New School - We must get it right

We are all very excited about the long awaited prospect of a new school for the village. Cindy, David and our Community Council have done a fantastic job getting our village onto the 21st Century School programme with Flintshire and Welsh Government.

A significant number of residents and the Community Council have expressed concern about the proposed design.

The Community Council have met with the Chief Exec of Flintshire County Council, the Flintshire Schools team, the construction company and the architect and expressed concern about these aspects of the proposal:

1.     The appearance is of an industrial building not in keeping with the rural nature of the village. Requests were made to review the roof design to add a pitch roof to soften the appearance (as it was in the original plan) and also to favour natural materials and colours on the outside of the building, such as stone, wood or slate.

2.     There are real concerns about the transport plan and traffic access for drop off and pick up. It is likely that a traffic impact survey will be needed, if enough residents express concerns in the consultation process. The survey will take into account traffic from both school sites and the impact on local residents as well as the need for children in Penymynydd to cross main roads to get to the school. The survey would have to be carried out once the schools are back in September. If you didn't complete the transport survey, please do it now: 
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/X6MQBQF

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3.     There are concerns about the location of the school building within the site and how overbearing it is on neighbouring houses. The site is very restricted due to:

-       Existing established trees

-       The need to keep the current school operation during the build

-       Covenants to protect the football pitch

The Council are reviewing the football pitch convenant to understand whether it can be relocated within the same site and also whether the loss of some trees would enable a better siting of the school building.

THERE ARE NO PROMISES THAT ANY CHANGES WILL BE MADE TO THE PLANS -THE COUNCIL AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AGREED TO RE-LOOK AT THE LAYOUT AND READ ALL OF THE FEEDBACK FROM THIS CONSULTATION BEFORE TAKING A VIEW,

Reassurances were given about some aspects of the plan:

-       The building will meet the highest sustainable measures and will include solar panels.

-       The hedgerow adjacent to the public footpath along Abbots Lane will not be removed other than where the site access is planned and which later will become the pedestrian access point.

-       The football pitch is secure and its use by the school is part of the space requirements and will be safe in the long term

Importantly, we were reassured by the Chief Executive that funding for the school is not threatened by asking for changes. The school will be co-funded by the Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools project and Flintshire County Council. 

The new school site has been agreed – on Abbots Lane
The Flintshire schools team have consulted with the school teachers, pupils and governors. They are currently consulting with the wider community before the designs are submitted to planning for permission in September or October.

The plan is for the new school to be constructed behind the existing school building on Abbots Lane meaning that the old school will remain open throughout the build.

The Council are aiming to have the new school ready for 2019.

WE REALLY NEED PEOPLE TO FEEDBACK THEIR OPINIONS AND OBSERVATIONS - GOOD AND BAD.

Public concerns that have been raised so far include:
- TRAFFIC AND VEHICLE ACCESS
- BEING OVERLOOKED
- COLOUR / DESIGN / NATURAL MATERIALS
- FLAT ROOF

Please feel free to make your own observations and comments before the deadline.

PLEASE EMAIL YOUR FEEDBACK TO: 
21stcenturyschools@flintshire.gov.uk

Feedback before the 7th August.

We have a once in a generation opportunity to get this right for the community.

We would like to thank Colin Everett and representatives from Wynne Construction, the architects and Flintshire schools for giving up their free time to come and talk to the Community Council.

Hawarden Road - Planning Update

No decision has yet been taken.

Because a number of policy and appeal references were missed out of the original report and there had been no site inspection; our County Councillors, David Williams and Cindy Hinds, appealed to members of the committee to ask them to vote for deferral.

That means it will go back to committee potentially in either October or November but in the meantime further discussion will take place with the planning department and a site visit will be arranged nearer the time.

Many thanks to the villagers, Community Councillors and children(!) who attended at County Hall to show their support.

School Design - what do you think?

We're all excited about the prospect of getting a new school in the village - but what should it look like? This gallery shows schools being built by Wynne Construction elsewhere in North Wales - many feature natural materials and more traditional lines and colours, including pitched roofs and solar panels - the visuals below show the proposed design of Ysgol Penyffordd - what do you prefer?

You can view more information about the other Wynne projects on their website http://www.wynneconstruction.co.uk/projectsummary/1/Primary_Secondary_Schools.html

The designs are open to consultation right now - you can feedback to:

ONLINE
http://www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/Resident/Schools/School-Modernisation-Related/Ysgol-Penyffordd.aspx

EMAIL (to Flintshire County Council):
21stcenturyschools@flintshire.gov.uk,

POST
21st Century Schools
Flintshire County Council
County Hall,
Raikes Lane,
Mold,
Flintshire, CH7 6NA

Wynne Construction,
Charles House,
Kinmel Park,
Bodelwyddddddan,
LL18 5TY

Hawarden Road - Bad News

The Flintshire planning officers are recommending 'Approval' when the application for 32 houses goes to planning committee next week. The planning officers' assessment is based on 'planning considerations'  and strangely contradicts much of what was said by the planning officer when recommending refusal of the Redrow application in April.

