Council objects to new bid for homes on school site

Loss of open space and a lack of primary school places were among concerns raised by town councillors as they discussed new plans for housing on land at Highfields School, Newark.

Two plans have been put forward by Avant Homes (England) Ltd for the site, off London Road. The town council, a consultee of Newark and Sherwood District Council, which will decide the applications, objected to both.

There are amended proposals for 89 homes and a separate proposal for 95 homes — Avant’s preferred option.

Both drew criticism from town councillors for the loss of green, open space between Newark and Balderton, and the loss of eight trees within the site’s tree preservation order.

The proposed development would be an extended cul-de-sac with a two-storey apartment block.

The amended plan for 89 homes includes five one-bedroom homes, 18 two-bed, 11 three-bed, 23 four-bed and 32 five-bed. The scheme proposes two new sports pitches behind the main school building.

The 95-home proposal is for 12 two-bedroom homes, 16 three-bedroom homes and 67 homes with four or more bedrooms.

The main road leading on to the estate would fork east and follow the boundary of the school.

The 89-home development would include a children’s play area, but the larger proposal has no play facilities.

Town councillors said the development was over-intensive and the boundary would not reduce noise generated by the development for homes nearby.

They also said the biodiversity statement was out-of-date as was the traffic impact assessment, which did not take into account proposed developments at Fernwood and south of Newark.

It was said that the proposed play/games area for the 89-home development would not be available for the community at night because of the noise and light pollution it would generate and therefore it did not compensate for the loss of the open space.

They said the larger plan should include provision for children’s play as that would be essential for a development of its size.

There were also concerns about a lack of primary school places to accommodate additional children.

'Significant funds for an investment in the school'

Mr William Staunton, a governor at Highfields School, said the scheme was a great opportunity.

“By providing an access road, the majority of the existing school grounds will be maintained, as over 90% of the new housing will be on land owned by third parties behind the school,” he said.

“The development will provide significant funds for an investment in the school to benefit our current pupils and future generations.”

In July last year, the town council objected to initial plans by Avant for 89 homes. This plan was withdrawn before being considered by the district council.

Two years ago a first application for 91 homes was rejected by the district council, and an appeal was dismissed by a planning inspector.

A spokesman for Avant Homes said their latest plans sought to address concerns raised by the inspector.

The spokesman said: “In submitting our planning applications for the proposed development of land at Highfields School, we have liaised with the local planning authority and immediate neighbouring residents.

“In agreement with planning officers at the pre-submission stage for the 95-unit scheme, we have updated supporting assessment work, including for transport, ecology and trees.

“For the 89-unit scheme an additional noise report has been undertaken, which demonstrated that the noise impact from the proposed sport pitches will be reduced sufficiently by a 2.4-metre acoustic barrier around the pitches.

“This barrier has accordingly been proposed as part of the scheme and confirmed as acceptable by the council’s environmental health officer.

“The previous concerns regarding the development layout and amenity impact have been addressed.”