Agenda item

Report No: DEV/SE/18/042

 

Planning Application - Provision of sixth form college with new access from Beetons Way and associated parking and landscaping; provision of new signalised junction; improvements to existing playing fields and replacement of existing all-weather pitch with 3G pitch for King Edward VI Upper School.  As amended by plans and documents received on 16th August, 5th October and 1st November 2018

(The following Councillors all declared non-pecuniary interests in this item due to the appointments they held as listed against their names below:

·         Councillor Terry Clements - Co-opted Governor of King Edward VI School and Trustee of Abbeycroft Leisure

·         Councillor Sara Mildmay-White - St Edmundsbury Borough Council representative on the King Edward VI School Bury St Edmunds Foundation

·         Councillor Julia Wakelam - Trustee of Suffolk Academies Trust and Governor of West Suffolk College 

All of the above Members would remain in the meeting and would take part in the discussion and voting thereon.) 

 

Planning Application - Provision of sixth form college with new access from Beetons Way and associated parking and landscaping; provision of new signalised junction; improvements to existing playing fields and replacement of existing all-weather pitch with 3G pitch for King Edward VI Upper School.  As amended by plans and documents received on 16th August, 5th October and 1st November 2018

 

This application had been referred to the Development Control Committee at the request of one of the Ward Members (Risbygate).

 

Since publication of the agenda, supplementary ‘late papers’ were issued in respect of this item and which included:

·         A corrected site plan;

·         Further comments received from the Environment Agency; and

·         A full list of recommended conditions.

 

A Member site visit was held prior to the meeting.  Officers were recommending that the application be approved subject to the completion of a Section 106 Agreement and conditions, as set out in the supplementary ‘late papers’.

 

The Senior Planning Officer made a detailed presentation to the meeting which was recognised and thanked by the Committee. 

 

It was highlighted to Members, as part of the presentation, that whilst Sport England no longer objected to the application there was still a policy conflict in respect of DM42 and this had to be recognised in the planning balance.

 

Attention was also drawn to Paragraph 56 of Report No DEV/SE/18/042 which explained that the National Policy Statement set out the Government’s view that the creation and development of state-funded schools was strongly in the national interest.

 

Speakers:    Mr Paul Nightingale (Former PE teacher, King Edward VI School) spoke against the application

Councillor David Nettleton (Ward Member: Risbygate) spoke against the application

Mr Alan Gunne-Jones (agent) spoke in support of the application

 

Councillor Julia Wakelam (the other Risbygate Ward Member) spoke in support of the application.  She considered the site to be the best location for the proposed facility in order to provide linkage with neighbouring West Suffolk College.  Councillor Wakelam also highlighted that the development would, by default, free up much needed space on the King Edward VI School’s existing site.  She therefore proposed that the application be approved, as per the Officer recommendation.

 

Councillor Terry Clements duly seconded the motion for approval and equally spoke in support of the application.  He highlighted the need for the development; which would provide excellent sports facilities.

 

A lengthy debate ensued with a number of Members making comments both in support and in objection to the application.

 

Particular concerns raised related to the perceived highways impact and the parking provision.  Councillor David Nettleton highlighted the potential impact on air quality and the need for sustainable transport and Councillor Sara Mildmay-White queried the conflict between the loss of playing fields for car park provision and the Government’s national health agenda.

 

Comments were also made with regard to the condition relating to a Full Travel Plan which would be required six months after first occupation of the college – questions were posed by Members as to whether this needed to be in place prior to first occupation and, indeed, if the application needed to be deferred to allow for this to be produced.

 

In response to the highways matters the Highways Officer in attendance was invited to address the meeting by the Chairman. 

 

The Highways Officer explained why Suffolk County Council Highways had come to the position they had in relation to the application and the highways network/parking provision.  The Committee was advised that occupation of the site was to be on a phased basis, therefore, the first six months of data would be used to inform the Full Travel Plan; whilst recognising that a Framework Travel Plan had already been produced.

 

Councillors Andrew Smith and Carol Bull both spoke on the importance of car usage for rural populations who often had a limited public transport network at their disposal.  As such, they endorsed the car park provision within the application.

 

Councillors Wakelam and Clements (as original proposer and seconder, respectively, of the motion to approve) both remarked on the need for reasonableness when considering the potential highways impact; in that it would not be possible by way of the application to address all traffic movement issues within that part of Bury St Edmunds. 

