Campaigners who fear for the future of a much-loved college used by the community affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster are claiming an important victory after the government intervened in a controversial further education merger.
Those living in the North Kensington community feared the plans to merge Kensington and Chelsea College (KCC) with a much larger neighbouring college would effectively spell the end of its Kensington campus - commonly known as Wornington College.
Now, in what campaigners are hailing as an “unprecedented move”, government ministers have stepped in and put the merger on hold for four months while its details are further investigated.
Education news
Plans for KCC to merge with Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College (EHWLC) were announced earlier this year, just months after the Wornington Road site had been purchased by Kensington and Chelsea Council in a £25 million deal .
When news of the merger was announced, Kensington and Chelsea College said it was considering replacing Wornington College facilities nearby or on-site, leading to fears of its demolition and development for housing.
A Save Wornington College campaign was launched and petition signed by 1,638 people handed into a council meeting in April this year.
Campaigners held a meeting on November 21 with Anne Milton, the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, which led to Further Education Commissioner Richard Atkins being asked to conduct an urgent review of the proposed merger with EHWLC.
His report took into account the community’s many concerns about the proposed merger and the sale of the college’s historic building.
Having met representatives of both colleges, the council, MPs and local organisations, who the campaigners claim were not consulted, Mr Atkins said on Friday (December 15) that the merger would be put on hold until April at the earliest.
Meeting members of the Save Wornington College campaign in person, he said that their concerns about the college’s future had been heard and would be investigated fully, and he had now appointed a team to investigate both the merger and the sale of the building.
Intervention comes just in time, as a KCC governing board meeting held on Monday (December 18) was expected to decide whether to dissolve and hand all assets and liabilities to EHWLC.
This now appear unlikely, but campaigners still handed over a petition signed by 1,500 people to the college ahead of the meeting.
Edward Daffarn is a member of the campaign group. He said: “The government’s intervention is a real victory for our campaign and yet again shines the spotlight on RBKC’s policy of asset stripping the buildings and institutions that belong to this community.
“This beloved building has educated members of our community for 140 years and we will not allow the council to prevent it remaining as an educational establishment for the benefit of the people who live here.”
Student Carina Sjunnesson said she and her peers “valued our college in North Kensington”. She said: “The lack of proper procedure with regards to the merger, alongside the lack of positive management have caused outrage amongst all students at KCC.
“As a smaller college with a well established track record far exceeding that of Ealing College, the fear is that this unique learning environment serving a real need in the local community will be swallowed up by the larger institution.”
ECC and EHWLC said in a statement: “We welcome the FE Commissioner’s findings and the board will be responding once they have had a chance to review the document and discuss its contents this week.”
The council had also been accused of asset stripping over its plans to relocate North Kensington Library in a move which prompted strong opposition from within the community.
Following the Grenfell disaster, the council leader Elizabeth Campbell said the plans had been shelved .
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