Please cease with the scandalous idea of building the new Turing House Free (Secondary) School for Teddington catchment area in Whitton
Please cease with the scandalous idea of building the new Turing House Free (Secondary) School for Teddington catchment area in Whitton
The Issue
Turing House Free School (TH) was set up by visionary parents and friends in Teddington in January 2012 with sponsorship from Russell Education Trust (RET). Vince cable expresses his interest in the concept of the school in March 2013 and writes to (Former) Education Secretary Michael Gove backing the idea. TH submit their application to the Department for Education (DfE). May 2013 the DfE approve TH for the opening of their new school in 2014.
The Admissions Point would be Brunswick Close, Twickenham. Note that for the 2016 Admissions, the Admissions Point will be Somerset Gardens, 1.0 mile FURTHER into Teddington. December 2013 and negotiations for the new school site continue after the DfE make an offer on the land. These negotiations subsequently fall through. March 2014, TH opening deferred until 2015. February 2015, Richmond Council, Education Funding Agency (EFA) & TH have been in discussions and have pinpointed two possible sites as the permanent location for their secondary school. April 2015, TH announce temporary school site will be in Livingston House, Queens Road, Teddington whilst a permanent site is looked for. The new secondary school will house up to 1,100 children, due to open for the September 2015 admissions. Plans are to add a 6th Form by 2020 and if it warrants it, TH will apply to DfE for a Primary School to be added to the site.
This school is for children living in the catchment area of Fulwell, North Teddington and West Twickenham. There would be an 80:20 split in favour of Teddington and surrounding areas with a mere 20% of places allocated to other children.
Richmond Council have been in secret talks with the EFA, Turing House and all concerned and have pinpointed the horse grazing ground behind Bridge Farm Nursery on Hospital Bridge Road in Whitton as one of the two sites to permanently house the new secondary school, the Whitton site land is classed as Metropolitan Open Land; Land designated MOL is afforded the same level of protection as the Metropolitan Green Belt. Even though the Whitton site is within Richmond Council boundaries it is owned by Hounslow Council.
“The Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938 permitted local authorities around London to purchase land to be protected as open space and enter into covenants with landowners that open spaces would not be given over to development.”
The second site is the old Imperial College (IC) sports field in Udney Park Road, Teddington. This site is right in the heart of Teddington, nearer to where school places are desperately needed, and is currently up for sale. The IC site is easily accessible with numerous bus routes running through, including the 33, 281, 285, 681, R68; also only an 8 minute walk from Teddington Station. This site is a massive 13 ACRES, more than enough room to house a school and a large sports facility. This land is classed as “Other Open Land of Townscape Importance”, nowhere near as importance or significant as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), which the Whitton site is and recognised in every strategic planning document in London. The term “Other Open Land of Townscape Importance” would appear to be Richmond Council’s own cobbled together terminology, meaning nothing and carrying no weight outside Richmond Borough.
In Teddington, there has been massive opposition from the surrounding residents and sports clubs that all use the IC sports field, they do not want the sports field being built on. There is an old legal covenant on the field when it was gifted by Lord Beaverbrook - that the land be always used for sporting activities. There are numerous posts on the internet to this affect. Numerous Teddington lobbying groups and consortiums exist (including “Space to Play”, “Friends of Udney Park Playing Fields”) that are all bearing weight on the relevant bodies. FUPPF applied to Richmond Council to have the site classed as an ”Asset of Community Value” which the Council quite rightly rejected on 12-10-2014 as it does not meet the first test under Section 88(1) of the Localism Act 2011.
Space to Play (a consortium of local sports clubs, schools and residents whose only self-serving goal (I quote) “is simple – to turn the entirety of the Imperial College Playing Fields into a much needed sports facility that is run by and for the community of Teddington”, completely blinkered to the fact that a school is desperately needed right there) have put in a private bid for the land even though they have insufficient funds to purchase it, hence the begging bowl on their website. Knights Frank will be auctioning off the land on behalf of IC, auction anticipated to end in mid-April 2015. Despite the covenant in place I suspect that IC will sell to the highest bidder, hence Knights Frank marketing the land for possible use as C2, C3, and D1 etc.
Because of this strong opposition in Tedddington the powers that be have also pinpointed the Whitton site as another potential. It appears that the Teddington sporting groups are quite happy to try and save their MASSIVE sports field for their exclusive use and would be quite willing and happy to see the new “visionary” school dumped elsewhere and carry on regardless. Richmond Council is spear-heading the campaign to build on the Whitton site.
