Agenda item

Statements and written representations

 

3/19/2437/RM - Reserved matters details for 312 dwellings, public open space, vehicular, cycle and pedestrian access, connections to the SANG, landscape planting and surface water attenuation features at land West of Cranborne Road Wimborne Minster

 

Bob Mizon

 

I am in receipt of the e-mail from Development Management about the development of land west of the Cranborne Road, north of Wimborne. As I have stated in previous communications, I am in favour of such developments on the condition that their street lighting and exterior light fittings conform to a standard that will not impinge through direct and reflected light upon the dark night skies of the Cranborne Chase AONB and International Dark Sky Reserve immediately to the north.

All such lights on this development should be of the minimum brightness for the lighting task, to rule out excessive ground reflection, not exceed a Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) of 3000K in the inteests of the well-being of both humans and local biodiversity, and be directed exactly where needed.

May I assume that, as happens with the vast majority of street lighting in Dorset, street lights will be switched off between midnight and 5 a.m., a measure that has proved itself nationally as a great money-and energy-saving and crime reduction strategy?

Simon Ible - Statement on behalf of Bloor Homes Limited

 

As Members may recall, a decision on this planning application was deferred at the

Planning Committee on 28th October for a number of reasons. Bloor Homes wishes to thank

Members for the opportunity to further improve the proposal before Committee today.

Bloor Homes has sought to positively engage with your officers and has responded

positively to all of the suggestions and requests made. We trust you will agree that the

amendments made have considerably improved the development and will further assist to

secure a high quality form of development for Wimborne.

 

In particular, we would highlight the following changes:

• Provision of photovoltaic panels to 82 homes, supplying 10% of energy from this

renewable source in accordance with outline requirements

• Additional chimneys have been added, to provide a further positive contribution to

the street scene

• Relocation of the Amherst apartment block away from Cranborne Road , with an

enhanced, architectural led design.

• A terrace of four homes, of a bespoke design, is now proposed on the frontage of

Cranborne Road

• The design of the urban square has been improved to create an attractive and

flexible space

• The internal road layout has been amended such that no private waste collection is

now needed

• The tree belt on the western boundary is to be further reinforced, with additional tree

planting proposed

• A footpath has been added to the eastern edge of the site, improving connectivity

for pedestrians.

Furthermore:

• The Environment Agency has confirmed that the SuDS strategy is acceptable, and

will have no potential impacts on water quality in the River Allen.

• Private roads, will be constructed to adoptable standards, as agreed with highways

officers

• Bloors will accept the removal of permitted development rights regarding further

lighting on the site.

Bloor would again wish to emphasise the significance of the timing of this application and the

importance of securing approval at this critical stage, highlighting that:

• Phase 1 is due to complete in June 2021.

• To secure the continuity of local construction jobs, site preparation works do need

to begin imminently to ensure continuity of housing delivery, including much

needed affordable homes

• The proposals will deliver the balance of infrastructure and S106 contributions

committed under the outline permission.

 

Bloor Homes would like to thank Members and officers for their continued advice and

feedback throughout the process. We trust that the amendments made address all the

points that have been raised and demonstrate Bloor’s commitment to delivering a high quality

neighbourhood for Wimborne and that Members will be in a position to fully endorse

3/20/0499/FUL - Erection of a multi-use games area (MUGA) comprising synthetic surface, 3m high perimeter ball stop netting and 8 x 8m lighting columns (additional and amended documents rec'd 6/7/20) at St Ives Primary and Nursery School, Sandy Lane, St Leonards and St Ives,

 

Stephen Graham

I and other residents object in the strongest possible terms to this proposal.

This will have serious implications to the area and the residents who have already had to endure the expansion of the school increasing traffic noise and pollution levels. The volume of traffic and noise will increase, up to at least 9.00pm. There are limited parking spaces in the school and the remainder will park in the street.

This is completely the wrong location for this type of facility and should be situated away from residential areas, usually in Secondary schools where older pupils can take more advantage of the facility.

This has been applied for on several occasions and rejected each time by local Councillors.

This is a commercial venture from which the school want to make money. This is against the terms of the loan they are to receive.

The Noise Impact Report gave the impression the school field was currently hired out and used on an evening. This is not true. The gates are locked on an evening and the field is not used and never has been.

