Temporary school at scrubs lane parade ground being extended
Is this “Temporary Structure” Development by Stealth? Still no answerOpen letter addressed to Mike Green Director of ESFA funding Building works on ScrubsEducation Skills Funding Agency Sanctuary BuildingsGreat Smith StreetLondonSW1P 3QTDate: 22nd March 2018This Open letter concerns lack of transparency and intentionally misleading presentation of published information, sent to local residents, March 2018, regarding long term plans for Scrubs Lane Temporary School constructionI am writing to enquire whether you think it acceptable as an ESFA Director with primary responsibility for funding the development at Scrubs Lane Parade and as an agent of Education & Skills Funding Agency (a government sponsored agency, supported by public money for the purposes of public related spending), to treat members of the public with the frank arrogance and contempt seen once again in regards to the information put out to the public about plans for the above development?I instruct you to refer to a copy of public information notification document , received by local residents on 16th March 2018- concerning 26th March public exhibition drop-in event”( Noted: Created header, featuring copy and pasted color jpeg image of JLL logo placed over greyed out area, alongside recognizable logo- presumably to infer to the reader, that this notification and all statements written within it are coming from a department within ESFA, rather than from JLL, a totally separate private business entity? ).I request that you address the following points and provide written clarification of statements made (by JLL agent) in this above mentioned public notification, regarding statements concerning future plans for:1. the development currently on Scrubs Parade since Summer 2017 and2. also Kensington Aldridge Academy pre-existing school building, situated in the Grenfell Tower disaster area.You (or other representative of ESFA) are requested to provide full written reply to the following questions:1. Please explain why there are no contact details for a named ESFA employee, to be available as ESFA representative to clarify and answer questions concerning new proposals detailed in the above referenced document ?2. Please explain why the only person named on this document as the point of contact to answer local resident and public concerns is an employee of JLL?This named individual, as an employee of JLL- (aka, ‘Jones Lang Lasall’, a multinational corporation), is not the least bit accountable to the public , (but rather is accountable to their private money interests shareholders). Is this “Temporary Structure” Development by Stealth? Still no answerDo you not think that using JLL to explain to local residents what’s going on is to clearly wink at an obvious conflict of interest ?3. Please state clearly for the record whether or not ESFA has plans to present, now or at any point in the future, further applications for the temporary school construction to remain in erected and in use beyond academic year 2018/2019.(It is clear from what is written in the notification, that the Author is keen to give the impression to the local public, that the decision to extend the current development- reason stated, in order to accept an additional intake of 180 year 7 pupils, is [paraphrase] “contingent upon completion of sufficient reconstruction to the Grenfell disaster area”, where the permanent Aldridge Academy school building is located. This presentation of the status of the decision- making process, is of course clearly disingenuous, as it doesn’t take a genius to realize that plans for what will happen in September 2018 will already be known now in March 2018, so why mislead on this point? Furthermore, as locals to the disaster area, it is easy to see with one’s own eyes that much work to deal with the disaster aftermath, has not even begun- so why try to suggest that proposed planning applications to extend the stay of Aldridge Academy at the Scrubs Lane site are still undetermined?). Please do not assume to insult the intelligence of local residents.These above questions reflect mine and others, serious concerns about ESFA as another example of a self-serving local governmental agency, who appear to view ordinary people as either ill-informed and, or non- entities.In as much as ESFA has passed the entire role of keeping local residents informed of what is happening in the Scrubs temporary development to JLL, a private corporation, with no obligation for public accountability for what they publish today and amend tomorrow, I think it fair to question the transparency of ESFA activities.Reminder of Context: Grenfell TragedyESFA should be aware that what happened in 2017 at Grenfell Towers is high in the local consciousness as a disgusting betrayal of government, derived from a desire to make money from the sales of real estate even at the cost of innocent loss of life- the unforgivable negligence, the behind the scenes manipulations to coerce out the very people who brought value to the area, for the sake of cashing in on gentrification (white-wash).Please be aware Mike Green, that it is out of these tragic circumstances that the proposal for this temporary school has come about in the first place. This being the history of the temporary construction, it should not be necessary to explain to you the need for ESFA and other agencies, operating in this post Grenfell period, to make it a priority to demonstrate operational transparency to the local public.Please be aware Mike Green that many local people are convinced that the residents of Grenfell Towers were the victims of corporate manslaughter and there will not be a time when they will be forgotten (which I daresay will present an inconvenience to those itching to profit from the development opportunities, now that the residents of Grenfell Towers have been permanently moved along).Is this “Temporary Structure” Development by Stealth? Still no answerIf it is the case, that ESFA is simply providing a temporary home for Aldridge school on the Scrubs and have no intention- hidden nor open, to make the temporary construction on the Scrubs an on-going, permanent short term arrangement, then it will of reassurance to see that in the presentation to local residents of their decision-making actions, in keeping with a desire to be seen to be acting in full transparency and to greater standards of accountability.Sincerely,Nkem Anagor Local Resident
Ella Mullins ● 2212d0 Comments