Agenda item

Planning application documents

The planning officer introduced the report as published.

 

There were 4 speakers on the item: an objector, the applicant and 2 Ward Councillors.

 

The objector, who was speaking on behalf of the residents in the area, addressed the committee and made the following points:

-          They are in support of the application with regard to SEN children however there are concerns that the development will be made available for private hire.

-          They have not been able to confirm with the applicant that the development will only be for SEN children, and that causes concern for the residents.

-          There are some operational issues at the moment that cause problems for the residents such as the alarm going off at various times and that has not been fixed, also the security lighting is very bright and sometimes left on all night.

-          There has been an email sent to residents by a well meaning councillor that suggests that residents should be notified in advance if there will be an event held that will have 100 plus children at, this make it clear that this is not just a development for SEN children.

-          During a meeting with the Headmaster that Councillors and the objectors attended the Headmaster failed to confirm that there would not be an application for floodlighting in the future and this is a real concern for residents in the area.

-          If there are problems with the development then the enforcement team at the Council will be responsible for dealing with them.

-          The noise report states that the highest level of noise that is expected with be 1 decibel lower than the WHO threshold for the onset of moderate community annoyance.

-          The noise report also does not appear to asses the use of the athletics track or the bleacher seating.

-          The objector asked for the application to be deferred as even some of the supporters appeared to be objecting to the proposed hours of use.

-          There should be no need for lighting if there is a genuine intention to restrict use of the development.

-          It is critical for residents and for the wildlife in the area that the playing field should be pitch black at night.

 

The applicant then addressed the committee and made the following points:

-          The school needs better facilities for the SEN children that use the facility.

-          The application is needed to support the disabled children.

-          The inclusivity of the school has been acknowledged by Ofsted.

-          The application fits with CBC’s physical education strategy.

-          There has been 2 years of work on the project and felt let down by the 16 late conditions imposed by the planning officer

-          The suggested conditions may not be allowed under the Equality Act.

-          The vast majority of users are not only physically disabled but are also autistic and are not able to visit other facilities.

 

Cllr Harman in his capacity as County Councillor addressed the committee and made the following points:

-          He thanked the community and the committee for their time in visiting both the application site and the neighbouring properties.

-          This application is not about the residents versus the school as the residents understand the significance of the school and the work that it does.

-          The neighbours that are closely affected are worried about the long term impact in terms of the hours that the proposal will wish to operate.  Some believe that it may be used for commercial gain.

-          There was a public meeting that was attended by both parties, but that did seem to raise more concerns particularly round the issue of noise.  It will not be easy to limit attendance to things, and the amount of people using the facility would impact the noise level.

 

Councillor Beale as Ward Councillor addressed the committee and made the following points:

-          The application has been subject to a number of changes but the purpose of the application is clear, it is to all all inclusive for SEN.

-          Sports England are fully onboard with the application.

-          As the applicant stated the application fits with the CBC sports strategy.

-          There has been a challenge in communication with the school and the neighbours, however the school hosted a meeting and responded to most of the questions that were causing worry to the residents. 

-          The concerns about the alarms going off at the school at different times has not helped the situation with the neighbours.

-          The Goals Beyond Grass group that meets at the school is run by volunteers and they have directly influenced the design of the application.  They are an organisation that provides social connections for the SEN community and is very valuable to the children and adults that come to their sessions.  The passing noise of cars and lawnmowers is far greater that the noise caused by this group.

-          The conditions to the application should control the use of the site and encourage the community to work together closely.

 

The matter then went to Member questions.  The responses are as follows:

-          It would be unreasonable to condition no further lighting such as security and incidental lighting at the site. Additional lighting is not being applied for on this application. The restricted times that are proposed will prevent the need for further lighting.

-          Bleacher seating is a stepped construction built into the land, it is permanent and not retractable.

-          The noise report assessed the cumulative impact of the noise.  The athletics track is a quieter activity.

-          The noise assessment does not differentiate between users.

-          The primary use of the proposed development will be for Belmont school pupils but Betteridge school and other special schools and SEN organisations across Gloucestershire will have access. If the school do want to hire out the facilities to other organisations the restricted time conditions will manage the times that they can use it.

-          If the times are amended and restricted to SEN users only this could create equality issues.

-          Once the acoustic fence is built and in use there could be feedback given by both the residents and the school via the environmental health forum.

-          The Legal Officer reminded Members that they could only consider the application before them and cannot compare this application to any others that have been considered.

 

The matter then went to Member debate where the following points were raised:

-          Members were minded to extend the time at weekends to 4pm or 5pm, there would be an issue if the application was only for commercial use and the SEN individuals were prevented from using the site.  Would be happy to propose a new time of 10-5pm on Saturdays.

-          There are some advantages of the application being used for commercial use as long as that is not the main use.

-          There was general support for the proposed new times and also stated that there is no evidence to support the residents’ fears.

-          Other schools in residential areas let outsiders use their facilities.

-          There has been no evidence that there will be excessive noise and the concerns about the noise of the alarm from the residents are not relevant.

-          Members were happy to agree an extension to 5pm on Saturday for those with SEN and to support the use by the cycle group on Sunday for limited hours as stated. Cllr Wheeler suggested 10-5pm on Sunday as we live in a 7 day a week economy, this was seconded by Cllr Fisher.

-          If the noise does have an impact on the neighbours then the school will be made aware by the residents and Environmental Health will be involved.

-          There was a belief that the commercial fears were misplaced as there is not much scope for outside use.

-          The facility won’t be open until 5pm in the winter as it gets dark earlier.

-          The school and the residents should keep talking and the school should be a good neighbour and the arrangements should work for everyone.

-          A lot of SEN have severe reaction to noise and won’t be able to tolerate any noise.

 

The planning officer then addressed the committee and stated that the cycling group can still continue to run their club on a Sunday. Their current use of the site is unaffected by the proposed development. However, the suggested condition would allow their use of the proposed cycle track on a Sunday. It will not be for residents to propose revised hours to the committee. The Member proposed extended hours on Saturdays would be going against the advice and recommendation of the Council’s Environmental Health team. Environmental Health are concerned about noise complaints which is why there is the suggested condition.

 

The Legal Officer reminded Members that the committee could only look at one motion at a time and they need to be looked at in order.  He also stated that the application had to be approved first before the condition was voted on.

 

The application then went to the vote:

For – 11 UNANIMOUS

 

The committee went to the vote to approve the amended condition for 10am-5pm on Saturday:

For – 11 - UNANIMOUS

Against – 0

 

The second condition for operating hours on a Sunday to be restricted to SEN from 10am-5pm went to the vote

For – 2

Against – 9

 

The vote to approve with the amended condition was then voted on

For – 11 – UNANIMOUS

It was also a UNANIMOUS decision to delegate the re wording of the condition to the officer.