Agenda item

The Committee considered an application under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 1992 for the construction of a single storey building to form an Early Years cabin and Forest School boot room at Blackwell First School, St Catherine's Road, Blackwell.

The report set out the background of the proposal, the proposal itself, the relevant planning policy and details of the site, consultations and representations.

The report set out the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy's comments in relation to the need for the nursery building, the location of the development, residential amenity, traffic and highway safety, and other matters – design.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that the applicant stated that there was a recognised need for nursery places in the local area, and for a nursery that would be convenient for working parents.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of need for the nursery in accordance with Section 8, paragraph 72, of the National Planning Policy Framework, which accorded great weight to the need to expand or alter schools, and Policy S28 of the development plan. Furthermore, the proposal was considered to be acceptable in terms of location when assessed against Policy DS4 of the development plan, subject to being compatible with other policies of the development plan. In view of the above, the great weight accorded to the need for the nursery must be balanced against the other concerns surrounding this application.

A letter of representation raised an objection on the grounds of harm to residential amenity (amongst other objections). The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy recognised that the proposal would cause impacts in terms of construction, highways concerns and lighting. However, in terms of the development plan, the proposal would be acceptable through the imposition of planning conditions and the recommendation for a management solution to the problems associated with pick up and drop off times, which are common at many schools throughout the County.

Another objection was raised on the grounds that the proposal would over-develop the Blackwell School site. The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy would have preferred the small amount of open space to not be developed. However, it was considered that the proposal would not result in the loss of such a significant amount of open space as to be seen as unacceptable in terms of the development plan.

The proposal would also result in additional children and staff accessing the site at pick up and drop off times, although the applicant states that these would be staggered to avoid those of the main school. The County Highways Officer had no objections to the proposal, subject to a condition requiring the installation of cycle storage facilities. The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy therefore considered that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of traffic and highways safety.

In assessing the application as a whole, the great weight accorded to the need to expand or alter schools by the National Planning Policy Framework was considered to outweigh the other concerns outlined above. Furthermore, the other concerns were not considered to be so significant as to conflict with the development plan.

In view of the above, and taking in to account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies DS3, DS4, DS13, S19, S28, S29, S31, C11, C17, TR1, TR11, TR13, RAT4 and ES2 of the Adopted Bromsgrove District Local Plan and Policies BDP1, BDP2, BDP12, BDP16, BDP19, BDP21, BDP22 and BDP23 of the Draft Bromsgrove District Plan 2011-2031, it was considered the proposal would not cause demonstrable harm to the interests intended to be protected by these policies or highway safety.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         The proposed layout of the application fitted in well with the existing location of the school and the application should be supported

·         Would any of the proposals put forward by the Council's Sustainability Team be included in the development? The representative of the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy commented that the applicant intended to use sustainable materials to build the facility to current energy efficiency and thermal standards and this was considered appropriate. It was an aspiration to achieve BREEAM and Passivehaus standards but given the cost restrictions, it was not considered appropriate for this site

·         In response to a query, the representative of the County Highways Officer commented that a Travel Plan was a condition of the previous planning permission granted at the site. Work continued with the Head teacher and parents to address highways issues. The representative of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services explained that zig-zag markings can now be enforced irrespective of whether there is a supporting traffic regulation order.

RESOLVED that planning permission be granted for the construction of a single storey building to form an Early Years cabin and Forest School boot room at Blackwell First School, St Catherine's Road, Blackwell subject to the following conditions:

a)    The development must be begun not later than the expiration of three years beginning with the date of this permission;

b)    The permission enures for the benefit of Worcestershire County Council only;

Details

c)    The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the drawings titled "Site location plan", "Block plan as proposed", Floor plan as proposed" and "Elevations as proposed Roof plan as proposed", except where otherwise stipulated by conditions attached to this permission;

d)    Notwithstanding any indication of the materials, which may have been given in this application, prior to the construction of the development hereby approved, a schedule and/or samples of the materials and finishes for the development shall be submitted to and agreed in writing by the County Planning Authority. Thereafter the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details;

Lighting

e)    Details of any lighting to be installed at the site shall be submitted to the County Planning Authority for approval in writing prior to being erected.   These details shall include:

                  i.        Height of the lighting posts;

                 ii.        Intensity of the lights;

               iii.        Spread of light (in metres);

               iv.        Any measure proposed to minimise the impact of the lighting or disturbance through glare; and

                 v.        Times when the lighting would be illuminated;     

Drainage

f)     The development shall be carried out in accordance with the drainage strategy outlined in the document titled "Design & Access Statement", which was submitted to the County Planning Authority on 14 September 2016;

Ecology

g)    In the unlikely event that any protected species are found on the site during the works then all works must cease immediately and the advice of a suitably qualified ecologist must be sought prior to works re-commencing;

h)    No removal of vegetation shall take place between 1 March and 31 August inclusive, unless a competent ecologist has undertaken a careful, detailed check of vegetation for active birds’ nests immediately before the vegetation is cleared and provided written confirmation that no birds will be harmed and/or that there are appropriate measures in place to protect nesting bird interest on site. Any such written confirmation should be submitted to the local planning authority;

i)     Trees and hedgerows to be retained throughout the scheme should be given adequate protection as per BS5837:2012 with appropriate "biodiversity protection zone", "root protection zone" or similar signage installed;

j)     Within 6 months of the completion of the development, details of one bat and one bird box (including the location) shall be submitted to the County Planning Authority for approval in writing. Thereafter, the bat and bird boxes shall be installed in accordance with the approved details within 3 months of approval being received;

Highways

k)    The development hereby permitted shall not be brought into use until the applicant has submitted to and had approved in writing by the County Planning Authority details demonstrating that secure parking for two bicycles has been installed in accordance with the drawing titled "Block plan as proposed 03A A3", which was submitted to the County Planning Authority on 21 October 2016; and

Construction

l)     Construction works shall only be carried out on the site between 08:00 to 18:00 hours on Mondays to Fridays inclusive, and 08:00 to 13:00 hours on Saturdays, with no construction work on Sundays, Bank Holidays, or Public Holidays.