Agenda item

Chatham Central

 

Construction of a 3-storey, 6FE secondary school with 900 pupils and a 285 pupil sixth form with associated accesses (including for construction traffic), parking and hard and soft landscaping and sports pitches including all-weather pitch.

 

Discussion:

 

The Head of Planning referred to the supplementary agenda advice sheet and informed the Committee that should it be minded to approve the planning application, there were a number of proposed changes to the recommendation in that the application would require referral to the Secretary of State, it was now recommended that the applicant enter into a Section 106 agreement to secure a contribution towards improvements to the right of way along the southern boundary (Boundary Road to City Way) and there was a proposed change to the wording of condition 12.

 

In addition, he would be seeking delegated authority to finalise the wording of proposed conditions 7 and 8 as they related to the protection of trees and the proposed retaining wall.

 

The Head of Planning also informed the Committee that since despatch of the agenda, 9 additional representations had been received reiterating previous objections and raising additional concerns, details of which were set out on the supplementary agenda advice sheet. In addition, a letter had been received from the Interim Assistant Director, Education and SEN, Medway Council which had been appended to the supplementary agenda advice sheet.

 

He also advised of a change to the planning appraisal section of the report to add a section relating to the addition of the Section 106 contribution request.

 

The Head of Planning outlined the application in detail and, in particular, the reasons why the school were proposing to relocate from its existing two sites to the new location.

 

He informed the Committee that the proposed school would be located within an Area of Protected Open Space and whilst Policy L3 of the Local Plan sought to resist the loss of existing open space, there were a number of exceptions, details of which were set out in the report on page 92 of the agenda. He advised that in this instance, the development was required for educational purposes and would retain sufficient outdoor space for sport and recreation including a three court multi use games area, an all weather pitch, a 100m grass running track and a 9 a-side grass football pitch to meet the requirements of the school.

 

Sport England had objected to the proposed development as it constituted a loss of land being used as a playing field but officers had reviewed and assessed relevant data and consulted with the school and were satisfied that the site had not been in use as playing fields within the last 6 years. However, the Committee was informed that should it be minded to approve the application, it would require referral to the Secretary of State as the scheme would be contrary to Sport England’s assessment.

 

The Head of Planning also drew attention to the importance of the application site in terms of heritage as the site was located to the south of New Road Conservation Area and also south of Fort Pitt, a nationally important scheduled monument, full details of which were set out within the report on page 94 of the agenda. He informed the Committee that Heritage England had been involved in the processing of this application and whilst the original location of the school building had been unacceptable to Heritage England, the school building had now been repositioned to the eastern side of the site along with access and parking positioned to the south, to minimise where possible harm to the heritage asset. This enabled the most impactful parts of the development to be positioned away from the Fort’s southern boundary and was acceptable to Heritage England.

 

With the agreement of the Committee and, as this application affected more than one Ward, Councillors Murray, Mahil, Adeoye and Maple whilst noting the school’s need to relocate to a new building on one site, addressed the Committee setting out the following, summarised points:

 

·         The development will increase the demand for parking in City Way, in particular at peak times to the detriment of residents in City Way unless no waiting times are introduced.

·         Some residents have indicated that the school playing fields have been used in recent times for Year 6 sports day.

·         Use of the all weather pitches should cease by 9.30pm.

·         As the school is a faith school, many pupils travel from afar via the rail network and further consideration should be given to pedestrian links from the railway station.

·         The revised location of the school building to suit the requirements of Heritage England is not in line with the original proposals which would be residents’ preferred location. The proposed development protects an ancient scheduled monument but is now located closer to residential homes where it will have an adverse visual impact not only for residents but also when viewed from Fort Pitt and the Great Lines.

·         Pedestrian access paths to the school are along narrow pathways and there will be conflict with pedestrians, residential parking and in particular, on refuse collection day. Arrangements should be made for refuse collection to be undertaken outside of peak pedestrian activity.

·         The location of the school building could generate a noise and light disturbance to residents.

·         The removal of trees and hedgerows from the site will impact on habitat in the area and is a backward step in managing climate change.

