Appendix 1

Consultation responses:

Comment Keep Green

Metropolitan Open Land Planning restrictions on MOL have not been properly considered. The constant erosion of open space is unsustainable, irreversible and contrary to the NPPF, London Plan and Hounslow Local Plan. The application site has not been designated for development in the Hounslow Local Plan. The site is not currently used for education and as such the expansion or provision of new education facilities into open space would be contrary to Policy GB3. The justification for development in MOL, based on ‘very special circumstances’ rests entirely on the claim that there are no alternative sites within Hounslow. The proposal would result in a precedent of permitting inappropriate development in MOL.

Sequential site assessment This analysis is deeply flawed and alternative sites are available which do not impact on MOL. The application site was not shortlisted as an educational site following the Borough’s site sequential assessment carried out by Cundall in 2014 and was highlighted as a non-preferred site in the Local Plan Sustainability Appraisal. The Nishkam School Trust had already chosen the site before the sequential assessment was undertaken. The initial parameters (e.g. site size, building height, requirement for a nursery) were inflexible and ruled out a wide range of other possibilities. The assessment does not follow an objective, non-arbitrary approach against defined criteria and scoring measures. A number of sites were included, such as , Syon Park, West Middlesex University Hospital, Mogden Sewage Treatment Works, the Treaty Centre, etc. that were entirely inappropriate and should not have even been considered. The assessment states that sites were only rejected once a clear statement of non-availability had been received, yet a large number of sites were ruled out on the basis that no response was received, so non-availability was assumed. Other sites were excluded based on their PTAL rating, even though the application site has the lowest PTAL rating. Other alternative sites are available, e.g. Sutton Lane, Gillette Buildings, Feltham Arenas, all of which are advertised on the Invest Hounslow website.

Catchment area problems The school will do little to serve the area in which it would be built. The application site falls within the Priority Admissions Area – however 2011 census data indicates that there are not many Sikhs in Osterley (11.8%), (2.4%) and Brentford (1.4%). This is reflected in the admissions data for the temporary Nishkam School on Wood Lane, which shows that under 16% of the intake come from Osterley, Isleworth & Brentford. The Nishkam Travel Plan shows that more than 45% of their current pupils live between 3 and 6km from the proposed site, and a further 10% live more than 6km away. This does not comply with statutory guidelines on school admissions (Academies Act 2010). The Nishkam admissions policy is for allocating up to 50% of the places to practising Sikhs over other faiths, the remaining 50% of spaces are assigned by random selection, with no regard to the distance of the pupil’s home from the school. Will the school really help address the shortage of school places within the Brentford PAA and consequently are they demonstrating ‘very special circumstances’ for a school to be based within the Brentford PAA. It is wildly inappropriate to place a primary school for 700 children in an area which is far from most of their homes. The greater than normal distances children would travel, plus poor public transport service, would mean an unsustainable increase in private car use.

Traffic analysis The Transport Assessment lacks rigour and seriously downplays the severe impact that will arise in an existing traffic black spot that has the lowest PTAL rating. The traffic analysis is incomplete, grossly underestimated and based upon irrelevant baseline data. A more likely number of round trip car journeys is an additional 1500 plus at least 75 coach/mini bus journeys. Based on 113 responses from pupils in the current Nishkam School on Wood Lane, car travel accounts for 23% compared to 16% average for Hounslow primary schools. Total car transport is 52%, if this is extrapolated to the proposed primary school, this would result in 364 car journeys just for the primary school. The untenable impact of on-street parking is excluded from the assessment, there is no detailed data relating to the existing minimal on-street parking availability or the existing levels of on-street parking demand. Currently, all free off- street parking is taken by employees of BskyB around the Syon Lane area and Wood Lane is too narrow for on-street parking. The Wood Lane/A4 junction will be widely used but it is already one of the worst junctions in terms of delays in Hounslow. No consideration has been given to parents dropping children off, often illegally, close to the school. There is insufficient detail in the TA in terms of pedestrian facilities (crossing points and footways) in the immediate area.

Consultation Only one “consultation” event was ever organised for the application; an exhibition held in the Osterley Park Hotel on the 20th and 23rd of May. It was in no way a consultation with residents about any problems they may have with the proposals. Residents have been informed about it and no more and even that, only weeks before making the submission. This is contrary to the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement. The only consultation that has been run by the Council is where residents are given a few weeks to respond to 1,400 pages of documentation prepared by the EFA/NST and their consultants.

Design/character The proposal is out of character with the surrounding area, not respecting mass, height, design etc.

