Colvestone Primary School: Council mulls U-turn over playground light

Another brick in the wall: resident Hazel Mew, trained in technical drawing, has produced a to-scale outline of the proposed back wall

Hackney Council may yet U-turn over its decision to approve the building of a block of luxury flats that could cast an adjacent school playground into shadow.

The planning committee came under fire in September for giving the thumbs-up to plans by the developers Chan and Eayrs  to throw up a three-storey building next to Colvestone Primary School’s playground.

Judith Watt, a Colvestone Crescent resident, instigated a judicial review against the council, claiming the local authority had failed to enforce an historical land covenant that enshrines the playground’s “uninterrupted and unheeded access of light and air”.

Dalston councillor Soraya Adejare raised the matter at this week’s Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission meeting, and the council is now reassessing its decision.

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “The council is looking to enforce the restriction to title regarding access to light and air and is taking appropriate professional advice. All parties will be kept informed of progress in this matter.”

However Ms Watt said she was “cautious” about the announcement: “The council has only said it will consider the covenant, not that it’s actually going to enforce it.”

She criticised the council for failing to inform the parents and residents of the update: “I would feel reassured if I had heard it directly from them and not just via the media.”

Judicial review

Ms Watt says she will continue to pursue her legal challenge until the council revokes its approval of the construction of the second and third storeys.

“We need there to be reassurance that nothing above ground floor will be built on that site,” she said.

Two parents with children at the school, David Gething and Mami McKeran, have submitted a question to the council, which is due to be considered at the next full council meeting on 25 November:

“Hackney Council recently approved development of a three-storey structure with a 31 x 30ft brick wall bordering Colvestone primary school’s nursery playground, despite a 2001 covenant placed on the site by the council, protecting the school’s right to uninterrupted access to light. Will the council resolve to enforce its own covenant?”

Artist’s impression: a to-scale drawing of a single-storey construction. Image: Hazel Mew