·         The application should be deferred to enable further discussion on the possible use of the original intended location of the school building but if this is not possible then the following should be further considered:

 

1.    There should be regular consultation between the school and local residents.

2.    There should be further consultations on improving the access.

3.    Officers should work with the applicants on addressing the narrow pavements in the area.

4.    Officers should liaise with Medway NORSE to seek adjustments to the refuse collection times in surrounding roads.

5.    Condition 23 must be adhered to for use of external pitches and there should be no use of external pitches on Sundays.

 

In response to concerns regarding usage times of the external pitches at the school, the Head of Planning drew attention to proposed condition 23 which limited use of the external areas to 20:00hrs Monday to Saturday and 14.00hrs on Sundays.

 

The Committee discussed the application having regard to the concerns expressed by the 4 Ward Councillors and in response to questions, the Head of Planning informed Members that in Heritage England’s view, the original proposed location would be unacceptable in that it would cause substantial harm to the ancient scheduled monument and that this could be overcome by siting the school building on a less sensitive area of the site.

 

The Committee acknowledged the benefits of the school’s relocation due to the condition of its existing buildings and the benefits of being relocated onto one site. However, the Committee also discussed the loss of trees from the site, the impact on biodiversity and mitigation measures, the impact on parking in City Way in peak hours, the proposed Section 106 funding for improvements to the right of way along the southern boundary (Boundary Road to City Way) and a possible amendment to the conditions to require no use of the external facilities on Sundays.

 

The Head of Planning suggested that if the Committee was minded to approve the application, proposed condition 3 could be amended to require regular meetings between the school, residents and Ward Councillors and an informative could be added requiring regular monthly meetings going forward.

 

Whilst it was not possible to condition matters concerning the pavements in Boundary Road and Ordnance Street, officers could discuss with Medway NORSE the possibility of adjusting the refuse collection times in surrounding streets so as to avoid refuse collections conflicting with school opening times.

 

In respect of the use of the external facilities, it was possible to amend proposed condition 23 to remove use of external facilities on Sundays and this could then be a matter for discussion between residents and the school going forward and could be amended at a later date if necessary.

 

Decision:

 

Approved subject to:

 

a)  The application being referred to the Secretary of State as being contrary to Sport England’s assessment.

 

b) The applicant entering into a Section 106 agreement to secure a contribution of £15,000 towards improvements to the right of way along the southern boundary (Boundary Road to City Way).

 

c)  Conditions 1 – 2, 4 and 5 and 9 – 11, 13 – 22 and 24 – 29 as set out in the report for the reasons stated in the report with the Head of Planning being granted delegated authority to approve the final wording of conditions 6, 7 and 8, and conditions 3, 12 and 23 amended as follows:

 

3.         Prior to the commencement of the development a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The Construction Environmental Management Plan shall include amongst other matters details of:

 

i.          hours of construction working; measures to control noise affecting nearby residents;

ii.         wheel cleaning/chassis cleaning facilities;

iii.        dust control measures;

iv.        pollution incident control and;

v.         site contact details in case of complaints;

vii        monthly meetings with Ward Councillors and the Site Manager during the construction process.

 

The construction works shall thereafter be carried out at all times in accordance with the approved Construction Environmental Management Plan, unless any variations are otherwise first submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

Reason: In the interests of residential of the adjoining properties and in compliance with Policy BNE2 of the Medway Local Plan 2003.

 

12.      The development shall be implemented, and thereafter maintained, entirely in accordance with the measures set out in the Air Quality Mitigation Statement prepared by Stroma dated March 2021 (Reference 04-20-82925).

 

Reason: In the interests of the amenities of the adjoining properties and in accordance with Policy BNE24 of the Medway Local Plan 2003.

 

23        The facilities to be used for community purposes as outlined in the Community Use Agreement (CUA) to be approved under condition 22 shall not be used outside of the following hours:

 

17:00 to 22:00 Monday to Friday for internal spaces

08:00 to 22:00 on Saturday and Sunday for internal spaces

17:00 to 20:00 on Monday to Friday for the external pitches

09:00 to 20:00 on Saturday for the external pitches

No use on Sunday for the external pitches

 

Reason: In the interests of residential amenity in accordance with Policy BNE2 of the Medway Local Plan 2003.

 

d)         An informative be added to encourage the school to continue with future liaison meetings with residents and Ward Councillors.