 

The Senior Planning Officer and the Service Manager (Planning – Development) also responded to other questions/comments as follows:

Landscaping – the maximum amount of landscaping had been secured via the scheme and as agreed with the Council’s Tree Officer.  The drainage infrastructure and visibility requirements restricted any additional planting;

Design – the design proposed was very similar to other local modern educational buildings.  Members were also advised that the Vitec Videocom base in Western Way was to be redeveloped as part of the West Suffolk College campus and the appearance would look very similar to the building within the application site; and

Alternative Site(s) – the Committee was reminded that whether or not other sites had been considered for the application by the applicant was not a material planning consideration for the determination of the application before them.

 

Upon being put to the vote and with 8 voting for the motion and with 4 against, it was resolved that

 

Decision

 

Planning permission be GRANTED subject to:

 

The applicant first entering into a Section 106 agreement to secure the following:

a)   A contribution of £10,000 to provide a new bus stop shelter on Western Way.

b)   A contribution of £35,000 towards improvements to the Tollgate junction.

c)    A contribution of £200,000 to make improvements to the Western Way/Newmarket Road junction.

 

Any such approval to thereafter be granted by Officers to also be subject to the following conditions:

1)   The development hereby permitted shall be begun not later than 3 years from the date of this permission.

2)   The development hereby permitted shall not be carried out except in complete accordance with the details shown on the approved plans and documents.

3)   No development above slab level shall take place until details of the external facing and roofing materials to be used for the college building have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

4)   Prior to the installation of the solar PV array, details of the siting, scale and appearance of the array shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The array shall be installed in accordance with the approved details prior to the college being first brought into use and shall be thereafter retained as approved.

5)   Within six months of the first educational use of the college building hereby approved, a final Certificate must be issued certifying that BREEAM (or any such equivalent national measure of sustainable building which replaces that scheme) rating VERY GOOD has been achieved for this development and evidence of such certification must have been submitted to and acknowledged in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

6)   The existing sand-dressed artificial pitch will be resurfaced with a 3G surface within 12 months of the date of this planning permission, in accordance with a specification that shall have first been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with Sport England.

7)   No development shall commence until a Sports Pitch Implementation Scheme has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with Sport England.  The scheme shall take into account the findings of the submitted feasibility study by TGMS dated 30 April 2018 and shall include a written specification of the proposed soils structure, proposed drainage, cultivation and other operations associated with grass and sports turf establishment, together with a programme and timescale for implementation.  The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved Sports Pitch Implementation Scheme and the land shall thereafter be maintained and made available for playing field use in accordance with the approved Scheme.

8)   Prior to the college building being first brought into use, a Community Use Agreement prepared in consultation with Sport England shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority and a copy of the completed approved agreement shall be provided to the Local Planning Authority.  The Agreement shall apply to the college’s indoor and outdoor sports facilities comprising the sports hall, activity studio and floodlit multi-use games area.  The Agreement shall include details of pricing policy, hours of use, access by non-school users, management responsibilities and a mechanism for periodic review. The facilities shall thereafter be made available for community use in accordance with the approved Community Use Agreement. 

9)   No development shall commence until details of the design and layout of the replacement artificial cricket wicket and the timescale for its implementation have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with Sport England. The facility shall thereafter be constructed in accordance with the approved details and timescale.

10)  Prior to work commencing on the new multi-use games area, full details of the proposed floodlighting shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The multi-use games area and  floodlighting shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details prior to the college building being first brought into use and shall thereafter be retained as approved.

11)  The development shall be carried out in accordance with the submitted Site Waste Management Plan ref. PrS-065 received on 14 November 2018, both during the construction phase and thereafter.

12)  No development shall take place until a surface water drainage scheme for the site, based on sustainable drainage principles and an assessment of the hydrological and hydro geological context of the development, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The applicant shall submit a detailed design

based on the FRA & Drainage Strategy by AKS Ward Construction Consultants (drawing refs. 9201 P06 & 9202 P07) and will demonstrate that surface water run-off generated up to and including the critical 100 year +CC storm will not exceed the run-off from the existing site following the corresponding rainfall event. The scheme shall subsequently be implemented in accordance with the approved details before the development is completed. The surface water drainage scheme shall include:

a)   Details of further infiltration testing on site in accordance with BRE 365 to verify the permeability of the site (trial pits to be located where soakaways are proposed and repeated runs for each trial hole). Borehole records should also be submitted in support of soakage testing.

b)   Dimensioned plans illustrating all aspects of the surface water drainage scheme including location and size of infiltration devices and the conveyance network. A statement on the amount of impermeable area served by each soakaway should also be illustrated on the plans and should be cross referenceable with associated soakaway calculations.

c)    Full modelling results (or similar method) to demonstrate that the infiltration device has been adequately sized to contain the critical 100yr+CC event for the catchment area they serve. Each device should be designed using the nearest tested infiltration rate to which they are located. A suitable factor of safety should be applied to the infiltration rate during design.

d)   Infiltration devices will have a half drain time of less than 24hours.

e) Infiltration devices should be no more than 2m deep and will have at least 1.2m of unsaturated ground between base of the device and the groundwater table.

f) Modelling of conveyance networks showing no above ground flooding in 1 in 30 year event, plus any potential volumes of above ground flooding during the 1 in 100 year rainfall + CC.

g) Topographic plans shall be submitted depicting safe exceedance flow paths in case of a blockage within the main SW system and/or flows in excess of a 1 in 100 year rainfall event. These flow paths will demonstrate that the risks to people and property are kept to a minimum.

