Cabinet agreed a land swap on 12 October that would move the sixth form half a mile to Hythe House, Shepherd's Bush Road, once planning and a consultation are done.

William Morris Sixth Form is set to leave its St Dunstan’s Road site for a building on Shepherd’s Bush Road that would be converted for it. Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s Cabinet agreed the land deal that would make it possible on Monday 12 October.

The council would take over Hythe House, 200 Shepherd’s Bush Road, in Brook Green, from the Government. Once Hythe House has been converted for the sixth form, the council would hand the current St Dunstan’s Road site to the Government in return.

The two sites are about half a mile apart. The move is not final. It still needs planning permission for Hythe House and a formal consultation with the school community.

Why the sixth form is moving

The St Dunstan’s Road building was accepted into the Department for Education’s School Rebuilding Programme. According to the report to Cabinet, the department could not find anywhere nearby for the sixth form to go while it rebuilt.

So the council and the department changed the plan. Instead of rebuilding on the site, the department will convert and refurbish Hythe House as the sixth form’s permanent home.

William Morris is a mixed community sixth form for 16 to 19 year olds. The council is responsible for its buildings.

What Cabinet agreed

The decision list records that Cabinet agreed to:

  • buy Hythe House from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, subject to planning and contract safeguards
  • sell the William Morris site on St Dunstan’s Road, W6 8RB, to the same Secretary of State, but only once the Hythe House deal is complete and the works there are finished
  • let senior officers finalise the legal documents
  • note that a statutory process is needed before the sixth form can move for good

No money changes hands. The report describes a swap “with no additional consideration between the parties”. Independent valuations of both sites were commissioned by the department and endorsed by council valuers. The figures are in an appendix kept private.

The safeguards

The report says the order of events is the main protection. The council will not give up St Dunstan’s Road until Hythe House is ready for students. It says the handover is meant to happen in a school holiday.

The deal also includes:

  • a covenant keeping Hythe House in education use
  • a 30-year clawback if it stops being used for education
  • a two-year longstop for Hythe House to get planning permission, which can be extended for appeals or legal challenges
  • rules for redeveloping the St Dunstan’s Road site, including first refusal for the council on any affordable homes and a priority for family-sized social housing

The report says those redevelopment terms are still being negotiated.

The council is also the planning authority

The council will decide the planning application for converting Hythe House, while being a party to the deal. The report says the contracts include “no fetter” clauses so the council keeps full discretion as the planning authority.

Hythe House needs permission for the works and for a change of use to a sixth form. No application is referred to in the report.

What happens next

  • By 3pm on Friday 16 October: the decision can be called in
  • Next: the legal agreements are finalised and signed
  • Then: a planning application for Hythe House, with up to two years allowed for permission
  • Before any permanent move: a statutory consultation with students, families, staff and others, because moving the school counts as a “prescribed alteration” in law, followed by a further council decision

The report gives no date for the move itself.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes for current students yet. The sixth form stays at St Dunstan’s Road until Hythe House is converted and ready.
  • Families and staff will be consulted before any permanent move is decided.
  • Neighbours of Hythe House will get a say through the planning application when it is lodged. We will report it.
  • St Dunstan’s Road could see new homes later. The deal sets out that any redevelopment should prioritise family-sized social housing, though those terms are not final.

Sources