Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department acquired the land for the new Nishkam School site in West London before planning permission for that school was granted; and whether the valuation of that land was based on an assumption that planning permission would be granted.

Edward Timpson

The Syon Lane site was acquired by the Department for Communities and Local Government on behalf of the Education Funding Agency (EFA) as a permanent site for Nishkam School West London. When full, the school will provide 1,400 places for local children.

Where possible, sites for new free schools are secured with exchange subject to planning approval. The decision to proceed with the purchase was taken following confirmation from Hounslow Local Planning Authority that the proposal to develop a school on the site would be consistent with local planning policies, so an argument could be made for such a development.

The land valuation undertaken to inform the purchase took account of its designation as Metropolitan Open Land and an estimation of the value of the land should its planning status change to permit the construction of a school building.