Some of you may rcall that I blew the whistle of a new secondary
school, which, before opening, pulled up its 238 place cycle park
located at the front of the building, and replaced it with 24 cycle
lockers and parking for mini busses, relocating a few of the Sheffield
stands to the car park at the read of the building in order to prevent
cars parking on the walkway. The site at the front of the building is
overlooked by the school's reception and main hall. The relocated
stands in the car park are not overlooked by any window.
The school's principle famously posted, in this newsgroup, "The
original site was tucked away at the front of the building."
Here is an update on what's going on...
(Sue Luxton is the only Green Party Councillor on Lewisham Council and
is championing the cause.)
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Dear Councillor Luxton
Further to our letter to you of 11th March 2008, below is an update as
promised.
A meeting was arranged between two of our Planning Officers and Monica
Cross, the Principal of St, Mathew's Academy. At the meeting, it
emerged that the Principal had some reservations about some aspects of
the development, partly because she had not been involved in the
design process. One example was in the provision of the cycle parking
facilities, which staff and students felt were not properly protected
and lacked natural surveillance. The Academy has removed the cycle
hoops and replaced them with a fewer number of cycle lockers, but the
hoops have been retained and some have already been relocated
elsewhere at the site. The minibuses that are parked at the front of
the site could be relocated if necessary, and more cycle lockers are
to be provided in due course.
Planning Officers informed Ms. Cross of the cycle parking that was
approved as part of the original planning approval and also secured by
condition and also through the requirement of a Green Travel Plan. Ms.
Cross was also advised that alterations to the cycle parking would
require a planning application to vary or delete that condition. As
the Principal had not been supplied with them, a copy of the original
planning permission and Section 106 legal agreement were given to her.
Officers told Ms. Cross to establish how the Academy wished to respond
to the requirements of the condition so that a way forward could be
agreed. She was also aware of what was required to discharge
outstanding conditions on the planning permission and to let officers
know if further changes were planned elsewhere on site.
The Principal has accepted that permission should have been sought and
has stressed that the changes that have occurred are not anti-cycle,
but are intended to promote a greater use than currently exists. It
would appear that a satisfactory outcome can be achieved, though
further discussions are likely for this to be delivered. I will let
you know once I have received more information.
Yours sincerely
Malcolm Smith
Executive Director for Regeneration
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