Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
New Allocation S106 Contributions 2025/26: Meadow High School expansion project
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Democratic Services Location: Phase II DDI: 01895 277655 CMD No: 2026/1662 To: COUNCILLOR EDDIE LAVERY CABINET MEMBER FOR FINANCE & TRANSFORMATION c.c. All Members of th e Residents’ Services Select Committee c.c. Dan Kennedy – Corporate Director Residents Services c.c. Nicola Wyatt/Gary Binstead – Residents Services c.c. Ward Councillors for Colham & Cowley Date: 13 March 2026 Non-Key Decision request Form D NEW ALLOCATION OF S106 CONTRIBUTIONS 2025/26: MEADOW HIGH SCHOOL EXPANSION PROJECT Dear Cabinet Members, Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet Member. Democratic Services confirm that this is not a key decision, as such, the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 notice period does not apply. You should take a decision on or after Monday 23 March 2026 in order to meet Constitutional requirements about publication of decisions that are to be made. You may wish to discuss the report with the Corporate Director before it is made. Please indicate your decision on the duplicate memo supplied and return it to me when you have made your decision. I will then arrange for the formal notice of decision to be published. Anisha Teji Democratic Services Title of Report: New Allocation o f S106 Contributions 2025/26: Meadow High School Expansion Project Decision made: Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report) Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report) Signed ……………………………………………………… Date…………………….. Cabinet Member for Finance & Transformation Cabinet Member Report – 13 March 2026 Part I – Public NEW ALLOCATION OF S106 CONTRIBUTIONS 2025/26: MEADOW HIGH SCHOOL EXPANSION PROJECT Cabinet Member & Portfolio Councillor Eddie Lavery – Cabinet Member for Finance & Transformation Responsible Officer Dan Kennedy, Corporate Director of Residents Services Report Author & Directorate Nikki Wyatt & Gary Binstead - Residents Services Directorate / Education & SEND Papers with report Appendix A - Details of S106 contribution HEADLINES Summary To seek Cabinet Member approval to allocate and release funds from the S106 contribution held at EYL/254/557C towards costs associated with the expansion at Meadow High School, as detailed within this report. Putting our Residents First Delivering on the Council Strategy 2022-2026 This report supports our ambition for residents/ the Council of: An efficient, well-run, digital-enabled council working with partners to deliver services to improve the lives of all our residents This report supports our commitments to residents of: Thriving, Healthy Households Financial Cost This report seeks to allocate £ 349,755 from the identified s106 contribution held by the Council towards the scheme outlined in the report. Select Committee Residents’ Services Select Committee Wards Colham & Cowley RECOMMENDATIONS That the Cabinet Member for Finance & Transformation a pproves t he allocation of £349,755.88 from the S106 contribution held at EYL/254/557C to be used towards works associated with the expansion at Meadow High School, Royal Lane, Hillingdon. Reasons for recommendations In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the allocation of Section 106 (S106) funds is required to be formally approved by the Cabinet Member for Finance & Transformation on a case- by-case basis – and any capital release, in conjunction with the relevant Cabinet portfolio holder. Cabinet Member Report – 13 March 2026 Part I – Public This report requests the approval for the S106 funds held at the case reference detailed in this report to be committed as outlined in this report. Alternative options considered/ risk management The Cabinet Members may agree to fund the scheme and/ or suggest alternative projects to which funds could be allocated within the terms of the relevant legal agreements. If the S106 funds are not allocated to an appropriate scheme, the unspent funds may need to be refunded. Democratic compliance / previous authority The Cabinet Member for Finance & Transformation has the delegated authority to allocate funds from S106 planning obligation monies. Both the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education, and the Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing & Growth have been consulted and endorse the proposal. Select Committee comments None at this stage. SUPPORTING INFORMATION S106 Planning Obligations Planning obligations, or S106 agreements, are an established mechanism for mitigating planning effects arising from development proposals. The agreements are usually negotiated within the context of planning applications, between local planning authorities and persons with an interest in the piece of land (owners, leaseholders or developers). They are intended to make development acceptable, which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms. Any S106 monies generated from