Council for the Protection of Rural : The proposed use would not appear to fulfil the requirement in the National Planning Policy Framework for very special circumstances to clearly outweigh the ‘substantial weight’ to be given in decision making to harm to the Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land. The proposed development by virtue of its scale and character would unacceptably and unnecessarily harm the open, green character of the site and its nature conservation and historical interest. Inadequate justification has been given that this site should be developed before available brownfield sites. The proposal is likely to create a major increase in traffic, detrimental to the open, green character and tranquillity of the area. The proposed development by virtue of its scale would be likely to exacerbate flood risk. Heston Residents’ Association: Opposed to the use of open space for the proposed development. Open space must be preserved. The proposal to introduce a right turn to enable easier vehicular access to the school site and also the proposed park and stride concept and use of "buses" and marshals together with the proposed Parent's Charter are well noted. However I feel that despite these initiatives the additional vehicular movements associated with a 1400 pupil school, not only in Syon Lane and Windmill Lane, but in other nearby residential roads, such as Jersey Road and further afield will exacerbate the already present heavy traffic problems, particularly during peak periods, both am and pm The narrowness of Syon Lane, particularly near the proposed school entrance is such that inevitably and despite the proposals acknowledged above, there will be hold-ups particularly during peak traffic movement periods. This applies both south and north bound together with traffic relating to Tesco customers and Sky employees etc. The pavement adjacent to the proposed school site is particularly narrow and totally unsuitable for the potential use of even some of the estimated 1400 pupils, particularly during inclement weather. The residential roads opposite the proposed site would remain vulnerable to the set down/pick-up of pupils even with the intended provision of marshals. The proposed use of Tesco and the Wyevale Garden Centre as drop-off / pick-up points will inevitably introduce traffic problems on both Syon and Windmill Lanes, again during peak times. A particular pinch point is the mini-roundabout at the junction of Jersey Road and Syon / Windmill Lanes. The ever present possibility of traffic incidents affecting traffic flow on the Great West Road, particularly at Gillette's Corner, cannot be ignored when considering the overall impact of additional vehicular movements in the area. The proposed right turn to enable improved entry to the site raises concerns relating to potential accidents on such a busy and narrow highway with associated delays. The need to introduce a speed limit must be considered. Isleworth Society: The application proposes building on Metropolitan Open Lane (MOL); the London Plan and Hounslow’s emerging Local Plan emphasise the need to protect and enhance MOL and existing open spaces; Planning guidance requires that where in special circumstance building is permitted on MOL, alternative land must be provided to maintain the status quo; no alternative MOL is being provided; Transport facilities are inadequate. Of existing pupils of the Nishkam School for which this site is proposed as an alternative, only 16% come from the Isleworth/Osterley/Brentford area. Public Transport Accessibility Level for the location is 1 a/b, the very lowest, thus rendering it unsustainable as a place for a primary school; The proposed three storey glass and concrete structure is wholly out of character with the surrounding residential area. Oaklands Avenue Residents’ Association: 'All through' school could exclude Hounslow children: lf there is low application for the primary stage from local children when they wish to move to a secondary school the proposed Nishkam school will not be an available choice for them. We would suggest that if the Committee is minded to grant the application that there be mitigation applied to reduce the potential for exclusion. This might be in the form of ring-fenced places for local and Hounslow-based children in year 7 and for a modification to the 'all through' concept so that the school makes places available for the secondary transfer process to include Hounslow residents. The proposed site is on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL): The application fails to protect and enhance London’s open spaces in accordance with the London Plan and Hounslow Local Plan The special circumstances criterion is not met: No alternative land is being provided as MOL. The site falls within the Brentford Priority Admissions Area and as such the proposal should be expected to address the needs of the immediate Brentford, Isleworth and Osterley community. Instead their admissions privilege Central Hounslow, other wards and other boroughs. There is a lack of evidence that alternative sites were fully investigated: Other possible sites identified in the Sequential Site Analysis were rejected without good reason The local transport infrastructure is insufficient for the proposed size of the school: The post code analysis of pupils at the temporary Nishkam School on Wood Lane shown that only 16% come from Isleworth, Osterley and Brentford. This indicates that the majority of children will travel further to the proposed school. Given the sites poor access to public transport, this is an unsustainable place put a primary school. The DfE and Hounslow Council state that primary schools should be within 400m of pupils’ homes. The average distance travelled by the children at the temporary Nishkam School is 3.89km. This would get worse with the proposed site. The increased traffic could create hazards for the children: Syon Lane and Wood Lane where they meet the A4 are already traffic black spots. The School would inevitably increase private car trips far beyond the 645 round trips used in Nishkam’s traffic analysis. The ‘pedestrian refuges’ on Syon Lane, do not offer any refuge and are unsafe as they offer no protection from oncoming traffic and are not deep enough for a child or parent to stand with a bicycle or pushchair. In addition there is no zebra or pelican crossing near the proposed school entrance. The speed of traffic on Syon Lane often exceeds 30mph. Cycling on Syon Lane or along Windmill Lane is extremely perilous. The roads are narrow and very busy, with traffic exceeding the speed limits. We strongly urge significant amendments to the travel and transport arrangements as mitigation. The increased traffic would result in loss of amenity for local residents: There are limited parking opportunities for local residents owing to regular congestion. Further increases in parking and traffic resulting from the Nishkam School at peak times would reduce the amenity for local residents. Oaklands Avenue residents are very disappointed that the application made no mention of the likely impact on their street and feel they have been overlooked and not properly consulted. The proposed building is out of keeping with the surrounding area: The building would be 14m in height – not ‘low-rise’ as described in the application. The very large three storey glass and concrete structure is wholly out of character with the surrounding housing. Significant amendments to the height and design of the building to make it truly low rise and more in keeping with the rear, which is one of open land, trees, 1930’s properties and other brick built houses, should be sought. The extra traffic of cars dropping off children at this school that would exacerbate an already fragile situation with an enormous increase of traffic that has developed over many years. This school would not necessarily be serving local children, but children from a wide range of locations, which would mean extra transportation. The objection of a large school being built on Metropolitan Open Land affecting the environment and biodiversity of a stable green open space. Surely this space would be better served developing sport and leisure activities for the local community. It represents inappropriate development on a Metropolitan Open Land site which is currently probably unique in an urban area and of historical importance. I also believe this area, in its wider context as the former Conquest and White Lodge Sports Ground has been identified as a strategic Green Link in London’s wildlife corridors. Such mass habitat and food source destruction will result in the death of many mammals, birds and invertebrates; it will compromise the ability of species in a wider area to reproduce thus reducing biodiversity. The area is LPT1a for public transport and the distances and public transport links make it impossible for primary age pupils and unlikely for secondary age pupils to travel from these wards to a school on the White Lodge/Conquest Club grounds site by public transport. This means a potential for 1,400 (2,800 if return is included) additional journeys on already congested roads at peak hours. The school does not meet the Council’s sustainability targets in terms of travel to school distance. The site is surrounded on three sides by residential roads and there will be a consequential and considerable disturbance over an extended period of the day. This site to be unsuitable due to surface water drainage problems and the increased risk of flooding posed to surrounding properties from surface water flooding. Supporting documents supplied as part of the application show there is a high water table which will preclude “soakaway” surface water drainage. No evidence that Thames Water have confirmed that the Foul Water drainage system is sufficient to prevent surcharging of the local sewer system. Having examined the Sequential Assessment closely I cannot see how it can claim that this site is the only available one. The Sequential Assessment looks for a site big enough for a secondary school, primary school and nursery. This of course impacts on the overall size required but also because of shared facilities on the overall design. But the nursery is not part of the current application. The construction of a totally unnecessary right hand turn lane will also reduce the environmental amenity of the boundary to the houses in Syon Lane and involve the destruction of the final vestiges of an ancient hedgerow Why a Park and Stride at Wyevale? This is not on any conceivable route from Hounslow Central, Heston, Cranford or Brentford. The proposal to create an access from Braybourne Drive will cause aggravation to residents and endanger children. Either in addition or elaboration to the effect of traffic on Wood Lane it will be an result of this project that traffic when approaching from a northerly direction would especially in rush hours inevitably turn right at Seccombes and proceed down Wood Lane to avoid traffic jams. The Lane would need widening and with pavements each side. The proposed walk and ride scheme at Osterley Hotel would hence be heavily used where parking facilities are limited. That junction has had several fatalities recently. Further traffic would enhance that risk with numbers of children going to one focal point from several directions not all of whom will come by car some by foot some by bike. The road giving access to the site cannot be adapted to cope with the extra traffic involved. Traffic is already a problem on Syon lane and it will only get worse with this school. This is not a local school for local children. The proposed site is on Metropolitan Open Land. The London Plan and the Hounslow Local Plan emphasise the need to protect and enhance London's open spaces. No alternative sites were properly investigated. The proposed school would not serve the local area. Postcode analysis of the pupils at the temporary Nishkam School on London Road shoes that only 16% come from Isleworth/Osterley/Brentford. We need schools to serve the areas in which they are built. The average distance travelled by the children at the temporary Nishkam School is 3.89km. This would get worse with the proposed site. Local transport facilities are not suitable. Not only would pupils have too far to travel but the site is in an area poorly served by public transport. The school would significantly worsen traffic problems. Syon Lane, leading down to Gillette corner and Wood Lane leading to the A4 are already traffic black spots. The proposed development is out of character with the surrounding area. The massive 3 storey glass and concrete structure is wholly out of