Meeting documents
Cabinet
Wednesday, 12th January, 2005
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Bath & North East Somerset Council |
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MEETING: |
Council Executive |
PAPER |
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DATE: |
12th January 2005 |
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TITLE: |
The Replacement of St John's Catholic Primary School, Bath - Consideration of Three Possible Sites |
EXECUTIVE FORWARD PLAN REF: |
E630 |
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WARD: |
All but, in particular, Abbey, Lyncombe, Odd Down, Bathavon South, Combe Down, Oldfield |
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AN OPEN PUBLIC ITEM |
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List of attachments to this report: Appendix 1 An assessment of the sites under consideration Appendix 2 A plan of each site under consideration Appendix 3 A single plan showing all three sites and the existing sites of the school Appendix 4 A single plan showing all three sites, existing sites of the school and the location of pupils at September 2004 Appendix 5 Copies of responses from stakeholders surrounding Odd Down Playing Field Appendix 6 Sketch plans prepared by Llewellyn Harker showing potential locations of buildings and proportion of sites used. (TO FOLLOW 8/1/05) |
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1 THE ISSUE
1.1 Government approval for the replacement of St John's Catholic Primary School in Bath was received in December 2000. The search for a single site to replace the school has been underway for four years. A decision is now required regarding the Council's preferred site in order to enable full consultation to take place and a formal offer to be made to the school Governors.
2 RECOMMENDATION
The Council Executive is asked to agree that:
2.1 the progression of this project is of critical importance to children, staff, parents / carers, Governors and the Council.
2.2 no further investigations are required regarding potential sites and a decision can now be taken.
2.3 a preferred site or sites should be selected and Officers instructed to initiate consultation with residents, businesses and other organisations in the area surrounding the preferred site(s). Such an area to be determined by Officers but to cover at least those homes, businesses and other organisations within a 250 metre radius of the site(s).
2.4 the outcome of the consultation to be reported to the Executive at its meeting on 4 May 2005.
2.5 all costs associated with the design of the school are met by the Council until such time as planning permission is received. This will cost approximately £200,000.
2.6 the Executive reiterates its commitment to consider giving long term support for home to school transport for pupils at St John's Catholic Primary School following the review of the issue to be undertaken by the Education, Youth, Culture & Leisure Overview & Scrutiny Panel.
3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
3.1 Members are asked to note that the entire costs of constructing, furnishing and equipping the school are met by the Governors who receive a 90% grant from DfES to support the project. The remaining 10% of the cost is raised from the Governors and Diocese.
3.2 In December 2000 a cash limit of £1.665 million in grant aid was set by DfES. Such a sum is now wholly inadequate for the building of a modern primary school and, in situations where schemes such as this have been delayed, it is common practice for DfES to scrutinise the costs applying at the time of planned construction and, providing the scheme is regarded as value for money, make additional grant available. The likely costs of building this school exceed £3 million at 2004 prices.
3.3 The costs of bringing forward a site are to be met wholly by the Council either through the use of the `power to assist' or as a statutory duty. The offer of a site without planning permission cannot be regarded as a genuine offer and, therefore, the Council will need to bear the costs of all necessary design work including environmental impact assessments, and any works deemed necessary to mitigate the loss of public open space in order to facilitate the granting of planning permission to the Governors.
3.4 Expenditure by the Council on this scheme thus far amounts to £135,000.
3.5 The Governors have also spent a Project Development Allocation of £20,000, given by DfES in 2001/02, on design work by their chosen architects, Llewellyn Harker.
3.6 Development of a design that is educationally acceptable, that can obtain planning permission (including any necessary work regarding environmental impact and other issues) on a site is estimated to cost £200,000.
3.7 The relocation of St John's to a single site will generate a small revenue saving each year as the school will no longer receive a `split-site' payment in the formula. Against this must be set any possible increase or decrease in transport costs arising from the relocation. For information, at present the Council pays £33,250 per year in transport costs for St John's.
