Please see the SASIG response to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) consultation ‘Planning for Schools Development’.
SASIG response – DCLG Planning for Schools Development
( http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/1734022.pdf)
This consultation proposes that permitted development rights be extended to a wider range of building use types providing for them to be converted to schools without the need for planning permission.
SASIG highlights concerns raised by these proposals regarding suitable environments for schools to be set up, with particular reference to schools potentially being set up around airports, in Airport Public Safety Zones (PSZs), and areas with poor local air quality, along with the need to consider the transport implications associated with change of use to a school.
SASIG advocates that the surrounding environment’s impact on school learning, teaching, health and safety be determining factors when looking for new school development sites. This includes the impact that noise and air quality levels will have on education and social interaction.
Finally, SASIG believes that if the need for planning permission is removed then some other form of control must be put in place to ensure impacts such as noise, air quality and surface access are properly dealt with.
——————————————————————————————————–