1

Welcome

Welcome to this second public exhibition about proposals for a new primary and secondary school on the Thames Water Depot site on Lea Bridge Road.It has been organised by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) alongside REAch2 Academy Trust, who would run the primary school, and the Lion Academy Trust, who would run the secondary school.

Earlier this Summer, we asked for your views on our initial proposals for the site. Thank you to everyone who took part in this first consultation, we have taken your views into account and you can see our response to the feedback we received further along at this exhibition.

Since the first consultation, we have continued to work on the designs for the two schools. We would now like to hear your thoughts on these more detailed designs before we submit a planning application this Autumn.

We have therefore organised this second public consultation so that you have an opportunity to:

• see the feedback we received and our response to this.

• view the detailed plans for the two schools.

• find out about the two Trusts, their experience and the type of schools that they would like to open here.

• understand the need for school places in this area.

• find out more about the Thames Water Depot site and the project’s timetable.

• ask any questions you may have and let us know your thoughts before we submit a planning application.

A comments card is available here today and online at our website www.leabridgedepot.co.uk. Members of the project team are available to answer questions.

Current site

Lea Bridge Road

800m

2

Site context

KeyChapel End Primary School (REAch2)

Barclay Primary School (LAT)

Hillyfield Primary Academy School – Hill Site (REAch2)

Hillyfield Primary Academy School – Park Site (REAch2)

Sybourn Primary School (LAT)

Thomas Gamuel Primary School (LAT)

Woodside Academy (REAch2)

Lee Valley nearest bus stop

Source: Google Earth

Lea Bridge Station

123

Stratford International

Olympic Stadium

7

6

5

2

1

4567

3

4

River Lea

River Lea Navigation

Walthamstow Central Station

1

Lee Valley Ice Centre

1

Hackney

Waltham Forest

Newham

Leyton Station

Clapton StationThe Site

3

The Thames Water site

The Lion Academy Trust and REAch2 Academy Trust both received funding approval from the Government to open their respective schools in March 2015.Following that approval the Education Funding Agency (EFA) was tasked with finding appropriate sites for each school in Waltham Forest.

A number of sites were explored and in April 2016 the EFA acquired a material and plant storage Depot from Thames Water on Lea Bridge Road.

We believe that this is the right site for these schools as it is:

1. the closest available site that can meet the strong need and demand for school places in the local area.

2.a brownfield site almost completely covered in hardstanding that can be turned into open green space for use as playing fields, which would be available to the public outside of school hours.

3. located within a key growth area for residential development.

However, the site does have a number of constraints which we have considered as we have developed initial designs for the new schools. These include:

1. two locally listed buildings – the Red House and Former Turbine House – on the site, which we will retain. We are considering future uses for these buildings.

2.the need for Thames Water to continue to use the site for underground water storage as it provides a valuable source of drinking water locally.

3.respect for Metropolitan Open Land despite its concrete and industrial character as part of the Lee Valley Regional Park.

4.other constraints including below ground power tunnels and wayleaves for National Grid, Thames Water, the Canal & River Trust and BT.

Site constraints

Current site

Current site

London Power Tunnel Easement

Thames Water Easement

Practical Buildable Area

Source: Google Earth

4

Our previous consultation

Earlier this Summer, we asked for your views on the principle of locating a new primary and secondary school on this site as well as our initial designs for the schools.This consultation included two public exhibitions on 16 and 19 July 2016 at the Waterworks Centre and we hand delivered flyers or sent letters to almost 5,000 local people. We also advertised in the local newspapers for two weeks running.

Thanks to all those that came to the events and the many more that viewed our proposals on our consultation website – www.leabridgedepot.co.uk.

We received a large number of comments which we have now reviewed and used to inform the design process for the schools.

As a reminder, we are proposing the two schools on this site as they will contribute to meeting the need for school places in the borough and this is the closest available site to meet this need.

At a primary level• The London Borough of Waltham Forest has

indicated that a new primary school is needed in the Leytonstone/Leyton area.

