Ashford Borough Council - Report of Development Control Managers Planning Committee 21 September 2011 ___________________________________________________________________ Application Number 11/00757/AS Location South Kent College of Technology, Elwick Road, Ashford, Kent Grid Reference 01097/42399 Ward Victoria (Ashford) Application Demolition of existing buildings and structures, Description construction of new college buildings (Class D1) of 14,688m2 GEA (13,989 m2 GIA), provision of new access road, on-site parking and servicing, associated hard and soft landscaping and boundary treatment works, reduction in height of existing retaining wall on Station Road, alterations to site levels and other associated minor works. Applicant K College Agent Ms C Grant, Harwood Savin Ltd, 23 Baynton Road, Woking, Surrey GU22 8JT Site Area 1.24 hectares (a) 221/6R (b) - (c) KHS X, EHM (EP) X, PO (drainage) X, SW X, NE X, OSS X, EA X, CACF X, AMS R, VS R, SBH R, EH X, KCC – ARCH X, Introduction 1. This application is reported to the Planning Committee because it involves a major development that requires determination by the Committee under the Council’s scheme of delegation. The separate Conservation Area Consent application to demolish certain existing buildings on the site is also reported on the agenda under application ref 11/00758/AS. 2. In summary, the scheme involves the provision of a new College incorporating a wide range of education facilities primarily for 14 – 19 year olds, but also for adult learning and workforce development. The new facility would be known as K College and will be referred to as such for the purposes of this report. 3. A number of policy documents supporting the concept of the provision of this type of learning facility have been produced as part of the Council’s growth 1.1 Ashford Borough Council - Report of Development Control Managers Planning Committee 21 September 2011 ___________________________________________________________________ and regeneration agenda; these are referred to in the Policy section below. In summary, these see the successful economic growth of the Town being heavily dependant on the development of “knowledge and learning”; attracting employers and improving the skills base of the population requires an appropriate education facility to meet demand. Current accommodation at the existing K college site in Jemmett Road (formerly South Kent College (SKC)) and other sites around the town cannot meet this demand. Neither are the various sites the college currently occupy best placed to develop and expand. 4. The proposal stands on its own for the purposes of determining this application, but in terms of funding is intrinsically linked with the item that appears later on this agenda, which proposes the redevelopment of one of the current K college sites at Jemmett Road. That relationship is explained more fully in that report, but in summary financial receipts from the sale of Jemmett Rd would be used to partly fund the new Elwick Road campus. 5. The application site is subject to a site-specific policy (TC6) in the Town Centre Area Action Plan (TCAAP) which is specifically referred to in this report. Site and Surroundings 6. The application site, measuring approximately 1.24 hectares, is located on the corner of Elwick Road and Station Road, on the southern edge of Ashford Town Centre, approximately 300 m to the north-west of Ashford International Railway Station. A site plan is attached as Annex 1. 7. The site is bounded by Elwick Road to the south, Station Road to the east, the Ashford Memorial Gardens to the north and Church Road properties to the west. Vehicular and pedestrian access is currently achieved from Church Road. 8. The application site lies partly within and partly adjacent to the Town Centre Conservation Area. The Plan below shows the application site outlined in Blue and that part of it which is in the Conservation Area in red. Within the whole site there are a number of existing buildings, some of which are in commercial use and others which have been vacant for some time. The eastern part of the site lies outside the Conservation Area, is owned by K College, and comprises the former Ashford Technical College which was last occupied by South Kent College (now K College). The Technical College was vacated in 1998 and has remained unused since. The western portion of the site, that part within the Conservation Area, comprises the buildings known locally as the Swanton Villa’s and Conyers House. These buildings are actually called ‘Conyers House’ and ‘Swanton House’ and ‘Kent Care Building, and all three are within the Conservation Area, although only the latter two are proposed for demolition. 