Gove wrong on school playing field sale

07/08/2012

GMB CONDEMN SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EDUCATION FOR APPROVING 21 OUT OF 22 APPLICATIONS TO SELL SCHOOL PLAYING FIELDS WHILE OLYMPICS ARE STILL GOING ON Gove has cynically delayed giving the go ahead for the sale of five acres of playing fields at Elliot School in Putney till the Olympics are over says GMB GMB, the union for school support staff, commented on the decision by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, to approve 21 applications to sell school playing fields in England. One application to sell five acres of playing fields at Elliot School Putney is still being considered. Gary Doolan, GMB officer, said "GMB condemns Gove's decision to approve 21 out of 22 applications to sell school playing field. Gove has cynically delayed giving the go ahead for the sale of five acres of playing fields at Elliot School in Putney till the Olympics are over. What kind of message is that sending to parents and children while the Olympics at still on in Britain? The sale of 21 playing fields is not the way to develop tomorrows young Olympians. The legacy of the Olympics and the need to "Inspire a generation" will be short lived if the facilities that tomorrows generation depend on are sold to the highest bidder or developer. Lord Sebastian Coe was adamant that we need to continue to invest in sports so as to carry on the fantastic work of the London Olympic Games. The proposed sell off of this educational land is no more than a smack in the face not only Lord Coe's statement, but the future generation of Britain's Olympians. GMB has campaigned to stop the sale of five acres at Elliot School playing fields in Putney which Wandsworth Tories want to use to pay for refurbishment of the school. See GMB releases in notes to editors for background. On the sale of the playing fields the law is that such sales can only be as a last resort when funding is required. This is not the case as Wandsworth Council have nearly £200 million in reserves and has found £30m to buy sites for free schools in the borough. These 5 acres are in an area of the borough where the average household income is less than 2/3rds of the London average. The council was well aware in 2010 that Elliot needed investment when a £40.3 million refurbishment was cancelled by the newly elected government. Yet a few months after that the council spent £13m million from reserves to buy the site in Battersea for a new school in an area where the household income are nearly double the London average. With decisions like this the public schools will continue to supply the Olympians". End contact: Gary Doolan 07852 182 358 or 0207 391 6700 or Paul Maloney 07801 343839 or Paul Grafton 07714 239 092 or GMB press office 07921 289880 or Carmel Pollen on 07946 172461 in Wandsworth. Notes to Editors 1) Michael Gove has the power to prevent the sale under Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 which effectively empowers the Secretary of State to protect school playing fields in England from disposal or change of use. 2)The Secretary of State's revised guidance: the "Protection of School Playing Fields and Land for Academies" issued on 8 November, 2004 gives a general presumption against the need to dispose or change the use of school playing fields. The guidance states that "Only sport pitches surplus to needs of the local schools and their communities may be sold and that all proceeds should be reinvested into improving sport or educational facilities." Further, the 2004 Guidance ensures that: . the sale of a playing field must be an absolute last resort, with Authorities having to demonstrate they have exhausted all other sources of funding for the proposed new school sports facility; . the sale proceeds must be used to improve outdoor facilities wherever possible. Local Authorities will have to provide first class outdoor facilities before introducing new indoor facilities; and . new sport facilities must be sustainable for at least 10 years, with agreements being required to ensure new facilities will be available to pupils in the long term. 3) A £40.3m investment was planned to refurbish Elliot school and was due to start in summer 2011 under the Building Schools for the Future programme. This investment was cancelled in summer 2010 under Tory spending cuts. 4) Research carried out by the GMB, the catchment area of Elliot School has an average income of 68% of the London average, whereas the catchment area of Bolingbroke School will have an average income of 186% of London's average." Copy of GMB release re Elliot playing fields sale Feb 2012 GMB DEMO AT WANDSWORTH COUNCIL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY (29 FEB) TO APPROVE SALE 5 ACRES OF PLAYING FIELDS AT PUTNEY SCHOOL TO FUND REFURBISHMENT Selling 5 acres of school playing fields to fund the refurbishment of one of the council's own secondary schools while finding up to £30m to pay for a new Bolingbroke free school in the borough is an absolute scandal says GMB GMB, the union for school support staff, staged a protest demonstration outside the Finance and Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the London Borough of Wandsworth, which meets at 7.30pm on Wednesday 29 th February 2012. The Committee is being asked to approve the sale of 5 acres of playing fields at Elliot school in Putney to pay for the refurbishment of the school which the council owns. See notes to editors below for details. Last