Original government decision: 10 February 2025

Department for Education 
Sanctuary Buildings 
Great Smith Street 
London SW1P 3BT 
Tel: 0370 000 2288 
Land.TRANSACTIONS@education.gov.uk
 
Ref: LT-4109 
10 February 2025 
Matthew Shanks 
Accounting Officer 
Education South West 
Balkwill Road, 
Kingsbridge TQ7 1PL 
By email only: 
Dear Mr Shanks 
Application to notify the Secretary of State for Education to a disposal of 
land under Schedule 1 Part 3 of the Academies Act 2010 and for consent 
from the Secretary of State under the trust’s funding agreement and the 
Academy Trust Handbook 
King Edward VI Community College, Ashburton Road, Totnes, Devon TQ9 
5JX (“the school”) 
I refer to the application seeking consent to dispose of playing field and nonplaying field land at the school which comprises parts of registered title number 
DN670050 and the whole of DN515737. The land concerned is 70,415m² and 
is shown lettered A,B,C,E and F1 on the plans at Annex A to this letter. 
The disposal is by way of a freehold transfer or transfers. 
The seller is Education South West (“the trust”); the purchaser(s) is/are to be 
identified through open marketing and the price is to be established through the 
marketing process. The value of the land was, at the time of the original 
application, £3.265 million. 
In relation to the land marked A, B and C on the plans at Annex A, this letter 
confirms that the Secretary of State has given consent to the disposal and to 
the registration of the transfer(s) at the Land Registry and does not intend to 
make a direction or scheme in relation to that land. 
Consent has been given on the following conditions: a) the land is to be disposed of at market value or above, which has been 
determined by up-to-date valuations obtained not more than 6 months 
prior to the date of disposal; 
b) the capital receipt from the disposal will be reinvested by the trust in any 
or all of the following capital projects at the school: 
 New additional All-Weather pitch on the school’s western site 
(supplementing the existing All-Weather pitch on the school’s 
eastern site); 
 New changing facilities; 
 Improved drainage to existing playing fields on the school’s 
western site; 
 Refurbishment of the existing gym/sports hall; 
 Creation of a new dedicated sixth-form block; 
 Enhancements to the external environment of the school site 
(including new street scene and external auditorium, new 
canopies to extend use of external spaces, improvements to site 
security, access and safeguarding) 
c) the trust confirms acceptance of these conditions and confirms it 
will comply with them by returning an acknowledgement in the form 
of the letter at Annex B
In relation to the land marked E and F1 on the plans at Annex A, the Secretary 
of State is minded to direct that land is transferred to Devon County Council 
(“the council”) at nil value for other educational use, notably for the relocation 
of River Dart Academy, after 31 August 2025. In the event that land is 
transferred to Devon County Council on or before 31 August 2025, no such 
direction will be made, and, for the avoidance of doubt, consent is granted to 
the transfer to the council pursuant to the trust’s funding agreement and the 
Academy Trust Handbook. 
The council, which is copied into this letter, is reminded that should the land be 
transferred to it in line with the paragraph above, consent from the Secretary of 
State should be sought for any subsequent disposals of the land (or any part of 
it) from out of the educational estate (subject to any relevant time periods within 
the legislation). 
It is the trust’s responsibility to manage its improvement projects and any 
consent contained in this letter does not imply consent to any other land 
transaction which may arise as a result of those projects, nor does it imply 
support for those projects in the event that the capital generated is insufficient 
to cover the planned works 
This consent does not provide or imply any additional funding. 
The trust remains responsible for managing any safeguarding issues which 
arise. Yours sincerely 
Signed in my capacity as G6 official acting for and on behalf of the Secretary 
of State for Education (Estates Legal, Land and Planning) 
CC 
 – DfE, 
Alan Salt – head teacher, King Edward VI Community College 
(Alan.Salt@kingedwardvi.org.uk) 
 – Devon CC @devon.gov.uk, 
devon.gov.uk) Annex A – plans showing the land to be disposed of by freehold transfer 
at King Edward VI Community College, Ashburton Road, Totnes, Devon 
TQ9 5JX lettered A, B, C, E and F1 (NB Areas F2 and G are not included 
in the application) Annex B – form of acknowledgement letter 
[to be printed on the trust’s letterhead] 
Department for Education 
Sanctuary Buildings 
Great Smith Street 
London SW1P 3BT 
By email only: Land.TRANSACTIONS@education.gov.uk
February 2025
Dear Sirs 
Acceptance of conditions of the consent of the Secretary of State for 
Education to a disposal of land under the academy trust’s funding 
agreement and the Academy Trust Handbook 
LT-4109: King Edward VI Community College, Ashburton Road, Totnes, 
Devon TQ9 5JX 
I confirm the trust’s acceptance of the conditions of consent set out in the 
Department’s letter dated 10 February 2025, a copy of which is attached to this 
letter, and confirm that the trust will comply with those conditions. 
Yours faithfully 
Accounting Officer