3.8 There is no capital receipt available to the Diocese as a possible contribution to construction costs or land purchase as neither of the existing St John's sites are owned by the Diocese and if vacated will revert back to the respective trustees.
4 THE REPORT
BACKGROUND
4.1 In September 2000 the Council stated, in a submission to the DfES, that the replacement of St John's Catholic Primary School in Bath was the highest priority within the voluntary aided sector in this area. Members are invited to note that the rationale behind this was that the school buildings were in poor condition, were exhibiting significant suitability concerns and, furthermore, the location of the school on two sites some two miles from each other was educationally unsound and made management of the school unnecessarily difficult.
4.2 Members are asked to note that the OFSTED inspection of July 2000 concluded "The accommodation is poor and is having a negative effect on children's learning".
4.3 In December 2000 DfES approved, in principle, the replacement of the school as a two-form entry school offering 420 places, and allocated £20,000 to enable the Governors to develop a design. Governors appointed the architectural practice of Llewellyn Harker to the scheme. A construction budget of approximately £1.6 million was earmarked by DfES for release once a design had been developed and submitted for planning approval. An application for an increase in this figure will be necessary regardless of the choice of site to reflect the significant difference in costs in 2004 by comparison with costs in 2001.
4.4 Throughout 2001, Officers undertook an examination of some potential sites and, in particular, two locations namely St Alphege's in Oldfield Lane (the existing annexe of the school) and a site at Lymore Avenue (also known as Brickfields).
4.5 In September 2001 the Education Committee received a report recommending that Lymore Avenue be selected as the preferred site. The Committee deferred a decision pending a visit to both sites in October. Finally, on 5 November 2001, the Education Committee agreed that Lymore Avenue was their preferred choice of site and that St Alphege's was neither deliverable nor suitable.
4.6 The selection of the Lymore Avenue site proved to be highly controversial with many letters being sent to Ward Members, petitions being raised in the area, objections to the inclusion of the site as a site for primary school purposes in the Draft Local Plan and a number of public meetings being organised by local residents. The existence of a bye-law protecting part of Lymore Avenue Playing Field was revealed in December 2003.
4.7 On 7 April 2004 as an outcome of the North & Central Bath Area Review the Executive agreed that "The Council supports the efforts of the Governors of St John's Catholic Primary School and the Clifton Catholic Diocesan Schools Commission to replace and relocate the school to a single site" and resolved "to confirm that the replacement on a single site of St John's Catholic Primary School is essential in order to ensure that pupils are taught in satisfactory buildings with access to all necessary and desirable educational facilities and that the replacement school should offer no more than 315 places"
4.8 On the basis that development at the hitherto preferred site seemed difficult to achieve, in the period following the Executive of 7 April, Officers undertook a study looking at other potential sites for the replacement school. This identified forty two possible locations both owned and not owned by the Council which were then narrowed down to four.
4.9 A discussion paper was published in August 2004 and a summary of the paper was distributed to the homes and businesses in the areas surrounding each of the four sites in September 2004.
4.10 At its meeting on 3 November 2004, in light of the facts set out at 4.6 and the responses to the discussion paper mentioned at 4.9, the Council Executive withdrew the offer of Lymore Avenue. Sites at Englishcombe Lane and St Gregory's School were also withdrawn from the discussion.
4.11 A new site emerged from the discussion, namely Odd Down Playing Fields. This site had been considered as part of the process outlined at 4.8 but had not been brought forward for further discussion in view of previous failed attempts to develop part of the fields.
4.12 Odd Down Playing Field is owned by the Council, and title has recently been registered with the Land Registry, along with the land known as The Tumps to the north. The Council's title is registered freehold and in the case of the playing fields derives from a conveyance by Benjamin Hansford Hill to the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Bath dated 29 September 1927. The only covenant contained in this conveyance relates to fencing the eastern boundary in exchange for rights of access over the adjoining strip of land on this side of the fields.
4.13 The Tumps to the north was acquired by a separate conveyance which contains other covenants also recorded in the registered title, but none concerns the restriction of building or development.
