Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to request all the correspondence between Surrey
County Council with regard to the sale of Land belonging to The
Mead School/Auriol School to Fairview Homes, Worcester Park Surrey.
In particular i request to know Surrey County Councils guidelines
that it has to adhere too when selling public land.I would also
like to know the formula used to qualify this parcel of land to be
sold to a developer. I would also like to request the condition of
sale documents that Fairview Homes bought the parcel of land as
well as their intended use of the land.

Your urgent attention to this matter would be appreciated.

Yours faithfully,

Christopher James Franklin

17/04/08

Dear Mr Franklin

RE: YOUR REQUEST REF NO. 2219 UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for information received on the 17 April 2008.
Your request reference is as above.

We will respond to your request promptly and in any event within 20
working days of the date of receipt of your request. If you wish to
contact me to discuss the progress of your request, please use the contact
details given below and quote the reference number given above.

Yours sincerely

Clare Mackay
-------------
Group Managers Assistant
Legal and Insurance Services
Surrey County Council
Rm 134, County Hall
Penrhyn Road
Kingston
KT1 2DN

Tel: 020 8541 9104
Fax: 020 8541 9115
Email: [email address]

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I will be out of the office starting 11/04/2008 and will not return until
22/04/2008.

I will respond to your message when I return. If you have any urgent
queries please ring 02085419088 for Legal Business Support queries or
contact Eileen Perren for FOI or DP queries

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Dear Mr Franklin,

Re: Request No, 02219 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

I have been passed your request for information relating to the sale of
land at The Mead and Auriol Schools. The request is extensive and will
involve considerable officer time, probably in excess of the limit beyond
which we are entitled to charge for the time spent.

However, you may not be aware that we had previously received a request
very similar in nature to yours and details of that request are also
posted on the whatdotheyknow.com website and can be viewed here:

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/search/sur...

When seeking clarification with the previous applicant, it was agreed that
information would be supplied based on the following requests:

1) Surrey County Councils code that they must adhere to when selling
public land, as from a campaign in 2005 by local residents opposing the
school site sale. Ruth Kelly, then Secretary of State for Education, had
stopped the sale of the land as the money would have been used to benefit
other schools.

2) All communications between the Government and Surrey County Council
regarding the sale of this land.

3) All communications between The Mead and Auriol Schools regarding the
sale of this land.

4) All communications between Fairview Homes and Surrey County Council
regarding the conditions of sale of this school land,

5) All communications between Epsom & Ewell Borough Council planning
department and Fairview Homes.

We are working to provide a response to the previous applicant based on
the above criteria and will send you a copy of that response if it meets
your requirements. If, however, your requirement is different please do
not hesitate to contact me at the number below and I will ascertain from
colleagues how we can meet your request.

Yours Sincerely

Peter Ward
Information Access Officer
Surrey County Council
Room 407, County Hall

Tel: 020 8541 9959

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Dear Mr Franklin,

Re: Request to Surrey County Council No. 02219 under the Freedom of
Information Act (2000)

I have considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act for
information and documentation relating to the Sale of land at The Mead and
Auriol Schools. It is unfortunate you were unable to respond to my
previous email regarding clarification of your request. The County Council
has received a number of very similar requests for information on this
matter and I am happy to provide the information provided to other
applicants with similar requests.

Background:

At the meeting of the Executive on Tuesday February 17th 2004, Members
authorised a single project that involved three elements (the full Officer
report is enclosed):

Closure of Swansmere and Ambleside Schools at Walton. The building of a
new school now called Walton Oak Primary School. The sale of the former
school building sites at Swansmere and Ambleside.
The closure of Court Lodge School, Horley. The building of an extension at
Sangers School renamed Manorfields. The sale of the former Court Lodge
site.
The building of extensions at The Mead and Auriol Schools. The sale of a
parcel of land.

The ?single project? was self-financing although individual components
might not have been.

Statutory Framework:

All local authorities are under a statutory responsibility enshrined in
Section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972 to receive the best possible
consideration obtainable on any property transaction.

All local authorities are under a statutory responsibility to obtain
consent from the relevant Secretary of State under the School Standards
and Framework Act 1998 if it proposes to dispose of playing fields as
defined. An application form seeking that consent needs to be completed
and submitted (a copy of this is enclosed). The County Council obtained
such consent (a copy of the letter is enclosed). An application for
consent to include part of the adjoining hard play area was withdrawn.

