Agenda item

The proposal before Members was for the demolition of an existing building and the construction of a new primary school for 630 pupils aged 4-11. The existing building was the original nurses and doctors accommodation for the former Oldchurch Hospital and was identified as a Locally Listed Building and was therefore a heritage asset.

This application had been previously considered by the Committee on 17 December 2015 where it had been deferred to enable staff to seek amendments to increase the amount of on-site parking for staff, to introduce a drop off facility on Union Road and to clarify the arrangements for sports facilities for future pupils. The report was now brought back to Members, updated to reflect the outcome of these negotiations with the applicant.

In accordance with the public speaking arrangements the Committee was addressed by an objector with a response from the applicant’s agent.

The objector advised that he was speaking on behalf of the Romford Civic Society. The objector commented that the drop off point proposed was not sufficient enough and the increase in staff parking was not enough to cope with demand. The objector concluded by re-iterating his previous comment that the proposal was for the demolition of a locally listed building.

In response the applicant’s agent again commented that that the existing building was suitable for conversion. The agent also commented that the Committee’s previous concerns had been addressed in the re-submitted report and that there was a great need of the school places in the borough.

During the debate Members discussed the provision of the drop off zone and slightly increased parking.

The consensus of Members appeared to be that although some additions had been made the scheme still fell some way short of being ideal however, this had to be offset against the greater need for school places within the borough and that a new school was preferable to an expansion of an existing one.

It was RESOLVED that the proposal was unacceptable as it stood but would be acceptable subject to

A:        No direction to the contrary from the Mayor for London (under the Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008); and

B:        The Head of Regulatory Services being authorised to negotiate and agree a planning obligation under S106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended), to secure the following:

• To adopt, implement measures within and keep under review a School Travel Plan for the lifetime of the development.

·         Each year during Spring Term for a period of six years following first occupation of the development, the owner/operator to appoint a transport consultant (to be approved by the Council) to undertake an independent survey to assess the degree to which parents arrive at the site at the start and end of the school day by car and park/stop on Union Road or other nearby adjacent roads and if necessary to recommend actions to prevent parents driving to the site.

·         The owner/occupier to submit, before the end of the spring term, a copy of the consultant’s report and recommendations and their response including measures to be implemented. The owner/occupier to use best endeavours to implement the reasonable recommendations of the transport consultant during the summer term following the completion of the report.

·         If the year 5 spring term survey report still identified parking by parents, the owner/occupier to submit to the Council for approval a revised Travel Plan including specific measures and targets to reduce driving to the site and the measures included to be implemented.

• The Developer/Owner shall pay the Council’s reasonable legal costs in association with the preparation of the legal agreement, prior to the completion of the agreement, irrespective of whether the legal agreement was completed.

• The Developer/Owner shall pay the appropriate planning obligations monitoring fee prior to completion of the agreement.

Subject to recommendations A) and B) above that planning permission be granted subject to the conditions as set out in the report.

The vote for the resolution to grant planning permission was carried by 10 votes to 1.

Councillor Hawthorn voted against the resolution to grant planning permission.