4.14 Following the identification of Odd Down Playing Field as a potential site a query was raised regarding the intervention of an unspecified Government Minister at some point in the 1960s. No information on this can be found in the Council archive.
4.15 Officers were instructed to bring to Executive at the earliest possible date a preliminary review of 3 sites, Odd Down Playing Field, land at the Odd Down Park and Ride, Glasshouse Playing Field, with a view to selecting a site or sites for detailed consultation. Members requested that information be gathered regarding the educational, financial, transport, environmental and planning consequences of choosing one or other site.
4.16 A slightly amended discussion paper was distributed to homes and businesses in the area surrounding the Odd Down Playing Field site in November 2004 to request their initial views on the three sites under consideration and to request their views on any other potential sites.
4.17 Members will want to note that the condition of the school buildings on both existing sites gives some cause for concern and that outstanding planned maintenance works totalling approximately £50,000 are required. These include external decoration, roof repairs, and electrical and rewiring works. Essential is defined by DfES as `work required within two years that will prevent serious deterioration of the fabric or services and/or address a medium risk to health and safety of occupants and/or remedy a less serious breach of legislation'.
4.18 The principal suitability issues (those which have an impact on curriculum delivery or management) at the school are;
a) The school is located on 2 sites with the administrative functions and the Headteacher based at the junior site.
b) The junior site has several general suitability problems: undersized classrooms, multi-storey building, no access for wheelchair users and difficult for those with impaired mobility, undersized and inaccessible library and IT suite, remote toilets, undersized staffroom. The IT suite is remote from the classrooms and IT provision in classrooms is inadequate, requiring investment.
c) The Oldfield Lane annexe comprises 3 separate temporary buildings without covered links; a shared community hall used for PE, dining and assemblies but this has no fixed equipment and poor condition floor and toilet facilities.
4.19 Members are asked to note that numbers on roll at the school have fallen considerably over the last eighteen months exacerbating the pre-existing problem of surplus places. Officers and Governors attribute this to a number of factors and the falling numbers of children overall must be part of this but other factors such as the current configuration of the school on two sites, organised by Key Stages, and the continued uncertainty about the replacement site are also of importance.
4.20 Members are asked to recognise the efforts of the Governors to reduce unfilled places. Changes to accommodation at both sites have resulted in a reduction of the capacity from 392 to 326. This means there are 71 unfilled places at September 2004 and the school is no longer within the category of having 25% or more unfilled places.
4.21 Despite the difficult circumstances, and St John's are not unique amongst our schools in this respect, the educational outcomes for children are very good. Results for Key Stage 2 Level 4 in 2004 are English 100%(LEA average 81%) and Maths 88%(LEA average 80%).
4.22 Members should note that in the future, once the existing pupils have finished their primary education, it might be that the school begins to recruit children from its new locality. This will have an impact on nearby schools.
4.23 Members will be aware that children are, amongst other reasons, entitled to home to school transport on the grounds of their denomination. On this basis, 22 children receive transport to St John's at present at a cost to the Council of £33,250 per annum. Five other children travel as fare-paying passengers on this transport. Relocation of the school to any of the potential sites may increase or decrease the level of financial support required.
4.24 Members are asked to reiterate their intention to respond to the Governors regarding the maintenance of home to school transport after the Overview & Scrutiny Panel have undertaken their review.
4.25 Members attention is drawn to the home addresses of the current pupils and are asked to examine this in relation to the location of the potential sites. Children are represented on the map as black stars. Existing sites, other than St John's are shown as yellow squares, existing sites of St John's are shown in red as A and B, and potential sites are numbered in red as follows 1: Odd Down Playing Field, 2: Glasshouse. 3: Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down.
4.26 Each site has been assessed under the five headings. Officers have inserted a sixth heading to cover any legal issues. A matrix format has been adopted in order to assist Members in seeing the totality. This is attached as Appendix 1. In addition, Llewellyn Harker (the architectural practice referred to at 3.5) have prepared sketch plans showing potential locations on each site. Members will, of course be aware, that in the limited time available nothing more than initial ideas can be presented but it is hoped that this may assist Members in the decision-making process.