character with the surrounding housing. The proposed site is on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL). The London Plan and the Hounslow Local Plan emphasise the need to protect and enhance London's open spaces. This application fails to do that. No alternative metropolitan open land (MOL) is being provided. Alternative sites were not properly investigated. No “special circumstances” justify this submission. The proposed school would not serve the local area. The admission criteria do not consider the needs of the local area. Local transport facilities are not suitable. Not only would pupils have too far to travel but the site is in an area poorly served by public transport The school would significantly worsen traffic problems. The proposed site is on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL). This application is not in line with the London Plan and The Hounslow Local Plan which emphasises the need to protect and enhance London's open spaces. No alternative MOL is being provided which is contrary to current planning guidelines. This requires that alternative land should be provided to maintain the total amount of MOL. Alternative sites were not properly investigated The school is therefore in the wrong place for its targeted primary school pupils and is not within walking distance of the pupil's homes. The site is poorly served by public transport and as result the school would significantly worsen traffic problems in a traffic black spot area, which is contrary to planning guidelines. It is MOL land and also the traffic which will be caused will be unacceptable. I can see no good reason for the building of a large school on the proposed site and the loss of this open land. The school, particularly as it will encompass primary aged children, will attract a huge amount of traffic, as children from a wide area, not the local area, are likely to attend. The roads around the site are already congested and at peak times the traffic moves very slowly. Public transport is already overcrowded at peak times and is limited around that area. I am unconvinced that you have considered alternative sites, which would minimise traffic congestion and enable the vast majority of the children attending to walk to school. The school will adversely affect our quite residential area and make the traffic situation worse on Syon lane and Wood Lane. There is already a lot of traffic on Syon lane with people accessing Tesco/ sky and other offices. There is no capacity on Syon lane or Wood lane and a school of 1400 pupils will create a traffic chaos. Deliveries from wood lane will have a detrimental impact on traffic on wood lane The proposed school opening hours will make the traffic worse. As it is, the traffic from 08:00 to 09:00 is very heavy on Wood Lane. Any more traffic will block the access for Wood Lane residents. The problem persists even without the school. The staggered start and finish times doesn’t help Wood Lane and Syon Lane are already quite heavily used and have no further capacity. The footpath on wood lane and syon lane is so narrow in parts that there is hardly any space for a one person to pass. It will be particularly difficult for primary school and nursery children. The parents will undoubtedly use wood lane to drop off the pupils, causing traffic chaos. The walk from Garden Centre is rather far from the property and the footpath on Syon Lane or Wood Lane are not big enough to take the influx of pedestrians. Needless to say, the roads aren’t that safe for children. There are no cycling paths and having more children riding their bikes with the increased traffic will not only make things worse for the residents but it is also unsafe for the children walking/ cycling to school and our children accessing the neighbourhood. This will increase the risk of accidents during rush hours. The refuse storage is towards wood lane, which will make the area smell. Constructing a whole building alone will impact the noise level and dust in the area It is certain with the school will come huge amounts of noise pollution. This is clearly going to disrupt our quality of living at wood lane This means the catchment area will not be applicable and the local population will not benefit from the school. The target location for the school is incorrect. The admission criteria will not satisfy the needs of local residents as there is no catchment area. There are no Special circumstances why the Free School should be built on MOL. Planning guidelines require that even when special circumstances permit building on MOL, alternative land should be provided to maintain the total amount of MOL. The sequential assessment was flawed and did not consider suitable sites but sites such as the Mogden Sewage site. The Treaty Centre in Hounslow, West Middlesex Hospital. The park and stride at Wyverdale centre is not a measure to stop traffic. This will encourage parents to drive their cars to use this facility, hence bring more congestion along windmill lane. This travel plan needs to be much more detailed than it is currently stated. Anyone can suggest car share, walk or cycle but this is not a real travel plan. They have suggested they will run school buses, however, there is no mention of what route these buses will take, this needs to be considered as it makes an impact on the traffic in the area. The Nishkam School has 85 parking spaces for at least 175 employees, I would like to know where all the rest of the employees will be parking. The proposed location, is not the optimal site to make a significant contribution to managing the shortfall in Central Hounslow school space. Siting the school at the proposed location will only further compound the existing challenges posed by a poorly served transport route. I am yet to see any honest proposals on measures to ameliorate the expected increased traffic congestion. The proposed school in Osterley would mean that pupils would have to travel a long distance. Pupils are already travelling an average distance of 2.42 miles, mainly from the west of the borough and even from outside the borough to the north west; they are coming mainly from Hounslow, Heston and . The Sequential Analysis failed to identify sites which are deemed available on the Invest Hounslow web site, so the approval of this flawed Sequential Analysis, which only looked at