• This is a densely populated part of the borough with a high birth rate, as the table adjacent shows.

• A new two-form entry school on the site will meet the current need with further school places needed in future.

At a secondary level:• The secondary school age population in the borough

is forecast to increase by 41% between 2012/13 and 2023/24.

• A new eight-form secondary school is needed by 2017/18.

• Beyond 2017/18 further new school places will be needed, including new secondary schools.

Source: https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/documents/freeschools-appB-needforplaces.pdf

*Surplus/Deficit figures may not take into account planned expansion of existing schools. As a result of the high birth rate and densely populated area there is a high forecasted deficit for primary school places.

Primary school places – forecasted deficit

Year Projected intake

Reception places available

Surplus/ Deficit of places*

Surplus/ Deficit as FE*

2014/15 1,258 1,200 -58 -2

2015/16 1,317 1,200 -117 -4

2016/17 1,292 1,200 -92 -3

2017/18 1,281 1,200 -81 -3

2018/19 1,344 1,200 -144 -5

2019/20 1,353 1,200 -153 -5

Secondary school places – forecasted deficit

YearYear 7 projected intake

Year 7 places available

Surplus/ Deficit of places*

Surplus/ Deficit as FE*

2014/15 2,814 2,820 6 0

2015/16 2,904 2,820 -84 -3

2016/17 2,961 2,820 -141 -5

2017/18 3,129 2,820 -309 -10

2018/19 3,338 2,820 -518 -17

2019/20 3,455 2,820 -635 -21

2020/21 3,486 2,820 -666 -22

2021/22 3,591 2,820 -771 -26

2022/23 3,760 2,820 -940 -31

2023/24 3,690 2,820 -870 -29

2024/25 3,657 2,820 -837 -28

2025/26 3,837 2,820 -1017 -34

5

What you told us

The feedback we have received so far has generally been supportive of the principle of locating the two schools on this site.

Some of the supportive quotes include:

More schools needed, great idea, I really hope

you take this through and get planning permission.

This site is clearly in need of development, and this

is good sure profiling for schools. I agree with the

development of these new schools in the

area. It’s a great way to utilise the current

space.Will provide local school

hub currently lacking.

Very good use of space that is currently

lacking.

Excellent plans – given lack of school places.

Comment Project team response

Open space for everyone needed (teenagers, older community, residents, families etc.) not just school children

Our proposals will mean that the site will be turned into mainly green open space. Aproximately 60% of the site will be grass, while currently it is just 4%.

This open space will be available to everyone, not just schoolchildren, outside of school hours. Please see our ‘community use’ display for more information.

Concerned it will increase traffic/parking in local area (as well as during construction)

Please see our ‘transport’ display for further information about how we will be addressing this issue.

We are also completing a full transport assessment and this will be submitted with our planning application.

Concerns about the site’s Metropolitan Open Land designation

The site, although currently designated as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) has been subject to the construction of waterworks in the mid-19th Century that were shut down. It was then converted into a depot in the 1970s, which is predominantly hardstanding.

In order for the site to become publically accessible parkland, a considerable sum of money would need to be spent to buy the site, if it was for sale, and then return it to green space. Our proposals for these schools return the majority of the site (over 60%) back into open space and playing fields. These would also be available to the community outside of school hours and we believe this is the best outcome locally.

Further details of cycling parking needed

Lea Bridge Road will soon be improved for cycling as part of the Council’s ‘Mini-Holland/Enjoy Waltham Forest’ proposals.

The schools will provide safe and secure cycle parking for staff and pupils. More information about this can be found on our ‘transport’ display.

Further information about how the natural environment on the site will be protected (including light pollution)

Our proposals will considerably increase the amount of green space on the site, please see our ‘environment’ display for further information on this. This will include new trees, shrubs, perennial planting and meadow seed mixes on the site, which will provide a range of new wildlife habitats. We will also be repairing the river bank and treating invasive weeds.Any external lighting we propose on the site will take into account the potential impact on local ecology.

