Lambeth (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Lambeth Council is preparing to sell a derelict Cormont Road school beside Myatt’s Fields Park as severe financial pressures force urgent asset disposal.
The old Charles Edward Brooke academy structure is listed as” at threat” by major England and was included in the puritanical Society’s Top Ten UK parcels at threat in 2024. The last time it was used as an academy was in 2012.
The story of what to do with the building has been a “Kafkaesque process,” according to local resident and historical activist Tracey Gregory.
The building has been moved between various departments within the council. In 2024, Lambeth’s Regeneration Team was in charge of the school.
The Housing Delivery Team, led by Cllr Adilypour, Cabinet Member for Growth and Housing, took control as Lambeth’s primary focus shifted to finding new homes. However, the exorbitant cost of repairs and adaptations made the school unfeasible as housing.
As the council looks to sell off as many of its assets as possible to close a huge budget imbalance, the school is currently part of the Valuation and Strategic Assets division. Its future will now be decided by Cllr Judith Cavanagh, the incumbent Cabinet Member for Finance.
Since the building has been abandoned for so long, a large portion of the roof has collapsed and will require significant repairs.
An art school has expressed interest in using the facility, and Lambeth Council has stated that they will designate someone to work on bringing the building to market. The old school’s grounds may be sold off for home development.
Labour Councillor for Myatt’s Fields ward, Paul Gadsby, said:
“Part of the main reason for the building’s decline was that it was owned by the Department for Education who spent a great deal of time dithering before handing the school over to the council a few years ago. At our pushing the council conducted a series of surveys which did discover that the roof required £1.9 million worth of roof repairs.”
Lambeth Council has been the school’s freeholder since the 1990s, despite the Department for Education being its tenants until 2021.
Gregory responded to Gadsby’s comments, saying
“It’s complicated. But the bottom line is, Lambeth – neither officers nor many councillors – have been taking responsibility for this building for decades and for the last 3 years having been shuffling it around from department to department,”
She added that the Council’s feasibility studies, which were completed in 2016 and 2023, were funded by public funds, yet the Council still refuses to make them available to the public.
Seb Frichot, from the Save Cormont Rd School campaign, said:
“The school is deteriorating fast, Lambeth have procrastinated long enough and need to make a decision now so we don’t lose the art school, which would be a great option for the community and Lambeth as a whole – as there is of course a risk Lambeth will sit on their hands so long and make it so difficult, that it will go elsewhere.”
It appears that there is still a lack of urgency over the fate of a building that has been abandoned for nearly 13 years, despite the pressure that council members are applying to the council.
What are the proposed plans for redeveloping the school into housing?
Lambeth Council has consulted on casing- led redevelopment for the derelict Cormont Road academy point, prioritizing domestic use to induce profit amid budget constraints. A public discussion ended in afterlife 2025 on options including casing- led rejuvenescence; councillors will decide on asset trade at forthcoming press meetings, with community juggernauts prompting preservation or affordable casing authorizations rather than outright disposal.
Proposals include partial retention of the puritanical structure for affordable or request- rate apartments, potentially 20- 40 units across refurbished classrooms and new extensions, with ground- bottom community or marketable space to save heritage rudiments.
Original juggernauts oppose full obliteration, championing for social casing proportions( at least 50 affordable), green space safeguards near Myatt’s Fields Park, and rejection of luxury developments that fail to address original requirements.
