Site for a future Wembley Park Primary School needs action NOW!

 A guest Post by Philip Grant

I was delighted to see, earlier this month, that the York House car park site could be used for a new youth centre, rather than a primary school. When I read the report to Brent’s Cabinet meeting, alarm bells started ringing. The Department for Education may have cancelled the ill-conceived Ark Somerville Primary Free School project, but the Wembley Park redevelopment area will still need a new primary school, by 2028 on the latest projections. Where would that be built?

 

NOT the Wembley Park Primary School, but hopefully something like it! (Image from the internet)

 

It has been known since the early 2000s that the large number of homes Quintain planned to build at Wembley Park meant that a new primary school would be required to serve the area. Brent agreed that the early stages of the development, around the Arena, should be mainly smaller homes, with the majority of the family-sized accommodation provided to the east of Olympic Way in the later phases.

 

 

Brent’s land use policy for the North East Lands. (Wembley Masterplan, 2009)

 

When the Council adopted its Wembley Masterplan in 2009, the “North East Lands” area (ringed in red on the map above) was identified as a primary school location (or one of them, if two smaller primary schools were to be built to meet growing demand for places during the course of the next 20 years, to 2030). This would put the school close to the main residential area, and next to a new park which was to be provided as part of the development.

 

That choice of location was carried forward into the Wembley Area Action Plan (“WAAP” – yes, that again!), adopted by the Council in 2015, which is still the current planning policy document for this area. The WAAP’s policy on school places emphasised the importance of securing sites for new schools, where large developments meant an increase in population. It also said that primary schools ‘need to be located directly within the area of population growth’, and that ‘nursery facilities … could be combined with other new … primary school facilities.’ 

 

The WAAP policy WEM 29, on Community Facilities, stated that ‘the council will … secure at least four forms of entry at primary level, to be secured on development sites within the Wembley area’. It also noted the ‘provision of one site in site proposal W 18.’ This site proposal covered the 4.9 hectare Wembley Retail Park, also known as the North East Lands, and said that ‘a new primary school will be provided’ on that site.

 

All very good - so what changed? At the end of 2015, Quintain submitted a huge “hybrid” planning application. It included detailed plans for a multi-storey car and coach park to the east of Wembley Stadium, and outline proposals for most of the rest of the land at Wembley Park which it had still to develop. Application 15/5550 has been called the Wembley Park Masterplan, but it was Quintain’s masterplan, not Brent’s.

 

The application (over 300 documents and plans) was one of a number considered at a Planning Committee meeting on 11 May 2016, just two days after the previous meeting. Most of the objections and discussions were about the car and coach park. The meeting went on for over four hours, and two of the committee members had gone home before it was approved by 4 votes to 1, with one abstention! 

 

Among the outline proposals approved (with little or no discussion) was that the primary school site should be moved to the York House car park. Two sentences from the report by Planning Officers to the committee sum up how this was allowed to happen, despite it going against Brent’s adopted policy for the school’s location:

 

‘This plot has been identified by the applicant as an appropriate location for a 3 form of entry primary school and nursery.’

 

‘The proposal delivers the same strategic objective (the provision of nursery and primary school places) and is considered to be acceptable in principle.’

 

A cynic might suggest that the applicant, Quintain, had identified the York House car park site for commercial reasons, not valid planning reasons, so that it could build tall blocks of flats on the North East plot(s) which would otherwise be used for a primary school site.

 

But it was only an outline planning consent for the York House site, wasn’t it? When the detailed planning application for the school went before the Committee on 6 June 2018, members were given strict instructions by a Planning Officer. They were not allowed to consider whether the new school to serve the Wembley Park redevelopment should be sited elsewhere, the Officer Report saying:

 

‘the parameters material submitted with the application [15/5550] specifically identified the subject site (known as Development Zone YH1) for a 3FE Primary School and associated Nursery.’   and:

 

‘This reserved matters application is considered to be in material compliance with the parameters and principles established under the outline consent.’

 

Only one committee member voted against the application (here’s a reminder, if you don’t remember what happened to him!). Air pollution had been raised as a major problem with this site for a primary school, with dangerously high NO2 levels along Wembley Hill Road admitted in the application’s Air Quality Assessment. No account was taken of the effect on young children who would be walking to the school. In respect of the school building itself, Officers said that mitigation measures would be included in the conditions for the planning consent. These were having no opening windows on that side of the school below a height of 4.5 metres, and that the air intakes for artificial air circulation must be situated above that height.