Understanding there is a need/demand for school places, but believe that this is not the most appropriate site

The two Trusts received approval from the Government to open their respective schools in March 2015. Following that approval the EFA was tasked with finding appropriate sites for each school in Waltham Forest.

We explored a number of sites and in December 2015 the EFA acquired this site as it is the closest available site that can meet the need and demand for school places in the area.

Would like to see ‘The Black Path’ (a historic route across the marshes) reinstated

The Black Path was a historic route that once passed through the Lea Bridge area, including a small section that passed through the north western corner of our site.

The existing access route between Lea Bridge Road and the weir broadly corresponds to the route of the path and this is not impacted by our proposals. Other existing routes to the east of the site, also not affected by our proposals, form part of a well-established north/south link through the wider Lee Valley Regional Park.

Would like to see public access to the river’s edge

There is currently no public access to the River Lea through the Depot site, save for access to the weir and Former Turbine House. The water level is 2m down from the bank and the entire perimeter has a concrete flood defence wall with a metal fence above which is being retained as the secure site boundary.

We are proposing to improve the river bank by removing nuisance weeds and roots that are damaging it and adding new trees and planting to increase biodiversity. However we are unable to provide public access to the river bank as it would create safeguarding issues for the schools. There would be no through route along the river bank to the Lee Valley Park so any access we did provide would have limited purpose.

A desire for a new green bridge to cross the Lea Bridge Road

This would be outside of the funding provided by the EFA for the provision of education facilities and outside of the site boundary on land not owned by the EFA. There are already well positioned pedestrian crossing points close to the site. We therefore do not believe that there is a requirement for this. Please see our ‘environment’ board (board 13) for more information on our green measures.

We have also received a number of comments, concerns and suggestions about our proposals and have provided responses to these in the table to the right.

6

The proposals

Current site

Lea Bridge Road

Current proposals

7

The primary school

The new primary school on the site would be able to accommodate 420 school children from ages four to 11, within the two-storey building. This would see two classes per year of 30 pupils.It will be a modern purpose-built school with state of the art facilities designed to inspire students. We would expect to employ around 32 teaching and support staff.

At the last exhibition we explained that the school’s position on the site, parallel to Lea Bridge Road, would help it control access to its open spaces to the rear.

The images on this display show what the new primary school would look like.

The community will be able to use some of the school’s facilities outside of school hours. At present we would expect this to include the main school hall and the junior football pitch.

Subject to planning permission, the primary school will open in temporary facilities in September 2017 and permanent buildings in September 2018.

Ground Floor

First Floor

8

About REAch2 Academy Trust

REAch2 Academy Trust would run the new primary school, which would be called Athena Primary Academy.The Trust already run three schools in Waltham Forest. Our founding school is Hillyfield Primary Academy, which was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in 2015.

We also sponsor two other schools in the Borough. The Woodside Primary Academy has been recently rated Outstanding by Ofsted, while Chapel End Junior Academy is performing at levels above the national average at Key Stage 2.

We have a proven record of providing excellent schools. 70% of the schools that we run that have been inspected by Ofsted are rated as either Good or Outstanding.

Our academies are dedicated to creating a learning environment which strongly reflects the REAch2 Touchstones; seven principles which make REAch2 academies unique are:

• Inclusion: We acknowledge and celebrate that all people are different and can play a role in the REAch2 family whatever their background or learning style.

• Enjoyment: Providing learning that is relevant, motivating and engaging releases a child’s curiosity and fun, so that a task can be tackled and their goals achieved.

• Learning: Children and adults will flourish in their learning and through learning discover a future that is worth pursuing.

• Responsibility: We act judiciously with sensitivity and care. We don’t make excuses, but mindfully answer for actions and continually seek to make improvements.

• Leadership: REAch2 aspires for high quality leadership by seeking out talent, developing potential and spotting the “possible” in people as well as the “actual”.

• Inspiration: Inspiration breathes life into our schools. Introducing children to influential experiences of people and places, motivates them to live their lives to the full.

• Integrity: We recognise that we lead by example and if we want children to grow up to behave appropriately and with integrity then we must model this behaviour.