All the Teddington, Fullwell and Twickenham parents who will then suffer when they have to fight traffic every morning to try and get their children to school, along with all the other parents ferrying their children to the other SIX schools within that one small area (approximately 2,672 children) across the A316 and up Hospital Bridge Road and straight into traffic hell. It's all very we'll LBRUT stating that they would provide buses (in talks with Transport for London) to ferry their children to school - you'd need at least 10 buses !! - 10 buses coming along that route is laughable, if you lived there you'd know why.
Not to mention the winter months when it's cold and dark, trying that journey by whatever transport means would be fraught with danger, especially Year 7 children. I have two children and I would be worried sick.
It's too far to walk to school, cycling that route would be suicidal, if you drive then I feel for you.
School numbers in locality
Twickenham Academy, 766
Bishop Perrin Primary School, 210
St Edmunds Catholic Primary School, 418
Nelson Primary School, 467
Heathfield Infants, 425
Heathfield Juniors, 386
Total 2,672 pupils in the vicinity of the Whitton site, not to mention The Heathlands School just 0.9 mile over in Hounslow Borough with 1,810 pupils.
Two quotes from the public forums sum up the mood quite nicely:-
“Maybe the people objecting to this (IC) site, should suggest a better alternative before throwing their toys out of the pram”
“It's a big field behind a high fence with Private Property signs on it. It's been used, sparingly, by over privileged rugby playing medical students, private school children, and the one or two community groups who knew it existed. It has also been enjoyed as a very nice view by some very wealthy residents”
The Whitton site's only possible entrances would be either Bridge Farm Nursery (if it was flattened, we have privy information to say that it is staying), which is at the bottom of a blind hump back bridge (too dangerous), or (from information obtained) via Springfield Road. It is unclear whether a road would be cut straight through Heathfield Recreation Ground (Park) at the end of Springfield Road, demolishing 3rd Whitton Scout Groups hut in its wake, or through Berwick Close (impossible). Further, Springfield Road has one-way Cobbett Road coming towards it and meeting at the scout hut, along with all the traffic flow from Heathfield Infant and Junior Schools. To carve through this area for access to the site and allow construction traffic for upto two years would be pure madness and the roads would not cope, let alone the residents. Healthfield Recreation Gorund is an Open Green Space used daily and by local football clubs on weekends.
This proposal and entrance options is an absolutely scandalous idea, Not only are all interested parties considering building a school in Whitton for children predominately in the Teddington catchment area (80% places to Teddington, 20% to Whitton) but they are further considering completely wrecking the surrounding area to do so, including part of an Open Green Space and Metropolitan Open Land.
There is no transport infrastructure for a school on the Whitton site, with only the 481 bus running through once an hour; both possible entrances to the site would be totally unsuitable and have a massive impact on the surrounding area. Traffic in the surrounding area is already gridlocked at school times with Heathfield Infant and Junior Schools within 300 feet, Twickenham Academy (which could be destabilized) just up the road, plus Bishop Perrin Primary, St Edmunds Catholic Primary, and Nelson Primary within 1/4 mile.
Adding a massive Secondary School into the mix will cause nothing but increased CHAOS and more GRIDLOCK. Whitton will become a car park.
The Whitton site is should not be built on, but apparently Richmond Council, EFA and others will ignore land designation and legislation and possibly help secure this site because the cries from Teddington residents and lobbying groups that are kicking up a fuss to protect their precious 13 acres of oversized sports field are too loud to ignore.
This new school for Teddington cannot be built in Whitton, a completely I'll-thought out idiotic idea.
Please sign this petition and agree that Turing House School needs to be built in Teddington, NOT Whitton.
You can also make your opinions heard by addressing
Vince Cable MP, Email: info@vincentcable.org.uk
Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, Email: contactholmember@parliament.uk
Tania Mathias, Conservative Candidate for Twickenham
Email: tania@tania4twickenham.co.uk
Twitter: @tania_mathias
Facebook: tania4twickenham
Russell Education Trust (RET)
Email: admin@russelleducationtrust.org.uk
Councillor Gareth Elliot, Conservative councillor for Whitton.
