Save Judith Kerr Primary School's only playing field from being developed

[Ander]

Please sign this petition to Southwark Council to re-designate the playing field at Judith Kerr Primary School to 'Playing Fields' and 'Local Green Space', to protect it from being developed.

https://www.change.org/p/southwark-council-save-judith-kerr-primary-school-s-only-playing-field-from-being-developed?utm_source=guides&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_created

The Judith Kerr Primary School (JKPS) Green Space Campaign petition has been set up by the local community to prevent the school?s only playing field being sold off for development by The Dulwich Estate.

The playing field is an integral part of the school, used intensively for sports, play, education, and social events. The school will eventually have 350 children aged 4-11 years. The removal of the only playing field will reduce the outside space available by more than half and remove all green space. The removal of the playing field will severely restrict the opportunities for education, play and sport for generations of school children. The development will add further congestion to a very busy intersection and its proximity to the school gates will constitute an ongoing safety risk.

The local community needs good schools and the playing field is a vital resource to JKPS to achieve this. The local community and JKPS will be best served now and in the long term by JKPS retaining its playing field.

Why is JKPS?s only playing field at risk of being sold?

JKPS is a state primary school and leases its building and grounds, which includes the only playing field, from The Dulwich Estate. The Dulwich Estate incorporated an option into the lease allowing it to develop residential housing on the playing field subject to planning permission. If the development is approved, the playing field will be permanently lost to the school.

Why is it wrong to remove the playing field from JKPS?

The advice from the Secretary of State for Education is emphatically in favour of protecting school playing fields: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice. The Dulwich Estate?s plan to deprive JKPS of its only playing field is contrary to government policy of safeguarding playing fields.

The Dulwich Estate is primarily an education charity. Its charitable objective is to raise money for its beneficiaries, which are predominantly private schools with extensive grounds and excellent sporting facilities.

JKPS is a state school which is run by an education charity, CfBT. It is inequitable for The Dulwich Estate, as an educational charity, to generate revenue for its affluent beneficiaries by disposing of another school?s playing field; all the more so where that school is run by an education charity. It will also severely hinder CfBT from achieving its stated mission to ?advance education for the public benefit?. The Dulwich Estate?s plan to develop the playing field for commercial gain therefore deviates from its duty to carry out its charitable purposes for the 'public benefit' (as defined in the Charities Act 2011).

Why is the JKPS Green Space Campaign and not the school campaigning to keep the playing field?

The lease from The Dulwich Estate stipulates that JKPS is not allowed to object to planning permission. Therefore the JKPS Green Space Campaign has been established to prevent the school from losing the playing field on behalf of the school, its children and the local community. The lease further restricts the school, CfBT and the school?s governing body from opposing the planning application(s). We consider that The Dulwich Estate, as an education charity, is actively preventing JKPS from promoting the best interests of its children and campaigning to keep the green space for the school. This again is contrary to the Charity Commission?s requirement for The Dulwich Estate to pursue its charitable purpose for the ?public benefit?.

Please support the JKPS Green Space Campaign by signing this petition: https://www.change.org/p/southwark-council-save-judith-kerr-primary-school-s-only-playing-field-from-being-developed?utm_source=guides&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_created

The playing field is currently registered for ?research? use. Please sign the petition to Southwark Council for re-designating the playing field for use as a ?Playing Field? and a ?Local Green Space?. This will help to prevent Dulwich Estate from obtaining planning permission and selling off the playing field, and safeguard the playing field for the school.

[redjam]

Signed. Hate to see kids' playing fields gobbled up by greedy developers.

[Blah Blah]

Signed. This is a no brainer. School children need playing fields.

[Drxyster]

Signed, as Blah Blah said.

[wulfhound]

Signed.

[legalalien]

Tbh I struggle with this given that when the school chose the site it knew that the development was planned. It's not quite the same as selling off a long established playing field, is it? If the Estate had wanted to it could have excluded the field from the lease from the outset and perhaps have saved itself some grief. If JKPS intended to object from the outset, surely that's a bit disingenuous?