13)  No development shall commence until a Construction Surface Water Management Plan (CSWMP) detailing how surface water and storm water will be managed on the site during construction (including demolition and site clearance operations) has been submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The CSWMP shall be implemented and thereafter managed and maintained in accordance with the approved plan for the duration of all construction activities on the site. The approved CSWMP must include:

a)   Method statements, scaled and dimensioned plans and drawings detailing surface water management proposals to include:

i)             Temporary drainage systems.

ii)           Measures for managing pollution / water quality and protecting controlled waters and watercourses.

iii)          Measures for managing any on or offsite flood risk associated with construction.

14)  If, during development, contamination not previously identified is found to be present at the site then no further development (unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority) shall be carried out until the developer has submitted a remediation strategy detailing how this unsuspected contamination shall be dealt with and obtained written approval from the Local Planning Authority. The remediation strategy shall be implemented as approved.

15)  Prior to any works commencing on site, including site clearance, site set-up and deliveries of materials, a Deliveries and Construction Management Plan shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The Plan shall include details of the access(es) to be used by construction vehicles, details of contractor parking on site and methods to prevent debris entering the highway.  

No HGV or construction vehicle movements shall be permitted to or from the site other than in accordance with the routes defined in the Plan.  The site operator shall maintain a register of complaints and record of actions taken to deal with such complaints at the site office as specified in the Plan throughout the construction period.

16)  The new vehicular access shall not be brought into use until details of the visibility splays and any access gates to be erected have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The access shall be constructed in accordance with the approved details prior to being first brought into use and shall be retained thereafter in its approved form.

Clear visibility at a height of 0.6 metres above the carriageway level shall be provided and thereafter permanently maintained in that area between the nearside edge of the metalled carriageway and a line 2.4 metres from the nearside edge of the metalled carriageway at the centre line of the access point (X dimension) and a distance of 43 metres in each direction along the edge of the metalled carriageway from the centre of the access (Y dimension).  Notwithstanding the provisions of Part 2 Class A of The Town and  Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) (or any Order revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification), no obstruction over 0.6 metres high shall be erected, constructed, planted or permitted to grow within the areas of the visibility splays.

17)  The approved new vehicular access and signalised junction, as shown on drawing no. 42717/5501/101/P7, shall be laid out and constructed in accordance with the details approved in their entirety prior to the college being first brought into use.   The signalised junction shall incorporate cycle and pedestrian crossing facilities on at least three arms and shall make provision for the existing cycle route on Beetons Way.  The access signals must be in place and fully functional prior to the college being first brought into use. 

18)  Prior to the provision of the cycle stores, details of their siting and design shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The cycle stores shall thereafter be provided in accordance with the approved details prior to the college being first brought into use, and shall thereafter be retained and used for no other purpose.

19)  Prior to the college being first brought into use, the areas within the site shown on drawing no. ABSE6F-ARE-ZZ-00-DP-L-0002 S2 P07 received on 1 November 2018 for the purposes of the loading, unloading, manoeuvring and parking of vehicles shall be provided.  Thereafter those areas shall be retained and used for no other purposes.

20)  The electric vehicle charging points shown on drawing no. ABSE6F-ARE-ZZ-00-DP-L-0002 S2 P07 received on 1 November 2018 shall be of a minimum 7kWh and shall be provided prior to the college being first brought into use.  The electric vehicle charging points shall be retained thereafter as approved and installed.

21)  Prior to the college being first brought into use, the full contact details of the Travel Plan Coordinator appointed to implement the Framework Travel Plan (dated March 2018 Rev:A) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with Suffolk County Council as Highway Authority. The Travel Plan Coordinator must be funded and maintained by the occupier to oversee the implementation of the Interim and Full Travel Plans for the full duration of the Travel Plan.