Councillor Grant Healy, Conservative councillor for Whitton
Lead scrutiny member for education
Councillor Paul Hodgins, Conservative councillor for Barnes
Strategic cabinet member for children's services and schools
plus the three Councillors for the Heathfield Ward
Alan Butler, Annie Hambidge and John Coombes
Cllr.AHambidge@richmond.gov.uk
The Issue
Turing House Free School (TH) was set up by visionary parents and friends in Teddington in January 2012 with sponsorship from Russell Education Trust (RET). Vince cable expresses his interest in the concept of the school in March 2013 and writes to (Former) Education Secretary Michael Gove backing the idea. TH submit their application to the Department for Education (DfE). May 2013 the DfE approve TH for the opening of their new school in 2014.
The Admissions Point would be Brunswick Close, Twickenham. Note that for the 2016 Admissions, the Admissions Point will be Somerset Gardens, 1.0 mile FURTHER into Teddington. December 2013 and negotiations for the new school site continue after the DfE make an offer on the land. These negotiations subsequently fall through. March 2014, TH opening deferred until 2015. February 2015, Richmond Council, Education Funding Agency (EFA) & TH have been in discussions and have pinpointed two possible sites as the permanent location for their secondary school. April 2015, TH announce temporary school site will be in Livingston House, Queens Road, Teddington whilst a permanent site is looked for. The new secondary school will house up to 1,100 children, due to open for the September 2015 admissions. Plans are to add a 6th Form by 2020 and if it warrants it, TH will apply to DfE for a Primary School to be added to the site.
This school is for children living in the catchment area of Fulwell, North Teddington and West Twickenham. There would be an 80:20 split in favour of Teddington and surrounding areas with a mere 20% of places allocated to other children.
Richmond Council have been in secret talks with the EFA, Turing House and all concerned and have pinpointed the horse grazing ground behind Bridge Farm Nursery on Hospital Bridge Road in Whitton as one of the two sites to permanently house the new secondary school, the Whitton site land is classed as Metropolitan Open Land; Land designated MOL is afforded the same level of protection as the Metropolitan Green Belt. Even though the Whitton site is within Richmond Council boundaries it is owned by Hounslow Council.
“The Green Belt (London and Home Counties) Act 1938 permitted local authorities around London to purchase land to be protected as open space and enter into covenants with landowners that open spaces would not be given over to development.”
The second site is the old Imperial College (IC) sports field in Udney Park Road, Teddington. This site is right in the heart of Teddington, nearer to where school places are desperately needed, and is currently up for sale. The IC site is easily accessible with numerous bus routes running through, including the 33, 281, 285, 681, R68; also only an 8 minute walk from Teddington Station. This site is a massive 13 ACRES, more than enough room to house a school and a large sports facility. This land is classed as “Other Open Land of Townscape Importance”, nowhere near as importance or significant as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), which the Whitton site is and recognised in every strategic planning document in London. The term “Other Open Land of Townscape Importance” would appear to be Richmond Council’s own cobbled together terminology, meaning nothing and carrying no weight outside Richmond Borough.
In Teddington, there has been massive opposition from the surrounding residents and sports clubs that all use the IC sports field, they do not want the sports field being built on. There is an old legal covenant on the field when it was gifted by Lord Beaverbrook - that the land be always used for sporting activities. There are numerous posts on the internet to this affect. Numerous Teddington lobbying groups and consortiums exist (including “Space to Play”, “Friends of Udney Park Playing Fields”) that are all bearing weight on the relevant bodies. FUPPF applied to Richmond Council to have the site classed as an ”Asset of Community Value” which the Council quite rightly rejected on 12-10-2014 as it does not meet the first test under Section 88(1) of the Localism Act 2011.
Space to Play (a consortium of local sports clubs, schools and residents whose only self-serving goal (I quote) “is simple – to turn the entirety of the Imperial College Playing Fields into a much needed sports facility that is run by and for the community of Teddington”, completely blinkered to the fact that a school is desperately needed right there) have put in a private bid for the land even though they have insufficient funds to purchase it, hence the begging bowl on their website. Knights Frank will be auctioning off the land on behalf of IC, auction anticipated to end in mid-April 2015. Despite the covenant in place I suspect that IC will sell to the highest bidder, hence Knights Frank marketing the land for possible use as C2, C3, and D1 etc.
Because of this strong opposition in Tedddington the powers that be have also pinpointed the Whitton site as another potential. It appears that the Teddington sporting groups are quite happy to try and save their MASSIVE sports field for their exclusive use and would be quite willing and happy to see the new “visionary” school dumped elsewhere and carry on regardless. Richmond Council is spear-heading the campaign to build on the Whitton site.
