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The Department for Education is to review hundreds of school sites in a bid to find land suitable to be sold for housing.

Documents seen by Schools Week show , the department鈥檚 company set up to buy and develop land for free schools, has 鈥渞eceived a commission to review 316 sites鈥� for so-called 鈥渦nderutilised鈥� or 鈥渟urplus鈥� land, adding that 鈥渕ore are expected鈥�.

A director of the organisation revealed this week that schools in England have surplus land 鈥渢he size of central London鈥� that could be used for housing and community spaces.

Other suggestions include using school roofs for solar power generation and car parks for electric vehicle charging.

Schools land sales must follow certain rules. If the landowner – which for schools is mostly councils or the church – wants to sell, they must get government approval to get rid of playing fields, and sales of unused land at academies may also need secretary of state sign-off.

But the prime minister has pledged a liberalisation of planning laws in so-called 鈥渋nvestment zones鈥�, which could create greater demand for land suitable for housing.

Selling off surplus school land for housing is nothing new. But efforts were ramped up in 2019 and the instruction to review hundreds of sites represents a big escalation.

Approached by Schools Week, LocatEd said it was commissioned to 鈥渦ndertake a desktop exercise exploring opportunities for residential development鈥� as part of the DfE鈥檚 鈥渞outine work to explore the school estate and its potential to support wider uses鈥�.

鈥淚t is for schools and their landowners to decide whether they want to pursue such opportunities to unlock value from their estates.鈥�

The company would not say how many schools had so far been identified as having land suitable for housing, nor whether it would review more than the 316 first set out by the DfE.

Schools have surplus land the ‘size of central London’

Matt Robertson, its associate director of property, told a Westminster Education Forum event on Thursday that more than 22,000 schools sat on land of about 125,000 acres, which was more than the amount of land advised in government 鈥渂uilding bulletin鈥� rules.

鈥淥ver the total school estate, the approximate amount that is surplus鈥�is pretty much the size of central London,鈥� he said, adding that the land held 鈥渁 great deal of potential鈥�.

It could generate income for schools, provide housing and 鈥渘ew community spaces and facilities鈥�.

Capital funding from any sale 鈥渃an be used to address existing condition need, but it can also facilitate any essential works to ensure the longer-term performance of the school estate鈥�.

鈥淚nvesting capital into these existing buildings, which are less efficient, can be a real operational gain for the school.鈥�

But selling off land for housing isn鈥檛 the only way of making the estate more efficient, Robertson said.

He showed an example of a 1960s primary school, where a 拢30,000 investment in solar panels covering 10 per cent of its flat roof would result in a 拢6,000 annual reduction in its 拢21,000 energy costs.

A larger investment, covering the whole roof, would create surplus power, which could be provided to nearby housing or businesses through a private wire agreement.

EV charging in school car parks

But the over-generation 鈥渁lso leads to other opportunities with electric vehicle charging鈥�, Robertson said.

鈥淭he school car park is typically used during the day by teachers, by staff, by visitors. There are other opportunities there to provide evening parking for electric vehicle charging.鈥�

He also pointed to LocatEd鈥檚 鈥渂uilding up agenda鈥� in urban areas, giving the example of St James Hatcham, a one-storied primary school in south London. It would 鈥渞eally benefit from around 拢500,000 being spent on it as a minimum鈥�, he said.

鈥淪o, in a project with multiple stakeholders in an inflationary world with no money, we asked the question: can we build a brand new, excellent education facility, improve outdoor facilities and do so without costing the taxpayer a single penny? And the answer is yes.鈥�

A proposal in the pre-planning stage would deliver 100 homes and a new school building.

The government鈥檚 own 鈥渟chool resource management advisers鈥� has also previously recommended academy trusts sell unused land.

But Robertson warned viability of such schemes was 鈥渞eally tough at the moment鈥�, with the cost of the school elements of the building alone having increased by 30 per cent since April.

鈥淚f we can end up with a school and mixed-use facility鈥�it鈥檒l be a great news story. Bringing together lots of stakeholders 鈥�that鈥檚 one of the agendas we鈥檙e working on.鈥