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Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 2 November 2007

School playground sold off for block of flats

A SCHOOL playground or a nine-storey block of flats – that was the choice facing a council planning committee.
The South Area planning committee, voted by 4 – 2, in favour of building 32 flats and a ground floor of shops on 318m of Hugh Myddelton Primary School playground in Clerkenwell.
Angry residents – supported by English Heritage – complained of a loss of open space, threats to their “extraordinarily beautiful views” and the damaging effect on the neighbouring Grade 2 listed Spa Green estate.
At the meeting at Finsbury Leisure Centre last night (Thursday) residents accused the council of riding roughshod over the Unitary Development Plan which forbids building on public or private open spaces except in exceptional circumstances.
Children’s services director Alison Critchley argued the sell-off would pay for much-needed refurbishments to High Myddelton Primary School, including two new classrooms and a library. She said: “We’re talking about substantial remodelling and improvement, not just a lick of paint. If there was an alternative way of finding funding for schools we would have done it. Islington will receive £25
of capital funding over three years, which sounds like a lot of money. This is £25 million for 45 schools.”
Meeting chairman councillor George Allan said: “We are correcting at long last a situation in which Hugh Myddelton is having to operate as one school in a building built as two schools on a variety of different levels.”
Cllr Kelly Peasnell added: “I did go to Hugh Myddelton school and it was awful getting around.”
David Hankins, chairman of governors, said: “I don’t disagree with people who don’t want to see change but we in education don’t have that luxury.”
Objections also came from the 20th Century Society.
Alison Peters, of Spa Green, who said the play area was an “important green lung” likened the sell-off to “allowing Hyde Park or Regent’s Park to sell off part of their space to fund their own improvements”.
Thomas Cooper, of Spa Green Tenants Management Office said: “Reducing the amount of playground will limit the school in the future.”
Planners admitted independent advice suggested funding to pay for improvement to schools could have been obtained elsewhere. But officers decided reluctantly this was the most viable option. Following the application, the committee unanimously approved plans to build a single storey extension to the school.

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