5 RISK MANAGEMENT
A risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations has been undertaken, in compliance with the Council's decision making risk management guidance.
6 RATIONALE
6.1 The prolonged delay in progressing this scheme is creating additional problems for the school and adding to the uncertainty for children, parents / carers, staff and Governors and making longer term planning for all these stakeholders extremely difficult.
6.2 The costs of design work, purchase of any property (should this be necessary) and the undertaking of environmental impact assessments in order to facilitate the granting of planning permission are a small proportion of the costs that would be incurred were the Council implementing the scheme. The outcome will be the provision of high quality facilities for children in Bath & North East Somerset whom the Council is responsible for educating and will be a major improvement in the environment for learning, which is a key Council priority.
6.3 The legitimate concerns of residents surrounding the preferred site deserve close attention. The Council and elected Members are ideally placed to communicate with residents the substantial potential benefits of the provision of this new community resource in a particular area through the initiation of a full consultation exercise.
7 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED
7.1 None
8 CONSULTATION
8.1 As set out in the report.
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Contact person |
Bruce Austen, School Organisation Manager 01225 395169 bruce_austen@bathnes.gov.uk |
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Background papers |
Education Committee report 24 September 2001 (exempt) Education Committee report 5 November 2001(exempt) |
AN ASSESSMENT OF THREE SITES FOR THE RELOCATION OF
ST JOHN'S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, BATH
The Executive asked for an assessment of potential sites in relation to the educational, financial, transport, environmental and planning impacts.
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Issue / Notes |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Educational In this section we deal with the suitability of each site and the effects on St John's and other schools At September 2004 St Martin's has >100 unfilled places. Plans are in hand to reduce this. St Philip's has c.20 unfilled places. |
The site is large enough and suitably laid out to accommodate a 315 place primary school. Pupils < 0.75 mile of the site Walking Route (22) Direct line (70) The site is within 0.2 miles of St Philip's CofE VC Primary School and within 0.3 miles of St Martin's Garden Primary School. |
The site is large enough and suitably laid out to accommodate a 315 place primary school. Pupils < 0.75 mile of the site Walking Route (13) Direct line (29) Part of the site is used by Old Culverhaysians Rugby Club. The site is allocated to Culverhay School. If used by St John's Culverhay would not have sufficient playing fields for its planned size. Relocation of Old Culverhaysians to Odd Down Playing Field would be supported by the club and the school. The site is 0.4 miles from St Martin's Garden Primary School and 0.7 miles from St Philip's CofE VC Primary School |
The site is large enough and suitably laid out to accommodate a 315 place primary school. Pupils < 0.75 mile of the site Walking Route (19) Direct line (23) The site is within 0.75 miles of St Philip's CofE VC Primary School and 0.62 miles of St Martin's Garden Primary School. The site is 0.35 miles from St Gregory's Catholic College. |
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Issue |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Financial In this section we look at the financial impact on the Council. In all cases the land on which the school is constructed will be transferred to the Trustees. |
No purchase costs will be incurred. The costs of replacing existing facilities, such as pitches, changing rooms and car parking may need to be met by the Council. This is dependent on the precise location of the school and, at this stage, these costs are unquantifiable. |
No purchase costs will be incurred. Use of the site is likely to require the relocation of Old Culverhaysians Rugby Club. Part or all of the costs of relocation might need to be met by the Council. At this stage, these costs are unquantifiable. Use of this site may mean that additional facilities for Culverhay School are required on the main school site. |
No purchase costs will be incurred. Depending on precise location of the school there are likely to be costs incurred in reorganising the Park & Ride site. |
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Issue / Notes |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Transport Home to School Transport is provided on denominational grounds for children aged between 4 and 8 who live more than 2 miles from the school and for children over 8 who live more than 3 miles from the school. At September 2004 six children currently in receipt of H2ST would lose their right to funded travel regardless of which site of the three is chosen. |
