Nishkam School is Approved

Grasshoppers to become its neighbour

Hounslow Planning Committee of 3rd December approved the application to build a permanent site for Nishkam school on the White Lodge or Conquest Club site.

The decision has to be referred to the Mayor of London for approval and a response is expected imminently.

Keep Osterley Green made a presentation against the application, arguing that "that the White Lodge site was a very poor choice and that that the so-called analysis that claimed to justify it was deeply flawed", despite agreeing on the need for school places.

An audio recording of the meeting is available on the KOG site.

Hounslow's Cabinet meeting this week agreed to proceed with proposals to relocate Grasshoppers to the northern part of the Conquest Club site so that their current site (or part thereof) on MacFarlane Lane can become the new location for the HIP Free secondary school which will have six forms of entry.

The cost of providing facilities for Grasshoppers RFC at the Conquest Club site is costed at £9.7m. The proposal involves a land swap with the EFA and sale of land to Sky, with an estimated capital receipt of £3.7million. London Borough of Hounslow would fund the remaining capital cost of £6 million.

A land swap is proposed between the EFA and London Borough of Hounslow. The northern part of the Conquest Club site would be transferred to London Borough of Hounslow for use by Grasshoppers RFC. Part of MacFarlane Lane site would be transferred to the EFA for locating a Free School. The remainder of the MacFarlane Lane site will be sold to Sky for leisure and recreational use.

Full planning applications will be submitted in due course.

Indicative plan for Conquest Club and Macfarlane sites

December 16, 2015