Hounslow Council leaders have revoked their decision to award a 125-year lease on a public park to a new school.
Cabinet members had agreed in June to award Floreat Education the lease for about a third of Brent Lea Recreation Ground, in Brentford, in return for a peppercorn rent and £60,000 upfront.
But the decision was referred back to cabinet for further consideration last Wednesday (July 15) by the council's overview and scrutiny committee after being called in by a number of councillors from both the Labour and Conservative groups.
At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (July 21), members agreed to revoke their original decision and revise the terms of the lease so that it only allows for a temporary two-year stay by the school.
Mr Curran said, at the meeting, that provision of school places was a top priority but the council was working hard with the school and the Education Funding Agency, which funds new schools, to find an alternative site.
The cabinet agreed to consult the public before the land is appropriated and the two-year lease signed.
Floreat Brentford is due to open in the park this September after its founders were granted temporary planning permission to use part of the grounds for the next two years.
The founders of the primary free school, which will have two forms of entry, have said it was the only site available after their original intended location in nearby Commerce Road fell through because it was still needed as a bus garage.
Shortage of school places
James O'Shaughnessy, managing director of Floreat Education, said the decision did not change anything as the school only had planning permission to be on the site for two years and would still open there this September.
He told getwestlondon a sequential site assessment was being carried out to identify a permanent site.
"The purpose of that is to go in with a genuinely open mind to identify a potential site that could accommodate a permanent school. It could be Brent Lea or it could be somewhere else," he added.
"We're excited about opening the new school especially as there's such a shortage of school places in the borough which we're looking forward to helping to address."
More than 200 people have signed an online petition opposing plans for a school on part of the recreation ground, which is adjacent to Syon Park.
In a statement, protest group Save Our Rec said: "The cabinet clearly had no alternative given the overview and scrutiny committee were unanimously against siting the permanent school on Metropolitan Open Land but the residents remain to be convinced that this is anything but a cosmetic exercise.
"The council claim to be actively looking for other sites but the residents will remain sceptical until we have a cast iron guarantee that there will be no permanent school on our recreation ground."
Campaigners living on the neighbouring Brent Lea estate have also said they are also taking advice on whether covenants restricting the land's use could prevent a school being built.