The planning officer who has made the recommendation is apparently on holiday next week and with the very short notice of the committee our County Councillors have requested that the application is removed from the agenda. If that is not successful, then we need a show of force from the village to demonstrate the strength of feeling in the community.

165 public objections were received and 4 letters in support. These were the words of the Head of Lifelong Learning (schools) in the planning report:
"Advises that insufficient capacity would result from the proposals at the local primary school (Penyffordd C.P School) Advises that the nearest Secondary School is Castell Alun High School, which has insufficient capacity and would therefore be affected by the proposals." The solution to these comments is to recommend that payment of funds to the schools.

The concern is that a precedent will be set ahead of the planning inspector's inquiry into the Redrow application - the possible outcome is that Hawarden Road is approved AND it adds to the possibility that the Redrow appeal is successful.

This will be the first time that planning have recommended approval on an application OUTSIDE a settlement boundary in Penyffordd and we believe anywhere in Flintshire. In previous cases they have recommended refusal in Mynydd Isa and elsewhere and then lost on appeal.

Penyffordd remains Flintshire's highest growth settlement.

You can read the full officers report here >>>

We do need houses in Penyffordd
The reality is that there is a need for some new houses in Penyffordd - no one is suggesting that we should block all future growth.

Welsh Government policy assumes that County Councils prepare a plan for the housing that is need, of what type and where it should be built - that plan is done in consultation with statutory bodies, like water, health, schools etc. and with the public. It is only because Flintshire have not got their plan ready in time that these ad-hoc proposals are allowed at all.

In addition to the 4 active applications (Redrow Chester Road, Hawarden Road, Rhos Road north and south), the Council themselves are planning affordable or council houses in both Penyffordd and Dobshill.

The Community Place Plan sets out plans for up to 10% growth, between now and 2030 and describes the type of housing needed by the community, including affordable homes and those suitable for first time buyers and the elderly.

We believe that with the policy clarification received from Lesley Griffith AC/AM, Welsh Minister responsible for planning, the body of objection from the community, the evidence provided via the Questionnaire and Place Plan, that Flintshire County Council had sufficient weight to overturn the technicality presented by the lack of a 5-year housing land supply in Flintshire (the reason given for recommending approval). 

Please show your support by attending the Committee next Wednesday 1:00pm at County Hall - they ran out of seats for us in April!

URGENT: Planning Committee Date

The application for 32 houses on Hawarden Road will be heard by the planning committee at County Hall on the 26th July at 1:00pm.

If you are able to get there to show your support, you would be very welcome. We do not yet know whether the committee will visit the site.

UPDATE: We understand that Flintshire planning officers are recommending APPROVAL of this application.

We have raised a number of objections about this application - one of the most important is that if it goes ahead it will create a pocket between the Groves estate and the new development which will leave a field (which we know the landowner is ready to develop) surrounded by houses on three sides and the bypass on the other - this will surely become 'infill' for housing - meaning a further 100 homes.

Quick Recap on what's happening to the village...

- plans for 40 new homes have been approved on Rhos Road (north)
- plans for 186 homes on Chester Road were rejected by committee but are under appeal (the appeal will be heard at public inquiry in November)
- plans for 32 apartments on Rhos Road South have been in public consultation and we are awaiting the planning application (we expect them to be waiting for this decision)

These applications are following the rapid building of the two sites at the Groves and White Lion sites which, together with Meadowslea, make Penyffordd the highest growth settlement in Flintshire.

There are dozens more sites around the village which have an interest expressed for housing development - these should be considered as part of the LDP process. We would like no further development until that process starts, in the next 6 to 9 months.
 

New School - Feedback Information

If you would like to feedback about the school plans, designs, traffic or anything else, these are the contact details:

ONLINE
http://www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/Resident/Schools/School-Modernisation-Related/Ysgol-Penyffordd.aspx

EMAIL (to Flintshire County Council):
21stcenturyschools@flintshire.gov.uk,

POST
21st Century Schools
Flintshire County Council
County Hall,
Raikes Lane,
Mold,
Flintshire, CH7 6NA

Wynne Construction,
Charles House,
Kinmel Park,
Bodelwyddddddan,
LL18 5TY

A little bit of hope

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Northop had some positive news this week, one of the planning applications they were opposing, for 17 homes, has been refused permission by the Planning Inspector.

The original application was recommended for refusal by the Flintshire planning officer and was refused permission by the planning Committee in November, before it was appealed.

This is only the second case in Wrexham and Flintshire where the inspector has refused permission and, significantly, follows the original officers' recommendation.

The current appeal by Redrow was also recommended for refusal by the original planning officer. The next test case is the upcoming appeal for 47 houses in Rossett - there is a public inquiry in July.

This map shows the current status on planning applications and appeals in the borderlands area - note the addition of 100 houses in Buckley (more info here) which is in the pre-application stage.

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This is the proposed New School...

...what do you think?

