Purpose

When Hateley Heath Primary School, West
Bromwich converted to an Academy in April 2021 the Academy Trust,
Manor Multi Academy Trust, requested that the unused school playing
field located at Denbigh Drive and Pembroke Way not be included in
the transfer of the school site to the Trust. The land is outside
of the school’s secure boundary and there is a considerable
level difference to the main school site.

To access the playing field children would have to leave the safety
of the school site, navigate a steep decline to the playing fields
which are not secure. Using the playing fields has a negative
impact on the safeguarding and health and safety of the
children.

The school has not used the area in several years. The land is
regularly used by dog walkers.

It is proposed that the land be appropriated to Green Spaces,
Borough Economy.

A local community group, Hateley Cross Big Lottery (HCBL) had
expressed an interested in using a part of the site to invest its
Big Lottery Funding to provide playing fields, an allotment and
play areas for the community. The land would remain in the
council’s ownership. The group responded to the
council’s consultation on its proposal to appropriate, and
included details of its proposal for the land, see para. 4.1 below.
Any use of the area would follow the corporate process for third
party allocation once appropriated to Green Spaces with the support
of the Voluntary Sector Support Team.

Consultation and responses

The council was required to provide evidence of adequate
consultation to the Secretary of State for Education as part of the
application for consent. A consultation period must be no less than
6 weeks, 4 of which should be during school term time.

Consultation was carried out between 9 May – 24 June 2022. 6
weeks and 5 days to account for the 1-week school holiday in
May.

The consultation documents were published on the council’s
website, shared with parents / guardians of pupils attending
Hateley Heath Academy via school communications, published on the
borough wide School Communication, and sent to the Regional Schools
Commissioner.

The council received three responses to the consultation;
“I just wanted to say as a parent living very local to the
field I think it would be absolutely brilliant to have the field
made into a fun and safe place for our children to make use of. I
must put an emphasis on the word safe as the field currently has a
small park on the side however I don't take my children there as
the last time I went it was literally covered in glass. So, I think
it would be great to make use of the space however it would be even
greater if it could be monitored or even locked of a night time to
try and prevent some ruining it for it everyone else.”

“i live at Berkshire Close. My both Kids go to Hateley Heath
School. I think it is a very good Idea to make a bigger Playground
as well a Football-Ground !!”
“I write on behalf of Hateley Cross Big Local Partnership
(HCBL) in response to the above proposal, for inclusion into the
submission to the Secretary of State.
In 2019, HCBL conducted a series of consultation events with local
residents on the green spaces within the Hateley Heath area, one of
which was the green space at Denbigh Drive. A subsequent survey of
the local community took place as the first event was poorly
attended due to inclement weather.
The findings from the consultation event and the survey were:
• The site is popular with all elements in the community
• Young people wanted more and better facilities than what was
already there
• The site lacks good quality equipment
• More use could be made of the site if there were more
entrances
• Undergrowth needs attention to provide more natural
surveillance
• There is a preference for the installation of sports/sports
areas
• Residents would like improvements to the fixed play
equipment already in situ
• Maintenance of the site and the grass and undergrowth needs
to improve
• More bins are needed for dog waste and general litter, and
litter picking needs to be organised
• More benches are required
• The site is used for groups of young children to play and
have picnics
• Other activities local residents use the site for are:
football, dog walking, playing, walking, cricket

Other ideas from the local residents for potential improvements
were:
• Skate park
• Allotments
• Football posts
• Basketball hoop
• Men’s shed
• Tennis/badminton court
• Mobile scooter access
• Picnic tables
• Outdoor gym
• Zip wire

Hateley Cross Big Local Partnership, over the next four years,
plans to work with the community to improve the site and take
forward some of these suggestions as soon as the Internal Transfer
allows them to do so. Therefore, we fully support the proposed
transfer from Education to Parks and Open Spaces.”

Letters and emails were also sent to schools with a 0.5 – 1
mile radius of the playing field asking for written confirmation
from the Chair of Governors that the school does not require use of
the land. Responses were received from Phoenix Collegiate,
Moorlands Primary School, St John Bosco Catholic Primary School,
George Salter Academy, and Wodensborough Ormiston Academy. All
confirmed that the school did not require use of the land.

Written confirmation was received from the Chief Financial Officer,
Manor Multi- Academy Trust, in consultation with the Trust’s
Head of Estates, that the school had no use of the playing field
and hadn’t used the field for over 20 years.

No objections to the consultation were received. Therefore,
following approval from the Cabinet Member for Children and
Education an application for consent was submitted to the Secretary
of State for Education on 30 November 2022.

The Secretary of State for Education granted consent on the 5
February 2024 subject to the following conditions;
a) the land is maintained as playing field;
b) the land is made available to the school and other local schools
at no charge if they wish to use it in the future, save that the
council may require a proportional contribution to site management
and management costs; and
c) the council confirms acceptance of these conditions and confirms
it will comply with them.

It should be noted that since the original consultation response
from HCBL, a significant period of time has passed before the
Secretary of State made a final decision to approve the
council’s application for appropriation. As HCBL is in its
final years of grant funding it is unlikely that their aspirational
plans can now be realised as the organisation needed to ensure all
allocated funds had been awarded within a timely period.
Appropriation for an area of local amenity will now ensure the
council retains and continues to maintain the facility, with the
option to enter into a local agreement with the community in the
future should new opportunities to enhance the land be presented
for consideration.

Content

That approval be given to the appropriation of
land at Denbigh Drive and Pembroke Way, Hateley Heath, West
Bromwich, Plan No.SAM/14600/015, formerly known as Hateley Heath
Primary School playing fields, to Green Spaces, Borough
Economy.

Reasons for the decision

Decision number 02/22/DD, Report to Cabinet
Member for Children and Education 15 November 2022 agreed that
approval be given to apply to the Secretary of State for Education
for the change of use and appropriation of land at Denbigh Drive,
Hateley Heath, West Bromwich to Green Spaces, Borough
Economy.

Following submission of an application the Secretary of State
finally gave consent to the appropriation and change of use on 5
February 2024.

Decision number 02/22/DD resolved that subject to the application
being approved by the Secretary of State, the Director of Children
and Education and Director of Borough Economy be authorised to
complete the appropriation from Children and Education to Green
Spaces, Borough Economy.

Alternative options considered

The land remains as an education asset. The
Children and Education Directorate does not receive funding to
maintain assets not being used for school purposes. At present it
is costing Education £3,000 a year for grass cutting and weed
killing.

Reallocation to an alternative school. However, no school has
expressed an interested during consultation. The same safeguarding
issues would affect other schools and the cost of travel would
impact the school budget.

Allocation for housing development – Regeneration and Growth
have assessed the former playing fields for the purposes of
housing. As the area is already densely populated, and the playing
field being the only area of green space, it was out of scope for
housing developments. The Secretary of State’s consent is
also granted subject to the land remaining playing field.