ITEM EX5 - ANNEX 1EXECUTIVE - 7 APRIL 2004DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTYWIDE SPECIAL SCHOOL PROVISION -INCLUDING WOODEATON MANOR AND IFFLEY MEAD SCHOOLSWoodeaton
Manor School, Planning & Listed Building Issues
General Background Woodeaton Manor School lies on the western edge of the village of Woodeaton within the Oxford Green Belt. The former Manor House (now school) is grade II* listed for its architectural and historic importance. The Manor House and grounds have formed part of an established School since 1948. The School has a recognised accommodation figure of 80 day pupils and 37 residential pupils. The school is designated for children with moderate learning difficulties. In land-use planning terms the School falls within land use Class C2 b. (residential institutions) of the General Permitted Development Order (GDPO) 1995. The educational options under consideration essentially involve either: (1) developing
provision for 40 pupils requiring therapeutic support; There is also an option for the provision of residential accommodation for up to 20 children. The educational options will not change the use of the School (in land use planning terms) and there are no proposals to develop the grounds or alter the buildings. There is no direct requirement therefore for any planning application arising from the proposed educational options. The interior of the Manor House does already show some visible signs of superficial damage (comprising minor graffiti, isolated damage to walls, and chipping to plaster mouldings). The existing damage is the type of wear and tear expected in a school building. Indeed, given the established use of the building for the past 55 years the amount of damage has been remarkably limited and confined.
Listed Building Status The Government, through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is responsible for protecting the historic environment. The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 provides specific protection for buildings and areas of special architectural or historic interest. The Secretary of State has a duty under the Act to compile lists of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. There are three grades of listing:- Grade I buildings are those of exceptional interest Grade II* are particularly important buildings of more than special interest Grade II are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them The former Manor House at Woodeaton Manor School is a grade II* listed building. The Stable Block, Water Tower and the Walled Garden are all separately listed grade II. The extracts from the Register of Listed Buildings are as follows: Manor house, now school. 1775 for John Weyland; porch, east wing and interiors c.1790 by Sir John Soane. Limestone ashlar; stone-slate roofs. Double pile plan, extended. 3 storeys. Symmetrical 5-bay front, with dentil cornice below cills of attic storey, has, in the centre bay, an arched entrance with fanlight between narrow sashes, all behind an Ionic tetra style Coade-stone portico, and has corresponding triplets of sashes at first and second floors; ground floor sashes in second and fourth bays have arched heads. Single-storey kitchen wing to left. Shallow pitched hipped roofs behind plain parapets. 7-bay rear has a basement storey but the top storey becomes a mansard roof; central bay is canted and has 3 full-length sashes and arched recesses at upper-ground floor. Interior: Entrance hall has wired doorways with panelled mahogany doors, and door cases with delicate tablatures; rams-head cornice; white marble fireplaces with Ionic columns and inlaid vases in green veined marble. 3 principal rooms facing rear have similar door and decoration, and have further fine fireplaces – drawing room: white marble with figurative central tablet, baskets of fruit, and musical instruments; bay-ended library: festoons and brown marble inlay; dining room: cornices and plainer fireplaces . Open-well stair has cantilevered oak treads and a wrought-iron balustrade. Portico is noted as signed "Coade London 1791". Soane’s proposed balancing wing was never built. (V.C.H: Oxfordshire, Vol. V, p.310; Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp.853-4). Stable block, now part of school. Late C18. limestone rubble with ashlar dressings; stone-slate roof. Double-depth plan. 2 storeys. 7-bay front has central tall arched carriage entrance and lower entrances with wooden lintels in outer bays, all now infilled. Windows have 6-pane sashes and stone flat arches with projecting keyblocks. Shallow-pitched hipped roof. Rear has similar blocked archway and further sashes. Short hip-roofed rear wing projects from left end. Interior not inspected. Rubble wall links to manor house (q.v.). Included for group value. Water tower, workshops and boundary walls. Probably early C18; tower C19. Limestone rubble with timber lintels; stone-slate roofs. Single range with tower at rear. 2 storeys. Workshop front has two 3-light casements at first floor and 2 at ground floor, that to right sharing a lintel with a doorway; further. Probably enlarged, doorway to left. Right gable wall has stone steps leading to projecting bands below slit openings, and a shallow pyramidal roof with corbelled eaves. Interior not inspected. Attached rubble walls, running between drives, face village green. Workshops may have been a cottage. Walled garden. C18. Limestone rubble. Elongated octagonal plan. West end has plain gate piers with remains of finials, now blocked; on south side walls sweep from the predecessor to the present manor house (q.v.). (V.C.H: Oxfordshire, Vol.V, p.310). The listed status of a building (or structure) does not mean that it is preserved forever in its existing state. It merely ensures that the architectural and historic interest of a building is carefully considered before any alterations are agreed. Consent is required for a listed building's demolition, in whole or in part, and for any works of alteration or extension which would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. There is a presumption in favour of the preservation of listed buildings. National and Local Policy Guidance Woodeaton Manor School is listed for its architectural and historic importance, and the School