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ITEM PN5

PLANNING & REGULATION COMMITTEE –
4 APRIL 2005

COUNTY COUNCIL PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Developments proposed:

Location:

Application Nos: 0.21/04 AND 0.22/04 District Council area: Oxford City

(Plan - download as .doc file)

1. These two planning applications are being reported together because they both relate to similar conditions on planning permissions for the same school. However, they do need to be determined separately. The background and most of the issues apply equally to each of them. Submitted jointly by the County Council and the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education they both relate to the future capacity of the school.
2. There are currently a variety of planning conditions in place which control the capacity of the school because of limitations on its means of access. At present the school has a permanent consent for 180 pupils and a temporary consent until 31 July 2006 for a further 150 pupils.
3. It is intended to serve the school from a new spine road to the north which could allow occupation to full capacity.
4. Application A is being made because it is considered that the highway works required by previous consents have been effective and that a consent for the 330 pupils who now attend the school can be made permanent.
5. Application B is being made because the school, which was built for 420 pupils plus a 30 place nursery has a growing demand for places. This is because of parental choice in its catchment and for new residential development in the area. The school needs to grow and a temporary permission for 375 pupils is likely to be sufficient until July 2008.
6. A transport assessment of the highway access to the school and associated issues was carried out prior to this application which recommended that with the addition of some minor highway improvements, further development of the School Travel Plan and more parking enforcement that the use of the school for up to 330 pupils could be made permanent.
7. The highway works proposed in the application comprise:
   
   

1. Double yellow lines on the outside of the blind bend at the junction of Aristotle Lane and Navigation Way.
2. A centre line to be marked on the above bend to guide vehicles and cyclists around.
3. A sign on the bollard controls informing motorists to move forward when the bollard is lowered.
4. A signal face to be added to each of the signal heads on the traffic lights west of the bridge.
5. Increased enforcement of illegal parking in the locality.
6. Trimming back of the tree which partly obscures a cul-de-sac sign in Kingston Road.
7. Additional cycle parking at the school.
   
   

Site and Surroundings

8. SS Philip & James CE Primary School is located between the Oxford canal and the railway line. Its only road access is over the Aristotle Lane canal bridge, next to the junction of Kingston Road, Hayfield Road and Polstead Road, Oxford.
9. The railway line, with its unmanned level crossing and footbridge over, divides the school from Port Meadow a large area of public open space to the West.
10. The canal bridge also provides the only vehicular access to the housing development beside the school of some 60 dwellings and a public recreation ground.
11. North of the school and the housing is an area of land known as the Trap Grounds. This land is currently the subject of an application for designation as a Town/Village Green.

Background and History

12. In 2000, the County Council granted Planning Permission for this new school on the Aristotle Lane site as a replacement for its substandard site at Leckford Road.
13. The new site is served by an inadequate vehicular access over Aristotle Lane canal bridge which is hump backed and one vehicle width with only one narrow footpath.
14. The proposed ‘spine road’ to the north had not been constructed at the time of this application and as a result of the inadequate access, planning permission was granted only for 180 pupils. This was estimated to be the pedestrian capacity of the canal bridge. A Travel Plan and further highway improvements were also required including bollards, to prevent parents getting access to the school by car.
15. By 2003 the school was having problems operating a split site and an application for a temporary consent for a further 150 pupils was made. A traffic impact assessment was carried out which proposed a range of further highway improvements aimed at making the highway network suitable for the increased numbers. A temporary permission was subsequently granted for these extra 150 pupils until July 2006 and the highway works were carried out.
16. Meanwhile provision of the ‘spine road’ had been delayed because of an application to have it registered as part of a Town/Village Green. Such a designation would prohibit any development on the spine road. The application for a Town/Village Green has since been through a Public Inquiry, the High Court and the Court of Appeal. However, there may now be an appeal by the applicant to the House of Lords before a decision is known.
17. The School Travel Plan, which has been directed at reducing reliance on the car has been extremely successful and has reduced pupil delivery by car from 64% in 2002 to 16% in November 2004.
18. The bollards are a key part of the traffic controls over the bridge. They operate at the start and end of the school day and only staff and local residents are able to operate them. Entry for other persons is controlled remotely by Control Plus via CCTV.
19. Since the bollards were installed they have suffered a series of failures. These it is hoped have now been cured.
20. For a more detailed background see Annex 2.

Relevant Planning Policies

21. These are included at Annex 1 to this report. Key policies in relation to the proposal deal with encouraging sustainable means of travel, parking standards, preservation of Conservation Areas and alterations to Listed Buildings.

Consultations/Representations

22. Oxford City Council - letters dated 21 February 2005 stating that their committee is being recommended not to object to either application .

Confirmation of the following North Area Committee decisions received on 10 March 2005:

Support the application for permanent occupancy for 330 pupils (0.21/04) but that this should be on a temporary basis for three years.

