Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute's Central Square site will be compulsorily purchased in three weeks unless an eleventh hour rent deal can be agreed with the school that shares its buildings.

David Blunkett told the Institute and Henrietta Barnett School that unless they could agree to share the site he would have no choice but to approve Barnet Council's order to buy the site.

The council issued the order after the cash-strapped Institute issued the school with an eviction notice because rent could not be agreed.

But an Institute spokesman said the dispute would continue: "The Institute will almost certainly appeal against the decision and is confident of winning its case. Just hours before receiving the letter the school and the Institute were within a hair's breadth of a mutually satisfactory agreement. Deadlines, artificially imposed by external parties, benefit no one."

In a statement the school welcomed the extra time to complete negotiations.

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