Agenda item

Chorley Borough: Application Number. LCC/2017/0094
Extension to the car park.
Astley Park School, Harrington Road, Chorley.

Minutes:

A report was presented on an application for an extension to the car park at Astley Park School, Harrington Road, Chorley.

 

The report included the views of Chorley Borough Council, LCC Highways Development Control, Sport England, the Coal Authority and details of four letters of representation received.

 

The Development Management Officer presented a PowerPoint presentation showing an aerial photograph of the site and the nearest residential properties. The Committee was also shown photographs of the existing car park, the proposed car park extension and vehicles parked on surrounding residential roads.

 

A local resident addressed the committee and objected to the proposed extension for the following summarised reasons:

 

·  Vehicles waiting to access and exit the car park on the narrow, single track, access road cause a 'bottle neck' effect which impacts on residents.

·  The loss of playing fields would have an adverse impact on the school children.

·  The car park would have a detrimental impact on the character of the area and would result in overall disruption to residential amenity due to loss of view and impacts from car headlights.

·  There is no need for the extension – there are pay and display car parks available within a 4 minute walk.

 

The Committee was advised that a petition had been signed by eleven households objecting to the proposals; that two local borough councillors had raised objections to the proposed development and that Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP had also been consulted.

 

The School Manager of Astley Park School addressed the committee and spoke in support of the application. She explained that the need for the extra parking spaces was derived from rising pupil numbers and staff at the school. The school caters for children with learning, behavioural, social and emotional difficulties which results in higher parking demands than other schools due to the additional staffing required to support these children. Also due to the specialist nature of the school, pupils come from a wide catchment area and therefore there is particularly high demand for parking, particularly during peak drop off and pick up times. 

 

Due to the demand for further parking spaces and to reduce issues of parking on adjacent public roads and to encourage volunteers, the school had been allowing the temporary parking of vehicles on unallocated areas within the school grounds including on part of the application site.  The application proposes to formalise the use of the area as a properly constructed car parking area. It was hoped that this would help mitigate some of the impacts on residents in terms of on street parking and congestion. The school would ensure that all cars reversed into the new car parking spaces thereby minimising the impact on residents. With regard to loss of playing field, the committee was advised that the school had 6.3 acres of playing fields and that 1.5 acres was proposed to be taken up by the car park extension. There would also be less likelihood of congestion on the access road should the car park extension be granted.

 

Following debate by the Committee, it was Moved and Seconded that

 

"The Development Control Committee visit the site prior to determining the application".

 

On being put to the Vote the Motion was Carried. It was therefore

 

Resolved:  The Development Control Committee visit the site prior to determining the application.

 

 

 

Supporting documents: