Agenda item
11 Solebay Street, London E1 4PW (PA/13/00444)
Decision:
On a vote of 2 in favour of refusal and 0 against, and 1 abstention the Committee RESOLVED:
That planning permission (PA/13/00444) at 11 Solebay Street, London E1 4PW be REFUSED for change of use from office/warehouse use (Use Class B1/B8) to a two form entry primary school (Use Class D1) involving minor alterations to infill existing parking and service bays and a roof-top extension providing additional teaching and external play space for the following reasons set out in paragraph 3.1 of the update report:
- The proposed location of the school is likely to create health and safety issues due to surrounding light industrial activities and the associated vehicle movements and therefore would result in unsafe conditions for the users of the schools and the occupiers of the neighbouring buildings contrary to policies SP07, SP09 and SP10 of the Core Strategy 2010.
- The proposal is likely to create congestion to the local highway network which is associated with picking up and dropping off pupils and therefore it would be detrimental to the safety of the users of the highway and free flow of highway network. This is contrary to policies SP09 of the Core Strategy 2010.
- The proposal, by reasons of its play space provision in the open roof top space, is likely to create nuisance to the nearby occupiers is contrary to policy SP10 of the Core Strategy and policy DM25 of the Managing Development Document 2013.
The Members that voted on the item were Councillors Helal Abbas, Judith Gardiner and Gulam Robbani.
Councillor Anwar Khan could not vote on this item as he had not been present from the start of the item.
Councillors Kosru Uddin and Peter Golds could not vote on this item as they had not been present at the 19th June2013 Committee meeting when it was initially considered.
Minutes:
The Committee considered the scheme regarding 11 Solebay Street, London E1 4PW for change of use at the site for a new primary school.
Jane Jin (Planning Officer) presented the report. It was noted that the application was initially considered at the previous 19th June 2013 meeting of the Committee where Members were minded to refuse the scheme due to concerns over health and safety matters, congestion and noise from the roof top play space. Officers had since drafted suggested reasons for refusal as set out in the report together with an assessment of the strength of these reasons on planning grounds. Officers went through the reasons in turn at the meeting as summarised below:
- Health and safety issues. Officers confirmed the steps to safeguard the safety of the pupils in view of the nearby industrial units. It was considered that the proposed holding areas for pupils and parents would minimise the impact. The pupils leaving the school would also be supervised to manage congestion on the foot paths. Officers were satisfied with these measures. However considered that, due to the lack of traditional play ground space for pupils to congregate, the reason could be defended on appeal.
- Noise from the roof top play space. Restrictions would be imposed on the roof top play space restricting its use after hours. Therefore it was not considered that the noise levels would have an undue impact on neighbouring properties.
- Congestion. It was expected that only 15% of pupils would travel to the school by private transport and the school had an adequate travel plan. The school was also committed to educating children on highway safety. Therefore, overall it was considered that the measures would effectively minimise congestion around the school
There had been no changes in policy since the previous 19th June 2013 meeting of the Committee. Therefore, the Officer recommendation remained to grant.
On a vote of 2 in favour of refusal and 0 against, and 1 abstention the Committee RESOLVED:
That planning permission (PA/13/00444) at 11 Solebay Street, London E1 4PW be REFUSED for change of use from office/warehouse use (Use Class B1/B8) to a two form entry primary school (Use Class D1) involving minor alterations to infill existing parking and service bays and a roof-top extension providing additional teaching and external play space for the following reasons set out in paragraph 3.1 of the update report:
- The proposed location of the school is likely to create health and safety issues due to surrounding light industrial activities and the associated vehicle movements and therefore would result in unsafe conditions for the users of the schools and the occupiers of the neighbouring buildings contrary to policies SP07, SP09 and SP10 of the Core Strategy 2010.
- The proposal is likely to create congestion to the local highway network which is associated with picking up and dropping off pupils and therefore it would be detrimental to the safety of the users of the highway and free flow of highway network. This is contrary to policies SP09 of the Core Strategy 2010.
- The proposal, by reasons of its play space provision in the open roof top space, is likely to create nuisance to the nearby occupiers is contrary to policy SP10 of the Core Strategy and policy DM25 of the Managing Development Document 2013.
The Members that voted on the item were Councillors Helal Abbas, Judith Gardiner and Gulam Robbani.
Councillor Anwar Khan could not vote on this item as he had not been present from the start of the item.
Councillors Kosru Uddin and Peter Golds could not vote on this item as they had not been present at the 19th June2013 Committee meeting when it was initially considered.
Supporting documents:
- Deferral Report - 11 Solebay Street PA13-444, item 6.2 PDF 98 KB
- 11 Solebay Street PA-13-444, item 6.2 PDF 240 KB
- Appendix 2 PA-13-444, item 6.2 PDF 260 KB