At a meeting of the Forum on 3 July 2025 the School Place Planning Update Report included a statement on the position of Livingstone Academy after the Inspector’s decision to grant planning permission at the Stag Brewery site.
“4.15 To support the Council to meet the sufficiency duty to provide secondary school places,
in March 2018, the DfE contacted Richmond Council with the proposal to relocate to
Mortlake the 11-19 element of Livingstone Academy West London, a 4-19 free school
approved in 2016 to open in Tower Hamlets. As Tower Hamlets subsequently decided there
was no longer a basic need for more places there, the DfE decided to move the school, as
11-19 only, to Richmond, where they knew that a new school was needed in the east of the
borough. A site, as part of the Stag Brewery redevelopment, was potentially available, so
they made their relocation proposal on that basis, which was agreed by the Council. The
redevelopment, including the new school, has been considered a number of times due to
objections but at the end of 2024 it was subject to a planning inquiry and was subsequently
approved by the Planning Inspectorate in May 2025. However, prior to the inquiry
commencing, the DfE announced that they would be undertaking a review of all proposed
free schools that were not yet under construction – this includes the proposed secondary
school. We are still awaiting a decision from the DfE.
“4.16 The case for the new school is included within the latest iteration of the school place
planning strategy and is based on demand for places, lack of capacity in the existing schools
and expected pupil yield from the many new developments planned in the borough.
“4.17 If the school is not approved then the council does not have sufficient capital available
to permanently expand existing schools in the borough; neither do the schools in the areas
of high demand have enough space to be expanded without major and highly disruptive
rebuilds. As such, we would look to work with schools to support demand through
temporary provision i.e. bulge classes where necessary.”
The mood within the Council seems to have become more pessimistic about DfE approval recently, on the basis that central government funding is limited. Or might they have heard whispers that the case presented above is not considered as strong as they might like to think. As some of the evidence given to the Inquiry argued.
