Contact: Martin Leeds, ext 6733 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 Planning permission is being sought to convert and extend a current, but redundant caretaker's house into a Business and Enterprise Centre at Cowplain Community School, Hart Plain Avenue, Cowplain, Waterlooville. Havant Borough Council has no objection to the proposal but five letters of objection have been received from local residents. Notwithstanding the objections, it is recommended that planning permission is granted subject to conditions.

2. Site

2.1 The caretaker's house, is a two-storey detached property located in the eastern part of the Cowplain Community School Campus. (See attached plan). To the north is an existing access road with car parking area; to the east and south are dwellings the nearest being approximately 18 metres away. These dwellings are on an elevated position compared to the caretaker's house. The southern, blank elevation of the caretaker's house faces onto its small garden area which is mostly laid to grass. There are some trees/tall bushes on the site's boundaries.

3. Existing Situation and Proposal

3.1 The existing school caretaker's house has been vacant for several years despite various attempts by the school to attract tenants. Cowplain Community School, as part of its bid to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for Specialist Status (Business and Enterprise), proposes to convert and extend the house to form a Business and Enterprise Centre (BEC). The School was awarded Specialist School Status from September 2005 and are now required to complete a capital project to enhance the specialism. It is important that the facility includes opportunities for not only the students but also the community and the business community.

3.2 The School has no spare accommodation that can be used for the BEC and there is also no suitable alternative location which ensures students and adults do not mix (it is considered to be a Health and Safety priority to ensure that during the day adults would not have to pass through areas occupied by children). The School has operated adult classes for more than 30 years. The block which houses the majority of the classes and offices is the one closest to the caretaker's house (approximately 40 metres).

3.3 It is intended the current dwelling will be enlarged with a two-storey extension to the west elevation of the building. The extension which would double the overall length of the existing building (from 7 metres to 14 metres), will be constructed in similar brick and roofing materials to the existing. The southern elevation would be mostly blank except for a narrow high level window for ventilation purposes. To comply with Health and Safety requirements there will be an emergency evacuation staircase. This emergency access will not be used as an entrance into the building. The entrance to the building will be from the northern elevation away from nearby housing.

3.4 The BEC is intended to be used for lessons during the normal school day, mainly for the students in years 10 and 11. The students would be taught Business Studies, Leisure and Tourism, ICT (Information, Communications and Technology), maths enrichment courses and other related courses. After the school day the BEC would be used for extra curricular/private study purposes, adult courses or business meetings, staff development courses and training courses. In addition, it is intended to use the facilities to encourage community groups to attend for courses such as ICT and business. There are no plans to make the existing garden of the house a recreation area for school students.

3.5 The BEC would be open from 0800 to 2115 hours Monday to Friday and between 0900 and 1600 hours on Saturday but not open on Sunday. There may be infrequent occasions when it would be necessary during Monday to Friday, such as a Parents' Evening at the School, to operate the BEC until 2130 hours. These times are in keeping with the large range of adult classes which take place each evening and each week at the School where such classes finish between 2100 and 2130. In addition, there may be an occasion during a school holiday period when the BEC would be open for a business meeting or tuition.

4. Development Plan

4.1 When the application was first submitted, the adopted development plan for the area was the Havant Borough Local Plan 1994. However, with effect from the end of September 2005, Havant Borough Council has formally adopted a new local plan, (although final publication of the document is expected by December 2005): the Havant Borough District-Wide Local Plan 1996-2011, now supersedes the 1994 development plan. The application will therefore be judged against the policies of the new Local Plan.

4.2 The relevant Policies are considered to be:

(i) CS1 Community Buildings - buildings for community use will be permitted;

(ii) H7 Loss of Dwellings - permission only granted....unsuitable for residential occupation; and

(iii) D1 High Quality Design - development permitted where it meets various criteria.

4.3 Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (Review) adopted March 2000 Policy UB3 (appropriate development) applies.

5. Consultations

5.1 Havant Borough Council considers, in the light of additional information received, "it is now clear that the proposal is intended to facilitate activities that already take place at the school rather than introducing any significant element of new or additional use. It is also apparent that the school does not have any viable alternative options and that a key need exists in respect of the School's Specialist Status which this Council supports. This need is a significant material consideration that weighs in favour of the proposal." "Havant Borough Council supports the conversion and extension of the caretaker's house at Cowplain Community College in view of the key need for the business and enterprise centre and the community benefits that it will provide. This support is subject to confirmation that the County Highway Officers raise no objection to the proposal and conditions being imposed to protect the amenity of the nearby residential properties."

