Challenge
Vail Williams LLP were instructed by Wates Construction to provide expert planning advice in relation to the planned delivery of a purpose-built new school, which forms part of the strategic development Land North of Horsham.
Bohunt Horsham, part of the Bohunt Education Trust, is a co-educational school which currently resides in temporary accommodation.
In March 2018, outline planning permission was given for the strategic mixed-use development, as identified in the Local Plan (2015).
Outline planning for the 250-hectare site, controlled by Legal & General, included educational facilities as well as some 2,750 dwellings, a business park, retail, leisure and community facilities, together with public open space and supporting infrastructure.
Wates Construction was appointed as the school development partner to deliver Bohunt Horsham.
Plans for the 8.84 hectare school site include 10,900 sqm comprising educational buildings and a separate sports building, along with multi-use games area and sports pitches.
This included a single storey nursery for up to 50 children, a separate primary and secondary building for 420 primary and 1,200 secondary school children, along with onsite parking.
Working closely with our client and several key stakeholders including Bohunt Education Trust, Horsham District Council, West Sussex County Council Highways Authority, and the Department for Education, we submitted a detailed Reserved Matters Application for the delivery of Bohunt Horsham in August 2019 which received planning permission in November 2019.
I am delighted that we have reached this milestone in the development of a new school site for Horsham. Horsham district is in urgent need of school places and this new school will go a long way to addressing this need.”
Claire Vickers, cabinet member for planning and development, Horsham District Council.
- Given the large and complex nature of the wider strategic site, and subsequent discussions with Horsham District Council’s planning department, our planning team took the decision to submit a Reserved Matters Application rather than a separate full planning application. This was to reduce project risk, whilst ensuring a straightforward planning process linked to the wider strategic site.
- The application had to comply with the outline permission, so it was important for us to work within those constraints to achieve permission for the plans within the tight timescales necessary to deliver the project.
- Whilst most strategic developments of this size deliver housing provision first, which helps to inform plans for associated infrastructure such as schools, in this instance, prioritising the delivery of the school first is a significant benefit for the local community.
- This made the timetabling and forecasting of the development a lot more complex – from school admission criteria and student numbers, to anticipated highways improvements, all of which were successfully navigated by the team.
- There were a significant number of stakeholders to liaise with throughout the process, from our client, The Department of Education, the school Trust, the Local Authority and Parish Councils.
Results
- Working collaboratively with each of the stakeholder involved in the project, we successfully achieved approval for the Reserved Matters Application on time in November 2019, subject to a number of conditions relating to enhanced highways access, services and drainage, as well as some precautionary ecology requirements on potential dormice and newt populations.
- Together with our client and the Local Authority, we will continue to submit project details to the Council at the required trigger points to ensure the school is delivered in line with expectations, for the benefit of current and future pupils.
- As a result of our planning expertise, construction of the school facility commenced on time, with the first students forecast to occupy the new school for the spring term 2022.
- Not only this, we have enabled the delivery of key educational infrastructure onsite prior to the planned housing, for the benefit of Horsham’s local communities.
We are delighted to be able to begin construction of this exciting project and would like to thank the planning team at Vail Williams for their expert knowledge and insight, which, together with their ability to manage multiple stakeholder expectations, has ensured that this project will now become a reality.”
Charlotte Handy, Design Manager, Wates Developments.
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