The Nsb Doomsday Book
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DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT Warmington School At School Lane, Warmington, Peterborough. PE8 6TA For Northamptonshire County Council (c/o Lend Lease) Prepared by Peter Haddon and Partners Architects March 2015 First Issue P1 03/03/2015 CW 1500303cw4153A2.1 Design and Access Statement ASSESSMENT Physical Context Warmington is a village and civil parish in East Northamptonshire, England with a population of 874. The Nene Way footpath runs through it and is well signposted. It is 2½ miles east of the town of Oundle near the Cambridgeshire border and is 10 miles south west of the city of Peterborough. It has a large 13th-century church, and fine watermill, manor house and dovecote. Most of the houses, however, were built in the 1960s and 1970s. A large estate of private homes has been added since the turn of the millennium increasing the size of the village by around 30%. Warmington is a working, functional village with some impressive old stone buildings which are considered very attractive. Warmington has a small lower school that in 1980 had around 25 pupils in total but has since grown considerably over the years with a significant expansion in the early 1980’s. There are 4 classes. Robins are the pre-school children who attend from 3 years. The Hedgehogs are 4 and 5 year olds, Foxes for 5 to 7 year olds and Badgers for 7 to 9 year olds. The nearest junior and secondary schools are in Oundle. The village can be accessed by single carriageway main road, the A605, or winding country lanes leading from villages such as Morborne and Ashton via the steep 'Cooke's Hill named after the farmers there in the 1960s and previously known as Broadgate Hill. The village has a square plan following the levels of expansion over the past 4 decades. The majority of the new housing estates are set around cul-de-sac roads. The main material aesthetic is of semi or detached brick dwellings with tiled roofs and casement windows. The School is not a listed building and is not in a conservation area. 2 1500303cw4153A2.1 Design and Access Statement Above: The typical housing type directly opposite the school. Warmington School was expanded largely in the 1980’s, with buff brick and a flat felt roof. The result is a building with low architectural qualities. Above: Typical material and building form of the existing school. 3 1500303cw4153A2.1 Design and Access Statement Above: The original school buildings have a prominent traditional form, however, the original external material has been covered with a painted render which is in a poor state. The school has a good sized tarmac playground and grassed playing field predominantly to the west. To the north west of the site, close to the school buildings, there is a large trim trail and soft play area. The north eastern area has a tarmac playground used by the youngest children and is separate to the main playground. Currently, the school entrance is situated on the southern elevation of the building, which is accessed through the car park and playground. The school have stated that this is not an ideal situation as it conflicts with their desires for security and is at the opposite end of the building from the Office and reception. Social Context Following a strategic review of the Education System in East Northamptonshire and after several stages of consultation, final Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet Approval was given to a change in the School system from a three tier to two tier School system on 11th November 2014. The effect of this change in policy will be that a number of village Schools in the area will have to increase their age range from 4 to 9 years, at present, to 4 to 11 years from September 2016. In this case, Warmington school will change from a lower to a primary school in September 2015, and the school will have a class of Year 5 pupils for the first time. In September 2016 the school will accommodate the full primary age range (Reception to Year 6) and two extra classrooms will be required. This planning application is for a proposed expansion at Warmington School to increase capacity by 30 primary places, due to a change in the school age range from 4 – 9 years to 4 – 11 years. Following the strategic review of the education system in East Northamptonshire, the school will change from a lower to a primary school in September 2015, and the school will have a class of Year 5 pupils for the first time. In September 2016 the school will accommodate the full primary age range (Reception to Year 6) and an extra classroom will be required. The education review in East Northamptonshire has had several stages of consultation and received final Cabinet approval on 11th November 2014. The proposals for Warmington School include an expansion to the existing school and extension of age-range. Statutory Notices were published on 18 September 2014. The Headteacher and Governing Body of the school have been involved in the development of the plans for the expansion. Planning Policy Although the project is on a relatively minor scale and the main reason behind the proposal is to achieve the changes to the Education System in East Northamptonshire noted above, we have however still referred to various local and national planning polices when considering the location, scale, design and finishes of the proposed extension forming this application. 4 1500303cw4153A2.1 Design and Access Statement The key documents reviewed include the following: North Northamptonshire Core Spatial Strategy, adopted June 2008. National Planning Policy Framework, March 2012 Further information regarding the above policies can be found in the Planning Support Statement accompanying this application. USE Warmington school provides education to the village and some other villages in the area. In order to achieve the required net number of pupils within the school a new classroom is required. This will also involve the removal of an existing mobile classroom from the site. The new classroom forms the majority of the extension with a small new Office for the Head Teacher added linked via an existing break-out area to the centre of the school. The classroom will create the teaching space required for the larger number of years within the school. Above: Proposed site plan Externally the extension is situated on a redundant part of the existing outside playing areas. The proposals aim to mitigate the small loss of trim trail area by re- installing this close to the other soft play area. 5 1500303cw4153A2.1 Design and Access Statement Internally, the existing Heads Office is to be transformed in to a new entrance lobby. This will be accessed through a new set of external automatic doors. The existing office adjacent to this will now become the reception office, with a hatch through to the lobby. These changes will alter the access to the school, providing a positive focal point. AMOUNT The new spaces created have been designed in line with the guidance set out in Building Bulletin 99 and 103, taking account of NCC recommendations on current practice and space requirements. The two new classrooms have been sized to enable the full provision of pupils with the required facilities for learning. The proposed classroom has been designed as a single storey building with a offset ridge duo-pitch roof over. This form enables low level windows to be located facing the playing field to bring in high levels of natural day light, and high level windows to encourage high levels of natural ventilation. The roof verge is to connect with a new entrance canopy to emphasise the new access point for the school. The roof above the new Heads Office and corridor link is designed as a flat roof area to tie in with the existing flat roof. The existing site is able to accommodate the new classroom comfortably. The proposed location takes advantage of an area with little use. LAYOUT The position of the new classroom takes advantage of a small area of infrequently used playing field as stated above. It is easily connected to the existing school via a break-out space which has an existing glazed wall with external door. 6 1500303cw4153A2.1 Design and Access Statement A primary benefit to the location of the propose classroom is that it can combine with the works to form the new access. By tying the new access and new classroom together with the new canopy and fresh materials a new focal point is created for the school. The transformed access will shift the visitor entrance to the north elevation, directly off School Lane, increasing the site security and formalising the Reception. The proposed position of the new classroom ensures that the existing layout of the school continues to function well. Windows to the classroom are to be fitted to the southern and western elevations. This will create privacy for the classroom and enable the proposed school signage to be established on the large blank wall to the north elevation. An additional length of footpath is proposed to the front of the school. This will connect with a new access gate to the side of the new classroom and be used at school opening and closing times by pupils. The school have requested this be added as it will reduce the number of pupils entering through the car park which is a hazardous approach. By providing this new access point the school frontage will be used more, contributing to the shifted frontage of the site.