EEC/07/145/HQ Development Control Committee 6 June 2007
Report of Committee Site Visit County Council Development East Devon District: Proposed Construction of Detached 2-Storey 5 Classroom Block on Land adjacent to the Colin Tooze Sports Centre, Conversion of Existing Tennis Court to Car Park and Construction of New Tennis Courts on Land adjacent to All Weather Pitch, Land at Kings School, Barrack Road, Ottery St. Mary Application no. 07/07/37/CM Date application received - 1 March 2007
Report of the Director of Environment, Economy and Culture
Please note that the following recommendation is subject to consideration and determination by the Committee before taking effect.
Recommendation: It is recommended that Members note that the planning application has now been withdrawn and that no further action be taken in respect of this application.
1. Summary
This report relates to the proceedings of the Member Site Visit and Meeting held at the application site at Kings School, Ottery St. Mary on the morning of 16 May 2007.
2. The Proposal/Background
At the Committee meeting on 25 April 2007, Members considered Report EEC/07/122/HQ and resolved to defer determination of the application to enable a Members' Site Visit to be undertaken to consider the particular concerns raised by the District and the Town Council, and potential impacts of the proposed development on neighbouring residential properties.
3. The Site Visit/Meeting
During the Site Visit, Members took the opportunity to examine and assess the following matters:
• An examination of the main part of the school campus in order to assess whether land was available to accommodate the proposed 2-storey 5 classroom block.
• An examination and assessment of the pedestrian crossing of Cadhay Lane and the impact this may have in terms of road safety and impact on amenity of residential properties and visual impact due to loss of trees/hedgerows.
• At the site of the proposed 2-storey classroom block, in the existing car park, an assessment of the impact of the building on amenity of adjacent residential property and visual impact of the building.
• From the garden of the adjacent residential property an assessment of the height and location building and impact in terms of loss of light, visual impact and noise impact. • At the existing tennis court Members considered the impact that the use of this area as a car park may have upon safety of pedestrians and potential impacts in terms of noise and amenity on nearby residential properties.
• At the site of the proposed new tennis courts, Members examined the potential for impact on nearby residential properties and the effect of loss of informal grass playing space.
The Site Meeting was attended by Members of the Development Control Committee, Councillors Cox, [Chairman], Button, Clatworthy, Davis, Nicholson, Tucker, Wragg and officers of the Environment, Economy and Culture Directorate, officers of the Children and Young Persons Services, the architect, representatives of the School Governors, representatives of teaching staff, pupil representatives, representative of a local tennis club, officer of East Devon District Council Planning Department, representatives of the Ottery St. Mary Town Council and local resident and his planning adviser.
At the beginning of the meeting the Chairman welcomed all the attendees and explained the purpose of the visit and meeting. Following this Mr. Deaton [representing the Director of the Environment, Economy and Culture] briefly outlined the application proposals and the main issues relating to the application.
Mr. Cooper of the Devon County Council Children and Young Persons Services explained the reasons for the chosen location of the building and the advantages it had in terms of road safety. This was due to the proposed new crossing which would effectively segregate the pedestrian activity from vehicles turning into and leaving the existing car park.
Faith Jarrett, the Head Teacher, and Robin Mitchell (Chair of Governors) were then invited to speak. They explained that there was an urgent need for additional classroom accommodation at the school particularly in terms of its existing role and the role from September 2007. It was stressed that the Kings School is now massively oversubscribed and is only taking the children from its catchment area but there remains a large demand from pupils wishing to attend the school from outside the catchment area. In terms of the choice of location for the building the view was given that there was no available space on the main campus and any development on the main campus would remove all of the informal recreation space.
Mr. Freeman , (Planning Officer for East Devon District Council), explained the District Council's formal objection to the proposal. Essentially the objection is based on the location and orientation of the building, the overlooking of the neighbouring property, the impact on the street scene, the height of the building, loss of trees, potential increase in noise and disturbance to residents due to the pedestrian crossing.
The representatives of Ottery St. Mary Town Council offered full support for the school and suggested in order to overcome the objections a sound retention fence could be constructed on the boundary with the neighbouring property. The Council's biggest concern is regarding road safety and they questioned whether a footpath was also needed as well as the new crossing.
Two Students attending the meeting were then invited to speak, and they commented that the building would benefit over 1,000 students and it would only be used during the daytime period.
The immediate neighbour, Mr. Ferguson , commented that he was aware of the needs of the school and supported these but considered that there was a requirement that the application was decided on the planning issues. In particular he raised concerns about the location of the proposed building and the comparison with other buildings in the area drawing attention to the fact that planning policy indicated any new development should not adversely impact on existing development. He was also concerned about the access point as all student traffic would be directed adjacent to his property. He considered that the way forward would be radical proposals to redevelop the site.
5. Comment/Conclusion
At the conclusion of the Site Meeting the Committee considered its decision on the application. The Chairman conveyed to the meeting that the Committee was minded to refuse planning permission for the current proposal. However, the need for the development was recognised by the Committee and the Chairman urged that an alternative for scheme be prepared.
The current application has now been withdrawn and it is understood that as a temporary measure the school will be applying for temporary classroom accommodation within the main part of the school campus. The school will also be reinvestigating the possibilities of providing a permanent new classroom block within the main area of the campus.
Edward Chorlton
Electoral Division: Ottery St. Mary Rural
Local Government Act 1972
List of Background Papers
Contact for enquiries: Malcolm West
Room No: ABG
Tel No: (01392) 382867
Background Paper Date File Ref.
Casework file Current 07/07/37/CM
md240507dca sc/all weather pitch 3 290507