Controversial plans to add 300 homes to site rejected by council in April
The Greater London Authority has approved TP Bennett and Pick Everard’s £42m transformation of Phoenix Academy in west London.
The controversial rebuild of the school, which will add 307 homes to the site, was called in by Sadiq Khan in July after Hammersmith and Fulham council rejected the plans in April.
The scheme had faced significant local opposition due to the height of the two eight-story residential blocks and the perceived harm they would cause to the surrounding Old Oak and Wormholt Conservation Area.
The proposals for the Phoenix Academy Trust and developer London Square will also replace most of the school’s existing buildings but retain Bond Bryan’s ‘liquorice allsorts’ sixth form block, a local landmark which was completed in 2011.
Lawrence Foley, chief executive of Future Academies, which sponsors the school, said the GLA’s decision was a “hugely significant moment for Phoenix Academy, its pupils, staff and the wider community.”
Foley added: “This scheme is about much more than new buildings. It is about providing young people with the environment, facilities and opportunities they deserve to fulfil their potential. Just as importantly it will help families stay, and succeed, in the borough.
”We are grateful to the GLA for recognising the importance of securing the future of one of West London’s educational success stories while helping address London’s housing challenge.”
New school spaces will include 26 classrooms, a sports hall, a drama hall, assembly hall, dining hall, library, sixth form centre and outdoor spaces including a roof terrace.
The residential element of the scheme has a 37% share of affordable housing, provided as 90 social rent homes.
Located in Shepherd’s Bush, the Phoenix Academy was established as Phoenix High School in 1982 but steadily declined, being deemed by Ofsted in the mid 1990s as one of the UK’s eight most challenging schools.
Its fortunes were turned around following the appointment of William Atkinson as headmaster in 1994, who was knighted in 2008 for services to education and community relations.
It was converted into an academy in 2016, and now ranks among the top 2% of schools in the country with an Ofsted ranking of Outstanding in every category.
However, the school said there is now a growing back-log of maintenance work needed on its existing buildings including a large amount of asbestos which would cost up to £40m to remove, according to cost consultant Gleeds.
The Phoenix Academy Trust said it had turned to housebuilder London Square after it was told it was ineligible for the government’s school rebuilding programme, and would not receive funding for a redevelopment from Hammersmith and Fulham council.
The full project team includes landscape architect Exterior Architecture, civil engineer Waterman, planning consultant Quod, transport consultant Velocity, MEP engineer Hoare Lea, wind consultant WSP and townscape consultant The Townscape Consultancy.
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