22)  Six months after the first occupation of the college, a Full Travel Plan shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with Suffolk County Council as Highway Authority. The Full Travel Plan must include the following:

a)   A commitment to achieve the interim objectives and targets set out in the Framework Travel Plan (dated March 2018 Rev:A).

b)   A timetable for the provision of revised baseline data that includes travel to data for the actual students and employees.

c)    An action plan that contains suitable objectives and targets to reduce the vehicular trips made by students and employees, with a commitment to implement remedial measures if the agreed targets and objectives are not met.

d)   A suitable marketing strategy to engage all students and employees with the Travel Plan process.

e)   A commitment to monitor the Travel Plan annually on each anniversary of the approval of the Full Travel Plan and provide the outcome in a revised Travel Plan to be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for a minimum period of five years using the same methodology as the baseline monitoring.

f)    A commitment by the occupier to fund and maintain the Full Travel Plan for five years.

The measures set out within the approved Travel Plan shall be implemented as agreed.

23)  All planting comprised in the approved details of landscaping shall be carried out in the first planting season following the commencement of the development (or within such extended period as may first be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority). Any planting removed, dying or becoming seriously damaged or diseased within five years of planting shall be replaced within the first available planting season thereafter with planting of similar size and species unless the Local Planning Authority gives written consent for any variation.

24)  Prior to the commencement of development an Arboricultural Method Statement (including any demolition, groundworks and site clearance) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The Statement should include details of the following:

i)   Measures for the protection of those trees and hedges on the application site that are to be retained.

ii)  Details of all construction measures within the 'Root Protection Area' (defined by a radius of dbh x 12 where dbh is the diameter of the trunk measured at a height of 1.5m above ground level) of those trees on the application site which are to be retained specifying the position, depth, and method of construction/installation/excavation of service trenches, building foundations, hardstandings, roads and footpaths.

iii) A schedule of proposed surgery works to be undertaken to those trees and hedges on the application site which are to be retained.

The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved Method Statement unless agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

25)  The development shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the approved Tree Protection Plans, refs. P2866.5 003 revB and P2866.5 004 revB, and with the provisions of the Arboricultural Method Statement approved pursuant to Condition 24 of this Planning Permission.

26)  The mitigation measures set out within the approved Preliminary Ecological Appraisal ref. P2866.2.0 dated 18 May 2017 shall be implemented.

27)  Prior to the first educational use of the building, a "lighting design strategy for biodiversity" shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The strategy shall:

i)  Identify those areas/features on site that are particularly sensitive for protected/notable species and that are likely to be disturbed by lighting;

ii) Show how and where external lighting will be installed (through the provision of appropriate lighting contour plans and technical specifications) to demonstrate that areas to be lit will not disturb or prevent the above species using their territory or having access to their breeding sites and resting places.

All external lighting shall be installed in accordance with the specifications and locations set out in the strategy, and these shall be maintained thereafter in accordance with the strategy. No other external lighting be installed without prior consent from the Local Planning Authority.

28)  Prior to the first educational use of the building details of biodiversity enhancement measures to be installed at the site, including details of the timescale for installation, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Any such measures as may be agreed shall be installed in accordance with the agreed timescales and thereafter retained as so installed. There shall be no occupation unless and until details of the biodiversity enhancement measures to be installed have been agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

29)  No development above existing ground level shall take place until a landscape and ecological management plan (LEMP) has been submitted to and be approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The LEMP shall include the following:

i)       Description and evaluation of features to be managed

ii)       Ecological trends and constraints on site that might influence management

iii)      Aims and objectives of management

iv)      Appropriate management options for achieving aims and objectives

v)      Prescriptions for management actions

vi)      Preparation of a work schedule (including an annual work plan capable of being rolled forward over a five-year period)

vii)     Details of the body or organization responsible for implementation of the plan

viii)    Ongoing monitoring and remedial measures.

The LEMP shall also include details of the legal and funding mechanism(s) by which the long-term implementation of the plan will be secured by the developer with the management body(ies) responsible for its delivery.

The plan shall also set out (where the results from monitoring show that conservation aims and objectives of the LEMP are not being met) how contingencies and/or remedial action will be identified, agreed and implemented so that the development still delivers the fully functioning biodiversity objectives of the originally approved scheme. The approved plan will be implemented in accordance with the approved details.

30)  Prior to their provision on site, details of the substation and bin store shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The substation and bin store shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details prior to the college being first brought into use and shall thereafter be retained as approved.

31)  Prior to its provision on site, details of the proposed terraced seating within the embankment to the south of the college building shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The seating shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details prior to the college being first brought into use and shall thereafter be retained as approved.

32)  The college hereby approved shall have a maximum pupil number of 1,700 pupils.

 

(On conclusion of this item the Chairman permitted a short comfort break.)