Hertfordshire County Council s8

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE

TUESDAY 28th FEBRUARY 2012 AT 10.00 AM

Agenda Item

4

WATFORD BOROUGH - APPLICATION FOR PROPOSED VARIATION OF CONDITION 3 OF PLANNING PERMISSION 9/0815-11 TO ALLOW THE PROPOSED CLASSROOM BLOCK AT BEECHFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL TO BE COMMENCED (BUT NOT OCCUPIED) PRIOR TO COMPLETION OF A MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) ON THE ADJACENT CALLOWLAND RECREATION GROUND OR THE USE OF CALLOWLAND RECREATION AREA AS A DETACHED PLAYING FIELD FOR A TEMPORARY PERIOD UNTIL THE MUGA IS AVAILABLE FOR USE AT BEECHFIELD PRIMARY OF GAMMONS LANE, WATFORD

Report of the Director Environment and Commercial Services

Author: Felicity Hart Tel: 01992 556256

Local Member: Ian Brandon Adjoining Local Member: Mark Watkin

1  Purpose of Report

1.1 To consider planning application ref. 9/0000-12 for the variation of condition 3 of planning permission no. 9/0815-11.

1.2 Condition 3 on 9/0815-11 was worded as follows: “The proposed classroom block shall not be commenced until the MUGA (subject of a separate planning permission) to be provided on the adjacent Callowlands Recreation Ground has been completed and is made available for use.”

1.3 It is proposed to vary the condition to allow the classroom block to be occupied before the MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) is made available if that becomes necessary due to timing.

2  Summary

2.1 This application has been submitted in order to vary condition 3 on planning permission no.9/0815-11 which granted permission for a new classroom block at Beechfield Primary School as part of an overall expansion.

2.2 In order for the classroom block approved in 2011 to be built in time for the new intake of 30 children entering the school in September 2012 it has been decided that it is necessary to submit this application to vary the condition which required the MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) to be completed and available for use. The planning application for the MUGA is intended to be submitted by Watford Leisure Department to Watford Borough Council during this year, but as the result and timing of the outcome is uncertain, it was decided that a variation of the condition is required to achieve a situation where the new classroom building could be occupied before the MUGA is made available for use.

2.3 The proposed new condition would therefore allow the occupation of the new classroom block in September 2012 and if the MUGA is still not available for use by that time, it is proposed that in the interim, the children use the Callowland Recreation Ground as a ‘detached playing field’.

2.4 The principal issues to be taken into account in determining this application are:

·  Loss of sports provision for the school

·  School’s use of community facility

3  Conclusion

3.1 It is considered that the proposal would be acceptable subject to conditions.

3.2 It is therefore recommended that the Director Environment and Commercial Services be authorised to grant planning permission subject to conditions to include:

1.  Time limit for commencement of development

2.  Approval of plans

3.  MUGA

4.  Existing School Travel Plan to be maintained and implemented throughout the life of the school.

5.  Before the classroom block is brought into use the proposed car park shall be constructed and completed in accordance with the plan.

6.  Landscaping plan (to include proposed tree planting) to be submitted

7.  Implementation of landscaping

8.  Maintenance of landscaping

9.  Safeguarding of trees on site

10.  Construction traffic to and from the site not permitted outside hours of 9.00 to 18.00 Monday to Friday.

11.  Details of any external lighting to be submitted for approval

12.  Development to be carried out in accordance with the submitted Flood Risk Assessment

13.  If contamination is found during development then no further development shall be carried out until written approval has been granted for a remediation strategy.

14.  No infiltration of surface water drainage into the ground is permitted.

15.  A Community Use Agreement to be submitted and approved in relation to the school’s sports facilities (playing field, hard play area, school hall) prior to first occupation of the classroom block.

16.  A specification for proposed enhancements to the playing fields, including an implementation programme in accordance with the agronomist’s report to be submitted for approval.

17.  Removal of the temporary mobile classroom from the site prior to occupation of the new classroom block.

18.  Prior to the proposed access from Sussex Road being constructed the vegetation covering the road footprint shall be carefully and sequentially removed over a period of days to allow time for any slow worms to move away from the area along with a hand search for hedgehogs.

