The Plan is particularly concerned with new housing provision in Southwark. It identifies sites which may potentially be developed for housing (or other amenities). Among the sites is the Judith Kerr Primary School.

We understand that the School has been included in the Plan because the owner of the freehold, Dulwich Estate, has ambitions to develop the green space east of the School building for residential housing.

The green space is part of the fabric of the School. It allows our children to escape the pressures of the classroom, and enjoy sports and recreation. The green space is also home to an embryonic organic vegetable patch which will have an educational benefit as well as being open to the local community. Ultimately, we will attempt to designate the green space as a "Local Green Space" and thereby preserve it for use by the School.

We ask the community to oppose the development of the green space for the benefit of the school children and for future generations. We therefore urge you to contact [email protected] no later than Friday 6th March, and register your objection to the inclusion of the School in the Plan as a site for potential housing development.

[landsberger]

If the school doesn't actually own the freehold of the place where it is - I'm not sure what else could be done. Surely the funding agreement the school has with the EFA requires them to have signed a long term lease with Dulwich Estates (unless Dulwich Estates plans to relocate the school?) OR the existing site is a temporary one and the school are looking to (eventually) relocate. That's what the agreement below seems to suggest

http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=139907&downloadfs=pdf&numfile=1

[Loz]

There was a whole thread on this a while ago...

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1429642,page=1

Basically, the green space is not part of the school.

[cornishpasty999]

You can still attempt to register the site as green space - irrespective of it being in private hands. And loz the info you are provided with is incorrect, the lease is currently for the ENTIRE site. Landsberger the site is leased on a long term basis, with the specific green space being under option for development for a period of 5 years from contract start. It is the 5 year option that is the concern to the school parents and i guess the majority of the local community.

[HappyH]

Loz - you are incorrect. The school leases the entire site, including the green space which the school uses actively for sports, education and recreation.

Dulwich Estate has an option to apply for planning permission to develop the green space for housing. If planning permission is granted, it will take away the green space from the school.

Dulwich Estate does not have to do this. They can keep the lease as it is so the green space can remain part of the school and can be enjoyed by the children of JKPS over the long term.

Dulwich Estate is in a highly hypocritical position. It is an education charity that is looking to raise funds for its schools (Dulwich College, JAGs etc.) by depriving another education charity which runs JKPS of its facilities in terms of the green space. That is really rotten.

How will that look to the charity commission?

Dulwich Estate clearly knew there would be this conflict of interest when they agreed to lease the site to the school.

I hope as many people as possible should lodge their objections to help this local primary school. I will object.

[stephent]

Or you could see it as one educational charity (JKPS) deliberately trying to subvert a prior agreement with another charity (Dulwich Estate) and deny them a valuable asset.

JKPS knew the estate we're going to do this when they signed...

[HappyH]

Stephent - you mean poor innocent naive Dulwich Estate has been inadvertently duped? I really don?t think so.

DE knew there was this obvious conflict of interest and in terms of the lease that they would be taking the green space AWAY from the school and the children.

As a education charity, DE intimately knows the importance of enabling a school to be a decent school with decent facilities. DE has an obligation with the charity commission to consider the public benefit. Resourcing its schools by removing leased and paid for resources from other schools is not to the public benefit. The whole community needs good schools. The green space is important to this for JKPS.

The site was unused for years and they could have put housing on it ages ago if they really wanted to.

[Loz]

Surely designating the area as Local Green Space would require public access, and therefore make it fenced off and virtually unusable for the school?

[cornishpasty999]

no Loz - Some areas that may be considered for designation as Local Green Space may already have largely unrestricted public access, though even in places like parks there may be some restrictions. However, other land could be considered for designation even if there is no public access (e.g. green areas which are valued because of their wildlife, historic significance and/or beauty).

Designation does not in itself confer any rights of public access over what exists at present. Any additional access would be a matter for separate negotiation with land owners, whose legal rights must be respected.

Considering your interest in this matter, I hope the information that has been presented to you, (and others who read the conversation) encourages you to make a representation to planning!

[Dadadada]

I think the inclusion of the site as a development site is based on a historic anomaly. The building was vacant for over 20 years since the James Black Institute ceased to occupy it so it was indeed a development site. Now it has been developed (as a school for 350 children) and Southwark has simply failed to update the site's status in the draft Southwark plan. My heart sinks that a Labour-led council might favour luxury houses over school playgrounds, but I hope they are just playing it by the book to avoid a legal challenge from DE when its status is changed to "school" or tge playgrounds to "open space".

[Half-Moon]

Loz Wrote:

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

> There was a whole thread on this a while ago...

>

> http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5

> ,1429642,page=1

>

> Basically, the green space is not part of the

> school.

Totally wrong - and misrepresents the thread. The green space IS most definitely part of the school's demise under its lease and it is used quite intensively at play times (to the extent that it is presently more of a brown space than a green space!)