A second petition on the Islamia Primary School proposed move to the Strathcona site in Preston ward has been launched. This follows a petition in the summer by a group of Islamia parents that opposed the proposed site and called instead for the school to occupy the South Kilburn site earmarked for the merged Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Park Juior schools. That petition was signed by 509 people by the time it closed LINK.
The second petition is by South Kenton & Preston Park Residents' Association (SKPPRA) and appears on the Change website. It opposes the school based on the traffic and environmental impact and its affect on neighbouring school pupil numbers. SKPPRA insist that their opposition is not based on the faith nature of the school and that they represent a multi-ethnic community.
The interests of the two sets of petitioners converge in terms of opposition to the site but the governing board and Brent Council insist that there is no alternative. Both Brent Council and the Yusuf Islam Foundation have searched for an alternative site in the borough and found none. Brent Council insist that the new South Kilburn site is an integral part of the estate regeneration and its expanding population and would be open to children of all faiths and none. In any case it would not be ready in time for occupation given the eviction deadline. The Islamia Primary Governing Board said that if Brent Council were, nevertheless, to provide that site they could try and persuade the Foundation to extend their occupancy for the required period.
The informal stage of the consultation on the move ends tomorrow. The Governing Board will then start the formal statutory consultation and report on its outcome. Brent Council officers will then provide a report and recommendations for the Brent Cabinet who will make the final decision.
The petition can be found HERE and had 265 signatories at the time of writing.
The petition
Islamia Primary School, currently in Kilburn NW6 are being evicted and have been given two choices by Brent Council, to either close down or move to Strathcona Site HA9. The 6 mile move to this new site is not supported by the existing school parents, teachers, governors or the local residents of the new site.
A new school in the area will have serious environmental impact on the area causing pollution, lower air quality and damage to the climate, not forgetting health and safety concerns of the general public.
Three existing schools near Strathcona site are already under subscribed and a new school will only exacerbate the situation.
We urge you to sign the petition so that Brent Council Cabinet Members can take this into consideration.
In a recent public meeting with Islamia Primary school the Local resident's state: "We want your school to stay open, but we don't want it here"!
Consultation period ends on 16th November 2022