 

Following that decision, the York House car park site was bought from Quintain by the DfE’s Education Funding Agency, for provision of the Ark primary school. Because of the number of increased primary places provided by Brent at other existing schools, and a slight (temporary?) fall in demand for places, the DfE have now dropped the York House school project. Which brings me back to my opening question – where will the Wembley Park primary school that Brent will need, within the next 5 to 10 years, be built?

 

After the 2016 “Wembley Park Masterplan” decision, Brent’s planning policy, in its emerging Local Plan, has depended on the York House school site. The North East Lands are currently the subject of Quintain’s detailed planning application, 20/2844, which would see tall blocks of flats built around three sides of the northern section of the new park.

 

Something had to be done, so I have started the ball rolling! I researched the labyrinth of planning application details and planning policy documents involved, and have submitted detailed objection comments on application 20/2844. These set out why the application, which is listed as a variation of conditions under the 15/5550 application, can and should be amended to provide a reserved site for a 3-form entry primary school, and nursery (and should be refused if it does not make that change). I am hoping that Martin can add a copy of my comments document at the end of this article, so that anyone who is interested can read them.

 

As well as sending my document to Brent’s Planning Officers, I have also sent it with covering emails to the Lead Members and Strategic Directors for Regeneration and for Schools, and to the councillors for Tokyngton Ward, to ensure that Brent is fully aware of its risk of having no site for the new primary school it has a duty to provide by 2028. And as this is a matter which would best be settled by agreement between Brent Council and Quintain, I have also sent a copy to the developer’s Head of Masterplanning and Design, and Head of Planning.

 

I have done what I can, but this is a matter of concern which present and potential future residents of Brent, and Wembley Park in particular, and those with an interest in education in the borough, need to be aware of. Action needs to be taken on this issue now, but I am just one “voice” (or laptop keyboard, during lockdown). If you agree with me, please make your views known by objecting to planning application 20/2844, or contacting an appropriate councillor or Council Officer. Thank you.

Philip Grant.

 

Philip's comments - click bottow right corner for full page version

 

 

New youth provision for Wembley at York House car park site now new primary school no longer needed?

 

The York House car park, Empire Way

Next week's Brent Cabinet will consider  moves to establish an Onside Youth Zone centre at the York House car park site in Wembley.

 

The site was earmarked for a new primary school, the Ark Somerville, but the project has been dropped by the Department for Education for the present, due to falling school rolls in the area.

 

The DfE would need to be released from its obligation to Quintain to provide the school under Section 106 and could then sell the site on the open market or directly to Brent Council.

 

The officers report LINK describes what happens at Onside Youth Zones:

 

Youth Zones provide “somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to” and aim to be safe, supportive and affordable places where young people can spend their free time constructively. Targeting young people aged 8-19, and up to 25 with additional needs, Youth Zones provide large-scale multi-activity facilities which typically include multi-use 3G pitches, indoor sports hall, climbing wall, gym, music, dance and performing arts facilities and café, along with flexible spaces that can respond to young people’s changing needs and preferences.

 

Given the size of the site some of that provision would not be possible but it would still be a facility that would help make up for some of the youth provision cut by Brent Council. 

 

As Brent Youth Centres  were cut for financial reasons it is worth looking at where the Council  now expect funding to come from:

Running costs

SCIL = Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy

MTFS = Medium Term Financial Strategy

The charity Onside Youth runs a centre in nearby Barnet. You can read about it HERE
 

Clean Air for Brent call for thorough air quality assessment for new Empire Way primary school

A gross under-estimate of traffic?

A spokesperson for Clean Air for Brent (CAfB) has commented on the proposed 630 pupil primary school on the site of the York House car park on Empire Way, Wembley:

We know that children in schools on busy roads in Brent are being regularly exposed to illegal levels of air pollution. It’s imperative therefore that Brent Council put air quality at the top of their list of considerations for any new school being proposed in the borough.  A child attending school will have 8 years’ worth of exposure, and it is during these years that children are said to be most vulnerable to the harms of pollution, including asthma, poor lung development etc.

In any case it is hard to see how this proposal aligns with Brent’s current Air Quality Action Plan which states that ‘ The council will review all new planning applications for potential air quality impacts and require all new development have no additional impact on local air pollution as a minimum requirement.’

Given that a superficial air quality assessment was done in 2015, Clean Air for Brent are calling for an up to date Environmental Impact Assessment to be done. 

