Another dispute over public access to footpaths on Harrow School grounds - Harrow Greens speak out

 

Residents on the north Brent borders with Harrow will not be surprised that another dispute has broken out with Harrow School wanting to close a footpath used by the public on grounds of anti-social behaviour. This is the latest enclosure move by the private school.

 

A discussion is underway on the website Next Door LINK. This is a quote from the initial post:

To summarise: there is a path going through one of Harrow School's many fields, just off the West St in Harrow. It leads through a road between two of the John Lyon's buildings and then comes up towards the Byron Hill Road. This path is taken every day, pretty much exclusively by the students of the local Roxeth Primary School and their parents. Not once did I see any of the children or their parents damage property or behave in a disruptive manner.

After speaking to some local people, it turns out this path had been in use by the public for over 25 years. It's the shortest way up the hill, and in a borough where most of the green spaces seem to be fenced off by the Harrow School, it's a pleasant walk, much more so than walking around on some of the extremely narrow paths up the hill.  However, Harrow School informed me that it's private property and in a couple weeks they will be installing a coded gate between the cricket field and the road passing through John Lyon's so that parents like me will no longer be able to walk through. 

Considering Harrow School (and John Lyon) both enjoy the financial benefits of being registered charities, it seems obscene to block people's right of way in such a manner, for reasons which on inspection appear both flimsy and petty.

Gareth Thomas MP has got involved and has organised a zoom meeting for Tuesday at noon LINK

Speaking on behalf of Harrow Green Party, Emma Wallace said:

It is concerning to hear of Harrow Schools latest plans to block a footpath that has been in use by the public for decades.  There appears to be little to no evidence of anti-social behaviour along this path, with pupils & parents of Roxeth Primary School using it on a daily basis to get to and from school. The path provides them with the shortest route up the hill and ensures children don't have to walk along the extremely narrow footpaths and roads that can be found going up the hill. This seems to be more about the school blocking a historic right of way for the local community use, rather than about safety concerns for their students. 

This situation is not without precedent - in 2017, footpath campaigners won a 14 year victory against Harrow school who had been trying to divert two historic, public rights of way that cross its playing fields LINK. 

 

In 2020, Harrow School appealed and won against Sadiq Khan's refusal of planning permission for a large sports hall to be built on Metropolitan Open Land. The Mayor had cited in 2018 that the proposed sports building was an "inappropriate development within Metropolitan Open Land and causes substantial harm to the openness of the Metropolitan Open Land by reason of its excessive footprint and its location."  LINK

 

And in 2021, John Lyon failed in its latest bid to remove planning restrictions to expand the school LINK. 

 

Harrow School must respect the rights of public access on the Hill, ensuring that the local community can continue to enjoy this historic part of Harrow, rather than just a small, privileged elite.

 A clear route out of the problem for a footpath that has been used for more than 20 years  is available to campaigners on the Open Spaces Society website HERE

Gibb offers Labour MPs & Bob Blackman help in setting up a Hindu Free School to replace Swaminarayan

In a debate yesterday Nick Gibb (Minister of State for School Standards) offered two Labour MPs, Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) and Stephen Pound (Ealing North) help with setting up a Hindu free school to replace the private, fee-paying Hindu Swaminarayan which is to close by 2020.  He advised them to seek help from the New Schools Network and once the proposal was in play promised he would allocate an officer from the DfE to help the proposal reach fruition. He offered to meet the two MPs and Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East, to discuss particular proposals. Full Hansard report HERE.

During the debate Sharma praised Blackman for securing the site for the school when he was leader of Brent Council and claimed that Dawn Butler (Labour, Brent Central) was a 'fervent' supporter of the school and that Gareth Thomas (Labour, Harrow West)  had been working with the community to try and find a solution.

The intervention by the Labour MPs is particularly interesting because of the current debate within the Labour Party about its attitude to free schools and academies and whether policy should be to reintegrate them into the local authority, as well as its policy on religious schools. The alternative view is a reiteration of the Blairite line 'standards not structures.'

Blackman took a swipe at Sladebrook High School, a local authority school that had previously occupied the site, describing it as 'notorious' and before closure having more teachers than children. Despite assurances from the Swaminarayan Hindu Mission that they did not want to profit from the site he asked the Minister what protections could be offered for the site which has been 'a school site forever' having been built at the same time as the Stonebridge Estate. Blackman made a vague reference to a possible site for a Hindu free school in Northwick Park.  One of the options for the One Public Estate redevelopment of Northwick Park included a secondary school but this was not the preferred option. There is also a proposal on the table for a North Brent Secondary School.

