Agenda item

The Committee considered a report where Planning permission was sought to construct a Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) school with associated external spaces works, parking and vehicular and pedestrian accesses at the Former Usher Junior School site, Skellingthorpe Road, Lincoln. The development was one of two proposals that were associated with the existing Lincoln St. Christopher's SEND school on Hykeham Road. 

Lincoln St Christopher's School had experienced significant growth over the last few years and the demand for school places regularly exceeded place availability. Projected demand for special school places in the Lincoln City area indicated the need for an additional 111 places to be made available by 2023 and in order to meet this need it was proposed to expand the capacity of the school through the formation of a split school site. To achieve this it was proposed to construct a new school for primary school aged children and then redevelop the existing Lincoln St. Christopher's site. The proposal related to the development of a new modern, purpose built SEND school on the former Usher Junior School site. The school would provide places for a total of 130 students (aged 3 to 11) with a range of different needs including profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), severe or moderate learning difficulties (SLD/MLD) and those with autistic?spectrum disorder (ASD). The school was anticipated to employ 68 staff comprising of 52 full?time equivalent staff and 16 staff who would work across both this school and the existing Lincoln St. Christopher's School site. Both staff and pupils currently attending the existing Lincoln St. Christopher’s School would be relocated to this site should permission be granted.

The report recommended that following consideration of the relevant development plan policies and the comments received through consultation and publicity conditional planning be granted.

Officers guided members through the report and set out the main issues to be considered in the determination of the application. The planning update circulated to the Committee on 2 July recommended that condition 7 be amended to read as follows:  No construction traffic, other than that required to carry out the improvement works to the eastern vehicular access, shall enter the site until the eastern vehicular access has been temporarily upgraded in accordance with a specification agreed by the Highway Authority and is available for use.

Kyna Adkins, Headteacher, Lincoln St. Christopher's SEND school attended the meeting via Teams to support the application. She commented on the large demand for school places, the problems with the current buildings and space and the intention to open up the new facilities to the wider community when not in use by the school. She also explained, following questions from members, how the pupils mostly travelled to the school on arranged transport rather than being dropped off by their parents and how this was different to other schools. It was confirmed that there was a travel plan for staff parking and pick-ups and drop offs.

Some members expressed concern about possibility of increased parking problems in the area arising from the development. Officers reported that they were satisfied that a suitable parking and travel plan were in place and the transport arrangements to this school were indeed different to other schools which had all the associated problems on children being drive to and collected from school.

Councillor Mrs A M Newton MBE, asked for it to be recorded that she had a similar experience of a previous application for an extension from a nursery school attached to the primary school in 2019, where assurances from Officers had been given about the supply of sufficient parking. However, there had been subsequent complaints about parking following the development. Several residents had raised issues relating to inconsiderate parking, often staff parking partially overhanging driveways all day.She expressed concern that parking should be considered at the time of the planning applications and that councillor's correspondence with residents included many complaints about road traffic issues associated with taking and collecting children to and from school, especially parking on private property.

On a motion by Councillor T R Ashton, seconded by Councillor I G Fleetwood, it was:-

RESOLVED (12 for and 2 abstentions (Councillors Mrs A M Newton MBE and MrsAshleigh-Morris ))

That conditional planning permission be approved, as amended by revised Condition 7, as outlined above.