one borough (Hounslow) and failed to identify other currently available sites, was erroneous to say the least. The Sequential Analysis only considered the possibility of building one school. LBH seem to have addressed the problem of lack of primary places and is looking to provide secondary school places; if only a secondary school was planned by Nishkam, there would be more sites readily available. Building a school where there are other available sites in the local borough (and nearby boroughs from which pupils are already coming to the school at London Road/Wood Lane) does not therefore constitute ‘special circumstances’. The planning application suggests that there would be 85 parking spaces for 175 staff, which could well mean some staff trying to park on nearby roads like Syon Lane, Oaklands Avenue, Wyke Close, Stags Way, Crowntree Close, Braybourne Drive, Syon Park Gardens and maybe even further afield, as these roads are already targeted by staff driving to the nearby SKY headquarters where the car parks are full. The proposed site in Osterley has the lowest PTAL (Public Transport Accessibility Level) rating of 1a/b, and many pupils would be travelling by car in the direction of the morning rush hour from west to east. Pedestrian access is also limited due to the narrow roads and pavements in the area, and it would be dangerous for children. And only the Great West Road has a cycle path; cycling on Syon Lane, Wood Lane, Jersey Road and Windmill Lane is dangerous. Surrounding roads are already used as ‘rat runs’ with morning and evening traffic and this will become much worse if the application is approved Now we have “Free schools” being proposed all over the place, and there seems to be a complete lack of overall strategy; contracts for schools in a variety of different guises seem to be given to the highest bidder, irrespective of whether these are acceptable or appropriate to the local community. Given the increasingly multicultural population we now have, we should be trying to improve community-cohesion, not create divisions. In my opinion, all new free school should be free of any religious or cultural affiliations. This proposed school is a few hundred metres from the borough boundary, 23Km from the areas where there is the greatest need of school places, Brentford, central Isleworth and Hounslow. It is very likely that building a school in Osterley where population density is relatively low, will quadruple the number of car journeys using Wood Lane and Syon Lane, where there is already severe congestion, particularly in the mornings. Public Transport is necessarily limited by the nature of the roads; essentially, they are narrow country lanes. I already experience horrendous traffic, noise and pollution when I leave my house in the morning. How is the Conquest Club a justified site for development given that there are numerous brownfield sites upon which to build? According to the submitted Travel Plan data (3.3.1a) cars deliver only 20.36% of local secondary school – a figure that Nishkam claims, once reached, will solve their traffic problems. Yet, even at this figure, every day there is morning and afternoon traffic chaos at the roads leading to Lampton School. A ‘Park and Stride’ scheme is planned to minimise these inevitable car deliveries. A fleet of buses from Heston, Cranford and Martindale Road – the first two manifestly increasing the traffic and pollution along Jersey Road - a ‘solution’ for Nishkam that will be paid for by increasing the local residents’ existing traffic and pollution problems. The addition of several hundred children crossing this fast road every morning and afternoon will not substantially, or even tragically, add to these numbers [of injuries]. They have chosen a site that will destroy Metropolitan Open Land – a community asset that the Council have a statutory duty to protect, a site manifestly unsuited to any increase in traffic density in an area that can, quite simply, take no more traffic or pollution. MOL has been eaten away bit by bit throughout London, and this site’s importance has consequently increased. It perfectly fits its function as playing fields and can continue to do so. Surely in this age of equality/multi-faith we should be offering independent schools and therefore supporting free-schools that aren’t creating influential environments in the education of our children. We should be incorporating/challenging all faiths so our children grow up to be independent decision makers as opposed to influenced by parents/schools etc. If this were to go ahead then a limit should be placed on faith and this shouldn’t be a 50% faith school vs 50% other. The criteria should be set on those that live within the agreed boundaries regardless of faith. Syon Lane is primarily a road of low rise housing. A three storey building will visually dominate and overlook residential properties. Syon Lane is a narrow road already becoming a rat-run between Gillette Corner and Jersey road. At Peak Times the traffic is already nose to tail and is unable to carry any further volume. Parking outside our houses is already a problem: not only will parents double park on the grass verges and pavements but will take our residents places. One entrance only to the site will lead to traffic congestion building up along the Lane. The main reason is SAFETY; please feel free to experience the amount of traffic flow daily down Syon Lane. The speed & constant number of cars together with children/ teenagers trying to cross the road we think will lead to serious accidents etc. The site is not identified in the Council's forward plan. There are numerous brownfield sites in the borough. The council has provided forward planning information for this purpose. Why has this site been identified now, against the council's own plan? The school would clearly serve a very large catchment area beyond Hounslow and therefore would not be justified in terms of local school needs. The site has the lowest level of public transport accessibility (PTAL 1a) and the consequential rise in bus and car usage would lead to unacceptable congestion, noise, pollution and safety issues. Already the H28 which travels through Wood Lane causes significant traffic congestion and is dangerous. Residents in the immediate surrounding area would suffer greatly with heavier traffic congestion, increased