NEW PAXTON PRIMARY PLANS
Gipsy Hill Federation have applied for full planning permission to demolish the existing Paxton primary school on Woodland Road and develop a new three-form entry school in a part-three / part four-storey building with ancillary playspace areas and multi-use game areas.
“The school is currently open on site and would remain fully operational throughout the construction period with the planned development deliberately phased to ensure that pupils remain unaffected by development process” says a planning statement to Lambeth in support of the application.
“The new school will provide 3,655m of educational space with c.3,409m of open and play space. “At full occupancy, the school will eventually accommodate 680 pupils to meet
the significant increase in demand for new primary school places in the local area. “This proposal will also have 75 full-time equivalent staff.
“Along with containing 23 classrooms from nursery level to year six, the school would also contain an array of additional rooms suited to a school of this size such as a dining hall, PE hall, multi-purpose room, music room and outdoor learning area.
“While the proposed development is four storeys in height, it would take advantage of the site’s sloped nature minimising its visual impact. “It is predominantly brick finished and sited to the north of the application site, which would be sympathetic to the nearby Gipsy Hill Conservation Area to the south and west.
“The applicant intends to start construction of the new buildings as soon as they have obtained all the necessary permits (planning, building regulations etc).
The planning statement prepared by planning consultants Nicholas Taylor and Associates on behalf of Extraspace Solutions, who have been appointed by Paxton primary school to undertake the construction works, adds: “Primary school places are at a premium in Lambeth, especially south of the borough and this is particularly acute at reception level.
“Lambeth council has a statutory obligation to provide sufficient primary school places for everyone in the borough. Consequently, the council has had to add a number of additional temporary classes in recent years to provide places for applicants.
“But this is only a temporary solution designed to supplement the more permanent solutions. “This proposal to expand Paxton.from one-form entry to three-form entry is a welcomed permanent solution.
“The current projected demand for places exceeds the published admissions number. “This proposal will go a long way in mitigating this shortage in the catchment area served by
the school.
“Lambeth council has a statutory duty to ensure that all school-age children have a place. “With the borough of Lambeth expected to increase by 15,594 residential units in the 2015-2025 period, there will be a correlating demand on school places which will need to be
remediated.
“The existing school consists of a main flat roof single storey block development with additional small permanent and semi-permanent buildings in place on site to accommodate increased with much of the outside space paved and stepped when circulating the site.
“There is also a recent nursery block located at the north-east corner of the site.
“The school does not take advantage of its sloped nature and with many of the surrounding houses and flat developments ranging in size (Woodland Hill are mostly three-storey while the flatted development immediately north of the site is seven storeys), this site has significant
potential to be redeveloped and expand while remaining in keeping with the surrounding area.”
The site has been the home of a school since 1887, the statement adds. “Originally a red
bricked four storey school was constructed on site and served as Woodland Road elementary primary school.
“This building was eight rooms (two rooms per floor) with no ancillary rooms such as hall or staff rooms. “Following several inspections by the county council, the school was deemed inappropriate to function to a sufficient standard and was ordered to be knocked down in place of a new modern school.
“The building proposed in its place is the school which is still in place now. “The new school was finished in 1973. “It was built using pre-fabricated concrete walls, typical of 1970s architecture. It was a single storey building with a modern open plan layout.
“An extension was added in the early 1980s to include a nursery with its own outdoor play area. “In 2000, the school underwent major re-development, increasing the overall size of the building.
“Further development in 2009 saw the re-modelling of the Nursery playground and the
installation of a new community room and ICT suite.”
The Gipsy Hill federation says that over the past six years it has grown into a family of five schools, all led and managed by their own head of school. Apart from Paxton they are: Kingswood primary, Gipsy Road; Elm Wood, Carnac Street, West Norwood; Crawford, Camberwell; and Fenstanton, Abbots Park SW2.
The federation are also currently working in partnership with Glenbrook primary school, Clapham Park.
To access the planning application please go to lambeth.gov planning and key in postcode reference: SE19 1PA
