Archived decisions

Contact: Bob Eardley, Strategic Planning Manager; 01962 846275; [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report advises Members of the outcome of a joint consultation with the Diocese of Portsmouth about the character and location of a new primary school in Whiteley. The consultation arose from a decision by the Cabinet on 25 July 2005 to establish a new primary school in Whiteley, subject to the development of strategies for funding and site acquisition. It includes the following appendices:

· Appendix 1: a map showing potential sites for a new primary school in Whiteley.

· Appendix 2: a copy of the public consultation document and supplementary paper;

· Appendix 3: notes of a public meeting held with the Whiteley community on 9 February 2006;

· Appendix 4: formal responses to the consultation from Fareham Borough Council;

· Appendix 5: formal responses to the consultation from Whiteley Parish Council;

· Appendix 6: a plan showing the area of the Whiteley recreation land which would need to be acquired for a new primary school.

1.2 All correspondence, a copy of the consultation document and the consultation responses are available in the Members' Room.

1.3 The issues raised in this report reflect the following County Council corporate aims:

· Aim 1 - maximising life opportunities, by developing strategies for the most appropriate educational provision;

· Aim 4 - building strong and safe communities, by taking full account of community and neighbourhood issues when deciding upon how best to meet the demand for additional school places;

· Aim 5 - improving services, by considering solutions which will contribute to the raising of educational standards.

Children Act outcomes

1.4 The five outcomes specified in the Children Act are set out below, with a summary of how the proposals in this report contribute to their achievement:

· being healthy: (enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle) - by considering options which will maximise opportunities for children to walk to school, thus increasing opportunities for exercise and reducing car dependence;

· staying safe: (being protected from harm and neglect) - by having access to a secure learning environment;

· enjoying and achieving: (getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood) - by providing a high standard of education for children in suitable buildings, where possible within their own community;

· making a positive contribution: (being involved with the community and society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour) - by safeguarding friendship and neighbourhood groups by allowing for primary education to be provided as close to pupils' homes as reasonably practicable;

· economic well-being: (not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life) - by ensuring that proposals will not disadvantage children and will protect equality of opportunity.

1.5 The Cabinet is asked to decide whether to make a formal approach to Winchester City Council to seek the acquisition of land on part of the Whiteley recreation ground for construction of a new one form entry primary school. The certainty of securing the site and undertaking more detailed feasibility and technical appraisals of the land are critical to achieving a completed building for August 2007.

2 Introduction

2.1 The history of housing development and school provision in Whiteley is complex. In summary, planning of the development dates back to the 1980s when a more extensive community was envisaged, with some 4,500 dwellings in two phases. Only the first phase has been developed, with no current approved plans for the second phase of some 1,900 dwellings, known as North Whiteley. Local plan approvals are in place for future housing in Whiteley to complete the first phase and envisage 2,738 dwellings, slightly more than the original planned number of 2,600. Development of Whiteley has taken place over a long period, during which the mix of dwellings has also changed.

2.2 Although under current arrangements developers are required to provide school sites and financial contributions to construction costs, this was not the case when Whiteley was planned. As a result, the County Council needed to buy a primary school site, which is heavily wooded.

2.3 Because of this background it has not been possible to secure a free site for a second school to meet excess demand. In other similar cases, it has been relatively easy for pupils to attend schools outside a new development. In the case of Whiteley, however, the development is isolated north of the M27, with only one main access route to schools south of the motorway. Access difficulties are exacerbated by serious traffic congestion at peak times.

2.4 Whiteley Primary School was established in temporary buildings in 1997. A two form entry school in permanent buildings was opened in 1998 and a subsequent extension to three forms of entry in 2000.

2.5 The Cabinet agreed the following on 25 July 2005:

(a) That an in principle decision is taken to provide a new one form entry primary school in Whiteley, with potential for future expansion, subject to further reports on the availability of a suitable site and an appropriate funding strategy.

(b) That every endeavour be made to house in temporary accommodation those children in the September 2006 Year R who would not otherwise be able to be accommodated at Whiteley Primary School.

2.6 This decision was taken in response to the results of an extensive consultation with the Whiteley community and local schools about options for addressing the shortfall of primary school places in Whiteley. The options considered were:

· to build a new one form entry (210 places) Church of England voluntary aided primary school within Whiteley;

· to build a new one form entry infant school (90 places);

· to extend the existing Whiteley Primary School;

· to use existing capacity in schools in the Western Wards of Fareham.

2.7 Following the Cabinet's decision, officers pursued options for producing funding and location strategies for the new school. This work is summarised below.

