13 February 2015 Old Bellenden School topiary: a message from our Executive Head Teacher I would like to clarify the issues surrounding the proposed removal of the yew topiary from the frontage of Old Bellenden School, as part of the plans to bring the building back to life as a primary school for Peckham families. Outdoor space on the school site is extremely limited and every effort has been made by the architects and landscape designers to maximise the opportunities for children to learn and play outdoors. A core part of our educational vision is that children experience outdoor life as much as is possible in an urban school environment, and have the opportunity to grow and nurture plants including the foods they will be learning to cook in school lessons. The area where the topiary is currently located will a) provide access for early years children to the main playground and b) become an important learning and growing zone. Whilst not a huge area, on such a challenging site every metre of space that we can use becomes so important. Narrow hedging and a new vertical bar metal fence will separate the space from the street, safeguarding pupils. There is also the issue of yew being highly poisonous if ingested and therefore not suitable planting for a primary school site. Whilst the topiary may have been deemed unobjectionable when the building was partly occupied by a nursery (whose small number of pupils played on a screened section to the rear of the site, not around the trees), 420 children are due to attend the Belham when it reaches full capacity. This means that the whole area to the front of the school would need to be sectioned off, with the topiary serving a purely decorative function. Utilising the space with the trees in situ for any kind of activity involving children is unfortunately not an option that I, as Executive Head Teacher with a duty of care, can consider. It is important to note that there is no suggestion of simply ripping up and destroying the trees, and that discussions are taking place within Southwark Council around the feasibility of preserving and possibly moving the trees to a more suitable location within the borough. I hope that local people will understand the compromise of removing the topiary as proposed in the planning application, in consideration of the factors outlined above. I encourage you to view the full plans on the Southwark Council website at: http://planningonline.southwark.gov.uk/AcolNetCGI.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDe tail&TheSystemkey=9558529 Comments can only be considered if directed to the Southwark Council planning department. This can be done by emailing [email protected] stating application number 15/AP/0174. The deadline for receipt of comments is Wednesday 4 March. Executive Head Teacher Dulwich Hamlet Educational Trust Company no. 7531811