5.2 The local Member, Councillor Beagley has been informed of the proposal.

6. Representations

6.1 Five letters of objection from local residents have been received. The grounds for objection are:

(i) the property is currently residential and should remain for that use and not be converted to a commercial business. If not used for a caretaker's house, it should be occupied by a member of staff as a key worker;

(ii) as a commercial business this would increase the volume of people coming and going outside of school hours thus affecting our standard of life and privacy. Property prices will be affected;

(iii) increase in traffic outside of school hours causing disturbance to residents;

(iv) the school already suffers from "undesirables" who target the school property and grounds after school hours now that there is no resident caretaker on site;

(v) the School already has successful Adult Education Department within the school building not within close proximity of local residents; and

(vi) proposed external escape staircase will look straight into our properties causing loss of privacy due to people hanging about on the staircase, and, the bulk of building would cause loss of light to properties.

7. Chief Planning Adviser's Comments

7.1 The former caretaker's house is within the campus of the Cowplain Community School and within the defined built-up area for Cowplain where development for education purposes would normally be allowed. In principle the proposal is in accordance with the Development Plan.

7.2 It is acknowledged that the proposed extension would double the length of the existing house (from 7 metres to 14 metres) but it would be no higher than the current building. Moreover, the proposal extends the western elevation of the house into the school campus towards the existing school buildings and away from nearby housing. The bulk of the proposed extended building is not considered excessive given its location and it is considered the extension is sufficiently far away not to cause undue harm to the occupiers of those houses.

7.3 The primary use of the property will be for the educational purposes. However, it is recognised that there will be an increase in the activity of people using the building. However, as there are no plans to make the garden to the south into a study or recreation area for school students it is considered the proposed use of the new premises would not unduly affect the amenity of neighbouring properties. It will be the School's responsibility to ensure students behave in a proper manner and are not unruly.

7.4 The existing access road that serves the site enters the school campus from Hart Plain Avenue to the north, approximately 170 metres from the house. This access also serves car park areas within the campus including some parking in the vicinity of the caretaker's house. The proposed Business and Enterprise Centre, (BEC), would be mainly used by existing pupils at the School during the normal school day. The School advises that adult classes usually commence well after the pupils have left for the day and therefore there is not a problem with additional traffic entering or leaving the school premises. The proposed BEC is unlikely to cause undue interference with the safety and convenience of users of the highway.

7.5 The concerns of local residents about anti-social behaviour are noted. Regrettably many schools are plagued by the attention of "undesirable" elements both during and after school opening hours. Addressing these issues is a management problem for the school. The School has not been able to attract tenants to the house which has been vacant for several years. It is therefore appropriate to put it to another, educational use. The new facility is not a commercial enterprise but simply extra teaching accommodation which, would partly be used by the community.

7.6 There will inevitably be an increase in activity around the building. However, the School already operates adult evening classes which finish at 9.30pm and although it is acknowledged there will be some disturbance when motorists depart the premises after those classes, it is a school management issue to remind such users to keep noise to a minimum. It is acknowledged that the school already has a successful Adult Education Department, but it needs more space. The school has looked for alternative accommodation within its existing buildings but there is none. The extension of the former caretaker's house is the only practical option.

7.7 The resident's concerns over aspects of the design of the building are noted. The emergency escape staircase is needed to comply with Health and Safety requirements. It will not be used as an entrance into the building - the normal entrance will be on the northern side of the building away from housing. There should be no lack of privacy from that source. The topography of the site, with the proposed building at the bottom of a slope with local housing at the top will mitigate the impact of the building and ensure that no natural lighting to those houses would be lost.

7.8 It is considered that the development accords with the new planning policies in the District-Wide Local Plan: it is a development to improve an existing community facility (Policy CS1); it is the redevelopment of a residential property shown to be unsuitable for residential occupation (Policy H7); and the proposal is considered to be satisfactory in terms of location and design and does not adversely affect the amenities of occupiers of neighbouring properties (Policy D1).

7.9 In summary, notwithstanding the objections of the local residents it is considered the proposed extension and intended use of the former caretaker's house accords with the relevant policies in the Local Plan and, as the site is part of an existing school campus within the defined built-up area for Cowplain where development would normally be permitted, planning permission is therefore recommended.