Home to School Transport 21 of the current 4-8 year olds will be more than 2 miles from the site. 18 of these pupils will lose their right to transport after they have reached the age of eight 13 of the current 8-11 year olds will be more than 3 miles from the site. Total pupils affected 34 Est. transport cost: day / year £205 / £38,950 |
Home to School Transport 45 of the current 4-8 year olds will be more than 2 miles from the site. 41 of these pupils will lose their right to transport after they have reached the age of eight 14 of the current 8-11 year olds will be more than 3 miles from the site. Total pupils affected 59 Est. transport cost: day / year £255 / £48,450 |
Home to School Transport 48 of the current 4-8 year olds will be more than 2 miles from the site. 40 of these pupils will lose their right to transport after they have reached the age of eight 20 of the current 8-11 year olds will be more than 3 miles from the site. Total pupils affected 68 Est. transport cost: day / year £285 / £54,150 |
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Issue / Notes |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Environmental |
The site measures 14.28 ha. A school of 315 places will require 1.5 ha. This represents 10.5% of the site. There is no known contamination of the land. There is no known previous history of mine workings or other potentially incompatible former use. |
The site measures 3.16 ha. A school of 315 places will require 1.5 ha. This represents 47.5% of the site. There is no known contamination of the land. There is no known previous history of mine workings or other potentially incompatible former use. However, in view of the location of the site and the absence of a definitive statement regarding the extent of the Stone Mines it is possible that the stability of the land would need detailed investigation. |
The total Park & Ride site measures 11.71 ha. Of this, 6.31 ha is unused and it is within this area that the school would, in all likelihood, be located. A school of 315 places requires 1.5 ha. This represents 24% of the unused site area. Contamination of the land is almost certain. A previous history of mine working exists in the area |
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Issue / Notes |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Planning This section deals with Development Control / Planning Policy / Highways matters |
Planning Policy There are planning policy objections to proposed development on open spaces. Policy LR3 of the Bath Local Plan applies. Development would also contravene Policy SR1 "Protected Land of Recreational Value" and Policy BH15 "Visually Important Open Spaces" in the emerging Local Plan. It would need to be demonstrated that there were no other more suitable sites available. Likely that proposals would attract an objection from Sport England unless alternative provision for any loss of playing pitches were put forward. Important to provide detail on use of this site for both formal and informal recreation. Site has capacity for 10 full size football pitches, 1 rugby pitch and during the summer, 4 cricket squares. During the football season between 20 and 30 matches are currently played each month necessitating the use of 7 or 8 pitches. 90% of pitches are block booked by the Bath & District Football League. Occasional casual bookings and use by Beechen Cliff and Culverhay schools. Nearly all fixtures are played at weekends in daylight hours. During the summer there are bookings for cricket matches (36 matches in 2004 played mainly at weekends but also on weekday evenings. The site is outside of the Conservation Area (although its abuts the northern, eastern and part of western site boundary) but it is within the boundary of the World Heritage Site. |
Planning Policy There are planning policy objections to proposed development on open spaces. Policy LR3 of the Bath Local Plan applies. Development would also contravene Policy L15 "Wildlife Sites", Policy SR1 "Protected Land of Recreational Value" and Policy NE9 "Nature Conservation Site" of the emerging Local Plan. It would need to be demonstrated that there were no other more suitable sites available. Likely that proposals would attract an objection from Sport England unless alternative provision for any loss of playing pitches were put forward. Important to provide detail on use of this site for both formal and informal recreation. The Glasshouse playing fields are not within the Conversation Area but they are within the World Heritage Site. |
The site is in the Green Belt and the Council would need to refer the proposal to the Secretary of State as it would be a departure from the Development Plan. It would be necessary for very special circumstances to be demonstrated to warrant overturning established policy. The Council may decide that the use of other sites was unsuitable because they would result in the loss of open space and/or playing fields, then this might constitute very special circumstances for the purpose of the policy. The Council would need to state that protection of open spaces within the urban area outweighs a further encroachment in the Green Belt by the reorganisation of the Park and Ride site. The site is within the Green Belt as stated above. |
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Issue / Notes |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Planning continued |