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The school will be on the existing Abbots Lane school site and will replace the current Abbots Lane and Junior school (on Penymynydd Road) These are the key facts from the Flintshire County Council website - are you happy that the designs match up?:

• New build Primary School to accommodate 315 Full Time Pupils and a 45 FTE place Nursery on the Abbott’s Lane site.
• Design of the school includes: Classroom for Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2; Hall and Studio facilities; community room; grassed sports field area; multi-use sports pitch; habitat and recreational areas; improved staff and visitor car parking and drop off zone for parents/carers.
• Increased staff and visitor car parking with dedicated drop off zone for parents/carers.
• Future proofed design to accommodate classrooms extensions should there an increase of learners in the area.
• Thoughtful school design to blend into the community.

The full planning application with designs, interior layouts and environmental impact are on the Flintshire website here >>>

There is not currently a transport plan other than the provision for drop off spaces within the car park. The school is currently conducting a survey about it - respond here

The designs are in a pre-application consultation phase before they are submitted to planning. If you have comments please email team@penyfforddcommunity.org and we will pass them onto the schools team and councillors.

This is a video of the exterior:

365 Homes Approved in Llay appeal - What it could mean for Penymynydd

This week Welsh First Minister approved an application for the building of 365 homes on fields outside Llay. The application had been recommended for approval by Wrexham planning officers then refused after public objections by the Wrexham planning committee. The developer appealed the refusal and the planning inspector recommended approval. The final decision would normally have been made by Lesley Griffiths AM, the minister responsible for planning, but because she represents Wrexham, the First Minister acted in her place.

News story about the appeal decision

The Llay objections included impact on schools, healthcare and traffic as well as the legitimate planning objections that the proposal was outside of the settlement boundary and represented too much growth. The proposal includes a shop and 30% affordable housing. We admire and applaud the large campaign in Llay and look on with sadness at the final outcome.

How does that affect the Redrow appeal?

The tally of approvals on appeal by the inspector, where 'housing supply' is cited as the primary reason, in our borderlands area, is now:

597 homes approved
2 homes refused

That is a bad scorecard but the Redrow appeal is different than all of those lost on appeal, for these reasons:

1. The Flintshire planning officer recommended refusal.
The Flintshire planners reviewed all of the evidence and concluded that, for planning reasons, it should not go ahead. The planning committee agreed when they voted. In all of these other local cases, the planning officers have recommended approval and the committee have voted against them.

2. Penyffordd has been over-developed already
It is a matter of fact that the village has grown significantly (27% is the agreed figure), most of it in the last 5 years. Investment in infrastructure has not had time to keep pace.

3. It is Unsustainable
The village, through the questionnaire and individual submissions, has demonstrated the harm that has so far been caused by recent developments. The evidence has satisfied Flintshire planners that further growth on this scale is unsustainable.

4. TAN1 Clarification
Although the appeal decision has only just been released, the inquiry was in November last year, before clarification was issued on the interpretation of TAN1 - the loophole enabling these speculative developments - by Lesley Griffiths AM to planning departments, the inspectorate and developers. That clarification is not, therefore, been likely to have been considered in this appeal.

5. Place Plan
We have prepared a village Place Plan which defines how the community want the village to grow in the future - in small increments, with appropriate types of housing.

If you haven't already, please add your name to the petition to have our Plan adopted by Flintshire County Council:

What more can we do?

One of the notable comments by the inspector in Llay was in reference to the local Health and Education authorities - the Health authority did not respond to the application, they made no comment. The Education authority raised no objection. We can lobby to ensure that these statutory bodies assure us of improved services for existing and future residents in the event that the appeal is successful - their not commenting is not acceptable to anyone.

We must remain strong and continue our united objection until the inquiry in November.

Thank you for your continued support.

New School - Important Update

Wynne Construction with Aaron Shotton from Flintshire County Council at the School

News update on the new Abbots Lane school.

Flintshire County Council have:
- published a newsletter about the school build - view the newsletter here

- appointed a contractor, Wynne Construction
News release from FCC here
- announced a date for public consultation of the plans - 11th July 3:30 - 7:00pm at Abbots Lane

These are the key facts about the new school:

• New build Primary School to accommodate 315 Full Time Pupils and a 45 FTE place Nursery on the Abbott’s Lane site.
• Design of the school includes: Classroom for Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2; Hall and Studio facilities; community room; grassed sports field area; multi-use sports pitch; habitat and recreational areas; improved staff and visitor car parking and drop off zone for parents/carers.
• Increased staff and visitor car parking with dedicated drop off zone for parents/carers.
• Future proofed design to accommodate classrooms extensions should there an increase of learners in the area.
• Thoughtful school design to blend into the community.

We asked the Council about the traffic and access plans, they are not covered in this first newsletter, and this is what they explained was happening:

"...we are currently supporting the head on developing a revised travel plan for the school, additionally a Transport Impact Assessment (TIA) will be completed to assess the traffic impact of the new build on the area, and review impact of parking, pupil drop-off/pick up, traffic generation, access arrangements and site accessibility by sustainable methods of travel. – on the first newsletter we touch on the positives that the build brings in relation to increased car parking provision and a dedicated drop off zone for parents/carers but we don’t go into great detail with it being the first newsletter, the TIA process can be explained with further newsletters or if required a specific Q&A as we progress through the build."

You can follow the schools development team at Flintshire County Council on Twitter.