The controversial sale of a London college campus was “plainly wrong” and not in the interests of its local community, an independent review has concluded.
In 2016, Kensington and Chelsea College sold its Wornington Road site to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC). The net cash sale value was £25,350,000, consisting of a headline value of £28,650,000 from which £3,300,000 was deducted to cover a three-year lease back to the college.
In a statement published today, the move to exclude staff, students and the local community from the decision-making process was described as “shameful” by principal Andy Cole.
The move faced massive local opposition, and resulted in the Save Wornington campaign.
‘Failure of management and governance’
The report, by the Kroll consultancy, catalogues what the a statement from the college describes as “a failure of management and governance”. Errors identified in the process include: a “lack of consultation with the local community” in the period before the sale; a failure to consider other alternatives to the sale to RBKC; “shortcomings in determining the final sale price”; and “excluding” student and staff governors before the final decision to sell the site took place.
Interim college chair Ian Valvona said: “The sale of the college’s Wornington Road site to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea was plainly the wrong thing to do - even when you consider the college’s very difficult financial situation in 2016. Today the college apologises for that sale and I want to recognise the role of the local community and the Save Wornington College Campaign for helping to ensure that the full details of this sale finally saw the light of day.
‘Shameful behaviours’
Mr Cole said: “The report highlights shameful behaviours of past management in excluding staff, students and the local community from its discussions and decision making over the sale. There has been a complete break with the past across the last year at executive leadership as well as board level and we are in negotiations with RBKC to determine how the Wornington Road site will serve the needs of its communities into the long term.”
