Members were advised that since publication of the Agenda further correspondence from residents had been received regarding the application and therefore there had been 19 letters in total, 18 of which had been letters of objection.  The application sought permission to remove condition 7 (Traffic Management Scheme) from the original permission granted in 1997.  Since the School closed its gates to vehicles in September 2016 Highways had received an increased amount of complaints and therefore the need for the Traffic Management Scheme remained.  The application was recommended for refusal by officers.

A resident, John Seal, was invited to the Committee to give his statement of objection.

The Applicant, Chris Birtles, was invited to the Committee to give his statement of support.

Councillor Piccolo queried whether there were any other schools in the borough where vehicles entered the site.  Members were informed that there were two other schools with this model; St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School had been the first and the model had been passed on to other schools and was considered favourable.

The Vice-Chair asked whether there were any public car parks nearby for parents to park in to avoid congestion in the immediate vicinity of the school.  There were none within a ten minute walking distance although the Highways Department tried to encourage systems where parents and children walked to schools from nearby car parks where possible.  Councillor Rice explained that the nearest parking facilities were either Sockett’s Heath or Grays Library which were both quite a long way away.

Councillor Ojetola asked whether the Committee could compel the School to leave the gates open to parents.  Members were asked to consider whether it was appropriate to remove the condition from the planning permission, if they wished to make an amendment that would be their prerogative.  All the letters of objection highlighted the fact that congestion in the local area had become worse since the decision to shut the gates had been made and the number of complaints received by the Highways Department had increased since that time.  A copy of the police report regarding the accident which occurred in September 2016 was read to the Committee.  The report stated that the driver had failed to look correctly.  A pedestrian was struck by the vehicle as it turned into the school whilst crossing the road.  The casualty fell to the floor and had been carrying a small child at the time; the child also fell to the floor and hit its head on the tarmac.

Councillor Rice recalled, as a former pupil of the school, that there had always been problems with parking hence the introduction of the Traffic Management Scheme when the School was extended in 1997.  The roads nearby were chaos at peak time.  He supported the Officer’s recommendation.  There were issues across the borough around school gates and this type of system worked to alleviate some of the pressures.  The responsibility to police the parking management and separate children from cars fell to the School.

Councillor Piccolo understood the school’s concern for the safety of pupils.  He felt it would be easier to ensure this safety in an area where the school itself had authority, there would be less risk to children than allowing them to try to manoeuvre through traffic and parked cars outside the school gates and therefore he supported the Officer’s recommendation.

Councillor Ojetola expressed sympathy for the head teacher and understood the concern for health and safety, and sympathy for the parent involved in the accident which had taken place.  He could not understand how this accident was any less likely to happen on the busy road outside of the school gates, something similar had occurred at Tudor Court the year before.  This Traffic Management Scheme was more user friendly for residents nearby and the many schools in the borough without off-street drop off points experienced further issues.  He could not support the application as there was no guarantee it would prevent further accidents.

Councillor Baker expressed that he would listen to the Head teacher as he had the most knowledge of the situation at the school.  He felt the safety of the children was paramount and he would support the application.

The Chair expressed sympathy for both sides and recognised that there was an ongoing issue.  The Committee was concerned about what was happening in the Ward Avenue area and the Chair insisted he would liaise further with the Highways Department to see what more could be done.

It was proposed by Councillor Rice and seconded by Councillor Piccolo that the application be refused as per the Officer recommendation.

For:                  Councillors Tom Kelly (Chair), Kevin Wheeler (Vice-Chair), Colin Churchman, Tunde Ojetola, Terry Piccolo, David Potter and Gerard Rice

Against:           Councillor Chris Baker

Abstain:           (0)

The Head of Planning and Growth advised that there was a need to vote separately on the matter of enforcement.

It was proposed by the Chair and seconded by Councillor Rice that enforcement action be taken to ensure the applicant complied with condition 7 of the 1997 planning permission.

For:                  Councillors Tom Kelly (Chair), Kevin Wheeler (Vice-Chair), Colin Churchman, Tunde Ojetola, Terry Piccolo, David Potter and Gerard Rice

Against:           (0)

Abstain:           Councillor Chris Baker