year a GMB report showed that the average annual household income of parents near the Elliot School was 63% of the London average household income. The paper to the committee says "The total area of the site exceeds the DfE Building Bulletin guidance for external area (with external pitches provided off site) and it is proposed to market and dispose of the surplus land for residential development to fund the main scheme. The Secretary of State's approval under Section 77 of the School Standards and Frameworks Act 1998 would be required for both the transfer of the playing fields area to the Council and the onward disposal to a developer. An application will also need to be made to the Secretary of State at the same time for a Direction of Transfer of the land to the Council and the onward long lease to the Academy. " Carillion Construction UK Ltd commenced work in December 2011 on a £13.2 million 73 week contract to convert the old Bolingbroke Hospital site, in Battersea, into a new free school. The first phase is due to open in September 2012. Wandsworth Council last year acquired the site from the NHS for £13 million using its own funds which it has now leased to ARK for 125 years. Last year GMB demonstrated that the average annual income of parents living near this new school was up to 186% of the London average household income GMB, the union for school support staff, is calling on residents in the Borough to join the protest tomorrow to oppose these plans to sell these 5 acres of playing fields at Elliot School in Putney and to ask that the refurbishment is funded in another way when the Committee meets tomorrow evening. GMB will take the campaign against the sale of the school playing fields into the national arena as it has yet to be agreed by the Michael Gove Secretary of State for Education. Paul Maloney GMB Senior Officer for school support staff said " GMB is calling for a protest tomorrow evening because The Tory Council plan to transfer resources to the "well off" from the "less well off" in the borough. Selling 5 acres of playing fields to fund the refurbishment of one of the council's own secondary schools while finding up to £30m to pay for a new Bolingbroke free school in the borough is an absolute scandal. These 5 acres are in an area of the borough where the average household income is less than 2/3rds of the London average. The council was well aware last year that Elliot needed investment when a £40.3 million refurbishment was cancelled by the newly elected government. Yet a few months after that the council announced that they were spending £13 million from reserves to buy the site in Battersea for a new school in an area where the household income are nearly double the London average. ARK is involved with both projects. ARK is a menace as far as education provision in Wandsworth is concerned. They had their fingers in the plans for an elite Bolingbroke free school until GMB opposition led to changes in the planned catchment area. Now they are up to their necks in these plans to sell these school playing fields. They claim to be on the side of the poor and disadvantaged kids. How does getting rid of playing space do that? Wandsworth council is nothing short of a thundering disgrace in proposing the sale of these playing fields. GMB is calling on the public in Wandsworth to oppose this asset stripping of publicly owned land used as playing field. As well as sale of outdoor playing fields the plan will also lead to the knocking down of one of the largest indoor sports halls in London and the loss of this amenity to the community. These are listed buildings and GMB will fight their demolition. We will not be alone. Whatever education outcomes are agreed for Elliot, and whether or not it becomes an academy, none should involve the sale of playing fields. That should be common ground for all involved. We must unite to save these school playing fields. The Finance and Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee must scrap these plans on Wednesday." Notes to editors The plan to sell the school playing fields and to turn Elliot school into an academy has yet to be agreed by the Michael Gove Secretary of State for Education. If the Committee does as requested Wandsworth Council will ask for the go ahead to sell these playing fields to fund the refurbishment of the existing building and make it into an academy school. The school charity ARK is party to these plans. ARK will be part of a rebranding of the school and will take over the new building and the school from September 2012. These playing fields are owned by the Elliot Trust which was established 19 months ago. The Trust partners are two other Wandsworth schools, Chestnut Grove, Ernest Bevan and the Institute of Education at Roehampton. At that time the Labour Government put in £700,000 to form the trust. A £40.3m investment was planned to refurbish Elliot school and was due to start in summer 2011 under the Building Schools for the Future programme. This investment was cancelled in summer 2010 under Tory spending cuts. It is now proposed that the land is returned from Elliot Trust to the council so that the playing fields can be sold to fund this new investment. As well as the plan being discussed by the Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, the 'proposal' has to go to the Secretary of State in January because Elliot is no longer a failing school and therefore cannot become a sponsored academy without the go ahead from his department.