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Mayor agrees to investigate two more potential school sites

Review of alternative sites for new secondary school

On July 29 the Mayor asked officers to undertake a further review of alternative sites for the New School following a motion passed at the meeting of the Council on June 14, 2006.

The Mayor requested independent consultants be appointed to carry out the work. Two companies (Nathaniel Litchfield and C B Richard Ellis) were interviewed by the Head of Planning and the Property Services Manager.

C B Richard Ellis (CBRE) was chosen because of its experience of working with local authorities on this type of work and capacity to meet the brief.

Following the independent search and review four options were given - the Ladywell Leisure Centre, the Lewisham Bridge primary school site, Catford Dog Stadium and a parcel of surplus land currently on the University Hospital Lewisham site.

Officer advice is that only Ladywell Leisure Centre, Lewisham Bridge primary school and University Hospital Lewisham site are feasible. They have recommended further appraisals of the hospital and Lewisham Bridge sites are prepared and presented to the Mayor & Cabinet on October 18.

The report is being presented to the Mayor on September 27.

Because elements of the report deal with commercial arrangements relating to land acquisition it is being considering as a Part 2 document. This means it will not be made public at this stage...

Read the full Council's press release about the decision.

Yesterday 27th September the Mayor agreed to further investigate two more sites for the new school and to reach a final decision on 18th October.

The Ladywell Leisure Centre site still remains one of the runner ups but is now one of three.

One other site had already been taken into consideration and ruled out and is the site of Lewisham Bridge Primary that could expand to accommodate also a secondary school.
This had indeed been the option originally favoured by the Head of Education but had been ruled out after the Regeneration department advised against it on the ground that a secondary school could deter investors in the Town Centre.
It is now the Council view that it is not anymore so.
This is a very realistic proposition as all the land around it belongs to the Council and it is well located to serve much of the Borough.

We understand that the other new option is to build on a part of the Lewisham Hospital site that will eventually become available after the opening of the new Hospital building that is now being finished and the relocation there of some services now placed in other part of the Hospital compound.
This redundant area would be that one neighbouring the Register Office and Old Library.
A school there would spare the pool but it would still mean that a school would be built where it is not really needed.

Though this decision is actually good news, the fact that all of the papers have been considered confidential and are therefore unavailable to the public is a great disappointment.
We know that 29 sites were considered and cannot know why 25 of them have been ruled out.

At yesterday's Mayor and Cabinet meeting members of the press and public were asked to leave the room before the discussion and re-allowed in at the end of it to hear the Mayor announcing his decision.