Not to support the application for a temporary increase in pupils up to 375 pupils until July 2008. (0.22/04)

Although there have been no reasons given for these decisions I understand that the Committee was concerned about traffic congestion and the need for greater enforcement as well as the parking on the inside of the bend between Aristotle Lane and Navigation Way. They also saw the problems of congestion and parking as not necessarily being caused by the extra school travel but by the existing road users (residents as well as visitors to the garage/shop.) There were also statements that the school/users were doing very well in terms of sustainable access.

English Nature – No objection.

Environment Agency – No objection providing there is no raising of land.

English Heritage – No objection, repeated its previous concerns about the impact of any physical works on the Grade 11 Listed Bridge.

Third Party Representations

23. St Margaret’s Area Society – support a temporary increase to 375 pupils – do not support a permanent increase over 180 pupils.
24. The Trap Grounds may be declared a Town/Village Green and the ‘spine road’ not constructed. As a result all possible means of access will be need re-examining. By giving permanency to the numbers it may be more difficult to consider other options.
25. Could Aristotle Lane be widened to make space for parked cars as well as room for bicycles and other traffic to move easily? Parking enforcement in Polstead and Kingston Roads is inadequate.
26. Residents Association – Aristotle Lane – no objection – suggest other measures to improve safety such as double yellow lines round the inside of the bend at the junction of Aristotle Lane and Navigation Way and also at the northern end of Navigation Way just past the school.
27. Letters and E mails from 12 local residents expressed the following concerns:

1. Increase in pupil numbers whether temporary or permanent should not be permitted until the spine road has been provided. - 8
2. Any increase in pupil numbers would remove one of the key incentives to getting the road built. - 4
3. Concerns over traffic congestion and illegal parking East of Aristotle Lane Bridge, particularly in Polstead Road and in the area of the road junction immediately to the East of the bridge. There are also problems where parents from SS Philip & James, St. Aloysius and Oxford High School park in Polstead Road causing congestion and danger for cyclists. - 9
4. Concern that an increase in pupil numbers will create more congestion and illegal parking. - 5
5. Concern about parents parking near the school in the evening. - 2
6. More traffic enforcement needed. - 5
7. Regular monitoring should be carried out on the impact of school traffic on the local area, the School Travel Plan and the use of the canal bridge. - 2
8. Aristotle Bridge is both unsuitable and dangerous for the numbers using it. The weight of numbers crossing the bridge force people off the path into the road over the bridge. - 2
9. WS Atkins survey has ignored the wider picture of how safe it is for cyclists to get down Polstead Road. - 1
10. The school’s hard and soft play areas are already inadequate. These areas should be enlarged by incorporating the ‘exchange’ land to the North and South of the site. - 3
11. The land exchange should be operated now. - 3
12. The school bus should be retained. - 1
13. The listed bridge could be damaged if the current use continues. - 1
14. The traffic lights to the West of the bridge do not control cycle movements from Burgess Mead towards the bridge. - 1
15. Traffic speeds when approaching the bend at the junction of Navigation Way and Aristotle Lane from the North are far too fast when small children are cycling round the bend in the opposite direction. Can warning signs be provided? - 1
16. Operation of bollards erratic. - 3

Comments of the Head of Sustainable Development

28. Demand for places at the school is growing and it is important for the school to be able to increase its pupil numbers on roll.
29. The school for 420 pupils and a nursery has been completed for some time and significant parts of the school remain unused. This situation should not be perpetuated if at all possible and so long as a suitable means of access can be provided and the congestion problems managed, these developments should be allowed to take place.
30. The application for temporary permission until 2008 has been made in the hope that the ‘spine road’ may have been provided, or at least in a firm programme by then. It also allows monitoring of the access and parking situation so that the results can be taken into account if an application for renewal of this consent needs to be made.
31. One of the main issues raised, has been concern over the present level of unauthorized parking, traffic congestion east of the bridge and in the local roads that serve the area and the level of parking enforcement presently being carried out. There are also concerns about an increase in these problems if the pupil numbers are allowed to increase.
32. The Transport Assessment submitted as part of the application reports that 16% of pupils arrived by car in a survey carried out in November 2004 and supports the survey carried out by the school. This appears to be part of a continual reduction from the original survey data in 2000. The national average is 36% and the results therefore indicate considerable success for the school’s efforts in developing and implementing their Travel Plan.
33. The Travel Plan is regularly revised by the school and I recommend that it should be regularly monitored and updated to ensure its continued success and submitted to the Head of Sustainable Development for approval on a regular basis.
34. As part of this review, the school should:-

1. Investigate ways of limiting peak pedestrian flows in Aristotle Lane with the aim of reducing the potential for pedestrian overspill on the canal bridge (there are concerns that congestion on the bridge is pushing people into the road).
2. Encourage those parents who still deliver and collect children by car to be more socially responsible in choosing the locations to stop, emphasizing particularly the road safety dangers their actions may cause to others.

