Factors delaying the move of the WLFS secondary school to Palingswick House

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Dear West London Free School,

Please could you supply me with the following information regarding the WLFS secondary school's move to Palingswick House from Cambridge Grove:

1) The planned date for the school to move into permanent accommodation - as opposed to temporary portable classrooms - at Palingswick House, given that planning permission for change of use was granted on Tuesday October 16th 2012.

2) The reasons for the postponement of the original move date of September 2013. See http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Fr... "West London Free School – which opened in September 2011 – hopes to open at the King Street address next September (2013)"

3) What remediation is being undertaken/will be undertaken on the Palingswick House site including findings of asbestos notifiable or otherwise, and other contamination of buildings, soil and groundwater.

Yours faithfully,

J. Gooch

Sarah Noel, West London Free School

13th June 2014

Dear Ms Gooch,

Thank you for your letter received by the West London Free School Academy Trust (the Trust) via the What do They Know? website.

Please note that requests sent via this website are often not received by the Trust which can result in a delay in responding to them.

As required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) we are able to respond as follows to your request. Your original request is reproduced below.

Dear West London Free School,

Please could you supply me with the following information regarding
the WLFS secondary school's move to Palingswick House from
Cambridge Grove:

1) The planned date for the school to move into permanent
accommodation - as opposed to temporary portable classrooms - at
Palingswick House, given that planning permission for change of use
was granted on Tuesday October 16th 2012.

The planned date for the school to move into Palingswick House is September 2015.

2) The reasons for the postponement of the original move date of
September 2013. See
http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News/Fr...
"West London Free School – which opened in September 2011 – hopes
to open at the King Street address next September (2013)"

Discharging the conditions atttached to our planning permission has taken longer than expected due to the discovery of contamination on the site.

3) What remediation is being undertaken/will be undertaken on the
Palingswick House site including findings of asbestos notifiable or
otherwise, and other contamination of buildings, soil and
groundwater.

Asbestos remediation works on a defined area of the site have already taken place. Further remediation works are planned to deal with contamination discovered in a defined area of the site and at between 8 and 10 metres below ground level. No contamination has been discovered within or underneath Palingswick House itself or within or underneath the Lodge building to the north of the site. The Annex building to the south of the site has now been demolished.

Yours faithfully,

J. Gooch

Yours sincerely,

Toby Young
CEO
The West London Free School Academy Trust

Dear Sarah Noel,

Thank you for you response.

Please could you detail exactly what the contamination at 8-10 metres below ground, and on the other defined area of the site which you mention actually consists of? e.g. asbestos (white/brown or both), chemicals, human remains, oil, gas and so on.

Yours sincerely,

Jessica Gooch

Dear Sarah Noel,

Thank you for your response.

For clarity, please could you now provide details of the following:

Exactly what is the contamination at 8-10 metres below ground, and on the other defined area of the site which you mention e.g.

* asbestos (and precisely which types of asbestos and in what quantities)
* chemicals
* human remains
* oil
* gas

and so on.

Please could you also say whether or not hazardous materials warnings or signs are now, or have been, posted around the Palingswick House site?

Yours sincerely,

Jessica Gooch

Jessica Gooch left an annotation ()

Follow up has been edited for clarity so you can ignore the first one which I can't remove.

Dear Sarah Noel,

Thank you for your response.

For clarity, please could you now provide details of the following:

Exactly what is the contamination at 8-10 metres below ground, and on the other defined area of the site which you mention e.g. Is it:

* asbestos (and precisely which types of asbestos and in what quantities)
* chemicals
* human remains
* oil
* gas

and so on.

Please could you also say whether or not hazardous materials warnings or signs are now, or have been, posted around the Palingswick House site?

Yours sincerely,

Jessica Gooch

Sarah Noel, West London Free School

Dear Ms Gooch,

Thank you for your letter received by the West London Free School Academy Trust (the Trust) via the What do They Know? website.

Please note that requests sent via this website are often not received by the Trust which can result in a delay in responding to them.

As required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) we are able to respond as follows to your request.

Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons have been identified 8-10 metres below ground level. In other areas of the site, small amounts of Crocidolite, Amosite and Chrysotile asbestos have been identified and removed. Some petroleum hydrocarbons have been identified in another area of the site, probably as a result of it being used as a mini-bus car park. These sorts of contaminants are fairly standard in a site of this nature in inner London and the remediation works should take no longer than eight weeks.

Signs have been posted around the site by contractors in line with best health and safety practice.

Yours sincerely,

Toby Young
CEO
The West London Free School Academy Trust