3. Funding strategy

3.1 The Children's Services capital programme includes provision of £1.438m towards the cost of providing additional primary school places in Whiteley. A bid was submitted to the DfES in May last year to take advantage of a funding opportunity for new voluntary aided schools. This bid was successful and funding of £4.083m was allocated to the Diocese of Portsmouth as lead promoter of a new voluntary aided school in Whiteley. This allocation of funding was dependent upon a site being provided for the school at no additional cost to the Government and to statutory notices for the establishment of the school being published by 31 May 2006.

3.2 As the lead promoter for the school (with the Methodist Church and the United Reform Church) the Diocese of Portsmouth has commissioned the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services to act as architect for the project. Proposals have also been made by the local church group to incorporate a church within the school, paid for from funding they have acquired to build a free-standing church on a nearby site, which is insufficient to pay for the separate building.

3.3 The latest estimate of the cost of providing the school is £5.331m, excluding the Church building element and any land acquisition and highways costs. As this exceeds the amount of funding allocated by the Government, the County Council would need to make a grant to the Diocese of Portsmouth to fund the difference between the amount of Government funding and the actual cost of the project. This could be funded from the allocation for additional primary school places in Whiteley in the Children's Services capital programme referred to in paragraph 3.1.

3.4 If the Cabinet accepts this approach, there is sufficient funding in place to pay for the construction of the school, provided that a site can be secured in time to meet the DfES deadline for the publication of statutory notices.

4. Site issues

4.1 Following the Cabinet's decision in July 2005, five potential sites were identified as potential locations for the new school. These are listed below, with a brief note of their status. The locations of the sites are shown on the map at Appendix 1.

(a) Land owned by the County Council in Leafy Lane, Whiteley.

This land is allocated partly for future residential development, and part as amenity open space. The site is not suitable for a new primary school because of the poor location adjacent to the M27 motorway and its remoteness from the majority of residential properties in Whiteley. Although the site is within a small residential area, it is separated from the remainder of Whiteley's residential estates by the main north-south distributor road, (a busy road which links the motorway to the District Centre and Tesco store) and by the commercial and office premises that comprise Solent Business Park. It is also located in an elevated position at the end of a long residential access road and if the school were to be built there some 80% of the pupils would have to come from other parts of Whiteley.

(b) Land adjoining the District Centre and owned by the Universities Superannuation Scheme.

The Universities Superannuation Scheme (a pension fund for University employees) owns and manages the entire District Centre as a property investment. The Centre contains a range of "outlet" retail shops and a medium sized Tesco store. It includes extensive car parking areas to the north, east and south of the shops; those car parks that appear most frequently used are to the east and south, together with the area immediately to the north of the Tesco store. A parking area to the north-west of the shops appears substantially underused, although during very busy periods we are advised that this area also fills. This north-western part also contains a small site for a new church, still in the freehold ownership of USS but leased to the Diocese of Portsmouth. Subsequent to its purchase of the District Centre, USS also acquired an adjoining site to the north-west allocated for residential development in the Local Plan. The site remains undeveloped currently. Meetings have been held with representatives of USS and, whilst they support the principle of the new school, they have said categorically that the Fund would be unwilling to dispose of any part of its landholding.

(c) Land owned by Winchester City Council and used as sports fields/formal public open space.

The City Council supports the new school, but is concerned that this should not erode existing sports facilities or public open space. It has, however, worked with the County Council to establish whether it would be feasible to locate the new school on the very edge of the sports fields, such that loss of existing facilities is reduced to an absolute minimum. With some rationalisation of current uses, this would be possible, subject to the agreement of Winchester City Council to the sale of the land and due planning process. This site offers a realistic opportunity to provide a new school, and is the County Council's preferred site.

The land is subject to a restrictive covenant that the City Council and County Council would need to override using powers contained in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The County Council will have to indemnify the City Council against any costs involved, and may be liable for compensation to any third parties that benefit from the covenant and who suffer a loss. Access rights over an unadopted road owned by USS will also be required.

(d) Land owned by Persimmon Homes to the north of Dickens Drive.

Although development had not started on this residential site at the time of the County Council's original site search, Persimmon Homes have now completed roads and other site infrastructure, and housebuilding is substantially underway. This site is not therefore available.

(e) Land outside the existing Whiteley settlement boundary i.e. countryside land.

A private landowner has indicated that he would be prepared to offer the County Council a site within the countryside area to the north of Whiteley. This site would, however, raise significant planning policy issues concerning whether land north of Whiteley should become a future major growth area and would be likely to take a considerable time to resolve. In addition, the site has no road access, which would need to be provided at considerable financial cost. This is not therefore a preferred site.