19.  Details of any new fencing or gates to be erected as part of this proposal to be submitted for approval.

20.  Details of all hard surfacing to be submitted for approval.

4  Description of the site and proposed development

4.1 Beechfield Primary School is located in North Watford within a predominantly residential area. The school site comprises an area of approximately 2 ha and is characterised by a thickly wooded area along the eastern boundary of the site, with more mature trees to the site frontage. The existing school buildings are flat roofed and are set back into the site. There is a detached single storey building to the south east of the site used as a children’s centre. The playing fields are located to the rear of the existing school buildings with the main line railway beyond. Planning permission was granted in 2011 for the erection of a detached two storey 8 classroom block required as part of the expansion of the school.

4.2 The front of the school site is accessed from Gammons Lane. Adjacent to the south eastern side boundary of the site lies the Callowland Recreation Ground. The recreation ground is in Watford Borough Council’s ownership and is bounded by Sussex Road, Ashby Road and Gammons Lane. The Callowlands Recreation Ground is used for a variety of community uses including informal and more formal sport and recreation.

4.3 A Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) is proposed to be built by Watford Borough Council on the adjacent Callowlands Recreation Ground during 2012. A planning application is intended to be submitted to Watford Borough Council for the MUGA in the near future. It is intended that the MUGA would be located close to the boundary with the school and that there would be a small footpath link enabling children from the school to access the MUGA easily.

4.4 The use of the proposed MUGA was considered necessary by Sport England as the expansion of the school would result in the loss of some hard play and playing field and combined with the extra number of pupils proposed at the school, this further sports facility to mitigate the loss was required.

4.5 As a result, Condition 3 on planning permission no.9/0815-11 stipulated that the classroom block should not be commenced until the MUGA had been completed and made available for use. As the planning application for the MUGA has not yet been submitted to Watford Borough Council, it has become apparent that there is a possibility that the MUGA would be likely to not be built in time for the classroom block to be built and ready for occupation this September (2012).

4.6 As a result, the current application to vary condition 3 has been submitted. The variation proposed is that the approved classroom block should not be occupied until the MUGA has been made available for use, or if it is not ready, in the interim, the use of Callowland Recreation Area as a ‘detached playing field’ for a time period up to the end of July 2013 is proposed. By July 2013, if the MUGA is granted planning permission from Watford Borough Council, then as funding is in place, it will have been built and made available for use by that time. If, in the event that the MUGA is not approved and planning permission is not granted then beyond the end of July 2013 another ‘detached playing field’ would need to be made available for use by the school. In that instance, the details of the other detached playing field would need to be submitted to the local planning authority for approval in writing.

5  Consultations

5.1 Watford Borough Council – awaiting response.

5.2 Hertfordshire County Council as Highway Authority – does not wish to restrict the grant of planning permission subject to the following conditions:

1.  Before the development is brought into use the parking arrangements shown on Drawing ST-2066-31-A shall be provided.

Reason: To ensure that on-street parking is kept to a minimum in the interest of highway safety.

2.  The existing School Travel Plan shall be maintained and implemented to current Hertfordshire County Council’s criteria, in full throughout the life of the school.

Reason: To assist in achieving greater use of sustainable transport modes, with less reliance on the private car, in line with national government polices and Hertfordshire County Council’s sustainable transport policies.

5.3 Sport England – the amendments to condition 3 are considered acceptable. As the delivery of the MUGA is not within the applicant’s control, contingency plans are required in the event that the MUGA is not made available by September 2012. The use of the Callowland Recreation Ground until July 2013 is unlikely to be required as hopefully the MUGA will be installed before that date. It is however, essential that the planning condition makes provision for an alternative detached playing field for the school to be provided post July 2013 as the long term use of Callowland Recreation would not be acceptable.

