Agenda item

Further to minute 76 of the Plans Panel East meeting held on 24^th September 2009 where Panel approved in principle an outline application for the refurbishment of Corpus Christi Catholic College, to consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for a four storey extension to front and four storey height extension to rear of school

(report attached)

  Further to minute 76 of the Plans Panel East meeting held on 24^th September 2009 where Panel approved in principle an outline application for the refurbishment of Corpus Christi Catholic College, Panel considered a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for a 4 storey extension to front and a 4 storey height extension to the rear of the school

  Plans, photographs and graphics were displayed at the meeting

  Officers presented the report and informed Members that the proposals which were part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, sought to extend Corpus Christi Catholic College and provide a new sports hall

  Whilst the scheme would lead to a reduction in the number of hard court games areas, Members were informed that Sport England had not objected to the application

  Additional car parking would be provided including four spaces for people with disabilities and secure cycle storage facilities for up to 100 bicycles would be available

  In terms of highway improvements there would be improved accessibility to and from the school site and improvements to an off-site pedestrian crossing with a survey being undertaken to assess whether further off-site measures were required

  Members were reminded that the school was sited in a flood risk area and that a flood risk assessment had been carried out.  Officers were satisfied that the proposed development would not increase flood risk on the site or elsewhere and the Environment Agency (EA) had not objected to the proposals.  Whilst there was a requirement for compensatory flood storage, this matter was still being discussed with the EA

  Officers reported the receipt of a letter from Yorkshire Water stating there were no objections to the surface water drainage proposals

  As the off-site drainage works had to be resolved, Officers were requesting the application be deferred and delegated to the Chief Planning Officer for approval

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  highway safety issues in view of three schools being located in close proximity to Neville Road; that accidents had occurred in the past; that parents parked along Neville Road and on the pavements; that pedestrian safety had to be addressed and concerns that the proposals did not do this

·  whether the colour scheme of the whole building was being altered

·  the design of the sports hall and that it was poor in terms of visual amenity

·  whether the funding for the scheme was secure and if approved, when the contractor would start on site

·  the need for the site to be secured at all times during construction to prevent children from cutting across the site

·  concerns at the siting of the SEN block underneath the sports hall; whether this was appropriate and that good sound insulation should be used to prevent noise and disturbance for pupils

·  whether the development would use sustainable materials and construction methods

·  whether a Travel Plan had been submitted

·  flooding issues; whether a balancing reservoir was required and the need for assurances that the increased amount of hardstanding within the scheme would not impact on pupil safety in the event of a flood occurring

·  whether an ecological consultant had been involved in the design of the new build elements

·  that due to flooding issues and pupil safety, the view that the application should come back to Panel for determination rather than being dealt with under delegated authority

Officers provided the following responses:

·  regarding highway safety, conditions 15, 16 and 17 of the submitted report addressed this matter; that the feasibility study would consider whether additional works were required and that road traffic accidents statistics for this area had been obtained and were being considered.  To help address concerns, the Panel’s Highways representative stated that the design of the highway improvements could be developed in consultation with Ward Members and that these would also be checked by Road Safety colleagues within the Department

·  that the colour scheme for the development was neutral render, buff brick and timber cladding with glazed elements in the school colours of purple and gold.  In terms of the graphics displayed at the meeting, it was felt that the print quality had not accurately reflected the colouring of the existing materials

·  that there were limited opportunities to put windows into the sports hall to break up the large expanse of the building in order to improve its visual appearance

·  in respect of funding, Planning Officers were not party to the funding arrangements of the applicants but that if the scheme was approved, it was expected to commence in early 2011

·  that site security could be controlled by condition

·  that the need for the facilities had come from an education perspective; but that Officers would check that any implications of siting the SEN base below the sports hall had been fully considered but that sound attenuation was a Building Regulations matter

·  in terms of sustainability, measures to keep the building in good condition had been included, ie the treatment of the timber cladding and provision of a brick boundary at ground level to prevent damage and that a high sustainability rating was required as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme

·  that the Travel Plan had been provided, although there was a need for the data to be updated, with a condition covering this being included

·  concerning flooding issues, that a flood risk assessment had been submitted which set out the mitigation measures which were required.  The development would be on existing hardstanding areas and the EA were of the view that there would be no greater impact than the existing position.  Compensatory flood storage was required and discussions on this were ongoing.  In terms of pupil safety, there was a requirement for workable evacuation plans to be in place in the event of flooding

·  that an ecologist had not been involved in the scheme.  Concerns were raised at this with the view being that ecological matters were important and should be taken into account particularly on applications where the Council was the applicant.  On this matter the Chair suggested that rather than someone being brought in to consider these issues, there was expertise within the Council and that the matter would be raised with the appropriate Officers

RESOLVED – That approval of the application be deferred and

delegated to the Chief Planning Officer, subject to the conditions set out in the submitted report, an additional condition relating to site security; the resolution of off-site drainage works; consultation with Ward Members on the design of the highway improvements, with the scheme being referred to the Council’s Road Safety Officers for approval and raising of the concerns at the siting of the SEN base below the sports hall and the lack of nature conservation measures in the scheme with the applicant