Agenda item

To consider a report from the Assistant Director of Waste and Environmental Services, which seeks planning application for a new 1.5 form entry (FE), 315 pupil place Primary School to be located on the "Southern School Site" of the Berewood development, to the west of Waterlooville at Berewood South development.

New 1.5 Form Entry Primary School located on the "Southern School Site" of the Berewood development to the west of Waterlooville at Berewood South development, west of Waterlooville (No. 21/02122/HCS) (Site Ref: WRE063)

The Committee considered a report from the Assistant Director of Waste and Environmental Services regarding an application for a new primary school at the Berewood South development.

The updated report was shown and summarised for Members, highlighting some minor amendments to the report including an update to the parking provision on site. Members were shown aerial photographs of the site and surrounding area, including details of the wider housing development currently being processed in which the school would serve. Site plans were also shown that provided Members with detailed elevations and imaging of the proposed school.

The Committee received a deputation from the applicant, who spoke in support of the proposals and explained the design principles. County Councillor Jackie Porter also spoke in her capacity as the Opposition Spokesperson for Children and Young People and whilst was in favour of the school build, had reservations over the name and future public use.

During questions of clarification of the deputations, the following points were confirmed:

• Cladding was still used but the wood was treated to prevent any fire risks.
• Economics meant that a gas boiler was required to get the school up and running, but the school had been designed so that a ground source heat pump could be used in the future when affordable. Whilst using gas was not ideal, it was expected that it would be used minimally.
• The school was developer funded.
• A modest amount of artificial grass had been used as part of designing the outdoor space so it could be used by children all year round.
• Any future expansion of the school would be done so to the south and as it was a two-storey building, the extension would not take up too much space. The current school building was oversized for a 1.5 form entry to further help accommodate this.
• The change in car movements and parking in the update report was due to an error in the report, with the correct required car parking spaces being 31. The Highway response in paragraph 88 of the report was to the correct figures as stated in the update report. The provision was based on HCC policy.

During questions of the officer, the following points were clarified:

• Whilst a framework travel plan had been done, the final version required data gathered within the first year of the school opening in order to be effective and therefore couldn’t be completed in advance of the school opening.
• The parking and drop-off/collection provision complied with local policy, so if any further changes were requested then these would need to be discussed with the developer.
• The transport statement referred to lay-bys suitable for 10 vehicles, but this was outside of the boundary of the site and therefore not relevant to the planning application.

During debate, some Members felt the design of the school could be improved in terms of the exterior and utilising green energy. Other Members on the Committee felt that the exterior aesthetics of the school was not a priority or likely to be noticed by the children and the interior was the most important, being where they would be spending their time. Whilst there were reservations over the proposals, it was largely agreed that they were not sufficient to refuse the application on planning grounds.

Following debate, officers confirmed that no objections had been received on the application and the design was heavily dictated by budgetary constraints that were not previously in place. The proposals were rated ‘excellent’ according to Building Research Establishment Environment Assessment Method (BREEAM) standards and be marked ‘outstanding’ for energy efficiency.

In response to Members concerns over not using green energy at the school at the outset and reducing the need for gas heating, it was agreed that an informative would be added regarding the natural gas heating system being replaced by a non-fossil fuel based heating system such as ground or air source heat pump be utilised as early as possible.

RESOLVED

Planning permission was GRANTED subject to:

-       The update report

-       An informativeregarding the ground heat pump being operational as soon as possible; and

-       The conditions set out in Appendix A (including any amendments in the update report)

Voting
Favour: 9
Against: 3
Abstentions: 1 (Councillor Kim Taylor was unable to vote due to arriving late to the meeting).