Design and Access Statement
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DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT New School Hall and Ancillary Facilities at Maidwell Primary School for Northamptonshire County Council (Bovis Lend Lease) prepared by Peter Haddon and Partners Architects September 2009 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 1 of 11 Design Background Maidwell is a small village located on the A508, approximately midway between Northampton and Market Harborough to the north. It is characterised by a majority of large detached stone buildings set back from the road providing a high quality rural setting. The site of the Primary School in Maidwell is set on the corner of a bend on Draughton Road, opposite the church with the building set back from the roads with hard surfaced play areas to the front. The ground rises from the School buildings toward the north and west of the site which is covered with grassy playing fields and some mature trees along the boundaries. The Application Site is not within a Conservation Area. Aerial photograph of the site of the proposed school hall extension. Use This proposal is to create a new School Hall with ancillary facilities which will also enable some remodelling and improvement within the existing School. Car parking will be provided on site to improve the current situation where all cars are parked on the Draughton Road. The County Council has now made funds available to build these permanent facilities. Maidwell Primary School is fully supportive of the proposed development and is also making contributions towards the cost of the project from their capital budget. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 2 of 11 Photograph of original school building. This project will be funded by the Council’s Primary Capital Programme, which is a 14 year Government programme to invest in the primary schools estate. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) approved the Council’s “Strategy for Change” in March 2009 and released the funding. The lack of a School Hall is identified as a priority for action in the “Strategy for Change”. In this instance, the pupils are currently required to walk off site to other village facilities either at Maidwell Hall or Loder Hall either alongside or crossing the busy A508 road which is a potentially dangerous situation. The construction of a new School Hall on site will eliminate this problem. Please refer to the Statement of Planning Need prepared by Northamptonshire Council for further information. A public consultation has been held at the School prior to submission of the Planning Application to explain the proposal and obtain feedback. Details are contained within the Planning Support Statement. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 3 of 11 Photo looking north showing main entrance and previous classroom extensions. With regard to possible concerns relating to loss of playing field area, we have reviewed the requirements of BB 99 (of which Sports England were key contributors) and based upon the formula in Appendix 4, and based upon school occupancy levels, we confirm that the remaining area of playing field exceeds the space requirements. Therefore the proposal is acceptable in terms of outdoor activity/play space. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 1 of 11 Photo of previous classroom extension looking west showing set down relative to level of existing grass field. Amount, Layout, Scale and Appearance It is proposed to extend the School alongside the most recent classroom extensions. The proposed development will not affect either the current pupil or staff numbers. This allows the new Hall to be located as a vital and integrated element of the School premises, linked straight through to the main entrance. It also provides the opportunity for a direct entrance from the road frontage off Draughton Road, to offer the opportunity for potential wider school community use, subject to demand, to function as a distinct element easily separated from the rest of the School. The design for the new building extension comprises of 197m 2 GIA and provides for a hall, a reheat kitchenette / server for hot school meals, store rooms for PE equipment, chairs and dining tables, and toilets including a disabled access provision complete with baby changing facilities. The new hall will be of a size that meets the minimum area requirement in Building Bulletin 99 (DCSF Briefing Framework for Primary School Projects). 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 2 of 11 Photo showing previous classroom extension looking east. The new extension also provides the opportunity for a new Staff Room which meets the needs for office facilities within the building. This will allow the existing Staff Room to become the space needed for Special Educational Needs, allowing the Library to embrace its primary function to better support the students. The extension will be accessed via a new corridor between the existing classrooms together with a dedicated entrance, suitable for possible wider school community use. The floor space lost within these classrooms will be limited and it is not anticipated that this will have any negative impact on the ability to deliver the curriculum. The facing materials proposed are buff brickwork with blue brick string courses to match the adjacent extensions which we believe will achieve the best visual harmony, given the adjacency. The roof is finished with reconstituted roof slates. All materials are appropriate and in-keeping with the building setting. The design of the building form has been developed to mitigate the impact on the neighbouring property, by subdividing the building span using a double gable arrangement (having the effect of reducing the overall building height). We have also indicated a lean-to element towards the northern boundary to further reduce the impact of the proposed built form, with the eaves level kept low. No windows have been indicated on the part of the elevations facing towards the neighbouring house to respect issues of privacy. With the new hall constructed down at the low level of the existing classroom floor level, this also allows the building to appear partially concealed and further reduces its impact in terms of massing. The level of bulk excavation needed to allow this solution to be possible adds to the cost of the project, but we believe this is important to ensure the provision of light and amenity is maintained for the neighbouring house. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 3 of 11 3D sketch images of new building proposal. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 1 of 11 Extract of proposed floor plan. Landscaping Originally, no changes were proposed to the existing landscaping on site. However, following the response received at the consultation evening with the community, the issue of car parking was highlighted as one of particular concern for the local residents. At that time, a total of 5no. spaces were proposed (already an improvement on the current situation where there are no on-site parking spaces) but in response to this strong expression of need we have re-designed the layout to incorporate 9no. spaces. To enable these extra spaces, this will involve the removal of an existing mountain ash (rowan) tree from the north-east corner of the site. This has been discussed with the School, and given the location of the adjacent mature planting along the northern boundary it is felt that the opportunity to provide additional car parking spaces balances out the loss of this tree in this instance. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 2 of 11 We believe, in the context of the existing School buildings and proposed development, that it is more important to retain the existing mature fruit tree located between the new extension and Draughton Road as this helps to preserve the rural village aesthetic of the School and offers a delicate visual barrier, especially given its prominent location. It is proposed that some of the lower branches of this tree are cut back, to re-shape and improve the ability to access the adjacent car parking spaces. Photograph looking north to neighbouring property. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 1 of 11 Photograph of existing access gate onto Draughton Road showing mature fruit tree on the left of the gate. Vehicular and Transport links The proposed on site car parking arrangements will significantly improve the current situation. As noted previously, the submitted scheme has been modified from a proposal to create 5no. new spaces tabled at the community consultation to an increased total of 9no. spaces. Further details on consultations with the NCC Highways are provided with the Planning Support Statement. The School have undertaken a detailed assessment of staff car parking requirements, taking account of part time working and use throughout the day. In summary, this provides for a maximum situation of 8no. car parking spaces during peak activities but the amount of staff car parking will be lower at other times due to the mix of part time working. The submitted scheme can therefore accommodate all staff cars on site, together with allowance for 1no. visitor space to ease congestion on Draughton Road. The School will develop and update their current Travel Plan to respond to the proposed building expansion and resubmit for comment/approval. This incorporates possible measures to stagger start times for different Key Stages, to further reduce the impact on parking arrangements along Draughton Road. A scheme is also being considered by the School to introduce a secondary fence line and safe walkway within their boundary along Draughton Road to further improve the current situation as there are no footpaths provided adjacent to the Highway in this specific area. 090909ob3842A2 D&A Statement Rev.A Page 2 of 11 Inclusive Access Car Park: The site is provided with disabled parking spaces in various locations as indicated.