Ashmead School expansion plans revealed
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| A visualisation of the Lewisham Way elevation |
"Construction of a three storey school building (use class D1) at Lewisham Way frontage of Ashmead Primary School, Ashmead Road SE8, to facilitate an increase from 1 to 2 forms of entry, together with removal of existing front boundary wall, creation of new entrance from Lewisham Way and associated landscaping and fencing and alterations to external play space."
The proposed building is big (doubling the school's capacity to help address the area's desperate need for more places) and the Lewisham Way access will mean the loss of the small area of green space on Lewisham Way. As a consequence of this incursion, The St John's Society is opposing the scheme in its current form. They say:
"As part of the plans to double the size of Ashmead School, the small public park on Lewisham Way shall be absorbed into the main school site and form part of the school’s new Main Entrance on Lewisham Way.
"Concerns about child safety aside, given Lewisham Way is one of the busiest and most polluted red routes in the Borough, should Ashmead become an academy then this land would be privatised and lost from public ownership forever (academy schools can become limited companies, and the Governing Body would then be free to sell this valuable land for any price it wished)."
Local residents have until January 3rd to comment on the plans. Click here to review the application.