Communications with Governors/School:

In view of the nature of the project as it related to The Mead and Auriol
Schools, there were on going communications between Surrey County Council
and the schools. These dealt primarily with the progress of the build
project and the disposal of the land. In particular, the main areas of
communication related to:

The need to reduce the vulnerability of the prefabricated buildings on the
site to be sold and the requirement not to bring attention to their
disposal by placing a ?For Sale? board on the site.
The requirement of the purchaser to erect a boundary figure along the
common boundary. There were discussions and meetings between the
Governors, the schools and Surrey County Council but no record was kept
although the agreement was enshrined within the Transfer of the site to
Fairview New Homes Ltd.

Copies of that correspondence are in the attached file.

Communications with Fairview New Homes

As a result of a marketing exercise carried out by the external consultant
Savills the Councils Executive approved a sale to Fairview New Homes Ltd.
The Minute of the Executive dated 9 October 2007 is attached. The Transfer
of the land is governed by the TP1 (copy attached) and further, in the
contract, contains the following further information relating to the
conditions of the sale:

Demolition & Boundary Structures:

The Buyer covenants with the Seller that:

No demolition works to slab level of the buildings currently on the
Property as shown on the Plan or any asbestos removal will be carried out
during school term time and these works will only be carried out within
school holiday periods (as such holidays periods have been notified to the
Buyer prior to the date hereof):
All works referred to in Clause 22.1 will be carried in accordance with
all statutory regulations and with best industry practice.
The Buyer will (subject to obtaining planning permission to do so which it
will use its reasonable endeavours to obtain as soon as practicable)
within the later of 12 months of the date of the Transfer or within four
months of obtaining planning permission to do so (or within such longer
period as the Seller may agree) erect a high quality eight feet high
continuous brick wall (at its own cost) along the boundaries of the
Property between the points marked A-B-C-D-E on the Plan (provided that
the Buyer shall not be in breach of its obligations under this clause if
it is required by the local planning authority to provide at selected
locations along such boundaries a different boundary structure to a height
and material approved by the local planning authority in order to avoid
adversely affecting any tree or public footpath at any such location such
boundaries or for such other reasons as the local planning authority may
determine); and
If (notwithstanding the Buyer having used reasonable endeavours to do so)
the Buyer shall not have obtained planning permission to erect the wall
referred to in Clause 22.3 within the specified period the Buyer shall
forthwith erect a high quality six feet high continuous brick wall (at its
own cost) along the boundaries of the Property between the points marked
A-B-C-D-E on the Plan (provided that the Buyer shall not be in breach of
its obligations under this clause if it is required by the local planning
authority to provide at selected locations along such boundaries a
different boundary structure to a height and material approved by the
local planning authority in order to avoid adversely affecting any tree or
public footpath at any such location such boundaries or for such other
reasons as the local planning authority may determine).

Communications with Epsom & Ewell Borough Council
The County Council acts as a landowner when it comes to the disposal of
property assets. It has no powers to grant itself planning consent but
could submit an application to the relevant planning authority if there
was a benefit in doing so. In the case of the land at The Mead and Auriol
schools neither the County Council nor its consultants submitted an
application or sought advice to assist the disposal process other than
that already available in the public domain.

Attached Files:

I have attached four files which contain the key documentation:

DES Letter re Mead and Auriol Schools - contains letter from Government
re: land sale.
Mead & Auriol School Correspondence - file of correspondence, Executive
Minutes and Officer Report re: Education Capital Strategy
TP1 - Land Registry document relating to the sale.
Auriol & The Mead Section 77 - this file contains the completed SATPF1
form submitted to the Government together with supporting cortrespondence.

We supply this information based on your original request. Please do not
hesitate to contact me at the above address if you have any queries
regarding the information enclosed. Remember to quote the reference
number above in any future communications.

If you are unhappy with the handling of your request for information and
wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, in the first
instance you should contact the County Council, quoting your request
number given above, at:

Freedom of Information Officer
Surrey County Council
Room 134
County Hall
Penrhyn Road
Kingston Upon Thames
Surrey
KT1 2DN
[Surrey County Council request email]

If you are not satisfied by the County Council?s response to your
complaint, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for
a decision. The Information Commissioner will normally expect you to have
exhausted our complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at:

Information Commissioner?s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Peter Ward
Information Access Officer
Estates Planning & Management
Room 407, County Hall
Penrhyn Road
Kingston-on-Thames
KT1 2DW
E-mail: [email address]
Telephone: 020 8541 9959

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