5. Proposals for a new primary school in Whiteley

5.1 In the light of the successful application for funding to construct a new school and of the conclusions of the sites option exercise, a feasibility study of the implications of siting a new school on the Whiteley recreation land was carried out by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services. This concluded the following:

· The site could accommodate a one form entry primary school and retain all the existing sports facilities. There would be a loss of about 5% of the overall recreation land (all of which would be informal space) to school buildings and external circulation space;

· It would be possible to accommodate a church, funded separately by the local church community, within the overall building envelope of the new school;

· A new junior football pitch would be created, which would be an additional facility to those currently available, for use by the local community outside school hours;

· The new school building would incorporate spaces which would be available for community use, e.g. hall, music/drama room and ICT room;

· It would not be possible to provide a two form entry primary school on the site, but the additional capacity would be required only if North Whiteley were developed, in which case a site and financial contributions for additional school places would be provided within the new development area.

5.2 Overall, this package is seen as a good balance between providing the new school sought by the community and enhancing formal sporting facilities, with minimal impact on the existing open space. It offers significant benefits to the community as a whole, through the availability of community facilities and a reduction in the number of vehicles leaving and entering Whiteley each day, by avoiding the need to transport children to primary schools south of the M27. In addition, it represents a substantial capital investment in the infrastructure of Whiteley.

6. Consultation with the Whiteley community

6.1 A consultation exercise was organised in January and February to determine the views of local residents about the location of the new school and its character as a voluntary aided school promoted by the Diocese of Portsmouth, the Methodist Church and the United Reform Church. A copy of the consultation document is attached at Appendix 2a, together with a supplementary question and answer sheet (Appendix 2b).

6.2 Copies of the consultation document were delivered to all Whiteley residential addresses (about 2,650) and were also sent to local schools, Fareham Borough Council, Winchester City Council, Whiteley Parish Council and the Local Strategic Partnerships for Fareham and Winchester. Two half-day exhibitions were held in Whiteley on 31 January and 1 February and were attended by 91 people. The exhibitions offered an opportunity to view plans of how a school could be accommodated on the recreation land, and to answer questions about siting and the proposed voluntary aided status of the school. A public meeting was held in Whiteley on 9 February at which presentations about the proposals were made, followed by an opportunity to ask questions. About 110 people attended the public meeting, a note of which is attached at Appendix 3.

6.3 Responses received have been shared with the Diocese of Portsmouth as joint consultee. The Diocese will need to take into account responses to the question about the proposed voluntary aided status of the school when deciding whether or not to publish statutory notices to set up the school. Comments on responses to that question are not included in this report. All responses are being shared with Winchester City Council.

7 Review of responses to consultation

7.1 The following paragraphs summarise responses to the consultations.

Whiteley community

7.2 The main points raised at the community consultation meeting (notes at Appendix 3) were:

· concern at the loss of recreation space if the school were to be built on the site proposed;

· possible loss of business and revenue at the Meadowside Centre and restrictions on its future expansion;

· a wish to see further discussions with USS about siting the school on land to the west of the district centre;

· concern that a one form entry primary school would be insufficient to meet demand and that two forms of entry would be required;

· concern about the cost, time and traffic congestion involved in transporting children to schools south of the M27 if the new school were not built;

· problems with the long-term planning of Whiteley, resulting in an inadequate infrastructure, particularly roads and school place provision;

· issues connected with a recent decision by Winchester City Council to proceed with work on a skate park, which would need to be relocated if the school went ahead on the proposed site;

· concerns over the availability of sporting facilities during the period in which they would need to be relocated;

· views, that given the constraints, the proposal to site the school on the recreation land was a reasonable compromise;

· fears that if the proposal was not implemented soon DfES funding would be lost and the school would not be built.

8 Correspondence received

8.1 In total, 288 responses were received on response forms, letters and by email, excluding those from the specific consultees mentioned in section 9 of this report. Of the responses received, 57 were made through the County Council's website for the consultation.

8.2 The responses received are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1

8.3 Major issues covered in consultation responses are:

· impact of the school on the loss of recreation space. It was clear from the responses that the feelings of many residents on this issue are very strong.

