Ian Stevens of Fisher German Chester has recently secured planning permission for a car park and replacement playing field at Warmingham Primary School.
The need for car parking arose from a change in the current arrangements. Adjacent to the school is the village hall which has planning permission to be rebuilt as a larger building. The school shares car parking facilities with the village hall; however, this provision would be reduced due to the hall’s redevelopment.
It was considered that there is a need for additional car parking provision to serve the school and this weighed significantly in favour of the proposal.
The existing school playing field was chosen as the most appropriate location for a car park because of its physical and visual relationship with the school. A footpath leads from the site, behind two neighbouring dwellings, to the school. There were no other suitable sites available this close to the school without either having to cross the road or create new footpaths. In planning terms, the playing field site was considered the most appropriate location.
A replacement playing field was proposed to the west of the new car park, in an adjacent field. The need for replacement facilities is an important factor in national planning policy, which seeks to protect open spaces and play facilities.
Fisher German advised the client throughout the planning process, from an initial pre-application discussion with Cheshire East to establish the principles and key planning issues. Through this initial stage, the Council requested several technical reports to satisfy environmental issues which would arise from the development. These include highways impacts (access and traffic), ecology and tree protection, and landscape visual impact matters.
There were several planning issues to consider with the site – design impacts in the countryside location; impact on the amenity of neighbouring residents; impact on landscape features; impact on highway safety and finally, impact on biodiversity. This required detailed assessment of the Council’s planning policies and advice to the client on how best to justify the proposals given the restrictions on development in the open countryside. A balancing exercise was undertaken of the issues. The scheme’s benefits included providing car parking for the school and highways safety for off-road parking and a direct pedestrian link for parents, teachers and schoolchildren to the school.
Officers supported the proposed scheme, concluding that the principle of development in this location is acceptable. They acknowledged that the proposed development would have an impact on residential amenity; however, this would not be adverse and it needs to be weighed against the benefits of the proposed development through the provision of school car parking and the benefits that this would have on highway safety. Finally, the replacement playing field maintained sports provision for users and the scheme was found to be acceptable.
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