planning agreements must be spent on their intended purpose and that the associated development contributes to the sustainability of the area by addressing the impacts of the development proposals. As a result, expenditure of S106 funds must relate to a specific development and must be in accordance with the corresponding legal agreements. If a contribution is not used for the intended purpose or not spent within the period allocated in the S106 agreement, the monies may need to be returned. Proposed S106 allocation S106 contribution held at case reference E/151/557A Details of S106 agreement In accordance with a S106 planning agreement dated 29 September 2010 and subsequent DOV dated 7 September 2017, the Council has received the first instalment of the Hillingdon Education Contribution £349,755 (£200,000 plus indexation) from the redevelopment of the former Southall Gas Works site, now known as The Green Quarter. The contribution must be spent within 5 years of receipt (May 2030). Two further instalments (plus any indexation) are also due to be received by the Council as the development reaches the following two triggers. • £250,000 prior to the occupation of 2000 dwellings Cabinet Member Report – 13 March 2026 Part I – Public • £ 371,000 prior to the occupation of 3000 dwellings. Under the terms of the agreement, the contribution is to be spent by the Council towards ensuring that sufficient school places are available at appropriate educational facilities maintained by Hillingdon Council for children of secondary school age to accommodate demand resulting from the development. Planning background The former Southall Gas Works site straddles the boundary between the London Boroughs of Ealing and Hillingdon. On 25 th March 2010, the GLA resolved to grant planning permission to redevelop the site to provide a mixed- use development including 3,750 new homes, as well as new office, leisure and retail facilities, and a new access road linking the site to the Hayes by - pass (planning ref: 54814/APP/2009/430). Permission was approved subject to the completion of an appropriate s106 agreement to mitigate the impacts of the development on the surrounding area. As part of a package of obligations, it was determined that a contribution of £821,118 was required to help meet the expected increase in demand for secondary school places in the borough arising from the development. Allocation request This report requests that £349,755.88 received as the first instalment of the education contribution from the Green Quarter development (and as detailed in Appen dix A), is allocated and spent towards the costs associated with the Council’s Meadow School expansion project detailed in the paragraphs below. The project is currently underway and will enable Meadow School to provide additional school places for children with special educational needs for which there is an ever-growing demand. Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) are able to attend a school outside their home Local Authority if that placement is identified as the most appropriate to meet the child or young person’s assessed needs. The priority is always to ensure that the provision specified in the EHCP is delivered effectively, regardless of administrative boundaries. Consequently, a number of pupils from other boroughs (including Ealing) currently attend the school. Although located just outside the Hillingdon Borough boundary in Ealing, the new development at The Green Quarter is therefore expected to further increase demand for additional needs places in the Borough. The total budget for the scheme is circa £15 million and the allocation from S106 funding, if approved, will contribute towards the financing of the scheme and reduce the call on Council resources. Meadow High School Meadow High School is the only Council maintained secondary special school, as well as the only secondary special school for pupils with Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It has continuously expanded over the past few years, with the October 2021 census roll being 257 pupils. This is now by far the largest special school in the Borough. Cabinet Member Report – 13 March 2026 Part I – Public The school has partially relied on four old modular classroom units which were intended for temporary use. These were unsuitable for use by pupils with limited mobility and in poor condition, so needed to be removed. This would have reduced the total capacity at the school by 82 places by 2026. However, the Local Authority needs more places in the school to meet rising demand and reduce the use of independent placements, which are far more expensive per pupil Meadow High School expansion project The current expansion of Meadow High School is now underway and will both mitigate the reduction of places for pupils with MLD and ASD through the loss of the modular classroom units at the Meadow High School site and provide additional overall places through creating a satellite provision at Harefield Academy. In summary, the