· the need for a new school outweighing the loss of recreation land, which would have a minimal impact and should be disregarded;

· loss of team games playing area. This comment was made by many respondents, but does not take into account the fact that the proposals are to move all of the existing facilities and to provide an additional junior age football pitch;

· the perceived availability of alternative sites for the school. Many respondents believe that the USS owned district centre site should be used for the school and that the County Council should be in a position to acquire it. This does not take account of the fact that USS has rejected very firmly any proposal for sale and is not prepared to discuss terms. Several respondents support locating the school in the industrial area of Whiteley, regardless of the lack of available land for sale, the distance of this area from most residential development and the need to cross the main Whiteley distributor road;

· lack of co-ordinated planning for Whiteley. This is a common theme in responses, focusing particularly on road and traffic issues, school places, additional housing and commercial development without appropriate infrastructure and a lack of open space;

· traffic and parking around the school, which would cause local congestion and could force out users of the recreation centre;

· temporary impact of the need to relocate sports pitches, which would lead to a reduction in availability, which was already limited;

· reconsideration of the expansion of Whiteley Primary School, although this was rejected in the Cabinet's July 2005 decision, largely on grounds of the size of the school (which would be 840 places), viability of expansion on the site and traffic issues;

· use of the County Council owned Leafy Lane site for the school.

9. Other responses to consultation

Fareham Borough Council

9.1 A written response to the consultation was received from Fareham Borough Council (at Appendix 4). The main points are as follows:

· the Borough Council supports the provision of a new primary school in Whiteley on the recreation land in the context of its long-standing support for additional primary school places within the development;

· the recreation land location is supported because it is suitable for a school and there are no viable alternative locations. The impact on recreation facilities should be balanced against the need for additional primary school places and take account of the alternative provision being made;

· waiting for possible development north of Whiteley would impose a considerable delay in providing the new school, which is urgently needed.

Whiteley Parish Council

9.2 A meeting was held with the Parish Council on 31 January 2006 and was attended by the Executive Member for Education. A subsequent letter was received (at Appendix 5) which sets out the Parish Council's consultation response, the main points of which are as follows:

· the Parish Council supports the need for a new primary school, but believes it would benefit a comparatively small percentage of the local population;

· it strongly objects to the proposal to site the school on the recreation land because of a loss of amenity, recreation and sports pitches, disruption to users and the cost of relocating facilities;

· the relocation of tennis courts and skate park would be to less desirable locations and there would be destruction of Whiteley's most important open space, with resulting urbanisation detrimental to the character of the area;

· the proposal would be contrary to planning guidance and Local Plan policies and the additional open space offered at Leafy Lane is inappropriate;

· the County Council should pursue purchase of the USS land more vigorously and/or wait for the development of North Whiteley, which was likely to have a timescale only marginally longer than for the recreation land.

Other bodies

9.3 No responses were received from Winchester City Council or from the Winchester Local Strategic Partnership. The chairman of the Fareham Local Strategic Partnership completed a response form supporting the proposal for a new school, its voluntary aided status and the proposal to build on the recreation land.

10 Views of the local county councillors

10.1 Local county councillors (Frederick Allgood and Seán Woodward) have been fully informed of the consultation process and have attended meetings.

10.2 Councillor Allgood commented "A new primary school is urgently needed in Whiteley so that local children can be educated within the community. I support the partnership arrangement with the Church of England and other major faiths such as the United Reformed Church. It is regretted that some recreational land will be required for the new school but this is more than offset by the community facilities included in the plans, in particular the church space and the additional football pitch. These will be a considerable asset for Whiteley. This is the only viable option for providing a school by September 2007 and so it has my full support."

10.3 Councillor Seán Woodward has stated "Ideally I would not wish to encourage building on public open space. I am satisfied following a search for suitable sites carried out by Fareham Borough Council and Winchester City Council on behalf of the education authority that there is no other suitable site which is available. I am also aware that the £4 million granted to the diocese for the school will be lost if moves are not made to establish it in May 2006. In conclusion therefore I strongly support the establishment of a Church Voluntary Aided School on the proposed site provided that all of the recreational facilities are reinstated or replaced in a timely fashion."

11 Implications of consultation outcomes

11.1 A clear majority of responses confirm that residents want to see a new primary school within Whiteley and a significant majority favour the establishment of a voluntary aided school.

11.2 Responses about the location of the school were more evenly matched. Although many respondents expressed concerns about the loss of sporting facilities, the proposals will not bring this about. Indeed, existing facilities will be enhanced by the provision of a new junior age football pitch. Just over half of the respondents favoured locating the school on the recreation land, suggesting that they felt that the balance of advantage was in favour of that approach.

11.3 Because of the concern about the loss of any recreation space, the County Council could offer to transfer to Winchester City Council an equivalent area of amenity land from its site in Leafy Lane. Although this would have limited benefit for current users of the amenity land at the Meadowside Centre, it would provide improved amenity for residents in the Leafy Lane area., and in overall terms Whiteley would then have retained the current area of recreation facilities in full.

