Agenda item

(To receive a report which invites the Committee to consider a report on the proposal to expand the capacity at Pinchbeck East Church of England Primary School (Final Decision) which is due to be considered by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care and Health Services, Children's Services on 22 June 2015)

Consideration was given to a report which invited the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider the proposal to expand the capacity at Pinchbeck East Church of England Primary School (Final Decision) which was due to be considered by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care and Health Services, Children's Services on 22 June 2015.

It was reported that there was a requirement for the expansion of this school due to the increasing pressure on primary school places from the rising birth rate and increased migration into the area.

Members were advised that officers used data from the health services to be able to plan for what the population was likely to look like.  There was confidence that the county projections were correct to within 1%.

It was reported that this was an outstanding school, as rated by Ofsted, and was very popular in the local area, and so the proposals would also assist in meeting parental preference.

Members' attention was drawn to the written responses which had been received, of which there were 48 valid responses, of these 29 were in support, with 14 against and 5 which were neither for nor against but made comments for consideration.  It was noted that the majority of the points raised were around parking, access and safety of the children and the loss of outdoor space, as well as concerns over whether the facilities at the school would cope with the increased numbers.

Members of the Committee were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         Members were advised that officers had met with the Highways department and local residents in relation to access arrangements to the site from Knight Street, which was currently pedestrianised.  It had been suggested that arrangements be put in place with the local pub for a park and stride scheme.  There were also discussions with the parish council regarding the use of the playing field;

·         It was important that the impact of the changes to the school on the local area were not underestimated;

·         There was a need to use the local knowledge of residents/parish councils/town councils and community groups in planning projects such as this;

·         It was noted that some very good ideas had been received from local groups;

·         Some concerns were raised regarding the low level of responses from residents to the consultation, and it was queried whether the residents from Guildhall Drive had also been included in the consultation;

·         It was confirmed that it would be a single storey extension;

·         A pre-planning meeting had been held in the past week in relation to the design, and residents from Guildhall Drive, as well as other streets had been invited to attend;

·         Comments from the pre-planning meeting would be included as part of the final consultation for the planning application;

·         The size of the site had been examined, and there was a formal agreement with the parish council to allow the school to use the playing field for PE as required;

·         It was also commented by another councillor that it was thought that there had been a relatively good response to the consultation.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Committee support the recommendation to the Executive Councillor set out in the report;

2.    That the following additional comments be passed to the Executive Councillor in relation to this item:

·         It was queried what the impact would be on the surrounding neighbourhood in terms of parking and access. It was highlighted that a number of options were being investigated, including looking at a park and stride option from a local pub car park. It was suggested that using local knowledge would help to provide the best solution. The Committee was informed that a local resident group had been consulted which came up with a number of good ideas and these had been passed onto the Road Safety Partnership and the Highways team.

·         It was queried if the expansion would be a single storey and whether the residents on Guildhall Drive had been consulted as the proposed extension would back onto the housing along this road. It was reported that the extension would be a single storey and that the residents of Guildhall Drive had been consulted as part of the design and planning process which was separate to this consultation process. The residents' comments would be put forward to the Planning Committee as part of the planning application. The Committee suggested that for future school expansion reports, it would be useful to also include the consultation responses from the design and planning process in the reports to the Committee.