pollution and marked in pedestrian traffic which will make it hazardous for car drivers and pedestrians alike. Wood Lane will completely be blocked to go out and in. Park and stride actually encourages parents to drive their children to school. It is not mitigation for the massive increase in traffic that will arise as a consequence of this school. Overall, there will be a very significant increase in the volume of traffic travelling in the same west-to-east direction during peak am/ pm flow on the A4 in an already highly congested area. Increase in congestion and pedestrian safety issues - Parents will therefore attempt to avoid the A4 at the soonest opportunity and use Jersey road, Wood Lane and St Mary's crescent as rat runs which will add to the existing severe congestion and danger to pedestrians on these roads. The widening of the pavement and removal of boundary trees on Syon Lane will result in severe loss of amenity and irrevocably ruin the MOL site and general outlook for all residents. The physical constraints i.e. Railway bridge pavement and Seccombe builders merchant listed wall comprise an insurmountable bottleneck will make the walk from Wyevale very dangerous for pupils. The pavement widening beyond will be ineffective and redundant. The additional pedestrian crossings will cause congestion - not shown in any plans - the imposition of a 20mph speed limit and massive increase in traffic due to pupil journeys will cause gridlock. Nishkam has, once challenged, increased its ridiculously understated figures, but this are still significantly low. The projections, however, remain on the low side as the projected increase is more likely 1500 two-way journeys. These drivers are not merely passing through. The existing baseline traffic congestion/ volumes are not considered and the comparables with other schools are unrealistic because their baseline traffic volumes are almost certainly lower. If the school is so confident in the effectiveness of its soft travel plan measures then why is not putting in place CCTV traffic and parking enforcement cameras on Wood Lane and Syon Lane as is the case in Ealing and underwriting the creation of CPZs in the immediate area? There is already a chronic shortage of on-street parking in the area. Nishkam will have 175 employees and 85 parking spaces. This will generate a demand of at least 50 on-street parking spaces. Three bus services are proposed. There is, however, no statement of the actual routes these services will follow. This must be considered a prerequisite in order to determine the overall traffic impact on the area. It is absolutely imperative that this overall context is taken into account when considering this application specifically. If two of these schools go ahead does LBH propose putting a motorway into Osterley? This section of Wood Lane is entirely unsuitable for use by commercial goods and delivery vehicles. Its narrow road that is barely wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other. Trucks can only enter from the turning at the Jersey Road end as buses do, as the Syon Lane/Jersey road junction is a very sharp turn for buses, as well as trucks to make. This would result in commercial trucks travelling along Jersey Road, a residential road. The proposed goods entrance is on a blind spot on Wood Lane where people come over a hump bridge and then arrive at a corner where the proposed entrance would be. The presence of reversing goods vehicles here would represent a traffic hazard. The scale of the school is beyond the capability of the land and the local infrastructures The reality of parents not wanting children to walk or cycle to school means that they will revert to using cars to transport their children to school through fears of safety. The open lands and trees must be allowed to remain to help the area breath amongst the pollution already being supplied from the M4/A4 and the Heathrow flight path. This site has been used extensively by the local community for at least the last 75 years for sports. Usage has tailed off in the last few years only because the current owners actively discouraged use of the site, and shut down thriving clubs by refusing to extend their leases when they expired. There is a clear and unsatisfied demand for sports fields in this area that this site would be better suited for whilst also maintaining it as an amenity accessible and useable by local residents and those from across the borough. The massive 3-storey glass and concrete structure is wholly out of character with the surrounding housing. It’s position on the site places it as close as possible to all the surrounding housing and height of the building will mean it will tower over the houses on the surrounding streets and provide line of sight into their bedroom windows, which is certainly an in invasion of privacy, if not a violation of planning guidelines. The NST clearly had the White Lodge (Conquest Club) site in mind even before it carried out its sequential analysis. The submission papers show that Nishkam asked for a study of the White Lodge site as early as 2012. The NST Sequential Analysis is substantially different from, and uses very different (and highly subjective) selection criteria. In contrast the Sequential Assessment undertaken for the council by Cullen uses more thorough and objective criteria, and did NOT recommend this site as being suitable for this use. The loss of the tree screen with resultant impact on outlook and privacy The resulting noise from refuse collection and delivery vehicles and reversing sirens would be excessive and unduly intrusive, that would adversely impinge upon the peace and quiet enjoyment of the nearby local residents. Given the existing main entrance to the site in Syon Lane, there is absolutely no reason or need for an additional vehicle entrance in Wood Lane. Park & Stride does nothing to mitigate the impact of the circa. 