Community groups who share a building in Hammersmith are fighting to hold on to their home amid speculation it is to be used as the site for a new school.

Palingswick House in King Street is already on a list of prominent buildings which Hammersmith and Fulham Council plans to sell, and is now thought to be the preferred site for the West London Free School being set up by journalist Toby Young.

Education bosses this week refused to confirm that the site is to be handed over to Mr Young, whose controversial plans have faced criticism from teaching unions. But emails seen by the Chronicle suggest the council is considering the move in discussions being held behind closed doors.

The Askham Family Centre in Askham Road, Shepherd's Bush, is also believed to have been lined up as a temporary home for the free school if it launches as planned in September.

Palingswick House currently houses 21 voluntary organisations, ranging from cultural groups such as the Iranian Association to services like Hammersmith and Fulham Community Transport, which runs a fleet of two dozen minibuses for the use of schools and small groups in the borough.

The council's opposition leader Stephen Cowan said: "If the Tories had planned this, they couldn't have come up with two more controversial sites than these. One helps families in despair and the other is home to a large number of local charities.

"The question is whether the council will be doing this free as a political favour, or whether the borough's residents will be getting a proper price for these buildings."

Dennis Charman, of Hammersmith and Fulham NUT, is against the idea of the free school but believes Palingswick House may be seen as the only viable site in the borough.

He said: "It would be an outrage if Palingswick House was given to Toby Young. It's a beautiful resource which at the moment is open to the community to use in a range of ways. To hand it over to what will then be virtually a private institution, and nothing to do with the local authority, would be a tremendous loss."

An open day was held at the building yesterday (14) to encourage people to explore the services offered by the different organisations.

A spokesman for Hammersmith and Fulham Refugee Forum, which works closely with several groups based there, said he hoped new central government initiatives might make it possible to wrestle control of the building away from the local authority.

He said: "We look forward to Hammersmith and Fulham Council being in the forefront of the government's new community right-to-buy policy by delaying plans to sell Palingswick House until the 20-plus organisations based there have a chance to explore the possibility of purchasing the property."

The Chronicle contacted Mr Young, who said he could not comment on any of the 'rumours' but expected to make an announcement soon.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are having ongoing discussions with the West London Free School about potential sites and we are keen to support them in developing their application for government approval. We haven't yet agreed any specific site but we will happily share any news as soon as we have it."