Havering Council's Planning Committee will meet to decide on the permanent use of a school car park by the local community, and whether to allow the installation of a temporary portable cabin for use as an office. The meeting will be held on 19 December 2024 at 7pm in Havering Town Hall, Main Road, Romford.

Hylands Primary School

The most significant item on the agenda is a decision about whether to allow the permanent use of the car park at Hylands Primary School by the local community outside of school hours.

Planning permission was originally granted for the school, which is located on Granger Way, in 2009. The original permission included a condition requiring the car park to be retained for school use only. In 2023, a temporary 18-month permission was granted allowing community use of the car park outside of school hours. This was to allow the council to monitor road safety issues.

The current application seeks to remove the 18 month time limit. The report pack notes that:

The proposal would continue to reduce on-street parking pressure on the roads surrounding the site resulting in improvement to the free flow of traffic.

The report pack also notes that:

The proposal would continue to improve road safety by averting the need for visitors to the community users such as the church to cross the roads.

The report pack explains that the church in question is Romford Evangelical Free Church. Prior to the temporary permission being granted, approximately 40 churchgoers would arrive by car for Sunday services, using on-street parking on surrounding roads.

The report pack goes on to explain that, as part of the original planning permission granted in 2009, a condition was attached requiring the applicant to submit details of:

additional mitigating measures, including a timetable for implementation, for the boundary treatment facing Granger Way in order to reduce headlight glare

This condition was not discharged within the required timeframe. However, the report pack notes that this has now been addressed to the satisfaction of the council's planning officers.

63-65 Butts Green Road

The Planning Committee will also be asked to make a decision on an application for the installation of a portable cabin to be used as an office at 63-65 Butts Green Road.

The site is located near the junction with Wykeham Avenue and currently appears to be used for car storage associated with a car showroom.

The report pack prepared for the committee recommends that permission is granted for a temporary period. This is because:

portable buildings do not match the pattern of the development in the area, can appear out of place over time

The report pack states that the site has been subject to a number of recent planning applications, including two refused applications for the total redevelopment of the site. These applications were refused on the grounds that the proposed buildings would be too dominant.

In November 2024, planning permission was granted for a change of use of one of the units on the site to a tuition centre. The permission restricts the centre to a maximum of 10 pupils at any time, and includes a condition requiring the submission of a travel plan.