Hammersmith Council Rejects £42m School Redevelopment and Housing Proposal
Plans to redevelop a West London secondary school while constructing over three hundred new homes on the same site have been decisively rejected by local planning authorities. The ambitious scheme, which would have delivered approximately £42 million in upgrades to Phoenix Academy in White City, was turned down during a heated committee meeting this week.
Controversial Development Proposal Details
Future Academies, in partnership with developer London Square, had submitted plans to partially demolish and rebuild sections of the Outstanding-rated Phoenix Academy. The comprehensive proposal included constructing four educational buildings up to four storeys tall alongside six residential blocks reaching eight storeys in height.
The development would have created 307 new homes, with 90 designated as affordable social rent properties. Educational improvements promised a new sports hall, modern library facilities, and dedicated music studios for the coeducational secondary school and sixth form.
Community Opposition and Planning Concerns
Despite receiving 60 representations in favor of the scheme, the proposal faced significant local opposition. The Wormholt Residents Association submitted a petition containing 718 signatures objecting to various aspects of the development.
Local residents raised multiple concerns including the height of proposed buildings, potential impacts on daylight and sunlight for neighboring properties, and perceived threats to local heritage. Three Labour councillors—Nicole Trehy, Natalia Perez, and Max Schmid—all spoke against the current proposal while expressing general support for school improvements.
Council officers recommended refusal, stating in their report that the design and scale "would result in an overbearing and dominant development which would harm the character and appearance of the local townscape, and as such would represent an overdevelopment of the site."Heritage and Sports Facility Concerns
Additional objections came from heritage preservation advocates and Sports England, which specifically noted concerns about the potential loss of sports facilities. The site's location within a conservation area added complexity to the heritage assessment process.
Julian Vallis, Treasurer of the Wormholt Residents Association, addressed the planning committee directly, stating: "We engaged constructively at every stage, even offering viable alternatives. So we want to be very clear. We are not here to block development, but we demand Phoenix is developed with us, not over us."
Developer and School Response
Lawrence Foley, Chief Executive at Future Academies, expressed disappointment with the committee's decision, noting that the trust is now considering its options. "These proposals represent the best chance our school has of securing the more than £40m that we need to make improvements to the academy," Foley stated during the meeting.
Mark Smith, Development Director at London Square, revealed that the development team received notification of the officers' recommendation to refuse "out of the blue" just before Easter, despite having received no feedback from the council since submitting the application in September.
Political Division and Final Decision
The Planning and Development Control Committee meeting revealed clear political divisions, with Conservative councillors Adrian Pascu-Tulbure and Alex Karmel questioning the officers' recommendation and proposing deferral of the decision. Both ultimately voted against the refusal recommendation.
However, the committee's three Labour members supported the officers' position, resulting in the application being formally rejected. The decision highlights ongoing tensions between development needs and community preservation in rapidly changing West London neighborhoods.
Future Academies maintains that the rejected proposal would have provided transformational investment in educational facilities while delivering critically needed social housing. The school trust now faces the challenge of addressing a maintenance backlog estimated at £40 million while exploring alternative options for securing necessary improvements.