Development Control The site is a very large flat site with an existing access and good links to the main highway network. Whilst it is relatively exposed from more distant views from the east, it is large enough for some meaningful landscaping to be provided to screen any development. The Local Planning Authority (the Council) will need to have regard to the history of the site, where other development proposals have been rejected because of the loss of open space, but the competing statutory requirement for the Council to provide a site for the school is itself a material consideration that sets this potential scheme apart from those previously rejected. |
Development Control Main issues are the access and the potential impact upon the adjoining occupiers. In terms of access, there is a considerable difference in levels between the road and the site and the road bends slightly as it passes the site. It will be necessary for a survey to be undertaken to determine whether safe access could be achieved at this point. Sketch plans will need to be submitted to give an idea of where on this site the school might be located. |
Development Control The site is in a relatively accessible location with good access and parking available close by. Design would need careful consideration on this relatively exposed site which is close to the boundary with an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and any landscaping proposals would need to be closely related to the form of development. |
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Issue / Notes |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Planning continued |
Highways Frome Road is traffic sensitive and subject to congestion and its signalised junction at Bloomfield Road signal junction is at or around capacity. A level of already committed development will add to traffic in this area. Wellsway is also traffic sensitive. Alternative routes into the area are available however. Bloomfield Road is narrow in places and suffers from on street parking from time to time. In its current form the existing access would not be adequate to serve additional development. Improvements will depend upon the availability of adjacent land (i.e. third party land). This area does have some public transport provision although it is not on the showcase bus route. A travel plan would be required as it is likely that this site is less sustainable in terms of travel, than the existing location. Relocation to an edge of City site is likely to increase the need to travel for both staff and pupils. Where school attendance is based around denominational issues catchments can be wider than one might normally expect. |
Highways The roads leading to the site are heavily trafficked and some are traffic sensitive (see comments on Park and Ride site). All of the issues relating to the level of committed development in the area apply equally to this site. Without the benefit of detailed proposals the initial view is that the footpath appears to narrow over this frontage and the road may well narrow. This would need to be rectified by widening the carriageway and path. A new access into the site would be required and this may be difficult to achieve within the frontage available considering the speed of passing traffic, the location of the Hill Avenue junction opposite and the level difference between Bradford Road and the site. Issues relating to Travel Plans and sustainable travel will apply equally to this site i.e. the existing site of the school is more sustainable in terms of travel Relocation to an edge of City site is likely to increase the need to travel for both staff and pupils. Where school attendance is based around denominational issues catchments can be wider than one might normally expect. |
Highways The Transportation and Highways Service has identified a future need for this area to be safeguarded in conjunction with the Transport Strategy for the management of traffic and parking within the City and there would therefore be an objection in principle to the loss of this site. Roads leading to the site are traffic sensitive. Frome Road and Wellsway carry significant levels of traffic and junctions are at or nearing capacity. There is a level of development already committed in this general location which will add to traffic in the area. Relocation to an edge of City site is likely to increase the need to travel for both staff and pupils. Where school attendance is based around denominational issues catchments can be wider. Any new school proposal would have to be accompanied by a Travel Plan. It is difficult to see how a Travel Plan could deliver a sustainable development at this location, and in this regard the proposal could be considered to be contrary to policy. No comment on access issues since there is as yet no indication of how it is proposed to access the site. |
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Issue / Notes |
Odd Down Playing Field |
Glasshouse |
Land at Park & Ride, Odd Down |
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Legal This section deals with covenants, bye-laws, land ownership. |
Owned freehold No known covenants Bye-laws prohibit dogs from the site. |
Owned freehold No known covenants No known bye-laws |
Owned freehold, Subject to covenants until October 2008 No known bye-laws |
Odd Down Playing Field
