Plans for a new 3-16 'super school' near Pontypridd are set to go before councillors for a decision as transport and highway safety concerns are raised. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s plans for the new school on the site of Hawthorn High School are due to go before the council’s planning committee on Thursday, July 7.
It involves the demolition of some buildings on site and their replacement, the refurbishment of other buildings and a new staff car park, coach park and pupil drop off area. The new school is part of a wider £60m scheme to revamp education in Pontypridd and if approved the new school would welcome current English medium pupils from Hawthorn High, Hawthorn Primary and Heol y Celyn Primary in 2024.
Two new Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs) would be provided and access would be from from School Lane as it is now but with some reconfiguration, the report said. There would be 35 visitor parking, pick up and drop off spaces, 17 community parking spaces and 84 spaces for staff parking.
But there have been 15 submissions objecting to the proposals with many focusing on highway safety and transport concerns.
Highways concerns
The highways concerns include student safety, particularly at the start and end of the school day with the objectors saying that this has not been fully addressed and that the design does not demonstrate that the proposals are safe. They also say that the issue of buses and other large vehicles reversing was raised as a concern at the pre application consultation (PAC) stage and that the council’s own supplementary planning guidance says that parking facilities should include a facility for vehicles to turn without reversing.
The objectors say that the developers have also failed to demonstrate why they feel the parking area/drop off zone which involves cars reversing is deemed acceptable and safe for the development. They say the safety and safeguarding principles applied to the coach parking area have not been applied here and that as the 21st Century Schools Programme is designed to create safe learning environments for schools and communities then the safety of everyone visiting the site should be paramount.
They say that some residents believe that there is insufficient parking at the site and that a safe traffic management plan is essential to avoid tragic incidents such as that at Maesteg School in 2018. They add that the transport assessment (TA) indicates that a parking stress survey has not been undertaken and as such there is no statistical evidence as to the scale of the issues being experienced.
They point out that School Lane is subject to an Experimental Prohibition of Driving and Speed Limit (IF186) reducing speed and restricting access at certain times of the day to improve road safety and improve active travel so the council should be well aware of the nature of the issues involved. They ask if it is possible to redesign the bus bays to enable them to be used for pick up/drop off when they are free of buses and if there is potential to use community spaces.
They also say the council should consider having extra crossings and traffic light controlled junctions with safe crossing points. The objectors say the improvement of the area around the light controlled crossing where the foot way is narrow should be made a condition of planning permission if approved and the lack of tactile paving on Ynyslyn Road may need to be considered.
They also ask about stopping parents and carers parking on roads near the school will be enforced and why there are no plans included to upgrade the route from Fairfield across the Hawthorn Leisure Centre Fields to Ynyscorrwg saying there is no safe route to school for children walking from Upper Boat. They also ask why there are no plans to upgrade the route under the A470 through the underpass joining Poplar Road and Hawthorn Crescent which in its current form some consider unsafe and they say that the pedestrian/cycle route from Cardiff Road to Upper Boat has been planned but not implemented.
The objectors say that deliveries have coincided in the past and ask how this will be avoided. They say there is no drop off for the primary and that it is impractical to have a cycle lane down Cardiff Road and add that cars are already often parked or dumped around the school causing children to step into the road.
They say that the single point of entrance remains and people are encouraged not to park in nearby streets but that this will get worse if walking routes are not improved adding that the school will only exacerbate problems with cars in Hawthorn. Objectors ask why access has to be via School Lane as previous works at the school used an alternative access and that School Lane is not suitable for large construction vehicles.
They also ask if traffic can be diverted to construct the entrance to the proposed new car park why can’t it be moved permanently and how will this diversion affect residents’ access. Objectors also say drop off zones will increase traffic through School Lane especially with more primary age children in attendance and residents are opposed to traffic lights on School Lane.
They ask what consideration has been given to disabled residents and say the new car park opposite properties in School Lane is regarded as an invasion of privacy and say the location of the entrance should be moved. They say the existing health and safety situation will be exacerbated by reversing on to or three point turns on School Lane.
The council’s response to highways concerns
Officers in their planning report say there are “no capacity issues with regards the increase in traffic on the surrounding highway network in the vicinity of the site which is acceptable. There is some concern as with most schools regarding the high on-street car parking demand at pick-up and drop off times leading to indiscriminate on-street car parking to the detriment of highway and pedestrian safety.”
They say the existing school does not benefit from any pick-up and drop-off facility, however, there would be 35 off-street car parking spaces dedicated for pick-up and drop off use for parents/guardians of the pupils under these plans. Officers say that the Parking Management Strategy indicates that the 35 spaces would be sufficient to accommodate the forecast demand.
They say the strategy indicates potential for additional pick-up/drop-off parking within the bus drop off area and community parking spaces which could be used for junior’s school/nursery pick-up and drop off with both schools having staggered start times subject to approval by the school management. They say the “proposal goes some way to mitigate the impact of the proposal with regards potential for parents and guardians to park off street where there are no such opportunities afforded to the existing school.
“No safe route to school/learner travel assessment has been undertaken in accordance with current guidelines and on this basis a condition has been suggested which should also address the potential requirement for an additional crossing point to the eastern side of School Lane on Cardiff Road. It is noted that the SPG states that car parking should be located away from the main pedestrian access /egress for pupils.
“However, taking into account the pupils attending the new school will be escorted to the building by parents and the slow speeds of vehicles using the access and car parking area on-balance the proposed is acceptable." Officers say the pre application consultation might not have fully addressed the point on vehicle reversing movements but that this is addressed in the conditions.
They add that reversing in car parking areas is commonplace practice and would form “no substantive basis” for opposing the planning application. They say matters relating to how parking will be enforced lies outside the scope of planning considerations and that the provision of pick up/drop off parking will alleviate parking stress in the local area adding that enforcement is a matter for either the school or the highway authority.
They add that the timing of deliveries cannot be a material consideration and that managing deliveries through the construction process is a matter for the developer but that there is a Construction Management Plan and conditions. On suggestions of an alternative access, they say the application has to be determined on its planning merit and not on what some residents might prefer.
Officers say traffic lights would only be provided if deemed a necessity for the management and free flow of traffic and that adjacent roads are already subject to traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) and the developer will be expected to fund any variation to them that are necessary. They say that the experiences of disabled residents are noted and that the new car park on School Lane will alter the character of that part of the site but won’t affect the privacy of residents in a way that could be objected to on planning grounds.
They say that whether or not a cycle lane along Cardiff Road is impractical is not critical to the determination of the planning application.
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