While Zelo Street investigations
into the sudden departure of head teacher Sam Naismith from the West London
Free School (WLFS), domain of the loathsome Toby Young, continue, another
eyebrow-raising item has come to my notice. WLFS opened in 2011 using temporary
premises, and a move to a permanent site has been promised, but not achieved –
until now.
You'll have to flog the vino to pay for it, Tobes
The WLFS started life in a site on Cambridge Grove, but the
following year, told that “We are
delighted to be unveiling our plans for Palingswick House. After some
restoration and refurbishment carried out by Willmott Dixon, this historic
building in the heart of Hammersmith will become our permanent home”. Palingswick
House is on King Street in Hammersmith.
And so it came to pass that the WLFS is still at Cambridge Grove, and nothing more appears to have been
heard about Palingswick House. In the meantime, the deeply subversive Guardian reported that the
average cost of setting up a Free School had risen to £6.6 million. Well,
have I got news for Alan Rusbridger and his team: Tobes’ Free School looks set
to blow that figure out of the water.
That’s because, in addition to all the dosh that has already
been expended on the Cambridge Grove site, and all those other items required
to get a school up and running, the WLFS has just committed to blowing a sum in excess of £9 million
– you read that right – of taxpayers’ money acquiring a recently refurbished
office building in Hammersmith that is definitely not Palingswick House.
Chartered
surveyors Hanover Green have announced “F&C
REIT and Berwick Hill Properties have sold the freehold of the recently
refurbished office building at 2 Bridge Avenue, Hammersmith, London W6 to the
West London Free School despite strong interest from office owner
occupiers”. So WLFS has had to go to the open market to find a suitable
building – and compete with commercial interests.
The announcement continues “The 15,896 sq ft four-storey property has been sold by the joint
venture partners through joint agents Hanover Green for £9.25 million. The
property was marketed to occupiers and owner occupiers and generated strong
interest with conversion to a new school winning the day”. So more
money will have to be spent to “convert”
the building to school use.
Palingswick House was being sold by the local authority, and
WLFS could have expected to secure the premises without entering a bidding war.
Moreover, two years ago property prices were not as buoyant as today. So not
only has Tobes’ school somehow failed to get its first choice building, it has
also had to pay top dollar and will have to shell out more still before moving.
And don’t forget, folks, it’s
we the taxpayers who are paying for it.
3 comments:
Interesting that toadmeister is not addressing this in any of his tweets - can't think why...........
I've refrained from contacting you about this before as it amounts to hearsay from your point of view - but as you have an independent source they can clarify the truth of the following (and you need not even publish this comment).
Sometime in the last year or so an acquaintance(s) paid a visit to the school with their child. They were first of all surprised to be able to wander straight through the gates into the premises without challenge - although there was a security guard to stop anyone getting into the new building under construction. Although they also thought it odd that there was absolutely no sign of any building work or related activity taking place there. The pupils in the playground seemed very noisy and somewhat unruly. They also found odd that one of the house names was Spartans - after the warriors?
They found a place elsewhere.
As I say, feel free to check out this with your own source.
Interesting that today(Thursday ) this buildings saga has finally made the London Evening Standard and the Hammersmith MP is on to it.
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