8 week date Application No. Date of meeting Report No. 01.06.2007 GR/07/0188 10.10.2007 Gads Hill School Gads Hill Place Gravesend Road Higham Kent ME3 7PA Demolition of existing school hall and outbuildings and erection of a part one and part two storey junior school and three storey senior school; conversion of the Listed Manor House (old school building) into a Dickens Visitor Centre on lower ground and ground floor and with four self-contained one bedroom flats on first and second floors involving the erection of a new glazed entrance link; erection of a maintenance shed and laying out of a service yard; formation of a car and coach park; improvements to Crutches Lane / Gravesend Road junction and improvements to the existing vehicular access to the school along Crutches Lane. Gads Hill School Association Recommendation: No recommendation is being made at this stage and this report is submitted for members’ information on the application and its progress. Members’ views regarding a site meeting are requested. 1. Site Description Gads Hill Place is located on the southern side of Gravesend Road (A226), approximately 1 km to the west of the Wainscot By-Pass (A289). The site comprises Gads Hill Place and its associated school buildings, including the Gardener’s Cottage, stables and coach house, which together with the gardens, playing fields and car park covers some 12 acres. The site is located at the junction of Crutches Lane with Gravesend Road with the main access to the school buildings being achieved from the car parking areas located to the rear of the building accessed from Crutches Lane. The site is located within the Green Belt which is also an Area of Special Landscape Significance where new built form is considered to be inappropriate development. 2. Planning History Gads Hill Place was built in 1779 by Thomas Stevens, a former mayor of Rochester. The historic significance of the site is well documented and was occupied by Charles Dickens from 1857 until his death in 1870. Whilst living at the house many of his most important works were written there. Dickens also made significant changes to the building including the addition of the drawing room, conservatory and tunnel under the road and adding to its special historic and architectural interest. This later led to its Grade 1 Listing in 1952. The mansion house was acquired by John Burt in 1923 and opened as a school for girls in 1924. During WWII it moved to West Peckham returning in 1945. During the 1950’s and early 60’s the site was the subject of several applications for the provision of mobile classrooms and extensions to provide additional education related accommodation. In 1966 permission was refused for the erection of a two storey extension due to its effect on the setting of the building. In 1983 permission was granted for the formation of two access points onto Crutches Lane together with the provision of a car parking area to provide 38 parking spaces. In September 1993 an application for Listed Building Consent was granted in order to replace windows in the southern elevation together with the replacement of the slated roof to the conservatory with a glazed roof. No further applications were made until 2002 when an application was made to provide a temporary classroom unit which was granted until August 2005. Later in October 2003 an application was made for a pre-fabricated single storey building to provide 5 additional classrooms, offices and store rooms. This was also granted temporary permission for a 3 year period. These temporary permissions were subsequently renewed and now run concurrent with each other until 31 August 2008. 3. Proposal The application envisages the provision of a new school within the confines of the existing site and the conversion of the existing Grade 1 Listed mansion house into a Dickens Visitor Centre with ancillary self-contained flatted accommodation for key worker teachers employed at the school. The school currently has 340 pupils but the proposal does not envisage any increase in pupil numbers. The school currently occupies the mansion house, its outbuildings including the gardener’s cottage, coach house and stables and number of temporary mobile classroom units around the site. The mansion house is now in need of repair and refurbishment but does not provide accommodation to meet the requirements of 21 st century education. The rooms being too small, poorly lit and ventilated; and lacking the electrical connections for modern teaching methods. The senior school will be immediately on the Crutches Lane frontage immediately adjacent to the mansion house and will encompass the Gardener’s Cottage, Stables and coach house. The building here will be essentially three storeys in height. It will have three teaching areas, graphics room, D & T room library, admin offices and toilet accommodation on the ground floor. The first floor will comprise 6 teaching areas, admin. office and further toilets whilst the second floor will have two science rooms, science prep. room, an ITC suite with ITC office and locker area. The existing stable block and Gardener’s cottage will be retained and refurbished to provide staff room accommodation and caretakers store respectively. The junior accommodation will be within a separate self contained two storey block located further down the Crutches Lane frontage adjacent to the existing school entrance access. The accommodation will comprise one nursery classroom, two infant classrooms, one reception classroom, one remove room, three junior classrooms, an admin/reception room, wc facilities together with shared accommodation comprising a sports hall/gymnasium, male & female changing facilities, school hall, dining room and kitchen/servery on the ground floor. REPORT NO. 5 2 The first floor will comprise a science classroom with preparation area, a music room with two practice rooms, headmaster’s room, and three admin. offices. There will also be male and female toilet facilities and viewing gallery. The proposal also envisages the provision of a new car park for 100 vehicles which will be dual purpose for staff and parents together with visitors to the mansion house centre. It will also have the ability to accommodate coaches. The proposal acknowledges that the principles of this development are considered to be inappropriate given its Green Belt location but the refurbishment of the Grade 1 mansion house, its conversion to a Dickens Visitor Centre and its long term maintenance and preservation are cited as ‘enabling development’ which justify overriding of long established Green Belt and countryside protection policies. 4. Development Plan The application was considered on the basis of the Development Plans appertaining at the time. The Kent and Medway Structure Plan has now been formally adopted in July 2006. In considering whether planning permission should be granted for any development, it is necessary first to consider s. 54A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This provision requires that, in making any relevant determination under the Act, the determination must be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Development Plans for the area in which the appeal site is situated are contained in the Kent and Medway Structure Plan July 2006 (which superseded the Third Revision of the Kent Structure Plan), the Gravesham Local Plan 1st Review 1994 and Gravesham Local Plan Second Review (Deposit Version) 2000. The Kent & Medway Structure Plan Deposit Plan The Kent & Medway Structure Plan was placed on deposit for the first time with a period of public consultation which ran from 15 September to 10 November 2003. Following the consultation period the Plan was modified and following its Local Plan inquiry was formally adopted as the Kent & Medway Structure Plan (July 2006) and the relevant policies are as follows: Policy SS2 The Metropolitan Green Belt will extend about 15 miles from the edge of the built up area of Greater London, i.e. to the east of Gravesend, to the west of Rochester and West Malling, and to the east of Wateringbury and Nettlestead. It will also extend to the west of Paddock Wood and east of Tunbridge Wells. The detailed boundaries are established through local plans/development documents. The boundary of the Green Belt at Dartford on the north side of the A2 is amended to exclude Eastern Quarry and St. Clements Valley from the Green Belt. New boundaries are being defined through the Dartford Local Development Framework. Within Green Belt there is a general presumption against inappropriate development. New building should be in accord with the provisions of PPG2 and Annex B of PPG3. REPORT NO. 5 3 Policy SS8 Housing development in the countryside will be subject to policy HP5. Non-residential development in rural Kent other than at rural settlements should: (i) be demonstrated to be necessary to agriculture, forestry, the winning of minerals, or other land uses for which a rural location is essential; or (ii) be the re-use, adaptation or redevelopment of an existing rural building or institution, where the change is acceptable on environmental, traffic, and other planning grounds; or (iii) provide a public facility for which a rural location is justified; or (iv) allow for business development in accordance with policy EP7(ii) or the business diversification of an existing farm in accordance with policy EP8. Policy EN1 The countryside will be protected, conserved and enhanced for its own sake. This is important for the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of Kent. Development in the countryside should seek to maintain or enhance it. Development which will adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an overriding need for it which outweighs the requirements to protect the countryside.