The Council must do this not just for the children but so that parents can use this information to decide whether they want to send their child to a school that is located on a busy main road, and therefore its air quality environment likely to be highly compromised by passing traffic. 

The decision on whether to grant  planning permission for the school is due at the Planning Committee on Wednesday. LINK

Brent set to approve new primary school next to busy road despite air pollution warnings

The actual site yesterday

Artist's impressions of the new school above and below

Less than two weeks after Brent Clean Air warned about the need for urgent action to protect children from air pollution in schools site next to busy roads LINK, Brent Planning Committee will be considering building a 630 pupil primary school and nursery on the car park of York House, next to busy (and likely to be busier as Wembley continues to expand through regeneration) Empire Way, close to Wembley Stadium Station.  Traffic is already far busier than the artist's impression above, and busier at school times than shown in my photograph.

However, the Officer's report for the Committee LINK  does not go into any detail about air pollution, referring instead to a far more general reference back in 2015 when outline planning permission was given and focusing on the impact of demolition and construction rather than children's daily exposure to pollution.

They suggest that the playground will be protected from air pollution by the school building, although a rooftop multi use games area (MUGA) is planned as well as a rooftop learning area.  The playground itself is very small for a 630 pupil school.

Ariel view over the school playground

There is an acknowledgement that the area has heavy traffic as the report proposes that there should be reserved parking for parents at the red multi-storey car park near the LDO which would be a dropping off point for the children. Entry to York House itself will be via the LDO.

The present car park bounded by Empire Way, Stadium Way and the Royal Route

The school will be run by Ark as goverment policy does not allow local authorities to build new schools, and anyway Brent Council leader, Muhammed Butt,  who attended the February consultation meeting about the plans, is a great fan of Ark. and sits on the governing body of Ark Elvin which is round the corner from the proposed school. Others in Brent Labour Party are critics of the whole academies programme. Putting that aside there is no discussion on whether a school of that size is required as the recent pupil census showed spare places in Brent Primary schools LINK and there may be a further reduction as a consequence of Brexit.  Of course new flats are going up at a pace around Wembley stadium but they are not being designed, or marketed, as accommodation for families.

Quite a test for the scrutiny powers of the new Planning Committee.

'Go and play on the roof my dear, but please don't breathe' - new primary school for Wembley

 You do wonder sometimes...

A planning application has been lodged to build a three form entry primary school in the York House car park fronting the busy Empire Way main road which connects Wembley Central and Wembley Park.  The artist's impression of course shows very few cars.

The school, which when full would have 630 children plus nursery, is the Ark Somerville and would be funded directly by the government with no oversight from Brent Council. It would have rooftop play space.

It is close to Elsley Primary School which has recently doubled in size from two forms of entry (240 children) to four forms (840), round the corner is Ark Elvin Academy and along the road at Wembley Park the all through Ark Academy (3-19 years), Michaela Academy and the Lycee.

That's an awful lot of child journeys by bus and car. It will of course be argued that children will walk from the new build Quintain developments but these are not exactly family-friendly developments. Theye are likely to come from further away.

Just imagine parents dropping children off on this busy road!

Elsley Primary has not filled up and there is a danger that Ark Somerville could cream off pupils from Elsley and other nearby primary schools.  After years of rising school rolls some Brent primaries are now experiencing reduced waiting lists and even falling pupil numbers in the wake of Brexit and movement of housing capped families out of London.

 The application is HERE. A date has not yet been fixed for it to go to Planning Committee

More light thrown on potential primary school place surplus

Most primary schools in Brent will have broken up by the time that the Cabinet disucuss a report on future school places on Monday. However, the report will have implications for future stability and potential surplus of places in some schools over the next few years.   The report signals the end of the recent expansion of Brent primary schools.

I have questioned the need for a new 630 pupil Ark primary school at York House in an earlier article LINK and plans may now be affectd by the government's decisions on education spending where monies may be taken from the free school budget to supplement school budgets.

Brent policy is to have 5% surplus spaces in primary schools to aid parent choice. It is currently about 4% but likely to rise - it will not be uniform across a complex borough and some schools will experience higher surplus capacity which has budget implications as funding is per pupil.

Without taking into account the new primary free schools of Ark Somerville (York House) and Floreat (Colindale)  we are looking at a surplus equivalent of more than a two form entry primary in 2018-2022. With the two free schools it is equivalent to a 3 form entry school.

The report states:

Table 4 shows the latest GLA forecasts and available primary places and Table 5 shows forecast demand for Reception places from 2017. The places available includes expanded provision at Byron Court, Elsley, Leopold and Uxendon Manor schools, which became permanent during the 2015/16 or 2016/17 academic years. 