Gibb replied:

My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) is, of course, right that the Government’s academies and free schools programme has enabled a number of Hindu faith schools to be established in the state sector for the first time, as free schools set up by organisations such as the Avanti Schools Trust. He pointed to a new school opening this September under the free schools programme. There is also the Avanti House Primary School in Harrow and the Avanti House Secondary School, which were opened under the free school programme—the secondary was rated good by Ofsted in May 2018. There is the Krishna Avanti Primary School in Croydon and the Krishna Avanti Primary School in Leicester, again set up under the free school programme.

There are more than 2,300 independent schools in England, and between them they provide an enormous variety of educational experiences for our young people. Around 7% of children are educated in the independent sector, which is a significant contribution to our education system. Some schools in the independent sector will close and some will open. The independent sector also has a number of faith schools, which bring their own distinctive flavour. Schools with a religious character also play a strong and positive role in the state-funded sector, making up a third of all schools. They are some of our highest performing schools and are often popular with parents, giving them greater choice and the opportunity to pass on their ethos to their children.

Although the independent school sector as a whole is flourishing, with broadly constant numbers of schools and pupils over the past few years, it is inevitable that there will be changes. Every year, a number of independent schools close—usually about 70 or 80. Other schools open their doors in broadly the same numbers, but the profile of the sector tends to change over time in response to a number of factors, including market pressures. We should not forget that independent schools, whether run by charities or as businesses, operate in the marketplace. The decision to close an independent school is a matter for the owner or proprietor alone, except for the small number of cases when the Government seek to close a school because of a serious and extended failure to meet the independent school standards; that has not been the case for the Swaminarayan School.

Unlike state-funded schools, independent schools do not have to go through an approval process before they close. Although the owner or proprietor is asked as a matter of courtesy to inform the Department for Education that the school can be removed from the register of independent schools, there is no obligation to give the Department any details of the reason for closure. The Department passes what it knows to the relevant local authority, in case the closure results in demand for state-funded school places.

It is, of course, always a priority, whenever an independent or state school closes, to ensure that alternative schools are found for the pupils. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East is absolutely right to raise that important issue. It can be a very difficult time for families, and sometimes there are added time pressures. Families were told about the closure of the Swaminarayan School well in advance. That is not often the case, and it will assist parents who are currently sending their children to the school.

​

I turn to the closure. Although the school is not in the constituency of the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall, it is likely that many children from families in his constituency attend it. Naturally, those families will have found the announcement of the closure disappointing. It is a reasonably sized school: in January 2018, it had 420 pupils, although only 377 are expected to be there this September, and it caters for an age range of between two and 18 years. When it was inspected in 2014, the Independent Schools Inspectorate found that the provision was excellent. The October 2014 report says the school:

“enables pupils to obtain excellent standards in their work and to develop outstanding qualities as young people”.

It also says:

“Both at GCSE and in the sixth form, pupils benefit from first class curricular arrangements, and from a wide-ranging programme of activities”.

That reflects what the hon. Gentleman said. As I said, there is no requirement to give the Department specific reasons for closure, but our understanding from statements supplied by the trustees is that the reasons are primarily financial, and that falling pupil numbers are the driver. The closure of all parts of the school is now planned to take place in 2020, to give parents the maximum amount of time to find alternative schools.

The school has a designation as a school of religious character and a declared religious ethos of Hinduism, although not all the pupils who attend are of that religion. It is right to acknowledge that the closure of a school with a specifically Hindu ethos is a matter of regret, simply because at present there are relatively few other schools of that nature in England. There are two primary academies, four free schools and an independent school. Most Hindu children attend schools in the state or independent sectors.

As I have suggested, there is nothing the Government can do to stop the closure now that the trustees have taken the decision. We do not fund independent schools, and nor do we come to arrangements that are designed to help them overcome financial difficulties. That is ​what being independent is about; it is not just about giving schools greater freedom to operate in the way they want.

I am sure the school will work closely with the local authority and parents to ensure that alternative schools can be found for the children who are still at the school in 2020. I will write to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East about the site. If it had been a state school, there are particular provisions to ensure that the first option is for it to open as a free school. As it is an independent school, I will write to my hon. Friend in technical terms about whether there are provisions in statute that can enable the site to continue to be used for educational purposes, or whether it is free for the owners to dispose of as they wish. I will write to him to confirm that position.

