Alternative Use of Site & Land Ownership
Statement from the Department for Education
The Thames Water Depot is owned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), which is the legal entity for all government held property. The site is managed by the Department for Education (DfE) and is currently used by Thames Water’s subcontractors as a storage site.
Refusal of a planning application for two schools on the site means, as a public sector body, the DfE is obliged to consider alternative educational or public sector uses for the site prior to considering commercial disposal. Alternative educational uses mean an educational offer approved by the DfE and, where necessary, the Local Authority, which is state funded and supports, supplements, and matches the existing educational demand within the local educational area.
The DfE are aware that a community group would like to acquire the site for their own proposals. LocatED, the DfE’s arm’s-length property company, has previously communicated to the community group that this site is not for sale and that they will be updated accordingly should this position change at any stage. Any disposal has to comply with HM Treasury requirements, as set out in ‘Managing Public Money’ (the government document that sets out the main principles for dealing with resources in public sector organisations in the UK) as well as any statutory and regulatory provisions in place at the time of such a disposal.
Refusal of a planning application for two schools on the site means, as a public sector body, the DfE is obliged to consider alternative educational or public sector uses for the site prior to considering commercial disposal. Alternative educational uses mean an educational offer approved by the DfE and, where necessary, the Local Authority, which is state funded and supports, supplements, and matches the existing educational demand within the local educational area.
The DfE are aware that a community group would like to acquire the site for their own proposals. LocatED, the DfE’s arm’s-length property company, has previously communicated to the community group that this site is not for sale and that they will be updated accordingly should this position change at any stage. Any disposal has to comply with HM Treasury requirements, as set out in ‘Managing Public Money’ (the government document that sets out the main principles for dealing with resources in public sector organisations in the UK) as well as any statutory and regulatory provisions in place at the time of such a disposal.
The Department for Education (DfE) is currently working with London boroughs to deliver a much-needed secure children’s home in London, using funding from the DfE’s Secure Children’s Homes Capital Programme.
The Depot was identified as the only suitable location for the secure children’s home proposals – this was established following a site selection process led by London boroughs, that considered multiple sites around London. The DfE subsequently reserved the site for the secure children’s home proposals pending resolution of a planning application.
The Depot was not formally allocated to the secure children’s home project until December 2023, following the outcome of a feasibility study and other confidential assessments and investigations to determine the viability of delivering such a facility on part of the Thames Water Depot. As the site is formally allocated for London’s secure children’s home proposals, the DfE will continue to manage the site pending the outcome of the secure children’s home development. Until that time, no decision will be made on any land that may or may not remain if this development proceeds.
Should an application for planning permission be successful and a secure children’s home is delivered on the Thames Water Depot, the site will remain in the ownership of DHLUC.
The Depot was identified as the only suitable location for the secure children’s home proposals – this was established following a site selection process led by London boroughs, that considered multiple sites around London. The DfE subsequently reserved the site for the secure children’s home proposals pending resolution of a planning application.
The Depot was not formally allocated to the secure children’s home project until December 2023, following the outcome of a feasibility study and other confidential assessments and investigations to determine the viability of delivering such a facility on part of the Thames Water Depot. As the site is formally allocated for London’s secure children’s home proposals, the DfE will continue to manage the site pending the outcome of the secure children’s home development. Until that time, no decision will be made on any land that may or may not remain if this development proceeds.
Should an application for planning permission be successful and a secure children’s home is delivered on the Thames Water Depot, the site will remain in the ownership of DHLUC.