FAQs
This page aims to address any questions you may have about the development. If you cannot find the answer to your query here, please do get in touch by contacting: edcity@arkonline.org.uk
Ark and Hammersmith and Fulham council will also be running a number of drop-in sessions for members of the local community to ask any questions and find out more about the project. The dates of these sessions are to be confirmed and will be updated on this website.
General
When will it be finished?
The total construction period will last about four years, with the school, Ark White City Primary Academy, delivered in the first two years as part of Phase 1. Construction will begin in Summer 2021, with the improved school facilities scheduled to open by the end of 2023. The entire development is projected to be completed by 2025.
How much will it cost?
The overall cost of the project is over £140m. The funding for the school and the office will be provided by Ark. The Council will fund the residential elements of the development. Both parties will share the costs of the construction of the youth facility, the nursery, the adult education facilities and the shared amenities. The Greater London Authority (GLA) is supporting the costs of new housing.
What consultation has taken place with the local community?
Following wide public consultation on the draft proposals in 2016 and 2017, planning permission for the project was granted in March 2018. As the project involves the reduction and change of use of ‘playing field land’, as defined in the School Standards Framework Act 1998, LBHF and Ark Schools were required to obtain consent from the Department of Education (DfE) for the proposals. This is separate to the planning application approval and is known as a Section 77 application. As part of the Section 77 application, Ark Schools and LBHF were required to consult with the local community and other interested parties in advance of submitting the application to the DfE. This formal phase of consultation closed on 15 April 2019.
Ark White City Primary Academy
Ark White City Primary Academy will be a two-form entry school and have the same capacity as Ark Swift Primary Academy, which it will replace, but with brand new facilities and the highest quality play spaces. Pupils will move straight from the existing school into the new facilities. The new school will also provide pupils with improved facilities for sports, performing arts, cookery and IT.
How will the current pupils be affected?
There will be no interruption to pupils’ education. During the build period, any impact on the existing school will be minimised as much as possible, with the contractor working closely throughout. Once the new school is completed, pupils will be able to move straight from the existing school into the new facilities. Once the move is completed and the school is in operation, the contractor will move on to Phase 2 of the site works and commence demolition of the old school buildings.
How will construction of the site be managed to ensure minimal impact on school children?
Ark Swift will be regularly updated on project timescales and necessary works. All necessary risk impact assessments and regular site reviews will be undertaken.
How long will construction take? When will the enhanced school be open?
The total construction period will last about four years, with the school delivered in the first two years as part of Phase 1. Construction will begin in the summer of 2021, with the improved school facilities scheduled to open in 2023. The entire development is projected to be completed by 2025.
Under these plans, is it true that the school will lose nearly half of its outdoor space?
The existing school playspace amounts to 7,124m2, with a further 692m2 included for the existing Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) totalling 7,816m2. The proposed school will offer playspace totalling 4,711m2 including a new purpose-built playground, with areas for formal and informal play and a running track, a rooftop teaching terrace with edible gardens and exclusive use of the roof level MUGA on the adjacent Youth Zone during school hours. As defined by the DfE guidance, the total loss of school playing field land for the exclusive use of the school amounts to 3,105m2.
To mitigate the reduction of playing field land for the school as far as possible, the school will also have scheduled access and use of the other Youth Zone facilities, including the new 4-courts sports hall of 600 m2 and other facilities upon agreement.
Office Space
Do you know who will occupy the office space?
Ark will be taking some of the building for its new headquarters, with the remaining space being marketed nearer the time of completion. Both large and small requirements can be accommodated.
Ark is seeking a range of future tenants for the office hub and is keen to attract like-minded charities and social enterprises and all tenants will be encouraged to work across the local community and ensure that their work helps and supports those who are living beside them wherever possible.
The office space not occupied by Ark will provide an endowment to support the charity’s future education work. All revenue will be reinvested in the charity.
Affordable Housing
Will the new homes actually be affordable for local people and key workers?
Yes. All 132 homes will be affordable. 71 will be available to rent and 61 will be for shared ownership.
Finance & Ownership
Is there any change to ownership of the land?
Hammersmith and Fulham Council will remain the freeholder for the whole of the site and will grant a series of new long leases to the various occupiers on site.
Ark Swift Primary Academy already operates under a long lease and the EdCity Office charity will have a lease on the land on which the office is built.
Does this project represent turning over public assets into private hands?
No. Ark is an education charity and does not make a profit from its activities. This is a non-profit project involving a partnership between Ark, and Hammersmith & Fulham Council. The financing and construction of the development – created for the benefit of the local and wider community – would not have been possible without this partnership. Once completed, the ownership of the office building will belong to EdCity Office, a charitable subsidiary of Ark , subject to conditions that will ensure the facilities continue to be used for non-profit purposes.
Will the office building be run for profit?
No. Income generated from office space rentals will be used to service the debt which has been raised to enable the overall project, and to further Ark’s charitable mission. This development significantly improves the quality and size of public spaces available for the local community which would not be possible otherwise. It is a non-profit project with all assets owned and operated by public bodies and charities.
Can any of the school’s land be sold?
No. The freehold of the Swift Primary Academy site will remain with LBHF. Ark Schools has an existing long leasehold interest in the site, however is not able to build on or dispose of the land without the consent of LBHF. The Department for Education (through the school’s funding agreement) and LBHF has the final say in terms of how the land is used and have agreed to the proposed development of the site and the variety of uses it will include.
Will Ark profit from the construction, or from the renting of residential units?
No. LBHF will own and operate the homes being provided as part of this project and they will receive any income generated.
How much will the development cost?
Ark and the LBHF are sharing the funding of the over £140m project. The LBHF contribution is set out here.