The ESFA proposes to open 2 new primary free schools in Brent. The ESFA is reluctant to open new free schools on temporary sites until a permanent site has been identified. Floreat Colindale Primary, which will provide 420 places (2FE), was due to open in temporary accommodation in 2016 and move to a permanent site from 2018. However, latest plans are for the school to open in 2019 on the school’s permanent site at Oriental City. Ark Somerville Primary School  630 places (3FE) was originally approved to open in 2017 in the Alperton region of Planning Area 3. It is now earmarked for the York House site, Wembley Central which is adjacent to the other growth area in Planning Area 3. The final column of Table 5 indicates the impact these schools would have on Reception capacity if both opened in 2019. 


We are forecasting a reduction in demand for Reception places for September 2017, evidenced by fewer on time applications than at the same point in time in previous years. 


The latest pupil forecasts suggest that Reception cohorts will continue to fall for a further three years before beginning to increase again (in 2020/21). As a result there will be a temporary increase in spare capacity across the borough. Neighbouring authorities are reporting similar patterns.

We are currently working with schools to manage any changes in demand. Brent schools experience a high degree of pupil mobility due to families moving in and out of the Borough and families moving within the Borough. Overall forecasts indicate that year groups are expected fluctuate in size as they move through the system. There is a forecast deficit of primary places in Year 3 in Planning Area 1 and Planning Area 3 for September 2017. We anticipate that spare capacity in other planning areas will be sufficient to meet this need.

The full report including predictions of the need for two new secondary schools in the borough in the near future, can be found HERE

Brent's relationship with Quintain under strain over the Wembley Plan

An Officers' Report going to the Executive on March 11th reveals some areas of strain in Brent's relationship with Quintain Estates, the major developer of the Wembley Regeneration Area.

The Council accept Quintain's claim that parts of the current Wembley Retail Park are shown as suitable for tall buildings but state that this is subject to an assessment of the impact of the buildings on views. On site W18 at the Wembley Retail Park,  Quintain  argue for higher density of development but Brent responds that "the indicative residential development capacity reflects the high proportion of family housing sought on this site (thus affecting the number of habitable rooms per unit), the domestic character (resulting in an 'urban' character rather than 'central') and the incorporation of the public space within this site."

Quintain object to the policy requirement that the development of the car park at York House (Site W9) should be relatively low rise and should include a substantial area of open space. Brent Council respond that there is still a deficit of open space in the area and the site provides scope for publicly accessible open space between buildings. 'Relatively low rise' reflects the high rise nature of York House and the need to provide good levels of sunlight in existing and new open spaces.

In line with apparent reservations on surrendering building land for open space, Quintain consider there is too much detail on the proposed park north of Engineers Way and particularly object to its East-West orientation.  Brent respond that this is fundamental to achieve an open aspect to 'what will be a densely developed area' and that the space would connect the proposed new primary school at Fulton Road,on the west side, to its catchment area in the residences to the east.

It appears that  Quintain's approach can be summarised as: build tall, build densely, and with limited open space.  Presumably this would extract more profit from their land acquisition. They go further in this statement which seems to threaten section 106 planning gains:

WEM36 and WEM38 set out requirements that major new development provides new open space and food growing facilities. Such exceptional provision, which also includes the provision of play space in WEM40 and wildlife enhancements inWEM41, will have an impact on viability and thus will have an impact on Section 106 obligations, after CIL.

Brent Council deal firmly with Quintain's objection to the provision of large food stores (over 2,000 sq m) being directed to Wembley High Road. The Council argue that this is essential to benefit the whole area and in order not to let the regeneration of the stadium area lead to a decline in the High Road. The argument is that new shops on the High Road between the junction with  Park Lane and Wembley Triangle will establish continuity between the older area and the new development.

Quintain certainly seem to be on a loser with their objection to policy limiting the proportion of frontage in the town centre that can be occupied by hot food take-aways. The Council's robust response is that there is widespread support for such a policy, including from the GLA, and 'there can be adverse impacts on the health of the population from fast foods.'

There is much more in the Wembley Area Action Plan so I will return to other aspects later. You can access the documents by following this LINK to Item 8 of the Executive Agenda.

If you want to comment on the plan and some of the issues above, Consultation will start from 25th March 2013 and last for 6 weeks. It will be agreed by Full Council in June and planning inspectorate examination hearings will be held in October 2013 with adoption the following February.