The predicted noise levels from groups of adults shouting in the report states that this will be greater than the current background noise and states this should be “avoided”.

There are bats in the area which are protected and will be affected by the light and noise pollution. Also lights will be shining directly into houses which is unacceptable.

A Letter from Dan Wilden of Pure Town Planning to Elizabeth Adams. It states that “MUGA is a facility for the benefit of the education and wellbeing of its pupils. This is not the case. The facility is a commercial venture operating outside school hours for the hiring by adults etc.

Also “This will be a small village facility and will not involve “pay and play” type hire. This facility is not conducive to a “small village” and will be a pay and play facility. 

 

The Third Party Hire Management Plan document is a work of fiction added to the planning application after it had initially been declined. The school cannot even manage a parking policy on a daily basis. There is a complete disregard for the residents by this school. There is no confidence that the content of this document will be put into practice and is purely for this application. 

It appears that the adults will now be using the children’s toilets and changing facilities. Does this not raise safeguarding issues?   

Dan Wilden Director of Pure Town Planning

 

We are delighted to finally bring this application before planning committee with an officer recommendation to grant planning permission.

Members will be aware from the committee papers that the school has worked hard to deal with the various issues arising in the process of the application. The principle of the proposed development has the support of planning policy. The main question comes down to whether the proposal would have an acceptable impact on the local environment and the nearby residents.

 

Some local residents have been concerned that the proposed pitch would become a major commercial enterprise. This is not the case. The proposed pitch is predominantly for the school to use during school hours. But it would also complement existing extra-curricular sporting activities and be made available on a carefully managed basis to the wider community. This would be to vetted and established sports providers and clubs only.

 

To give confidence that the pitch will be well managed by the school we have drawn up a detailed management plan which your officer has proposed to be a condition of planning permission. This deals with matters such as vetting potential hirers, parking, noise and lighting.

 

The most frequent concern raised locally has been about parking. We understand that, as with most schools these days, there are tensions around parking, particularly parents dropping off and picking up. But the pitch will not add capacity to the school and so will not alter the numbers arriving or departing at the start or end of the school day. After school hours, as set out in the management plan, the on-site parking will be available to users. Notably the Highways Authority has raised no objection to the proposal.

 

The other key local concerns were around noise and lighting and the school has worked with your authority’s Environmental Health team to ensure that the impacts are acceptable and manageable. The original hours of use have been cut back to 8.30pm.

 

The school commissioned a noise study, the recommendations of which have been included in the management plan. To reduce noise the perimeter fencing is to be soft ball-stop netting rather than a chain link fence and there are to be no hard back boards. The latest directional lighting is to be used and a detailed light-spill plan was produced which has satisfied your Environmental Health officer that the lighting, when in use, would not have a disturbing impact on nearby residents.

I trust members will recognise the lengths which the school has gone to ensure that the impacts of the proposed pitch would be acceptable in order that the very great benefits to the health of the children and the wider community can be realised.

 

Martin Kimberley Chief Executive of Active Dorset

 

The Dorset Playing Pitch Strategy (which was adopted by Dorset Council in 2019) assessed the two mini pitches at St Ives Primary School as being “poor quality mini 5v5 pitches that are not available for community use”. The action plan sought to “Improve pitch quality as required for curricular and extra-curricular demand”. The current plans thus accord with this Council adopted strategy.

 

The MUGA will bring benefits to both the school pupils and staff as well as the local community. There is a shortage of this type of MUGA in Dorset which help deliver government objectives of schools being central to local communities and the creation of healthy active lifestyles for local communities.

 

The sports lighting is a crucial element to this development allowing small games to be played during winter afternoons as well as being able to be used by the local community from later September to late March In the evenings.

 

I am delighted that the school has been able to progress and secure funding to deliver the very much needed improvements that will allow curricular, extra-curricular and community use.

 

Active Dorset work to increase participation in sport and physical activity across the County, working closely with Local Government, health sector, education sector and the 3rd sector to achieve that aim. We have seen that where high quality surfaces can be accessed without the vagaries of weather and daylight disrupting their use, the overall impact on the wellbeing of the users is a marked improvement.