All the Teddington, Fullwell and Twickenham parents who will then suffer when they have to fight traffic every morning to try and get their children to school, along with all the other parents ferrying their children to the other SIX schools within that one small area (approximately 2,672 children) across the A316 and up Hospital Bridge Road and straight into traffic hell. It's all very we'll LBRUT stating that they would provide buses (in talks with Transport for London) to ferry their children to school - you'd need at least 10 buses !! - 10 buses coming along that route is laughable, if you lived there you'd know why.
Not to mention the winter months when it's cold and dark, trying that journey by whatever transport means would be fraught with danger, especially Year 7 children. I have two children and I would be worried sick.
It's too far to walk to school, cycling that route would be suicidal, if you drive then I feel for you.
School numbers in locality
Twickenham Academy, 766
Bishop Perrin Primary School, 210
St Edmunds Catholic Primary School, 418
Nelson Primary School, 467
Heathfield Infants, 425
Heathfield Juniors, 386
Total 2,672 pupils in the vicinity of the Whitton site, not to mention The Heathlands School just 0.9 mile over in Hounslow Borough with 1,810 pupils.
Two quotes from the public forums sum up the mood quite nicely:-
“Maybe the people objecting to this (IC) site, should suggest a better alternative before throwing their toys out of the pram”
“It's a big field behind a high fence with Private Property signs on it. It's been used, sparingly, by over privileged rugby playing medical students, private school children, and the one or two community groups who knew it existed. It has also been enjoyed as a very nice view by some very wealthy residents”
The Whitton site's only possible entrances would be either Bridge Farm Nursery (if it was flattened, we have privy information to say that it is staying), which is at the bottom of a blind hump back bridge (too dangerous), or (from information obtained) via Springfield Road. It is unclear whether a road would be cut straight through Heathfield Recreation Ground (Park) at the end of Springfield Road, demolishing 3rd Whitton Scout Groups hut in its wake, or through Berwick Close (impossible). Further, Springfield Road has one-way Cobbett Road coming towards it and meeting at the scout hut, along with all the traffic flow from Heathfield Infant and Junior Schools. To carve through this area for access to the site and allow construction traffic for upto two years would be pure madness and the roads would not cope, let alone the residents. Healthfield Recreation Gorund is an Open Green Space used daily and by local football clubs on weekends.
This proposal and entrance options is an absolutely scandalous idea, Not only are all interested parties considering building a school in Whitton for children predominately in the Teddington catchment area (80% places to Teddington, 20% to Whitton) but they are further considering completely wrecking the surrounding area to do so, including part of an Open Green Space and Metropolitan Open Land.
There is no transport infrastructure for a school on the Whitton site, with only the 481 bus running through once an hour; both possible entrances to the site would be totally unsuitable and have a massive impact on the surrounding area. Traffic in the surrounding area is already gridlocked at school times with Heathfield Infant and Junior Schools within 300 feet, Twickenham Academy (which could be destabilized) just up the road, plus Bishop Perrin Primary, St Edmunds Catholic Primary, and Nelson Primary within 1/4 mile.
Adding a massive Secondary School into the mix will cause nothing but increased CHAOS and more GRIDLOCK. Whitton will become a car park.
The Whitton site is should not be built on, but apparently Richmond Council, EFA and others will ignore land designation and legislation and possibly help secure this site because the cries from Teddington residents and lobbying groups that are kicking up a fuss to protect their precious 13 acres of oversized sports field are too loud to ignore.
This new school for Teddington cannot be built in Whitton, a completely I'll-thought out idiotic idea.
Please sign this petition and agree that Turing House School needs to be built in Teddington, NOT Whitton.
You can also make your opinions heard by addressing
Vince Cable MP, Email: info@vincentcable.org.uk
Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, Email: contactholmember@parliament.uk
Tania Mathias, Conservative Candidate for Twickenham
Email: tania@tania4twickenham.co.uk
Twitter: @tania_mathias
Facebook: tania4twickenham
Russell Education Trust (RET)
Email: admin@russelleducationtrust.org.uk
Councillor Gareth Elliot, Conservative councillor for Whitton.
Councillor Grant Healy, Conservative councillor for Whitton
Lead scrutiny member for education
Councillor Paul Hodgins, Conservative councillor for Barnes
Strategic cabinet member for children's services and schools
plus the three Councillors for the Heathfield Ward
Alan Butler, Annie Hambidge and John Coombes
Cllr.AHambidge@richmond.gov.uk
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Petition created on 10 April 2015