Hackney Council’s planning committee signed off on a new 29-story tower block in Hoxton and another 14-story building adjacent to Hackney Downs Park that will feature apartment homes on top of a primary school.

On Tiger Way, Downsview School is set to be demolished to make way for a two-story primary school for 430 students, according to the Hackney Gazette. Above it will be 89 apartments in a tower block ranging from four to 14 stories.

In Hoxton a similar scheme is proposed with a 29-story building that will cater to 150 students, underneath 171 homes.

The two buildings are part of a wider plan that will enable the council to meet the demand for new school places by 2020. The apartment homes will fund the construction of the three new schools after a £40M shortfall in funds.

The plans are being criticized from both sides. Some believe it is inappropriate to use commercial buildings to fund schools and others believe the new schools will not provide adequate amenities like playgrounds.

Meanwhile, a game of musical chairs has begun. Nightingale pupils will move into the Downsview building, which will be completed by 2018. Pupils from Benthal will then move to a new build on Nightingale School’s site in 2020. [HG]