Recommendation

That planning permission in respect of conversion and extension of the current caretakers house into a Business and Enterprise Centre at Cowplain Community School, Hart Plain Avenue, Waterlooville (Application No. 05/62148/002) be granted for the following reason, subject to the following conditions:

Reason for Approval

It is considered that the proposal would be in accordance with the development plan (summary attached) and would not materially harm the character of the area or the amenity of local residents and would be acceptable in terms of highway safety.

Conditions

(1) The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of five years from the date on which this planning permission was granted.

Reason: To comply with Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

(2) The external materials to be used on the extension shall match as closely as possible in type, colour and texture to those on the existing building.

Reason: To secure a satisfactory development.

(3) The Centre shall only be open between the hours of 0800 and 2115 Monday to Friday inclusive except on those limited occasions (for example, a parents' evening,) when it is necessary to extend the evening time period and this shall cease by 2130 hours. On Saturday the Centre shall only be open between the hours of 0900 and 1600. The Centre shall not be open at all on Sunday or recognised Public Holidays.

Reason: In the interest of amenity of occupiers of nearby housing.

(4) The proposed fire escape stairway to be installed on the extension shall only be used for the purposes of emergency evacuation from the building and not as a means of an additional entrance into the Business and Enterprise Centre.

Reason: To reduce the potential for loss of privacy to occupiers of nearby housing.

(5) Except for the installation of any security devices, there shall be no other exterior speakers installed. In addition, in the event any security lights are installed, these shall be so angled that when in use they do not shine directly into nearby housing. The security lighting shall be fitted with Passive Infra-Red sensors.

Reason: To protect the amenity of occupiers of nearby housing.

(6) During the construction of the extension and refurbishments of the former Caretaker's House, there shall be no access to it by any traffic associated with the construction/demolition (ie no delivery vehicles, no contractors' cars, nor plant and machinery) in the morning between the times of 0800 and 0845 and in the afternoon between the times of 1415 and 1445 on normal school days.

Reason: In the interests of public safety and to avoid traffic conflict at the times of the day when pupils are arriving at and departing from school.

(7) No work relating to the construction/demolition of the development approved, including works of preparation prior to operations, the delivery of construction materials, skips or machinery, nor the removal of waste materials, shall take place before 0845 hours or after 1800 hours Monday to Friday inclusive, before 0830 hours or after 1400 hours on Saturday and not at all on Sunday or recognised public holidays, unless otherwise agreed beforehand in writing with the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To protect the amenities of occupiers of nearby properties.

(8) Measures shall be taken to prevent mud and spoil from vehicles leaving the site during the construction/demolition works being deposited on the public highway. These measures shall be implemented before the development commences and thereafter maintained. No vehicle shall leave the site unless its wheels have been cleaned sufficiently to prevent mud being carried on to the public highway. In the event that any mud or spoil is deposited on the highway, it shall be cleaned off during each day of working.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety.

(9) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (or any Order revoking or re-enacting that Order), there shall be no means of vehicular and pedestrian access to the development hereby permitted from Firs Avenue.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety.

621/ML

Annexe to Reasons for Conditions

(as required by Article 22 of the Town and Country Planning

(General Procedure) Order 1995 - as amended)

__________________________________________________________________

Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (Review) [adopted March 2000]

Policy UB3 (appropriate development)

All development permitted in accordance with other policies of this Plan should be appropriate in design, scale, layout and density to its surroundings and contribute to the quality of the built environment.

Havant Borough District-Wide Local Plan 1996-2011 [adopted September 2005]

Policy CS1 Community Buildings

Buildings for community use will be permitted where a need has been identified or where development would improve existing provision.

Policy H7 Loss of Dwellings

Permission will only be granted for proposals involving a net loss of dwellings where;

(i) the property affected is unsuitable for residential occupation;

(ii) conversion/modernisation cannot be achieved at a reasonable cost;

Policy D1 High Quality Design

Development will be permitted provided it achieves [in terms of siting, massing, scale, proportion, alignment, rhythm, layout, materials (finishes, details, features) spaces and views] all of the following:

(i) creates an attractive environment that has its own distinctive identity but which respects and enhances local character;

(ii) ensures the efficient use of land;

(iii) provides safe and access to facilities and public transport;

(iv) does not adversely affect the amenities of occupiers of neighbouring properties;

(v) includes existing built and natural features such as trees, walls;

(vi) reduces the possibility of crime or antisocial behaviour.