Agenda item

This report informs the Cabinet of the outcome of the statutory consultation on the proposal to alter Byron Court Primary School through permanent expansion from September 2015 and recommends that the statutory proposal to expand the school be approved. The representation period on the proposals ended on 19 February 2015, having been extended by one week following representations from consultees.  This report also informs the Cabinet of the responses to the consultation.

(i)         that the responses to the consultation raise a range of issues centered around residents’ concerns about traffic congestion be acknowledged and that officers ensure that these are fully addressed in the planning process;

(ii)        that approval be given to the permanent expansion of Byron Court Primary School, a community school, by two forms of entry from September 2015; (conditional upon the grant of full planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by September 2015 or at such date as agreed by the Strategic Director of Children and Young People and the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Growth).

(iii)       that it be noted that the reason for approving the alteration of Byron Court Primary School is to provide sufficient permanent primary school places in line with the council’s statutory duties and its School Place Planning Strategy 2014;

(iv)       that a public meeting, separate to the statutory consultation, be arranged to give residents further opportunity to raise concerns on the proposals;

(v)        that the implications of the proposals on transportation and parking be further investigated.

The report from the Strategic Director, Children and Young People informed the Cabinet of the outcome of the statutory consultation on the proposal to alter Byron Court Primary School through permanent expansion from September 2015 and recommended that the statutory proposal to expand the school be approved. Councillor Moher (Lead Member, Children and Young People) in introducing the report, reminded the Cabinet that the School Place Planning Strategy had been approved by Cabinet in October 2014 and that the Governing Body of Byron Court Primary School in partnership with the Council had proposed to alter the school by adding two forms of entry (2FE) which, if approved, would make the school a five form of entry primary school (5FE).

Councillor Moher acknowledged the high number of responses to the consultation exercise which had been very thorough however, stated that research showed the need for school places. She referred to the bulge class and the number of classes situated in off site annexes.  The aim was to develop a high quality learning environment in a larger school. Councillor Moher assured that work would take place with Highways and Planning teams to overcome potential traffic congestion and encourage people not to use their cars for school journeys.

The Cabinet noted the claim in the report that Sudbury Court Residents Association had circulated among residents a version of the council’s and Governing body consultation which had included their commentary on the proposals. The Strategic Director advised that original consultation document had been widely circulated to other locations, interested parties and was included on the Brent consultation website. Councillor J Mitchell Murray (ward councillor) addressed the Cabinet and as a former pupil of the school, and drew attention to evidence of the strength of feeling in the community against the expansion proposals which he felt would not be beneficial to the children’s education and development.

The Leader of the Council asked the Strategic Director to comment on the standards of teaching in the school and availability of school places the area. Gail Tolley advised that Ofsted had graded the school to be outstanding in 2012 and in 2014 Byron Court Primary had become the lead school of the Brent Teaching School Alliance which was seen to be evidence of continued school improvement. Regarding outcomes, the pupil progress data compared well with similar schools. On school places, the Director stated that nearby schools were either expanding or were already full and that the growing population continued to put pressure on school places.

As a local resident, Councillor Crane (Lead Member, Environment) as a local resident, reminded the Cabinet that the traffic problems in the area were longstanding and similar elsewhere in the vicinity of schools. He would do all he could as lead member, but it was the responsibility of the school and parents to help reduce traffic congestion. The council had a responsibility to find school places. The Planning Committee would take the decision on development proposals. Councillor Mashari (Lead Member, Employment and Skills) referred to the school places planning strategy which set out the criteria for expansion which applied to all schools. She acknowledged concerns over community cohesion and questioned whether the residents could be more involved so their voices could be heard. Councillor Mashari pointed to estimates of supply still falling short of demand for school places in 2019.

Councillor McLennan (Lead Member, Regeneration and Housing) empathised with the feelings expressed by residents earlier in the meeting, assured that the Planning Committee would take into account the views of the Safer Neighbourhoods Team but put that the council had a responsibility to provide school places. Councillor Denselow (Lead Member, Stronger Communities) also referred to the council’s duty to provide school places for future generations and pointed to other schools in similar circumstances that had been that had been successfully expanded reducing the need for off site annexes.

Councillor Pavey (Deputy Leader) stated the council had to balance the need for places against the community impact. He felt that a larger school would be able to offer a wider range of activities and opportunities. He acknowledged the issue of traffic in the area, the need to find new ways of encouraging the use of trains instead of road travel and raised questions on the plans for new schools on housing development sites. The Strategic Director, Regeneration and Growth responded that the council could only negotiate with developers who were only obliged to provide the maximum number of places required to provide sufficient places for children on the development site.

The Chief Legal Officer was asked by Councillor Hirani (Lead Member, Adults, Health and Well-being) to comment on the council’s requirement to provide school places to which she responded that the council had a statutory obligation to have a robust plan and to be proactive in providing places. He also questioned the financial implications of reducing the forms of entry to 4fe instead of the proposed 5fe. The Strategic Director stated that the driving factors were improved education standards and leadership. The existing proposals would allow the school to remove the need for the temporary class rooms and an off site bulge class. The Strategic Director, Regeneration and Growth confirmed that the costs of an additional 1FE were similar to those of 2FE, however, Bryon Court School was in an area of relatively high demand and did not have the restriction of being a listed building.

The Leader of the Council acknowledged the strength of residents’ concerns, the need for improved dialogue and referred to the call from the local MP for a separate public meeting which he supported. The Leader also recognised that transportation and parking would be deciding factors for the expansion  and proposed that more work be carried out in these areas to establish best practice.

The Chair thanked residents and parents for attending and assured that that all views would be addressed.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that the responses to the consultation that raised a range of issues centred around residents’ concerns about traffic congestion be acknowledged and that officers ensure that these are fully addressed in the planning process;

(ii)        that approval be given to the permanent expansion of Byron Court Primary School, a community school, by two forms of entry from September 2015; (conditional upon the grant of full planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by September 2015 or at such date as agreed by the Strategic Director of Children and Young People and the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Growth);

(iii)       that it be noted that the reason for approving the alteration of Byron Court Primary School was to provide sufficient permanent primary school places in line with the council’s statutory duties and its School Place Planning Strategy 2014;

(iv)       that a public meeting, separate to the statutory consultation, be arranged to give residents further opportunity to raise concerns on the proposals;

(v)        that the implications of the proposals on transportation and parking be further investigated.

(Councillor McLennan declared an interest in this item as ward councillor for the area).