We have a wealth of experience in opening new schools, having opened seven already with a further two due to open in September 2016. Two of those schools have since been inspected by Ofsted, both achieving a rating of Good, and we have every confidence that we can run an outstanding primary school on the Thames Water Depot site.

School Name Combined level 4+ Reading Writing Maths

All Schools – England 80% 91% 94% 90%

All Schools – Waltham Forest 81% 93% 95% 92%

Hillyfield Primary Academy 89% 96% 99% 95%

The Woodside Primary 89% 95% 99% 96%

Chapel End Junior Academy 81% 95% 97% 91%

Source: www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk

9

The secondary school

The new secondary school on the site would be able to accommodate 1,040 school children from 11-16 and 360 Sixth Form places, over the three-storey building. This is eight classes per year of 26 pupils.We would expect to employ around 180 people at the school, with around 60-70 teaching staff.

As we explained at the last exhibition, the school has been positioned parallel to Lea Bridge Road to enable it to best control access to its open spaces to the rear.

The images on this display illustrate how the secondary school would look. The school will include dedicated teaching space for:

• Food Technology

• Graphic Design and Electronics

• A Drama Studio

• A Music Room

• Learning Resource Areas

• Science Laboratories

The school will also have a number of sporting and other facilities both external and internally, including:

• A full-size football pitch

• A full-size cricket pitch

• A three-court multi-use games area

• An internal four-court sports hall

All of these facilities will be available to the community for use out of school hours.

Subject to planning permission, the secondary school will open in temporary facilities in September 2017 and permanent buildings in Spring 2019.

Ground Floor

First Floor

Second Floor

10

About the Lion Academy Trust

The Lion Academy Trust (LAT) would operate the new secondary school, which would be called Barclay Secondary Free School.Formed in 2012, LAT already run three successful schools across Waltham Forest, including Barclay Primary School in Leyton rated by Ofsted as Outstanding in April 2016.

LAT continue to receive numerous awards and recognition for their successes achieved in turning around failing schools.

• Barclay Primary School has moved from being in the bottom 2% of schools in 2012 to being in the top 3% within four years.

• Nearby Sybourn Primary School was judged as “requiring improvement” prior to the Trust’s takeover in 2013, but was rated as ‘Good with Outstanding Leadership and Management’ in 2015;

• Thomas Gamuel Primary in Walthamstow, converted in 2014, is now on an upward trajectory towards meeting and exceeding national standards.

The new secondary school on the Thames Water Depot site will have the same vision and ethos as our other schools. This is based on a no-excuses culture and a clear vision that the school will be outstanding by:

• instilling an excitement and life-long love of learning, fostering independent thought and the courage to think and act differently in all our students.

• ensuring each student receives a wholly personalised and tailored learning experience, enabling them to achieve the highest academic potential and to have the aspiration underpinned by confidence in their abilities.

• developing a strong sense of community and desire to work to improve the quality of the environment locally and globally.

• providing excellent pastoral care, by ensuring every student in their learning career is supported and nurtured with skilled mentoring to develop the best understanding of their strengths, passions, and purpose.

School Name Combined level 4+ Reading Writing Maths

All Schools – England 80% 91% 94% 90%

All Schools – Waltham Forest 81% 93% 95% 92%

Barclay Primary School 90% 94% 100% 98%

Sybourn Primary School 61% 88% 100% 78%

Thomas Gamuel Primary School 75% 91% 96% 90%

Source: www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk

11

Transport

Lea Bridge Road has good local transport links, including regular bus services, the re-opened Lea Bridge station and the upcoming Mini-Holland/Enjoy Waltham Forest proposals.These transport links will encourage parents, students and staff to travel to the school by walking, cycling or taking public transport.

We do recognise that Lea Bridge Road is a busy and well-used main route so we have carefully considered:

A.how vehicles will access the site

B.how the Trusts will encourage walking, cycling and public transport use and discourage private vehicle use.