I have listened very carefully to what the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall said. The priority over the next two years must be to ensure that the pupils who would have been at the school in 2020, had it remained open, are found alternative places.

We give a lot of help to groups that wish to set up free schools. The New Schools Network is the starting point of that help; once a proposal is in play, we will allocate an official in the Department to help it come forth. A number of Hindu free schools have already been established through that process, and I am happy to work with my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East and the hon. Members for Ealing, Southall and for Ealing North (Stephen Pound), if they want to meet to discuss particular proposals for a Hindu free school to replace the Swaminarayan School.

Northwick Park Hospital has 5th highest 'high risk' backlog of repair work

 

Northwick Park Hospital - under a cloud

Gareth Thomas MP (Harrow West) has revealed that a new analysis by the Shadow Health team shows that Northwick Park Hospital has the fifth highest backlog of ‘high risk’ repair work of any facility in England. 

‘High risk’ maintenance is categorised as an urgent priority in order to prevent ‘catastrophic failure’ and ‘serious injury’. The estimated cost to eradicate the backlog of ‘high risk’ maintenance work at Northwick Park Hospital is £21,488,929.

Other figures are:

Cost to eradicate significant risk backlog: £10,554,117

Cost to eradicate moderate risk backlog:  £10,446,688

Cost to eradicate low risk backlog:  £62,441,594


Risk adjusted backlog cost: £33,418,297

Brent Central MP and CLP oppose Overground ticket office closures

The proposed closure of Overground ticket offices on the Brent section of the line LINK has been opposed by Brent Central Constituency Labour Party:

Brent Central CLP calls on the London Mayoral Candidate, London Assembly Members and Brent Councillors to oppose Transport for London's proposed ticket office closures, and to ensure that they are properly staffed during opening hours. We congratulate the RMT on their campaign to oppose the proposed ticket office closures, and resolve to support their planned industrial action over the introduction of the Night Tube.

Brent Central MP Dawn Butler has put down an EDM (Early Day Motion) that has been supported by Gareth Thomas MP (Harrow West) and 15 others opposing the closures LINK.

That this House notes that London TravelWatch is required to consult on London Underground's [actually London Overground] proposal to close station ticket offices at Gunnersbury, Harlesden, Harrow and Wealdstone, Kensal Green, Kenton, Kew Gardens, North Wembley, Queen's Park, Stonebridge Park, South Kenton and Wembley Central; is concerned that the proposals are being bought forward despite many of these stations experiencing large increases in passenger numbers; opposes the closure of those stations on the basis that passengers, especially visitors and the elderly or disabled, would not be able to access the full range of tickets and services they need from a ticket machine, would find it harder to obtain advice on ticket and fare options, would suffer delays to their travel due to insufficient numbers of replacement ticket machines, would experience a more congested concourse, would be less confident using a ticket machine and could end up overspending, would be deterred from travel due to the lower staffing levels, and would be travelling on a network which is less safe with CCTV monitored less frequently; and therefore believes that these Tube ticket offices should be kept open.

Gareth Thomas and Barry Gardiner press for Northwick Park expansion before A&E reconfiguration

From the parliamentary debate on A&E waiting times:

Stephen Pound (Ealing North, Labour)

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and neighbour for giving way. In view of what he has just said, does he think that the best possible prescription is that currently recommended by the Government whereby the existing A and E departments at Ealing, Park Royal, Hammersmith and Charing Cross all close? Does he think that will improve waiting times in A and E departments?

Gareth Thomas (Harrow West, Labour)

My hon. Friend, as ever, is ahead of me. He makes the perfectly reasonable point that if the Northwick Park and Central Middlesex A and E departments are not achieving the 95% target now, how can our constituents have any more confidence about reaching that target should the Central Middlesex and Ealing hospitals close?

Barry Gardiner (Brent North, Labour)

As my hon. Friend knows, Northwick Park is just in my constituency and we share that border. Does he agree that whatever the future configuration of hospitals in north-west London, it is absolutely essential that the A and E unit at Northwick Park is expanded to cope and that that should happen before any reconfiguration?
.....

Gareth Thomas (Harrow West, Labour)

I share the view of my neighbour and hon. Friend Barry Gardiner. We need that expansion to go ahead, and to go ahead soon.