The former Hampstead police station

• I WRITE to express my disappointment at the decision of Camden Council to refuse to grant planning approval for Abacus Primary School to move into the former Hampstead police station, against the recommendation of Camden’s officers, (Blocked: Planners refuse to allow Abacus Belsize to move into police station, November 21).

I am confident the decision will be appealed. The school’s governors, with Anthem Trust, will do all we can to support an appeal.

More generally, we will continue to support the school, the headteacher and the staff, who are doing an incredible job in difficult circumstances.

We are confident in the quality of our planning application and expect an appeal to succeed. The councillors appeared to have made up their minds for reasons unconnected with planning.

Despite watching the hearing in person and on the webcast, it is not clear to us what use the council would permit for this site or why it does not use its powers more to reduce traffic and air pollution, if those are the councillors’ concerns.

The councillors also referred obliquely to school place planning issues. They appear not to have appreciated the new data published on October 9, just a month before the planning committee meeting. It is available here.

Appendix B has information about primary school places. Table 2C shows that in most of the last five years, it would not have been possible to find places for the 30 Abacus children in reception in north west Camden schools. Abacus has been full in reception for many years, and so are other local schools.

In 2019 it would only have been possible place Abacus children elsewhere if several attended a Catholic school, or schools over an hour’s walk away.

We understand that the council is concerned about falling birth rates, but the birth rate is rising in the Abacus catchment area, according to its own statistics.

It is not realistic to hope that the children at Abacus would simply move to another Camden school if Abacus did not exist.

Nor is it likely that the reception class in Gospel Oak Primary School would have empty spaces if Abacus were located in the former police station, because that is also a popular school.

Carlton Primary School has spaces but it is an hour’s walk from Swiss Cottage. The population shifted west many years ago; wishful thinking will not move it back east.

More importantly, children are not cash cows to be herded into schools with empty places to suit administrative convenience and vested interests.

Parents will continue to prefer to send their children to Abacus by bus rather than to send them to other Camden schools. We see that preference clearly expressed in the decisions families have made for the last six years.

It’s quite simple. Abacus is full every year in reception because it provides outstanding education that is accessible within easy walking distance of where families live.

The school will continue to focus on educating children and we as governors will do everything we can to support an appeal of the planning decision over the next few months.

HARRIET NOWELL-SMITH
Chair of Governors