Appeal to Save Secondary School at Stag Brewery Site Fails
Government rejects council's arguments for Livingstone Academy
A CGI of the previously planned school from planning documentation
April 8, 2026
A new secondary school will not be built as part of the £1.3billion regeneration of the Stag Brewery in Mortlake. The Department for Education (DfE) has axed plans to build Livingstone Academy West London, despite Richmond Council protesting the decision.
Livingstone Academy is one of 12 proposed mainstream free schools the Government confirmed it has scrapped, as it is prioritising delivering more places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The DfE announced in December it was minded to cancel 28 of the 44 mainstream free schools it had in the pipeline, with trusts and councils able to appeal this decision.
It has now confirmed 12 of these schools will not be built, including Livingstone Academy, while it is still looking at cancelling 13 more projects. A total of 19 projects is continuing in the pre-opening stage.
The decision comes despite Richmond appealing the DfE’s decision to scrap Livingstone Academy, as the council warned the move would put pressure on already overstretched secondary school places in the east of the borough.
Lib Dem council leader Gareth Roberts and Councillor Julia Cambridge said the school would have addressed a longstanding shortfall in provision, following years of work with Aspirations Academies Trust, in a letter to DfE bosses in February.
Councillors Roberts and Cambridge said that while they welcomed the Government’s commitment to delivering more school places for children with SEND, this should not come “at the expense of securing adequate places for young people without those additional needs”.
CGI of the scheme for the former Stag Brewery viewed from across the river in Chiswick. Picture: Reselton Properties Limited/Squire and Partners
The councillors said, “It is true that pupil numbers in our primary schools are falling and this will begin to impact on our secondary schools by 2031. The fact remains, though, that we have a shortfall now.
“There have been unplaced children and young people in the east of the borough each year since 2019 – that is children we are unable to make any offer of a secondary school place on National Offer Day in March.
“If the housing developments planned for the former Stag Brewery site go ahead, we would expect further demand for school places, which would place additional pressure on our local secondary schools.”
They warned the council would need the DfE’s help to expand Christ’s School and Lift Richmond Park to provide more school places in the borough, if Livingstone Academy was scrapped.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson previously said the Government had decided to cancel building some of the mainstream free schools in areas with falling primary school pupil rolls and spare capacity.
The Government has pledged to invest at least £3bn to create 50,000 more school places for children with SEND in mainstream schools in England by 2030, partly funded by cancelling these projects.
Ms Phillipson said the number of primary school pupils in England had been declining since 2019, while the number of young people with SEND had risen to at least 1.7 million – an increase of 400,000 students since 2020.
She said, “Instead of adding a few thousand mainstream free school places where sufficient capacity already exists, we will deliver places that enable pupils with SEND to access the right support in a setting close to home – making mainstream provision more inclusive and ensuring specialist support is available where it is most needed.
“This is how we renew our education system – by building provision that is inclusive by design, anchored in need, and focused on high and rising standards for all.”
Planning inspector Glen Rollings approved developer Reselton Properties’ £.13bn plans to regenerate the former Stag Brewery site last year, after a 10-year battle culminating in a public inquiry in 2024.
Mr Rollings approved both applications making up the scheme – one for 1,075 new homes, including only 65 affordable homes, and the other for a 1,200-place secondary school with a sixth form.
He made the decision after hearing evidence from Reselton and the council in support of the scheme, along with objections from the Greater London Authority (GLA), Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG) and West London River Group (WLRG).
MBCG had repeatedly raised concerns about the need for a new secondary school on the site.
While a secondary school will no longer be built on the 22-acre site, the rest of the scheme is moving ahead and is set to see new restaurants, shops and offices built on the land.
The DfE has been contacted for comment.
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter
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