35. The school bus forms an integral part of the School Travel Plan and although it has relatively low patronage this does give some optimism that the percentage of car borne trips could be reduced further. In view of this and the proposed increase in pupil numbers, I recommend that the school shuttle bus should be retained.
36. Parking enforcement in this area does not appear to be adequate and the County Council are able to require its agent Control Plus to intensify their activities where there is an identified need. There is unauthorized parking causing congestion and a safety hazard and I therefore recommend that the level of parking enforcement be stepped up. The school Travel Plan also encourages parents not to bring children to school by car.
37. Parking along Aristotle Lane is used for the adjacent recreation ground, the allotments the other side of the railway line and by customers of Aladdin Garage. A proposal to limit parking here during particular periods of the day was examined but was not proceeded with because of the need for convenient access for users of the recreation ground and the allotments. I do not recommend removing parking from this road.
38. There is a problem at the Navigation Way/Aristotle Lane junction where cars parking at the bend force cyclists turning the bend to cycle in the middle or on the other side of the road. These cars also park partly on the footpath forcing pedestrians to walk in the road.
39. A single yellow line is proposed on the outside edge of this blind bend. This would remove parking on the outside of the bend and make movements safer for both cyclists and pedestrians.
40. A centre line carriage way marking is proposed on this bend and also on a similar bend to the North of the school. This together with the removal of the parking should enable cyclists and cars to negotiate these bends in safety.
41. There has been a suggestion for a parking lay-by along Aristotle Lane but it is considered that the road safety benefits of this are not clear cut and therefore on balance it is not worth pursuing at this stage.
42. Finally on parking issues, I recommend that the County Council’s Travelwise Team seek the active involvement of other nearby schools, namely Oxford High School and St Aloysius RC School in preparing and maintaining effective Travel Plans.
43. There are concerns that allowing an increase in pupil numbers will take the pressure off the County Council to provide the spine road. This road is still firmly on the Council’s agenda and is now much more likely to be provided following the Appeal Court judgment (see para. 24). A nursery has already been built as part of the school and this is unable to operate because of the travel and parking restrictions. Parents delivering very young children need to be able to leave their cars for some time whilst settling their children in and the spine road would provide a facility for this. The school clearly needs to expand to accommodate the growth in pupil numbers and 375 is well below the capacity of the school as built. There is a clear incentive to provide the spine road to enable the school to be fully used.
44. The City Council require the spine road to be constructed to enable the social housing which has planning consent on their Trap Grounds’ land, to be provided.
45. The Travel Plan has been extremely successful and it is vital that the benefits are maintained. In order to support it I am recommending that in order to promote the use of sustainable transport and minimize increases in private vehicular traffic on residential roads that the Travel Plan should:

1. include provision which ensures that new pupils are able to be drawn from nearby localities which maximises the potential to travel to school by modes other than the private car; and
2. be applied to all new intakes to the school after its approval unless otherwise agreed in writing by the County Council as local planning authority.
   
   

Conclusions

46. The issues raised by this application have been essentially highway ones and with the improvements suggested above I do not consider that there would be a significant increase in road safety risk in the area. The residents’ concerns should be met by the proposed highway improvements, increased parking enforcement and continuing development/implementation of the Travel Plan.
47. The measures proposed to deal with the issues arising from these applications all support and promote Structure Plan policy T1, in that they reduce dependence on private motorised transport and give greater priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. I therefore have no objection to either application and recommend that both should be approved.
48. The Travel Plan has been extremely successful and its effects will be monitored and taken into account should a request be made for a permanent permission at some later date.
49. Meanwhile it is hoped that following the judgement of the Court of Appeal there is a greater likelihood of the spine road being constructed and the school being fully occupied.

RECOMMENDATIONS

50. It is RECOMMENDED that subject in the case of both applications to the consideration of any outstanding comments received by the date of the meeting that:

(a) Application No. O.21/04 be approved subject to conditions to be determined by the Director for Environment & Economy but to include:

1. Detailed compliance.

2. Detailed duration – 5 years.

3. Shuttle bus service to be provided.

4. Shuttle bus service not to be discontinued without prior approval.

5. Travel Plan to be revised.

6. School Travel Plan to include provisions to ensure that new pupils are able to be drawn from nearby localities and that these provisions shall be applied to all new intakes to the school.

7. Revised Travel Plan to be submitted for approval.

8. Cycle detector loop and associated works to be provided to traffic signals in Aristotle Lane.

9. The double yellow lines proposed for the bend in Aristotle Lane to be a single yellow line.

Informative:- that the County Council should increase parking enforcement in Polstead Road, Kingston Road and Aristotle Lane.

(b) Application No. O.22/04 be approved subject to conditions to be determined by the Director for Environment & Economy but to include:

1. Detailed compliance.

2. Temporary duration – to expire on 31 July 2008.

3. Shuttle bus service to be provided.

4. Shuttle bus not to be discontinued without prior approval.

5. Travel Plan to be revised.

6. School Travel Plan to include provisions to ensure that new pupils are able to be drawn from nearby localities and that these provisions shall be applied to all new intakes to the school.

7. Revised Travel Plan to be submitted for approval.

8. Cycle detector loop and associated works to be provided to traffic signals in Aristotle Lane.

9. The double yellow lines proposed for the bend in Aristotle Lane to be a single yellow line.

CHRIS COUSINS
Head of Sustainable Development

Contact Officer: John Griffin Tel: Oxford 815723 Files: O.21/04 & O.22/04

13 March 2005

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