Accessing the siteWe are proposing a one-way access route for any vehicles coming onto the site. There will be a separate entrance and exit, which will ensure vehicles can easily and quickly enter or exit the site without clashing with other traffic or causing delays. There will be no drop-off points on Lea Bridge Road.

We believe this will be a better situation compared to the Depot’s previous industrial uses as there will no longer be large commercial vehicles regularly entering and exiting the site.

We are proposing 63 parking spaces for staff across the two schools and 260 secure cycle parking spaces.

Promoting sustainable travelIn our experience the majority of people coming to either the primary or the secondary school will travel by sustainable means (ie. public transport, walking or cycling).

Both of the Trusts already run schools in the Borough and have successful travel plans in place to encourage staff, parents and pupils to leave their vehicles at home.

Some of the measures that the Trusts are looking to employ include:

• A ‘walking bus’ so that children can be dropped off away from school and then safely walk in.

• Safe and secure bicycle storage.

• Bicycle training for students.

• Incentives to walk or cycle to school.

• Staggered school start times.

• A breakfast club to further stagger arrivals at school.

• Staff car sharing.

• Clear signage indicating where parking is and isn’t allowed.

• Information sent to parents.

12

Community use agreement

The two Trusts are committed to providing access for the community to each of the school’s facilities outside of school hours.We are currently putting together a Community Use Agreement, which we will submit as part of our planning application for the site.

This will be a legal document establishing the facilities that will be available to the community at the schools, the permitted hours that these facilities can be used by the community and the standard fees and charges that would be set.

These fees would be used to repair, maintain, develop and manage these facilities and to cover the staffing and booking costs that will be incurred by the schools.

We expect that the community will be able to use the following facilities at the schools:

• Primary and secondary school halls

• A four-court sports hall

• A three-court multi-use games area

• A full-size football pitch and junior football pitch

• A full-size cricket pitch

The Community Use Agreement will ensure that the community has excellent access to the schools’ brand new facilities outside of school hours.

13

The environment

The Depot site is designated as Metropolitan Open Land and is within the Lee Valley Regional Park.However, the site has been predominantly hardstanding since the 1970s and has been used as a waterworks since the mid-19th Century.

Building the two schools is the only viable way in which the Depot site can be returned to a largely green and open space.

Our proposals will mean that:• the amount of green space will increase from

approximately 4% of the site to over 60% of the site.

• the increase in green space will significantly enhance the green wildlife corridor running along the Lee Valley.

• the majority of trees around the site will be retained and new trees planted to compensate for the small number that need to be removed.

• the presence of a large amount of Japanese Knotweed and Giant Hogweed, both fast growing invasive species, on the site will be treated and removed where possible.

As part of our proposals for the site, we are committed to minimising our impact on the wildlife in the area. We will take measures to reduce noise and light pollution at night.

We will submit a detailed environmental statement as part of our planning application for the site.

Primary school boundary

Lee Valley Ice Centre

Lea Bridge Road

Majority of existing trees retained

New tree plantingNew green habitats for wildlife across the site

Vegetation along river bank to be retained and improved

14

Thank you for coming to this consultation event today.We want to know what you think about our detailed plans for these two new schools before we submit a planning application.

We will listen to your feedback and take this into account, where possible, as we evolve our plans over the coming weeks.

We aim to submit a planning application this Autumn, and if successful, the schools will open in temporary facilities on the site in September 2017 with permanent modern school buildings following by 2018 and 2019.

A construction logistics management plan will also be prepared and approved by the local authority to manage construction traffic.

Timetable and next steps

We hope that you will find this information useful today.

Please do let us know what you think by filling out a comments card and leaving it with us or sending it back via our Freepost address (the details for which are on the comments card).

Alternatively you can:

• email us at: leabridge@londoncommunications.co.uk

• leave us a voicemail message, which we will respond to, on our freephone number 0800 044 3916.

• visit our website: www.leabridgedepot.co.uk and complete an online feedback form.

Permanent modern school buildings open

Submission of planning application

Autumn 2016

Temporary facilities are

open

Autumn 2017 2018 – 2019