DfE update note: relocation difficulties and changed priorities

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King Edward VI Community College (“KEVICC”) – Education 
South West 
UPDATE NOTE FOR SCHOOL PLAYING FIELDS PANEL
Timeline of events
November 2021 – KEVICC foundation trust submits application to dispose of some 
of its playing field land to rationalise its sprawling site in face of falling numbers.
June 2022 - The Panel recommends approval to dispose of all of the playing field 
land included in the application to disposal at the Panel meeting held on 15 June 
2022. Panel letter is annexed at Annex 1. 
September 2022 – KEVICC converts and becomes part of Education South West 
Academy Trust (who wish to continue with the application to dispose).
2022 – April 2023 - Land identified as possible use for a free school (issues with 
another free school in the area arose and so the KEVICC site was kept in reserve)
May 2023 – KEVICC land confirmed as not needed for free school, but another 
nearby school, River Dart Academy, had been suffering severe flooding issues and 
had been placed on the School Rebuilding Programme to be relocated and rebuilt on 
a suitable site. KEVICC land identified as potentially suitable.
2023/2024 – Various sites reviewed for relocation of River Dart Academy and 
KEVICC land still identified as feasible. Devon County Council confirms that only 
part of the KEVICC land would be needed.
February 2025 - Consent to dispose of part of the playing field and non playing field
land at KEVICC granted by the minister on 10 February 2025. Conditions on the use 
of the proceeds were included. It was proposed that the remaining part of the land
which was the subject of the application (playing field and non playing field) would 
be directed to Devon County Council, who could then use the land as the relocation 
site for River Dart Academy. A copy of the decision letter is attached at Annex 2. 
March 2025 - Before the land was formally directed to Devon CC, local planning 
authority states it would not grant planning permission on the KEVICC land for the 
rebuild of River Dart Academy. The department took planning advice on this and 
decided that an appeal against a negative planning decision was unlikely to be 
successful. An alternative site for River Dart Academy will therefore have to be 
found by Devon County Council, and the trust for KEVICC is therefore still seeking 
consent to dispose of this part of the land.
Variations to Decision required
• Decision now needs to include the land which was allocated for River Dart as2
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it will not now be directed to Devon County Council.
• Trust confirms that it will not be disposing of land marked plot C (non playing 
field land) and will be retaining this land so decision needs to be varied to 
reflect this updated position.
• Owing to the passage of time since the original application, the trust has 
decided that the original proposals for the use of proceeds are, to some 
extent, no longer relevant for the school, since those projects had either been 
carried out using alternative funds, or did not represent value for money for 
the school. Details of the reasons for this are attached in Annex 1. Moreover, 
this site is particularly complex from a planning point of view, and the trust 
expects it to take a further 5-6 years before proceeds to the school will 
actually be realised. As such, the trust is asking that the consent is varied to 
alter the conditions of the use of proceeds. 
Land Transactions Proposal
• Recommend disposal of land which was originally allocated to River Dart 
Academy.
• Recommend that decision is amended to remove Plot C from the land
• Recommend that conditions are varied as follows:
a) The sale price is no less than the estimated open market value of 
the land confirmed by an up-to-date red book valuation (within 6 
months of the sale date); and
b) The proceeds of sale are used for:
i) Either a capital replacement and refurbishment of the school’s 
estate in agreement with officials at the DfE with the following 
projects being prioritised (to the extent those projects are 
required at the time):
• New changing facilities;
• Improved drainage to existing playing fields to the school’s 
western site;
• Refurbishment of the existing gym/sports hall
ii) Or, in the event there are no suitable projects at the school, 
capital projects and improvements to recreational facilities at 
other schools within the trust in agreement with officials at the 
DfE. 
Essentially the land being disposed of is in fact less than that originally 
proposed, but the playing field land remains the same. It is not felt that a 
further Panel review is required since the playing field land has not changed 
from the original application but we would welcome any comment you have on 
this. 3
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The school will not be providing a new all weather pitch (see Annex 3) and so 
the mitigation for the loss of playing field land is slightly less than when the 
Panel reviewed the case (resulting in the school retaining 156% of the 
recommended playing field land against the school’s capacity). The school 
does not consider the all weather pitch is value for money and so officials do 
not consider the trust should be obliged to install it. The school is also much 
lower on numbers than its capacity suggests, so the school’s pupils in fact 
enjoy a higher level of playing field land in reality. Instead, by including a 
requirement for officials to agree the spend, the department can ensure that 
the proceeds are spent in line with policies at the time, and adequate 
consideration is given to the facilities required at the point the trust receives 
the sale proceeds.8
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Annex 3
An update on the proposals from the trust is listed below:
• New additional all weather pitch on the school’s western site – The trust 
has stated that this would not represent a value for money proposition. The 
school already has access to an AWP, which is regularly used by the school 
as part of the curriculum delivery as well as the provision of extra curricular 
provision. The trust states that a brand new AWP could absorb £1 million 
upward of precious funds to create a facility that is not needed.
• New changing facilities – The trust notes that there are adequate facilities in 
the main school and there are changing facilities at the AWP, which do need 
upgrading, though the likelihood is that those will have been upgraded by the 
time any proceeds are received.
• Improved drainage to existing playing fields on the school’s western site 
- The trust has confirmed it would still seek this, but it may be that the 
improvement is required before the sale proceeds are received.
• Refurbishment of the existing gym/sports hall - The trust has confirmed it 
would still seek this, but again it may be that the improvement is required 
before the sale proceeds are received.
• Creation of a new sixth form block – The school has changed its strategy 
here and will not be proceeding with this as it does not see it as value for 
money and rising construction costs mean that the sale proceeds would not 
cover this anyway.
• Enhancements to the external environment of the school site – the trust 
confirms that aspects of this have already been concluded using alternative 
funds and the original plans around this are unlikely to materialise.