5.4 A total of 689 properties were consulted on the application and 1 letter objecting to the application were received. The issues of concern can be summarised as:

·  Dangerous for children to attend Beechfield School following flawed decision in 2011

·  Object to Callowland Recreation Ground being used for a temporary period as a detached playing field as standard of provision not suitable for children in safety terms, disruption to other users of the park (changes the use of a public area into a private use i.e schoolchildren), road safety for children as the park is bounded by roads and they could stray, no indication of length of time that that the detached playing field will be needed for, the longer it is, the more inconvenient it will be for both school children and park users.

5.5 A site notice was erected on 26th January 2012 and an advert placed in the Watford Observer on xth September 2012.

6  Planning considerations

6.1 The relevant development plan policies are:

Watford District Local Plan 2000

Policy SE1 Sustainable Development;

Policy SE4 Energy Efficient Design;

Policy SE7 Waste Storage, Recovery and Recycling;

Policy SE23 Light Pollution;

Policy SE24 Unstable and Contaminated Land;

Policy SE27 Flood Prevention;

Policy SE30 Surface Water Run-off, Water Conservation and Sustainable Drainage Systems;

Policy SE31 Species Protection;

Policy SE32 Sites of Nature Conservation Importance;

Policy SE33 Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Enhancement;

Policy SE36 Replacement Trees and Hedgerows;

Policy SE37 Protection of Trees, Woodlands and Hedgerows;

Policy SE39 Tree and Hedgerow Provision in New Development;

Policy T4 Transport and New Development;

Policy T5 New Development and Green Travel Plans;

Policy T6 Pedestrian Facilities;

Policy T7 Pedestrian Facilities in Development;

Policy T9 Cycling;

Policy T10 Cycle Parking Standards;

Policy T11 Passenger Transport and New Developments;

Policy T21 Access and Servicing;

Policy T22 Car Parking Standards;

Policy H15 Non-residential Proposals in Residential Areas;

Policy L2 Dual use;

Policy L4 Open Space Protection;

Policy L5 Playing Fields;

Policy CS1 Location of Facilities;

Policy U1 Quality of Design;

Policy U2 Design and Layout of Development;

Policy U3 Integration of Character;

Policy U4 Community Safety;

Policy U5 Access;

Policy U6 Landscape Design

Watford Local Development Framework Core Strategy: Pre-Submission Consultation May 2011

Policy SS1 Spatial Strategy;

Policy SD1 Sustainable Design;

Policy SD2 Water;

Policy SD3 Climate Change;

Policy T2 Location of New Development;

Policy T3 Improving Accessibility;

Policy T4 Transport Assessments;

Policy UD1 Delivering High Quality Design;

Policy GI1 Green Infrastructure;

Policy GI2 Biodiversity

East of England Plan 2011-2031

Policy ENV7 Quality in the Built Environment;

Policy ENG1 Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Energy Performance

National Policy

Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 1: Delivering Sustainable Development (and its supplement, Planning and Climate Change)

6.2 The principal issues to be taken into account in determining this application are:

·  Loss of sports provision for the school

·  School’s use of community facility

6.3 The requirement for the MUGA came about as mitigation as a result of the loss of some of the existing playing field/ hard play area at the school. Funding is in place for the MUGA which is intended to be part funded by HCC and part by WBC. The intention to provide the facility is therefore definite, although at this stage, as planning permission has not yet been granted, it is not of course guaranteed that it can be provided. Hence an alternative fall-back is required. The proposal is therefore to use the Callowland Recreation Ground as a detached playing field until the MUGA is available for use. In terms of timing, this may only be for a very short time, or even not necessary at all as the MUGA may have received planning permission and been built and made available for use by September 2012.

6.4 If the MUGA is delayed in receiving planning permission, then the Callowland Recreation Ground could be used up until the end of July 2013. This is considered to give enough time to allow the planning process to take place. The use of the recreation ground by the school would be for approximately 7 hours per week and would of course be within school hours, Monday to Friday, termtime only. It is considered that the minimal useage of the recreation ground by the school over a limited period would have no significant adverse effects on the community and local area and is considered appropriate.

6.5 Sport England have confirmed that they would have no objection to the Callowland Recreation Ground being used as a detached playing field whilst waiting for the MUGA to be provided and as a contingency plan to provide the use of another detached playing field after July 2013 if it proves necessary.