1500 round trip car journeys that will occur in the morning rush hour and the same number in the afternoon. A large volume of cars will both enter and exit the area during peak time. The Wyevale Garden Centre is inappropriate because footpaths are hazardously narrow and cannot be widened. The new traffic management measures will severely impede the flow of traffic and cause much lengthier tailbacks. All tress opposite 168-160 Wood Lane will be removed thereby eliminating any natural screening afforded to these properties thus causing loss of privacy and overlooking. The trees and hedge also serve to prevent the flow of water away from the site onto Wood Lane. Wood Lane already suffers large areas of standing water and this is more pronounced in the area where a hardstanding area has been created for the H28 bus stop opposite 170-168 Wood Lane. It is proposed to widen the pavement by one metre which implies infilling of the ditch (which is a historical ha-ha) and loss of the hawthorn hedge both of which date back to the medieval moated manor that was once on the Whitelodge site. This is unacceptable and will adversely affect the rural character of the area. The site is prone to flooding so the ditch serves a practical purpose as a sink for water thereby avoiding flooding risks in Syon Lane. Use of waste groundworks material to raise ground levels will increase flood risk to adjacent roads and properties, in particular Wood Lane. The soft measures stated in the travel plan are voluntary and thus unenforceable. No waiting zones have no impact and unenforceable - Experience from observation at other schools is that such schemes are not enforceable hence do not deter drivers from stopping across drives and in restricted areas to drop-off children. No consideration has been given to the consequential impact on Jersey, Ridgeway Road and St Mary’s Crescent. Drivers will undoubtedly try to cut behind the A4 to avoid Syon Lane and drop off children on Jersey Road. I strongly believe the school facilities will be rented out for wedding receptions and parties. Such use should not be permitted as it will cause loss of amenity along with noise nuisance and virtually 24x7 traffic problems. Any cooking odours are unacceptable and cause loss of amenity. We are yet to be informed what, if any, actions will be taken to site HVAC away from residents to avoid noise, vibration and odour intrusion. There is no mention of what “lighting” times are and how the site will be illuminated at night. Any lighting during dusk and during darkness is unacceptable for obvious reasons. The scale and nature of the building i.e. sprawling three storey monolithic building is overbearing and not in keeping with the streetscape and overall character of the area which is exclusively two storey residential houses surrounding MOL. The noise generated at break times by 1500 pupils will be intolerable. It should be borne in mid and contrary to what the application states i.e. Traffic noise from the A4, M4, air traffic and underground line makes this a noisy area when, in fact, the aircraft path is only active for 3 hours and the traffic on A4, M4 and underground is inaudible. The existing and proposed screening from tress will be wholly ineffective. The existing boundary planting which Nishkam ”will attempt to preserve...” Is already inadequate and aside from summer/ spring will offer no screening of a monolithic building. Nishkam’s self-imposed red lines are designed to deliberately exclude alternative sites The state of the site should not sway an approval for planning. Approval of this application would serve as a dangerous precedent that will encourage other owners to adopt the same ploy to deliberately allow a MOL site to deteriorate and sell/ develop it with development potential which must be avoided at all costs. Exceptional circumstances for the selection of this site have not been proved - the sequential site assessment is fundamentally flawed, lacks objectivity and contrived to identify the conquest club site when more appropriate sites are available No consideration has been given to the cumulative impact of the proposed HIP school on the Grasshoppers RFC site and the potential location of the green school for boys on a section of the Wyevale site Loss of the Conquest Sports Club car park would lead to a loss of parking associated with the londondiving/London baby swim centre on Wood Lane. Comparisons between the Hounslow travel mode split data (Table 3.3.2b) for primary schools and the results of the current school’s “Hands Up survey” (para 3.4.1) show that the current school already shows a marked excess of travel involving a car (car/car share/park and stride) of 52% over 31% for Hounslow in general. Walking is already much lower (20/54%), even though the current school is already in a very built up area, surrounded by housing. However, bus usage is higher (17/7%) but there are many routes passing the current site and few passing the proposed site. It is difficult to see anything other than a diversion of several per cent towards some further use of the car. Simply, the new site will have far fewer primary pupils nearby and far more much further away than the average. Its location in the north east corner of the borough and basically the farthest corner of our built up area, means it is unlikely to see any improvement in its relative position. It will always have pupils coming either from a distance within the borough or outside it. Permission should only be considered if their plan has allowed for no parking within the premises, strictly enforced by the Council and Police. This, in my opinion would greatly discourage cars to the school under no circumstances except for emergency vehicles. Public transport in this area is limited. For example there are no north/south bus routes or train services. The site has historically provided sports facilities for West London and the wider community. London’s’ growing population needs recreationally facilities both now in the future. I am deeply concerned that the borough is not presenting any master plan or strategy for the planning of new schools in the borough and especially in the area local to the proposed site. Without the vision and planning we as residents and people who care about the quality of the built environment and open spaces in the area will all suffer. The only consultation was when all the decisions had been made and the application was about to go in. This has not given enough time and has not followed due process. The proposed Nishkam School admissions policy would be based on being a faith school providing places for mainly selected Sikh pupils, i.e. 50 per cent. This is not the percentage amongst local residents so is not reflective of the local community and does not prepare