Agenda and minutes

Venue: Bromley Civic Centre

Contact: Lisa Thornley  020 8461 7566

Items
No. Item

42.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND NOTIFICATION OF SUBSTITUTE MEMBERS

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Douglas Auld and Simon Fawthrop; Councillors Stephen Wells and Ellie Harmer attended as their respective substitutes.

 

An apology for absence was also received from Councillor Kevin Brooks.

43.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Minutes:

Councillor Nicolas Bennett JP declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 3 as he was a member of the London South East College Board.

44.

PLANNING APPLICATION 17/00429/FULL1 - 1 WESTMORELAND ROAD, BROMLEY BR2 0TB (Bromley Town Ward) pdf icon PDF 291 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Description of application – Demolition of existing office (Class B1(a)) building and erection of a part 4/part 10 storey building (inclusive of lower and upper ground floor levels) for education use (Class D1) for up to 1260 pupils aged 11-19 years, associated cycle and car parking, refuse and recycling provision, coach drop off zone and associated soft and hard landscaping.

 

Oral representations in objection to the application were received from Mrs Deborah Williams who spoke on behalf of approximately 70 local residents. 

 

Mrs Williams considered the site as the worst place possible for a secondary school to be located.  She was fully aware of the shortage of secondary school places and did not object to the SHaW Academy itself, just not at this particular site which was one of the busiest, most polluted junctions in the Borough and an extremely unhealthy site for a school.  Concerns were raised for the safety of children crossing Masons Hill and Westmoreland Road ‘en masse’ and the effect of vehicle emissions, together with the additional traffic generated with knock-on effects on Kentish Way and the A21. The planning report stated that the junction was already over capacity and the new school would increase the throughput of vehicles however, it still concluded that the impact of additional vehicles would not be significant enough to sustain a refusal of planning permission.  Mrs Williams disagreed and voiced amazement that planners had recommended refusal of the Bullers Wood Boys application on the grounds of increased traffic, yet had not done the same for this incredibly busy junction. Moreover, the scheme removed future options for road improvements such as more extensive widening of the junction and improved provision for pedestrians and cyclists, possibly funded by TFL’s Liveable Neighbourhoods programme.

 

There were four popular secondary schools nearby so many children would come from outside the immediate area, increasing pressure on public transport, particularly existing bus routes and Bromley South Station, which was already overstretched. The applicants’ travel plan was wildly over-optimistic about the number of children cycling to school. Mrs Williams queried the reported estimate that 6% would cycle when the borough average was 1% and only 0.4% of pupils cycled to Ravensbourne.  Mrs Williams also asked if any Members would allow their child to cycle down Westmoreland Road or Masons Hill during the rush hour.  The junction would be chaotic as children left at the end of the day – even if times were staggered.  Whilst the school proposed a ‘no drop off’ policy and would pay for a traffic warden to enforce it, this was like King Canute telling the tide not to come in.  Speaking as an ex school governor, Mrs Williams acknowledged that parents would drop their children off at school no matter what and one traffic warden would have very little effect.

 

On this small site, there would be little access to open space and fresh air and children would have to be bussed to other schools for games which would waste  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

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