site lies within the designated Woodeaton Conservation Area. The preservation and enhancement of the historic environment is a material consideration in the planning process. The Government’s planning guidance on historic buildings and conservation areas are contained in Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Note 15: Planning and the Historic Environment (DoE 1994). The guidance sets out the government’s key objectives relating to development and the preservation of the historic environment. PPG15 emphasises the need for local authorities to give ‘full weight’ to the impact of development proposals on the historic environment. PPG15 does not mention or provide any advice regarding the use of historic buildings for educational use or specifically special schools. Nevertheless, the thrust of historic buildings guidance (both from the Government and English Heritage) encourages thoughtful re-use and adaptation of historic assets in order to preserve functionality and sustainability. English Heritage is the body established to oversee policy and guidance relating to the historic environment. It advises the Government and provides best practice guidance on the preservation and management of the historic environment. English Heritage is also a statutory consultee in the planning process. English Heritage has published guidance to assist local authorities manage their historic assets. Entitled, Managing local authority heritage assets – Some guiding principles for decision-makers (English Heritage, 2003) the guidance sets out key principles to promote and encourage appropriate standards in the management of heritage assets. The guidance emphasises that local authorities should make the most of heritage assets, it says… "Many heritage assets, particularly historic buildings that have, or had, a functional purpose, are capable of continuing beneficial use. Local authority buildings represent a major public investment….being generally well constructed; they can be inherently sustainable and often capable of significant adaptation to meet an authority’s changing needs." (p.7) However, the guidance also emphasises the need for local authorities to assess the impact that any significant change may have on their historic assets… "The preparation of documents, often called ‘conservation management statements’ or ‘conservation management plans’, which set out such analysis, is recommended for each heritage asset." (p.21) Woodeaton Manor School also lies within the designated Oxford Green Belt. National and local planning policies apply to Green Belt including the advice contained in the Government’s PPG2: Green Belts, and the County Council’s planning policy contained in the Oxfordshire Structure Plan 2011 (adopted 1998). The guidance and policy contained in these documents is essentially relevant to new development proposals or changes in the use of land and buildings. Members are reminded that the current educational options do not themselves propose any new development or changes in the use of land. The educational options do not conflict therefore with planning policies to protect the Oxford Green Belt. Case Comparison – Wendover House School The County Council is not alone in seeking to utilise an historic asset for special educational needs. Representatives of the County Council’s Land Use Planning (Sustainable Development) Unit and Learning & Culture Directorate have visited a special school in Buckinghamshire. Wendover House School in Buckinghamshire is a residential EBD Special School for secondary-aged boys. The School is based in a grade II listed Manor House (c.1733) which stands in 26 acres of attractive parkland on the edge of the village of Wendover. The grade II listing means that Wendover House is not as architecturally important as Woodeaton Manor House. The School was opened in 1985 and has a capacity for 75 pupils (currently there are 55 on roll) aged between 11-16. The School also incorporates residential accommodation (four dormitories providing weekday accommodation). The main School is based in the original Manor House. However, the School has successfully expanded and has managed to incorporate modern purpose-built blocks which complement the overall site. Of particular interest is the fact that Wendover House School teaches children from across the spectrum of emotional, behavioural and social difficulties. The complex needs of the children are catered for and the School spends a significant amount of time devoted to personal and social development. The School staff considers that the building and its parkland play an integral part in the success of the children attending the School. There is little visible sign of harm or damage to the listed building other than usual wear and tear. Consultation The County Council acknowledges that there is a careful balancing act between meeting the educational needs of vulnerable children and caring for the special historic environment of the Woodeaton Manor House. It is for this reason that the County Council’s Planning (Sustainable Development) Unit invited representatives of English Heritage, the Oxford Preservation Trust, the and South Oxfordshire District Council’s Conservation Office to comment on the current educational options. Two meetings were arranged at Woodeaton Manor School on 19th February and 2nd March. The meetings served to explain the proposed relocation options, and tour the Manor House and gardens to provide an insight as to how the School site is currently used. The consultees also listened to School staff explain how valuable the site is in terms of offering children a unique therapeutic atmosphere and the pleasure that children derive from the building, the gardens and the landscape setting. The comments/representations received from Consultees are included as follows: Annex 1 Appendix 1 Oxfordshire County Council Annex 1 Appendix 2 English Heritage Annex 1 Appendix 3 Oxford Preservation Trust Annex 1 Appendix 4 District Planning Officers
Several of the consultees (see ‘Consultation’ section below) have therefore requested that the County Council commission a conservation management plan, prior to determining the current educational options.
Philip
Scott
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