[Earl Aelfheah]

The Dulwich Estate and it's endowment was set up with the intention of educating the poor. Their only stated objectives today are to increase the annual income distribution to the Beneficiaries (several public schools educating mostly privileged children) and to maintain the value of the Charity?s assets. It seems to me that somewhere along the way they have lost sight of what Edward Alleyn was really about.

[Earl Aelfheah]

rahrahrah Wrote:

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> It seems to me that somewhere along the way they have lost sight of

> what Edward Alleyn was really about.

... beyond ruffs and lion baiting I mean.

[Ander]

Legalalien- the site and lease were negotiated between the Dept of Education and Dulwich Estate - not JKPS.

However you look at it, the local community, school and children will surely be best served if the school keeps the playing field.

Please sign the petition!

[tiddles]

signed. The estate is going to be depriving a fellow albeit less privileged educational organisations of valuable space in the name of profit.

not very 'charitable' of them.

[hpsaucey]

Signed...

[rebeccaben]

Please do sign this petition - every little helps and all we want is for our children to have outdoor space to exercise, play and learn!

https://www.change.org/p/southwark-council-save-judith-kerr-primary-school-s-only-playing-field-from-being-developed?utm_campaign=fb_dialog&utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt&post_id=538702159_10153325836522160#_=_

[1morecupofcoffee]

You definitely have my support. Signed.

[savage]

Also signed. Dulwich estate makes my blood boil!

[FriendsOfTheTerrapin]

More joined-up thinking from The Dulwich Estate...

Signed.

[landsberger]

Typical that people are having a pop (as usual) at the Council. Planning law is now so far skewed in respect of the applicants that Councils have little or no leeway to refuse without very, very good reasons, and if they do, they bear the cost of the appeal.

[henryb]

Signed. Do you have a Twitter page?

[Mugglesworth]

landsberger Wrote:

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> Typical that people are having a pop (as usual) at

> the Council. Planning law is now so far skewed in

> respect of the applicants that Councils have

> little or no leeway to refuse without very, very

> good reasons, and if they do, they bear the cost

> of the appeal.

I would have thought that the following constitutes a very, very good reason:

"The Dulwich Estate?s plan to deprive JKPS of its only playing field is contrary to government policy of safeguarding playing fields"

[landsberger]

Mugglesworth Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> landsberger Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Typical that people are having a pop (as usual)

> at

> > the Council. Planning law is now so far skewed

> in

> > respect of the applicants that Councils have

> > little or no leeway to refuse without very,

> very

> > good reasons, and if they do, they bear the

> cost

> > of the appeal.

>

> I would have thought that the following

> constitutes a very, very good reason:

>

> "The Dulwich Estate?s plan to deprive JKPS of its

> only playing field is contrary to government

> policy of safeguarding playing fields"

Er, but it's not a full time playing field constructed for that purpose.

[legalalien]

Exactly landsberger. It's noted above that the department of education negotiated the lease so "against govt policy" is a pretty difficult argument to run. Also, even if the lease was negotiated by the DoE surely JKPS must be a party to it, or how is it bound by the restrictions?

I can't help feeling that people's time would be better spent looking for an alternative eg an arrangement like I understand Lyndhurst have with SCST. (For the record I completely agree with the importance of schools having outdoor play and volunteer with a children's sports club, just can't see how the legal argument stacks up in this case).

[Earl Aelfheah]

What about the moral argument?

[Sarieg]

Outrageous! Signed!

[landsberger]

rahrahrah Wrote:

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> What about the moral argument?

Morality doesn't come into planning consent, sadly. Just cold, hard cash. And Councils have so little leeway these days, it's as if there's no need for consent at all.

[DaveR]

I'm also not sure how it is somehow morally pure to seek to persuade the council to effectively deny to the Dulwich Estate a legal right that they specifically reserved in a freely reached agreement with another party because, you disagree with the terms of that original agreement, or because you disagree with the terms of the trust by which the Estate is legally required to act.

[henryb]

I don't see how the land being correctly registered is denying Dulwich Estate?s legal rights in anyway. They can still apply for planning permission however it is registered.

Even so as the land is currently being used as a playing field and leased by the school I would have thought any planning application would have to involve Sports England and the Secretary of State.