Lambeth Council should work with the community to put the vacant Cormont School building in Myatt’s Fields back into use, according to local councillors.

The condition of the beautiful former Charles Edward Brook school has declined considerably since it became vacant in 2019, in part because the Department of Education delayed transferring ownership to the Council for a number of years.

Last year Myatts Field’s councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop received a commitment that the council would begin work to assess the future of the school and involve the community in deciding its future.

In a question to Lambeth’s Full Council meeting last month, Cllr Gadsby asked the Cabinet Member for Housing for an update amid growing community concern:

“The Charles Edward Brook site in Myatt’s Fields has been empty for some time after being handed over in a poor and declining state by the Conservative government. Can I ask the Cabinet Member for an update on the future of this building as local councillors are keen, as is the community, that the building is put back into use as soon as possible?“

In a lengthy response – which can be read here – the Council confirmed that officers were coming up with a strategy to develop the building for residential use. However, the council says there are significant hurdles, including the poor state of repair of the heritage site, and the likely exorbitant cost of simply making the building safe and preventing further damage – estimated at between £1.4 and £1.9 million which the authority says it cannot afford..

Cllrs Gadsby and Gallop said:

“The Charles Edward Brooke School building has been left vacant for far, far too long. The building needs to be both put back into use and restored to its former architectural glory. It is encouraging the council have carried out feasibility studies, including drone surveys, and it has to be acknowledged that there are financial hurdles which are made more difficult by more than a decade of economic chaos by the recently departed, but not missed, Tory government. However, we are calling on Lambeth to pick up the pace and make a call on the future of the building, in partnership with the local community.”