11.4 Although a number of respondents referred to the availability of other suitable sites for the school, in practice there is no viable alternative (as explained in section 4) particularly given the urgency of the need for new school places.

11.5 The main benefit which would arise from proceeding with the proposal for a new school on the recreation land is the availability of additional primary school places within Whiteley and consequent reduction of the need for children to travel to schools south of the M27. Provision of a voluntary aided school would also improve choice for parents. The proposals include an opportunity to provide a church for the Whiteley community which have so far proved impossible to achieve because of the high cost of a free-standing church building. Community facilities offered by the school would also enhance those currently available.

11.6 One of the concerns raised by Winchester City Council was that the school would prevent future expansion of the Meadowside Leisure Centre. The County Council has said that it would be willing to look at this issue and to undertake further feasibility work, subject to receiving confirmation of the potential size and scope of any planned extension to the Meadowside Centre.

11.7 Given these significant benefits to the community, the lack of alternatives and the need for an urgent solution, it is recommended that a formal approach should be made to acquire part of the Whiteley recreation land from Winchester City Council for construction of a new voluntary aided primary school. When the approach is made, it should be pointed out that a response is needed in time for the promoters of the school to publish statutory notices by 31 May 2006, to avoid losing time-limited Government funding. Negotiations with USS to secure the necessary access rights would proceed in parallel.

11.8 The time window offered by the funding offer from the DfES is limited and another opportunity to provide a new primary school in Whiteley before possible development of North Whiteley is highly unlikely to arise. If the current proposal does not proceed, some 30 primary age children each year, amounting in time to over 200, will need to be transported to and from schools south of the M27.

12. Process and timescales

12.1 To publish the statutory notices for provision of the new school the promoters need to have certainty over funding and availability of a suitable site. If the Cabinet agrees to make the contribution to costs referred to in paragraph 3.3, the promoters will have the funding necessary to build the school. They will, however, need to await Winchester City Council's response to the request to make a site available before they can publish their notice.

12.2 Once a notice is published, there is a six week objection period. The proposal will then need to be considered by the School Organisation Committee, which will make the final decision on whether the school should proceed.

12.3 Until there is formal agreement that the new school can proceed, no places can be offered to pupils whose parents express a preference for the proposed Year R class. At present these pupils have been allocated places in other schools and their parents have been told that, once the nature and location of the proposed Year R class is clear, they can apply for places. Even though the proposed school will have voluntary aided status, with the governing body having responsibility for admission arrangements, the Diocese of Portsmouth has confirmed that initial priority will be given to Whiteley pupils.

12.4 Planning permission will be required for the new school, and this will be a departure from the Local Plan (as it would on any site chosen in Whiteley). This will have to be notified to the Office of Deputy Prime Minister, who may chose to call the application in for determination. If this is the case, the building of the new school would be delayed.

13. County Council Policy Requirements

13.1 Legal implications - The proposals support the County Council's statutory duty to provide school places and comply with central government accommodation requirements and guidance.

13.2 Financial implications - These are set out in the report.

13.3 Personnel implications - None directly arising from this report.

13.4 Community cohesion, inclusiveness and partnership working - These issues are discussed in detail in the report and have been taken into account in framing the recommendation.

13.5 Crime prevention issues - None directly arising from this report.

Recommendations

That Cabinet agrees:

(a) in the context of the clear professional conclusion of the Director of Children's Services that the proposal to locate a new primary school on part of the Whiteley recreation ground is in the best interests of the children in the Whiteley community, Hampshire County Council calls upon Winchester City Council to consider its response to these proposals in the context of the City Council's duty to co-operate in delivering improved outcomes for children;

(b) that an approach therefore be made to Winchester City Council requesting the sale of land at Whiteley recreation ground for construction of the new school, the approximate site of which is shown on Drawing No. A/10/695/A, attached as Appendix 6;

(c) to make a grant of up to £1.438m from the 2006/07 Children's Services capital programme to the Diocese of Portsmouth as a contribution towards the cost of a new voluntary aided school in Whiteley;

(d) that an equivalent area of amenity open space to that lost to the school buildings and circulation areas be offered to the City Council from the County Council's land at Leafy Lane;

(e) that the Director of Property Business and Regulatory Services be given delegated authority to settle detailed terms and conditions for any land transfers and access rights, including minor adjustments to site boundaries as required.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

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NB The list excludes:

1 Published works

2 Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined the Act.

None.