Proposed demolition of existing Infant and Junior Schools and construction of a new primary school.

The determination of the application was deferred pending further discussions with the applicant.

The Principal Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application and updates / additional representations received following the publication of the agenda were provided in the update sheet.

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking, Mr Downey, representing some of the residents of Hereford Road, spoke in objection to the application.

In accordance with paragraph 4.8.2.2 of the Council’s Constitution, Councillor RC Hunt, one of the local ward members, commented on a number of issues, including:

·         The site visit had been beneficial to members in addressing concerns on the site.

·         The school was important for Leominster and had the full support of the local residents in principal, however there were a number of concerns that needed to be addressed.

·         The school will only accommodate the current number of pupils in the primary and junior schools, where would additional pupils be accommodated when numbers increase.

·         The government advice was set out in paragraph 2.2 and required the Council to be proactive in respect of planning for possible pupil numbers.

·         Flat roofs had caused problems in the past, could the committee be assured that the proposed roof would be fit for purpose with a long life expectancy.

·         The coloured tiles proposed for the main entrance needed to blend in and had to be considered carefully.

·         The area was prone to flooding and the flood issues did not seem to have been considered fully by the land drainage engineer.

·         Parking would continue to be an issue on Hereford Road, needed to look into additional parking. Existing School land at George Street could be considered for additional parking. This could be covered by a Section 106 agreement.

Councillor PJ McCaull, the other local ward member added that:

·         The schools clearly needed to be replaced and they had been allowed to depreciate during the 4-5 years that the application had been in discussion.

·         There will be double the amount of children using the one vehicular entrance to the school from Hereford Road.

·         Vital to retain some of the land for additional parking.

·         There was a significant amount of groundwork required to make the site suitable for development.

·         The proposed application was seriously lacking in sustainable features.

·         The design of the proposed school was of concern with reference made to the impressive design of the nearby Mortimer College.

·         There was a concern in respect of run-off water which needed to be addressed in order to alleviate any flooding concerns in the area. The small pool which had been proposed was not going to be able to take all of the water.

·         The applicants should consider a large underground water storage tank which could then be reused on the site.

·         The report mentioned that the roof was suitable for solar panels, these should be installed during the build.

·         The current proposals did not account for increased pupil numbers as a result of residential developments proposed for Leominster.

The Democratic Services Officer read out a letter received from Councillor FM Norman, who was unable to attend the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62