approved works consist of the following: • Providing a new classroom block at Meadow High School to replace the existing temporary modular classrooms, which are currently in poor condition and no longer suitable for use. • Relocating some pupils from Meadow High School to the unused Harefield Academy boarding block (which is separate and apart from the main Academy building), which will be rebuilt to become a satellite unit that is directly managed and run by Meadow High School. Once completed the scheme will provide a net gain of 98 places across both sites. This is made up of 90 additional places at the new satellite unit at unused Harefield Academy boarding block, and an additional 8 places at the Meadow High School site (90 pl aces will be accommodated in the new classroom block of which 82 will be the reprovision of existing places). The overall capacity across both sites will eventually be up to 355 places, dependent on the exact needs of individual pupils and class sizes. Phase one of the project has recently been completed and has delivered a new two- storey building at the school’s main site in Royal Lane, Hillingdon. New classrooms and specialist teaching spaces, including science, music, food technology, fitness, sensory , hygiene, therapy, medical and quiet study rooms have been provided, replacing the previous temporary modular classrooms. This part of the expansion has delivered eight new school places and re-provided 82 with work being completed in time for the start of the current new school year (September 2025). The second phase of the project to create a new teaching building and satellite school at the Harefield Academy site is also now underway. This will replace an unused residential block on the site and provide six classrooms, including science, food technol ogy, art, independent living and speech and language rooms, as well as a library common room. The new build will provide 90 additional school places, increasing the Councils ability to accommodate a growing number of students with SEND. The works are expected to be completed this summer. Financial Implications The report requests the allocation of £350k from the S106 contribution held at EYL/254/557C relating to the former Southall Gas Works Site, Hayes bypass , Southall towards the Meadow School, Royal Lane Expansion project. The Meadow School, Royal Lane project has had prior capital release approval, and the scheme is expected to complete in 2025/26 with final retentions remaining to be paid in 2026/27. The S106 allocation of £350k, if approved will reduce the call on Council resources, which were previously identified to finance the scheme. Cabinet Member Report – 13 March 2026 Part I – Public The allocation of the S106 contribution held at EYL/254/557C meets the conditions specified in the S106 agreements, if this S106 contribution is not spent on the intended purpose by the stipulated deadline of May 2030; the funds will need to be returned to developer as per the S106 contribution. RESIDENT BENEFIT & CONSULTATION The benefit or impact upon Hillingdon residents, service users and communities The recommendations will enable external S106 funds to be spent to maximum effect to provide viable improvements for the benefit of local communities. Consultation & Engagement carried out (or required) Not required for the purpose of allocating the S106 funding. CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS Corporate Finance Comments Corporate Finance have reviewed this report and concur with the Financial Implications set out above, noting the recommendation to allocate £350k S106 contributions to be used towards works associated with the expansion at Meadow High School, Royal Lane, Hillingdon. Furthermore, it is noted that Capital Release has already been approved for the Meadow High School expansion, The proposed allocation of the £350k in S106 contributions is in accordance with the planning obligation agreements and will reduce the financial impact on prudential borrowing. Legal Legal Services has considered the content of the Section 106 agreement dated 28 September 2010 referred to in this report and concludes that the recommendations presented in this report are consistent with the terms of the “Hillingdon Education Contribution” stipulated in the agreement. Property As there is an identified service need for more places and therefore a larger school Property are supportive of the recommendation to utilise identifie d S106 funds to contribute towards works associated with the expansion at Meadow High School, Royal Lane, Hillingdon. Comments from other relevant service areas The scheme has been developed in consultation with relevant service groups as appropriate. BACKGROUND PAPERS Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document Adopted July 2008 and amended July 2014. Cabinet Member Report – 13 March 2026 Part I – Public TITLE OF ANY APPENDICES Appendix A – Details of S106 contribution to be allocated APPENDIX A - DETAILS OF S106 CONTRIBUTION TO BE ALLOCATED