Cardiff Council’s Executive will next week consider a recommendation to dispose of the former Hawthorn Junior School in Llandaff North to the Steiner School.
The Executive is recommended to exercise its wellbeing powers in the disposal of the Victorian school building to the Steiner School subject to their confirmation of funding, which would retain the premises for educational purposes and secure its future as a feature of the local community.
Since the amalgamation of Hawthorn Junior and Infant Schools and the subsequent establishment of the new Hawthorn Primary School on the site of the former infants in 2008 with considerable investment, the junior school site has been surplus to the Council’s requirements.
Following the referring back for further consideration of an application for residential redevelopment of the site to maximise land value by Planning Committee, Council officers embarked on an expression of interest exercise designed to establish the extent of various interests in future use of the property.
Following exhaustive consideration of the various bids, including a community bid which was effectively withdrawn when it was deemed unsustainable, officers are recommending that the bid from the Steiner School be accepted.
Executive Member for Finance and Service Delivery, Cllr Mark Stephens, said: “The Council has had to carefully consider balancing the need to obtain the best possible return for this site with the local community’s desire to see the buildings retained.
“This option would still deliver a reasonable capital receipt which would be invested back into schools in the city while The Steiner School have also confirmed that they are prepared to discuss wider use of the building with the local community.”
