Gordonbrock Primary isn't the only school in Ladywell earmarked for rebuild/refurb plans - Prendergast Hilly Fields is also due to have millions of pounds spent on it, under the BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme. The plans involve demolishing and rebuilding the existing buildings at the lower site on Adelaide Avenue, and refurbing the existing listed building on Hilly Fields "in line with English Heritage guidelines".A drop in session has been arranged for local residents to see the designs and meet the project team on Monday 29th March, from 5-8pm, in the hall on the Adelaide Avenue site.
I would urge people to go along and have their say. Let's see if this can be third time lucky, after the problems with both the Lewisham Bridge and Gordonbrock school projects. Done properly, Lewisham could make this an exemplar of how to refurbish a historical building to high modern standards of energy efficiency. As with the other BSF projects, the funding is PFI, so as we'll be paying through the nose for it for the next 25 years, let's at least make sure it's good.
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Perhaps some one can enlighten me as to the status of the Leatherseller's Federation of Schools within the Local Education Authority (LEA). As the schools(ex Crofton and Prendergast)(now called colleges) are "voluntary aided", they are, as I understand it, at "arm's length" from the LEA. The Federation is supported financially by the charitable trust of the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers.
So who is responsible for paying back the PFI monies? Is it Council Tax payers, Income Tax payers or the Leathersellers Federation?
I think it is a mixture of central government funding and Council PFI, but I don't know the exact breakdown. Northbrook, which is a C of E school, is also part of the BSF programme and I assume from when St Matthew's Academy was rebuilt the costs of that wouldn't have come from the RC Diocese, but from Council and/or government funding.
The bulk of the day to day running costs for these schools would come from the ring-fenced schools budget, not Leathersellers or the Church.
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