The Warwickshire County Council Regulatory Committee met on Tuesday to discuss planning application WDC/24CC004 for Evergreen School. Councillors voted to refer the application to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for consultation, and, if the Secretary of State does not call in the application, to delegate the power to grant planning permission to officers. This decision was made despite an objection from Sport England regarding the loss of playing fields.

Evergreen School Expansion

Councillors voted to refer planning application WDC/24CC004 for the Evergreen School to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and to delegate the power to grant planning permission to officers if the application is not called in. The application is for the erection of a two-storey building to provide additional Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) teaching space, a new vehicular access and parking provision, playing pitch facilities and associated works at the school, located on Brittain Lane, Warwick.

Georg Urban, Senior Planner, introduced the item, noting that Sport England had objected to the application, and that this objection had not been able to be overcome. He stated that this meant that if the committee was minded to follow the officer recommendation and approve the application, it would need to be referred to the relevant Secretary of State for consultation. The Secretary of State could either call in the application or refer it back to the council for approval. The report asked that if the committee decided to approve the application and the Secretary of State referred it back to the council without call in, then power to issue the permission was delegated to officers, subject to the 13 conditions set out in Appendix B for Planning application WDC24CC004 Planning Conditions and the addendum to the main report.

The key points of the application were:

• The application site is a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities, located between a mix of established and recently-constructed housing developments.
• The existing access road from Brittain Lane to the north would be retained and a new road built to access the site off Fusiliers Way to the south.
• The application was for a two-storey building to include teaching spaces, therapy and staff rooms, a small gymnasium and flexible spaces. The footprint of the building was 25 by 52 metres, and would address the known shortfall in SEND capacity in Warwickshire.
• A landscaping scheme would retain the majority of trees on site, and lead to more trees being planted and the creation of a sensory garden. Two sports pitches were also included.

Mr Urban noted that the majority of consultees made no comment or raised no objections. Sport England had objected due to the loss of land that was capable of being used as sports pitches, which was contrary to their planning policy. He said there were five exceptions to the Sport England policy, but this application did not meet any of them. He also noted that 83 neighbouring properties had been notified of the application and that there was one response, suggesting the budget for the scheme was too high and could be better spent on addressing parking issues or filling potholes.

Mr Urban stated that there were no policies in the Warwick District Local Plan that related specifically to the provision of SEND education places, as SEND was administered by central government. However in overall planning policy there was a presumption in favour of sustainable development¹. The scale and design of the proposed building was deemed acceptable, and on balance it was officers' opinion that need for the development and compliance with other policies in the development plan outweighed the objections raised by Sport England.

Regarding the Sport England objection, Mr Urban said two playing pitches would be created as part of the application and the area that Sport England said could be used as playing fields was currently undeveloped. They were not being used as playing space, and the children attending the school would use the enclosed playing areas closer to the school building as this was more suitable for their needs.

Councillor Adrian Warwick, Leader of the Conservative Group, said the objection from Sport England was the only one to be raised, and stated it appeared to be a technical objection as the proposals did not meet their specific criteria. He said it did not object to the development itself, nor did the comment raised by the neighbouring resident. Mr Urban said this was a fair summary, and added the two sports pitches that had been included as part of the application would be made available for community use under a community use agreement to be secured via a planning condition. Additionally, the land Sport England had highlighted as potentially being used as playing fields was not used by the school.

Councillor Dale Bridgewater, Portfolio Holder for Fire and Rescue and Community Safety, noted the report stated Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service had recommended the use of a sprinkler system, but this would not be included due to the associated costs. Caroline Gutteridge, Legal Manager Commercial & Regulatory, said her understanding was that WFRS had indicated they were satisfied there was sufficient water supply at the site to be able to tackle any fires, so sprinklers were not required. David Cooper, Planning Officer, said issues relating to fire were covered by building regulations, and there was no requirement for sprinklers unless the fire authority had specifically requested them. Mr Urban read out the consultation response from WFRS which did not request a condition relating to sprinklers and was therefore one of no objection.

Responding to a question from Councillor Ben Edwards, Mr Urban said there was no requirement for an active travel plan due to the nature of the needs of the children attending the school. Additionally the catchment area of the school was very large, meaning a majority of children would be arriving by taxi or minibus.

Responding to a question from Councillor Bridgewater, Mr Urban said it was easier to construct the new building in the planned location rather than attempting to add it to the existing building. This would also have led to the loss of an existing play area. The proposals also allowed for a new access road to be provided.

Councillor Nicki Scott, addressing the Committee as the ward member, said there were a number of other sports pitches in the vicinity that could be used by members of the public. Because of the needs of the pupils using the school, they did not use the open green space in the same way as mainstream school pupils. She noted the new access road which would be built, which could help alleviate any traffic issues around the site. She added the majority of pupils attending the school would not be able to access any active travel plans because of their level of additional needs. Councillor Scott said the new building could provide an additional 90 places for SEND children, which could reduce costs for the council as the children's needs could be met more effectively in specialist provision and it may lead to a reduction in transport costs.

Councillor Warwick said he had previously taught SEND pupils in a school and knew how well received additional places would be. He said the objection raised by Sport England was a technical one, and the need for additional SEND school places outweighed that objection. He proposed a motion to follow the officer recommendation as outlined in the report. This was seconded by Councillor Edward Harris.

Responding to a point raised by Councillor Keith Kondakor, Ms Gutteridge advised that a condition requiring a community use agreement was included within the list of conditions in the report. It was acknowledged that community use agreements could take time to complete and it was important that this did not delay use of the new school building. It was suggested that work to agree a community use agreement started straight away so it was in place when the school opened. Given this was a condition requested by Sport England, Ms Gutteridge advised against removing it as this may affect the decision on call in. Councillor Chris Mills, Chair, expressed disappointment that nobody from Sport England had attended the meeting to outline the objections they had raised and to provide clarification.

Members voted in favour of the motion of following the officer recommendation.

The committee resolved unanimously:

That the Regulatory Committee agrees that the application be referred to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for consultation in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2024, and that, subject to the application not being called in by the Secretary of State, the Regulatory Committee authorises the grant of planning permission for the erection of a two-storey building to provide additional SEND teaching space, a new vehicular access and parking provision, playing pitch facilities and associated works at Evergreen School, Brittain Lane, Warwick, subject to the conditions and reasons contained in Appendix B of the report of the Director of Infrastructure, Planning & Environment and subject to the revised conditions contained in the addendum to the main report.

Delegated Decisions

The committee noted the October Delegated Decisions Report. Councillor Keith Kondakor asked for clarification on the length of time it had taken to grant the temporary accesses listed in the report, and stated it would be helpful to know when the applications had been submitted. Mr Urban said there had been a review of how Section 73 applications² were dealt with, particularly regarding any change in the conditions that were attached to them. This review had now concluded and applications could be dealt with in a more timely manner. Mr Cooper said when conditions needed to be considered about access the use of the temporary access could continue until the decision was made.