Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 A report by Head of Planning Applications Group to Planning Applications Committee on 14 December 2004. Application by Kent County Council Education & Libraries and Kent Education Partnership for demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings together with car parking areas, landscaping and temporary mobile classrooms, Hugh Christie Technology College,White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 Recommendation: Subject to the receipt of revised drawings addressing the matters raised by the Area Transportation Manager and to his final views, and the results of the bat survey, permission be granted subject to conditions. Local Member: Mr G Weston Classification: Unrestricted The Site 1. Hugh Christie Technology College is located in the northern part of Tonbridge within a predominantly residential area to the east of the A227 Shipbourne Road. It is on a site divided by a public right of way with buildings split between the two parts of the site. The northern part of the site has vehicular access from White Cottage Road and the southern part from Norwich Avenue. The proposal is for development of the northern (White Cottage Road) part of the school site, which is 6.6 hectares in area. It is bounded on three sides by residential properties with Cage Green Primary School located to the south along with the southern (Norwich Avenue) part of the school site. The school playing field to the north of the existing buildings (on the northern part of the site) is identified in the Tonbridge and Malling Local Plan as an area of Important Green Space, but the school site is otherwise within the urban area confines. A site location plan is attached together with an existing site plan. BBBackgroundBackground 2. Hugh Christie is an 11-19 Foundation School teaching some 1200 pupils on a split timetable basis. It is one of six schools that form part of the Kent County Council Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Scheme which aims to establish a new Hugh Christie Technology College and to provide a high quality 100% new build school to meet the needs of the modern school curriculum. It is intended that this redevelopment would promote Adult Education and Life Long Learning for the benefit of the local community. 3. Outline planning permission for redevelopment of the school on the application site (i.e. northern part of the school site) was granted on 5 March 2001. The former Planning Applications Sub-Committee determined the application at its meeting on the 12 February 2001. This followed a site visit on the 16 January 2001 attended by Members of that Sub-Committee, the local County Member, Mr. G Weston, Members of the Borough Council, the Headteacher and Chairman of Governors, and officers of the County Council. The time scale for the submission of reserved matters expired in March 2004. An application under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act has been submitted to extend the period during which details can be submitted but is being held in abeyance pending the outcome of this current detailed application. D3.1 Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 Site Location Plan STREAM SIDE SHIPBOURNE ROAD (A227 ) DENBEIGH DRIVE APPLICATION SITE HOPGARDEN ROAD WHITE COTTAGE RD Cage Green Primary THORPE Public Right of Way School AVENUE Outline permission for residential on Ridge View this part of the site School CAGE GREEN ROAD NORWICH AVENUE THORPE AVENUE THE RIDGEWAY NORTH This material has been reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data with the permission of the controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright. Scale 1:5000 D3.2 Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 D3.3 Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 The Proposal 4. The application is for detailed planning permission for a new build secondary school of up to two storeys in height to provide 9,233 sq m of new teaching and ancillary accommodation, with associated car parking. It is proposed to consolidate the new school on the northern part of the site (i.e. the application site). Existing school buildings on the southern part of the site would become redundant. It is intended that this part of the site is disposed of for residential development for which outline consent has previously been granted by the Borough Council. Drawings showing the proposed site layout, elevations and sections are attached. 5. The applicants’ agent states that the new school buildings have been designed to provide contemporary new buildings and to consolidate the school on one site to provide a compact form with clearly defined circulation routes. Also that the compact form would reduce pupil movements between lessons and any associated disruption in contrast to the existing site layout, which consists of buildings spread across the site. They state that at the same time, this form enables the buildings to be sited further away from the boundary than the existing buildings. 6. The building consists of three two storey teaching blocks referred to as ‘teaching or learning barns’ separated by a hard play courtyard area, linked by ancillary accommodation of one and two storeys including assembly and sports halls at the southern end. The applicants’ agent states that an attractive new entrance colonnade would be provided which would be clearly visible on entering the school site. Also that the learning barns and their associated courtyards have been oriented towards the open playing fields which concentrates activity within central parts of the school buildings. Furthermore that the proposals would reduce the change in levels across the built area of the site to improve accessibility. 7. Materials proposed in the construction include a combination of brickwork in stack bonding, profiled (horizontal) aluminium cladding, aluminium windows and (white) render which it is stated would provide a contemporary balance to the elevations. Detailed design features include a selected number of ‘coloured’ windowpanes, the cladding line along the elevations varying in level and open canopies and walkways between the buildings. The roofs, which would be grey in colour, would be constructed with a shallow fall to minimise the building height and allow suitable drainage, and would not generally be visible from ground level or from surrounding buildings, as they would be behind a parapet. 8. A designated pick up and drop off facility for coaches is proposed within the site, which would allow coaches to turn within the site. It is proposed that cars would also be able to pick up and drop off within the site. Parking is proposed on both sides of the building, 15 spaces on the west side and 75 spaces on the east side. The applicant’s agent states that existing landscaping would screen these areas and that the siting also maximises separation from pedestrian movements. It is proposed that provision would be made for cyclists within the site layout but details of cycle parking facilities have not been submitted at this stage. 9. The existing floodlit tennis courts on the north side of the existing and proposed buildings adjoining the playing fields are to be retained as part of the proposals. It is D3.4 Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 D3.5 Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 D3.6 Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 D3.7 Item D3 Demolition of existing school buildings and provision of new school buildings, Hugh Christie Technology College, White Cottage Road, Tonbridge - TM/04/3388 intended that access would be maintained to them throughout the construction period and phasing has again been a key consideration when planning the site layout. 10. It is proposed to provide some temporary accommodation during the construction phase. The precise details and location of these classrooms has not been submitted at this stage and is intended to be reserved for later consideration. 11. It is stated in the application details that it is proposed to provide and encourage community facilities at the Hugh Christie Technology College as currently it has a limited amount of lettings and community usage taking place. The College seeks to build on hosting a mixture of enhanced school activities, community and commercial uses including using the school buildings to incorporate the Kent County Council Adult Education. 12. In addition to a Planning and Design Statement, a Transport Statement, an Archaeological Report, an Ecological Report and a Herpetofauna Survey accompany the application. Some minor amendments have been submitted since the application was submitted. These include altering the fire escape and canopy at the end of the teaching barn at the western end of the building and to adjust the position of the building so that it is 20 metres from the boundary of properties in Denbeigh Drive. Planning Policy 13. The Development Plan Policies summarised below are relevant to consideration of the application: (i) The adopted 1996 Kent Structure Plan : Policy S1 Seeks to achieve a sustainable pattern and form of development which will reduce the need to travel.