Hackney Council is poised to rubber stamp applications tonight to build a 29-storey tower block in Hoxton and another at 14 storeys next to Hackney Downs Park - both of which have flats on top of a school to fund building works.

Hackney Gazette: An artist's impression of the Tiger Way development, bordering Hackney DownsAn artist's impression of the Tiger Way development, bordering Hackney Downs (Image: Archant)

In Tiger Way, Downsview School which is currently lying empty would be demolished, to make way for a two-storey two-form entry primary school for 430 pupils, along with 89 homes in a towerblock ranging from four to 14 storeys - seven storeys higher than the tallest nearby buildings.

Meanwhile in Hoxton the proposed 29-storey New Regents College pupil referral unit in Nile Street would cater for 150 pupils excluded from mainstream education, underneath 175 homes.

The council says building flats on top of the schools is necessary to plug a £40m shortfall in its Building Schools for the Future programme after the government pulled funding.