 

Other similar sites to this have benefitted from the very directional sports lighting now used and so the light spillage which used to trouble neighbours has gone away. The school has the benefit of on-site parking which looks to be sufficient for any evening community use and this coupled with an early “lights off” time of 20.30 suggest they have gone to great lengths to consider how to minimise the impact on the local residents while still offering their community the undoubted benefit the MUGA will bring.

At this time where acute hospital trusts are reporting significant increases in child deconditioning leading to more admissions for conditions relating to sedentary behaviour, growing waiting lists for muscular-skeletal conditions in adults, low level mental health conditions rising sharply and a desire to reduce travel by car, the need for good quality very local facilities that services the casual participant is ever growing. I hope that the committee support the great benefits of this project which will improve the wellbeing of both the school pupils and the local community.

 

Mario Massimino (Governor) on behalf of St Ives Full Governing Body

 

The Governing Body enthusiastically supports this application for many reasons but the most pressing and important is the contribution to the health of our young people and the local community that this facility will provide. Access to a wider range of sporting activities and with fewer disruptions due to weather will improve the physical, mental and social well-being and is vital at this current time.

 

The Governing Body wish to take advantage of the funding offered by Sport England who have assessed our school and believe St Ives will provide an outstanding sports facility to both children of our school and nursery, as well as the wider community. We are proud that, over the last forty years, our swimming pool has allowed additional sport and health benefits to so many children across Dorset and the wider community; the MUGA will offer the same opportunities.

 

The MUGA has received overwhelming support from children and parents, most of whom live within a two mile radius of the school. It is well known that the school has always placed sport and physical activity as an integral part of its curriculum and pupils are given the opportunity to take part in a wide range of activities both in school time and as extra-curricular clubs. Unfortunately, their ability to do this all year round is somewhat hampered by a school field that can often become waterlogged and means that the offer to students becomes limited. This facility will allow children to access these activities all year round and be able to take part in further extra-curricular clubs and new activities that cannot be delivered with the current facilities. Introduction to these new sports at a younger age may set up a spark that remains for life and encourages lifelong participation and the health and mental wellbeing benefits that it brings, something that is particularly prevalent in today’s climate with so many physical restrictions being placed on our young people and local community. As part of our due diligence process, we have spoken with a number of small, trusted, local sports clubs and trainers, all of whom already work with the school; they have expressed interest in utilising the MUGA therefore bringing further benefit to our young people and community.

 

 

 

6/2020/0297/FUL - Alterations to existing building to form additional ground floor 1 bedroom flat and reduce size of shop unit and installation of rooflights to South elevation to serve shop at 86 Wareham Road, Lytchett Matravers,

 

Simon Morgan - Architectural Consultant and Planning Agent

 

It is important to note that this application is recommended for approval, with conditions, and that all planning policy requirements and Officer comments addressed, and their support given.

 

The history of the development on this site is well documented, and the build is now complete. The flats have been occupied for some time now, and the whole site is now settling into the local character setting well.

 

The reason for the change to the shop layout is simple. When the original site was purchased in 2016, there was a butcher’s shop in converted premises. The business had fallen on difficult times and as such had closed, all as was documented in the original approval. However, to retain some form of employment, the scheme developed retained a shop frontage, in the hope that a business would move in. But now some 4 years later, requirements for shops are in the decline, and no suitable interested parties have come forward, despite marketing by one of the leading Agents in Dorset. Even as potential office space there has been no interest.

 

The houses to the rear are now occupied, and the sales of the flats has proved popular with all of them occupied too. However, the sale of the shop unit has not been successful. With the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, and with the restrictions on retail units and social distancing, many shops and businesses are reassessing their position, in semi-rural areas like this. Two letters from Austin & Wyatt and Tony Newman, (Estate Agents), are attached for reference.

 

But the reduced retail unit as indicated in this application has generated much better interest and the applicant is in advanced legal discussions with a suitable party and it is hoped that occupation will take place during early 2021.

 

The new ground floor flat has been designed to avoid any direct overlooking, and during the application process, with some minor amendments, has received support from the neighbours and planning officers.

 

So, to conclude, this application meets all policy requirements, it is supported by the planning department and professional consultees, it follows the principals of the scheme approved by the previous approval, and will create a cohesive, comprehensive development that will preserve the character of the area. I trust therefore that following your debate, that the committee will make the correct decision and Grant Planning Approval.