Agenda item

A petition signed by 192 residents is to be presented by Cllr Simon Sansom, a member of Charnwood Borough Council, in the following terms:

“We the undersigned call upon Leicestershire County Council to build a primary school in the Birstall area of Hallam Fields.  Currently children have to walk to Riverside Primary School crossing a busy dual carriageway twice a day placing children at risk.”

A petition submitted and signed by 192 local residents was presented to the Committee by Mr Simon Sansome, a District Councillor for Charnwood Borough Council.  The petition requested that the County Council build a primary school in the Birstall area of Hallam Fields, as currently children had to walk to Riverside Primary School crossing a busy dual carriageway twice a day, placing children at risk.

With the consent of the Chairman, Cllr. Sansome addressed the Committee and advised of the concerns raised by local families who had signed the petition.  In particular, residents were concerned that Riverside Primary School was becoming overpopulated due to the development at Hallam Fields where in the region of 550 homes had now been completed.   Cllr Sansome highlighted that the County Council had entered into a S106 planning agreement for a new school to be constructed at Hallam Fields as part of the development and suggested that this was now needed to support future primary school places in the area.

Cllr. Sansome raised a query regarding the number of residents that had signed the petition, as he had calculated this to be in excess of 250, and not 192 as stated on the agenda.  The Chief Executive undertook to confirm the number of signatories listed on the petition received from Cllr Sansome after the meeting.

 
The Chairman thanked Cllr Sansome for the work he had done in speaking to local residents and bringing their concerns to the attention of both the Department and the Committee. 

With the consent of the Chairman, Mr I. Bentley CC, the local member for Birstall, addressed the Committee and confirmed that work had been undertaken to address the concerns raised locally and to plan for future school places in the area.  He confirmed that a report would be considered by the Cabinet at its next meeting which related to this issue.

Arising from the discussion, the following points arose:

(i)            Concerns had been raised by local residents that as part of the Hallam Fields development, a new community centre had been constructed in line with the S106 agreement, but that priority should have been given to the construction of the new school, which could also have served any community needs.  Members agreed there was a general need to ensure any request made by the County Council for S106 developer contributions and the terms agreed for payment were robust.  It was suggested that the terms of future agreements may need to be tightened to ensure appropriate emphasis was given to priority infrastructure requirements; 

(ii)          Members supported the Lead Member on the need for all District Council’s to support requests made by the County Council to ensure any infrastructure required to facilitate a development was provided.  Developers were increasingly challenging such agreements on the grounds of viability and this was beginning to have a significant impact on the County Council and on local residents;

In response to questions raised, the Director and Lead Member confirmed the following:

(iii)         The need for school places had fluctuated since the commencement of the development at Hallam Fields.  Under the previous government, the availability of surplus places had to be taken into account when considering developer contributions.  This had now changed;

(iv)         Recent projections had identified that there would be a need for further primary school places in the Birstall area from 2015 and work had been undertaken to identify a way forward;

(v)          The Cabinet would be considering a report in private session at its meeting on 17 June regarding the revision of the developer contribution agreement for Birstall to meet the requirement for school places for 2015;

(vi)         The Cabinet on 17 June would also be considering the draft new Strategy for the provision of school and other learning places and a revised planning obligations policy, both of which would go out for public consultation shortly.  The Chairman encouraged members, parents and local residents to respond to these consultations.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the contents of the petition be noted and Cllr Sansome and parents in Bristall be thanked for bringing its concerns to the Committee’s attention;

(b)  That it be noted that the Cabinet on 17 June would be considering a report in private session which would consider the revision of a Developer Contribution Agreement in Birstall;

(c)  That it be noted that the County Council would shortly be consulting on the County Council’s draft Strategy for the provision of school and other learning places and the revision of the County Council’s Planning Obligations Policy, both of which would be considered by the Cabinet on 17 June, and that members, parents and local residents in Birstall be encouraged to respond to that consultation;

(d)  That the information provided regarding the walking routes to Riverside Primary School contained in the Briefing Papers attached to the agenda be noted.