Overview

LocatED was commissioned to deliver a new 1,200-place mainstream secondary school on the site of the former campus of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College. The site comprised a mixture of redundant buildings, open space and buildings let to the National Autistic Society as a specialist school. On completion, the site provides 116 residential units, the mainstream secondary school, which allows the community to use its sports spaces out of hours, plus improved access routes to surrounding streets and open space.

Challenge

Alongside the need to maintain the safe operation of the National Autistic Society, the chosen school trust, Ark Academies Trust, wished to ensure that accommodation was made available at the earliest opportunity to meet urgent pupil need in the local area.

Early discussions with the local planning authority identified a desire for the site to accommodate new housing, including a significant proportion of affordable housing, alongside any new school space, together with improved connectivity and the opening up of access to the adjacent parkland.

Solution

LocatED commissioned a full design team, led by architects Architecture Initiative, to design a truly mixed-use solution which would deliver the required number of school places, in a phased manner. 116 residential units were integrated into the scheme, with a clear separation of access and servicing for the school and residential.

New connections to surrounding streets were added to improve connectivity and provide public access to the school sports facilities. Servicing and access arrangements to the adjacent National Autistic Society were also improved as part of the proposed design solution.

Detailed planning permission was secured to include 25% affordable housing provision, alongside significant public realm improvements and contributions to improve local infrastructure.

To enable early occupation by the school, the design and planning permission allowed for the separate construction of the first phase, as a stand-alone education building, which could subsequently be converted to the school’s 6^th form centre. The works to construct this were procured under a separate build contract with ISG Construction.

Demolition of the redundant former college buildings and remediation of the site were undertaken during phase 2 of the scheme, which included the balance of the school and the residential buildings.

Countryside Partnerships PLC were selected to deliver phase 2 of the project under a development agreement to deliver the school component at a fixed price and to make a capital payment to the DfE for the residential element above the school.

Impact

The secondary school provides 1,200 school places in an area of significant educational demand. The formal shared-use agreements ensure the school’s sports hall, MUGA and dance studios are available to community groups, clubs and residents outside school hours via a professional booking platform.

The residential units gave the community a thoughtfully balanced mixed housing development, with 92 Private Rental Sector units, 21 genuinely affordable homes (9 London Living Rent and 12 Affordable Rent), and 3 private units – creating a truly diverse community that supports Acton’s social fabric.

The ground-source heat pump system installed delivers 60% of heating and hot water needs across both school and residential elements, dramatically reducing carbon emissions.

Previously a closed site, the creation of a new pedestrian thoroughfare linking a conservation area to Acton town centre, significantly improves east-west connectivity for residents. This strategic intervention has revitalised a local park, increasing footfall to this community asset.