pupils for living in a multi-cultural/faith society. There would not be safe dropping off areas in either Wood Lane or Syon Lane as both are residential areas requiring easy access to driveways etc. The design and architecture of the School complex is totally out of character with the local area which is mainly comprised of housing developed during the 1920-30's which is sympathetic to the local environment. This application for this school or any other school for that matter has simply too many negatives, which clearly outweigh any positives, based in the current location. The site is next to a busy and well established builder’s merchants which attracts a lot of heavy duty vehicles in addition to the traffic created by the small private builders etc. The supermarket is another reason why Syon Lane has become such a busy road. Where will the pupils/parents cross to access the "Park and Stride" at Wyvale Garden Centre:? There is only pavement (very narrow) on one side of Syon Lane and no safe place to cross. Also there is no continual pavement on either side of the road. The inherent dangers of children crossing this busy road at any point are huge and the traffic disruption will be increased enormously. The traffic flow in both Syon Lane and Wood Lane has reach saturation point and it can only worsen when the Sky development is completed. Have the school provided sufficient parking spaces for the parents to wait for these children when they come out of school or will they be parking along Syon lane? The Nishkam School Trust and the EFA have treated the local residents with distain and obviously wished to carry out this development regardless of local interest. The erection of the high wooden fence bordering the site without permission was a prime example of this and is was only due to the surveillance of a local residence that this whole debacle first came to our notice. The site is on a Metropolitan Open Land and, in my opinion, to allow re-qualifying this sort of site would open the doors to all sort of developers buying green lands and expecting the Council to reconsider them for their greedy interests. Although a new school is always good news for a community. In this case, this one would only not benefit the local community in any way but would affect the residential quality The building will be taller than all the residential dwellings around it. At its highest point it will be 14m, which is beyond guidelines in the Council's Local Plan, Policy CC2. The size of the building with an area of more than 9,000sqm has a huge impact on the neighbouring properties Widening Syon Lane, creating new entrances on Wood Lane, installing pedestrian crossings would completely ruin the green feel that the area has at present. The Park & Stride points do not solve any sustainability or pollution issue, they just encourage car traffic. I have huge concerns regarding the amount of noise that the development would generate. The proposed school would have more than 1,500 people on site every weekday, which is a huge change of use from the tranquil oasis the site had become. The positives (further educational opportunities) are outweighed by the negatives (massive disruption to transport, auditory disturbance, increased chance of vehicular accidents) There has to be more schools on the fringes of the borough or indeed closer to these students….such as in Feltham area which are more open and are not designated as metropolitan open land. This area has far less traffic. Why did the Nishkam not consult locals before applying? A school of this size and magnitude needs to approach locals first who live in the area. The playing field is shown very close to the boundary of No 6-10 Crowntree Close. This will result in a loss of privacy and overlooking from both the grounds and buildings into these properties. Master bedrooms are at the back of the properties and the flood lighting, which normally accompanies sports pitches will result in excess lighting at night affecting residents’ sleep which will have a detrimental effect on their health. The proposed entrance to this school could not be in a worse position. Vehicles going in and out of the school will only result in further hold ups to an existing traffic nightmare as it is proposed that coaches will be dropping pupils on and off at the school. Having an entrance on Syon Lane will cause grid lock on this road. The entrance should be on Wood Lane with an in/out arrangement. The plans submitted by Nishkam show that the school and its car park would be built adjacent to Braybourne Avenue and Crowntree Close, very close to the nine front-line houses. Plus a sports pitch is planned between the Crowntree Close fences and the school’s car park, both of which would be close to the main site entrance and the turning circle. With the majority of the 1500 pupils and staff using this entrance, I believe the noise nuisance experienced by me and my neighbours will be very intrusive throughout the day and into the evening If any building is undertaken, it would be better adjacent to the tube line. The area of land that is being used for this project is out of character for the area and this land should be used for housing (for which there is an acute shortage) The slightest impediment to traffic, especially at peak times results in severe congestion. I fear that a 'travel plan' will have little effect. Regrettably people are basically lazy and the majority will still arrive by car, with the resultant grid lock. I would much rather see the land being used for the benefit of the local community, for example, transforming the land to allotments would be wonderful. I have seen parents park on zigzag lines outside school, yellow boxes, across the school gates and in people’s driveways with absolutely no regard for others. If there is no parking available for them on the school site they will simply stop anywhere to drop off their children. This school will be taking funds from other local schools which already cater extremely well for all the children of Hounslow, contributing to a reduction of quality education for the majority. During construction we believe this project will have a detrimental effect on ours and nearby businesses and on-going effect our viability to continue to trade due to ineffective traffic flow pushing customers to more accessible retail outlets.