Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Mrs J E Killey.

No declarations were made at this stage of the meeting.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Planning and Regulation Committee held on 31 July 2017, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to "Councillor S R Kirk" to the list of apologies (minute 14), a full stop after "nature" and the deletion of the words "associated with" on page 7, first bullet point, second line (minute 18).

Andy Fawkes, representing the applicant, commented as follows:-

·    The current temporary classroom units were in a very poor structural condition with the presence of fungus, holes in walls, inadequate heating and their replacement was an urgent priority for the school.

·    The school had worked closely with the County Council and it had taken three years to obtain funding for the project through a Section 106 Agreement which was time limited.

·    The pupil population had grown significantly in recent years and the school had become more popular since improvements following an improvement in its OFSTED rating. Following the educational improvements it was now possible for the school to concentrate on other issues including car parking.

Questions by the Committee to Andy Fawkes and his responses, included:-

·    Parking was an on-going problem for many schools. What was the effect of the OFSTED report on the school? Andy Fawkes stated that it had taken four years to improve the educational standards at the school and during the period the school was in special measures children's education had been a priority. He stated that the school now had a School Transport Plan in place, had requested the local PCSO to patrol the area in the vicinity of the school and added that the school was examining the use of the nearby Community Centre for parking.

·    Andy Fawkes in response to a question explained the numbers of pre-school children feeding into the school's reception classes and added that as there was a bigger cohort of children leaving the school than arriving meant that the overall number of children on roll would not increase.

·    In view of the limited number of parking places at the school was the solution for school staff to park at the Community Centre? Andy Fawkes stated that because of the need for staff to bring resources to school it was necessary for them to be able to park at the school. Some staff lived locally, some were able to park on a colleague's driveway and some were able to park at the Community Centre. He emphasised that parking had not been a priority until now but was now in the School Development Plan. The school was examining other options including a parking system, developed in the USA, where a member of staff would meet a child as soon as they were dropped off at the school. He added that while this would work in the morning it was more problematic in the afternoon. Another option being considered was walking the children to the Community Centre for them to be picked up there.

·    A member stated that he had spoken to the local member about the application and the local member had stated that the overall increase in pupils at the school was only three pupils. Andy Fawkes agreed with this comment.

Officers confirmed that a School Transport Plan had been submitted as detailed in the planning conditions but were unaware of a report from the local Division Member.

The Committee noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.