1.2 Ashford Borough Council - Report of Development Control Managers Planning Committee 21 September 2011 ___________________________________________________________________ 9. The Conservation Area also includes the whole of the Memorial Gardens to the north of the site, and the Church Road properties to the west of the site. Area of application site in Area of application site Conservation Area outside the Conservation Area Figure 1 - Site context The following sections describe the components of the site and the surroundings in more detail. Conyers House 10. Conyers House is located in the north-western corner of the site, facing onto Church Road. It is the northern half of a semi-detached building, originally in residential use. Prior to the building’s disuse, it had been in use as KCC offices. The architectural features place its construction during the late 19th century. It is a two bay, two storey red brick building with attic, with a hipped tiled roof and several tall chimneystacks. The main entrance, set within a projected porch, is adjacent to the projected northern bay with half-hipped roof and bay windows. The first floor has a tiled exterior. 1.3 Ashford Borough Council - Report of Development Control Managers Planning Committee 21 September 2011 ___________________________________________________________________ 11. Dormer windows are located to the front and side of the roof. Security shutters had been installed so that all of the ground floor and first floor windows and doors have been covered; however, behind these appear to be the original sash frames. Photograph below: Figure 2 - Conyers House Swanton House 12. Swanton House is located in the western half of the site fronting onto Elwick Road. Overall, the building is considered to be in a reasonable condition and decorative order, having been used as KCC offices until very recently. 13. Swanton House occupies both sides of an originally semi-detached pair of properties. The building as a whole is a six bay, three storey red brick structure with basement and attic. The tiled roof is pitched, containing dormer windows and short chimneystacks. The main entrances are located centrally to each original property and have wooden, pitched roofed porches with brick and stone stairs, framed by cast iron railing leading up to the exterior doorway. 14. The building is framed at either end by large projecting gabled bays containing bay windows. The first floor has a tiled exterior with selective use of mock-Tudor style panels. The original sash and casement windows are still present. A narrow modern link building connects Swanton House with the adjacent Kent Care building. 15. A later single storey hipped roof extension has been built onto the rear of the property. The architectural style of the building is similar to that employed in 1.4 Ashford Borough Council - Report of Development Control Managers Planning Committee 21 September 2011 ___________________________________________________________________ the design of Conyers House, suggesting it was also constructed during the late 19th century. Photograph below: Figure 3 - Swanton House The Kent Care Building 16. The Kent Care building is the third building located in the western half of the site, and also fronts onto Elwick Road. The building is in a similar condition to Swanton House. The building occupies both sides of what would have been originally a pair of semi-detached properties, albeit slightly smaller than the adjacent Swanton House. 17. The building as a whole is a four bay, three storey red brick structure, with attic. The hipped roof is tiled, and contains dormer windows and simple brick chimney stacks. There are two entrances, conforming to the original semi- detached design of the building, which are located in small two storey projections to the western and eastern elevations. The building shares a communal attic space located on the second floor between the two properties, accessed through a small hatch set at floor level. Each doorway is framed by two pointed dressed brick arches, with simple moulded brick surrounds. 18. The building is framed at either end by prominent projecting gabled bays containing bay windows to the ground floor. The frontage of these projecting bays utilises a mock-Tudor decorative design and this use of projected bays is repeated on the rear elevation. The 1st floor has a tiled exterior and the original sash and casement windows are still present 1.5 Ashford Borough Council - Report of Development Control Managers Planning Committee 21 September 2011 ___________________________________________________________________ 19. Other exterior decorative features include both ocular and square framed windows which contain coloured glass, located in the side elevation projected bays and a plaque on the eastern elevation which states the date of construction as 1905. The architectural style repeats what has been identified associated with Conyers House and Swanton House, and fully conforms with the 1905 date marked on the side of the building. Photograph below. Figure 4 - Kent Care Building Ashford Technical College Building 20. The Ashford Technical College building lies within the eastern area of the site, located on the corner of Elwick Road and Station Road, outside the boundaries of the Ashford Town Centre Conservation Area.