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Committee Date: 16/04/2015 Application Number: 2015/00458/PA

Accepted: 23/01/2015 Application Type: Full Planning

Target Date: 24/04/2015

Ward: South Yardley

6 Francis Road, Yardley, Birmingham, B25 8HP

Change of use from warehouse (Use Class B8) to Boarding School and education and community centre (Sui Generis) Applicant: Mr Sharif Ul Haq

29 Rymond Road, Hodge Hill, Birmingham, B34 6BU Agent: Catalyst Regeneration (UK) Ltd

Branston Court, Branston Street, Birmingham, B18 6BA

Recommendation Approve Subject To Conditions 1. Proposal 1.1. Proposal for the change of use of a vacant warehouse (approx. 1800sqm) to a

boarding school and education and community centre. The Education Centre would accommodate a total of 110 A-level / college students aged 16-19 years consisting of 38 boarding students and 72 day students. This would operate between the 0845-1500hours Monday to Friday. There would also be evening classes between 1700-1900hours Monday to Friday for up to 60 children aged 7-14 years.

1.2. The ground floor would consist of a multi-purpose / school hall, school prayer room, library reading room toilets, WUDU area, kitchen and dining area. To the first floor there would be 5 class rooms and 19 2-bed space bedrooms for the 38 boarding school pupils, as well as toilets and showers, a staff office and staff bedroom. The boarding students would be there Monday-Sunday and there would be between 4 and 6 staff Monday to Friday and between 2 and 4 staff Saturday to Sunday.

1.3. A main entrance and separate school entrance would be provided off Francis Road,

whilst a ladies entrance, 2 school hall accesses and a kitchen access would be provided off the 13 space car park to the south of the building. Access to this car park would be via Francis Road and an open sports and recreation area (263sqm) would be provided within the application site.

1.4. The school prayer room, library and school hall to the ground floor would be used for

community events on a Saturday between 0845-1300hours. It would cater for 100 people mostly educational focused, consisting of adult learning and language classes, open kitchen, IT classes and youth initiative clubs tackling gun crime and providing a place for personal development. The centre would also provide domestic violence counselling and teenage pregnancy sessions. Furthermore, due to the size of the multipurpose hall, indoor sports such as badminton could also take place. The applicant has emphasised that the premises would not be a mosque and the prayer area is for the students and would only be used by the community when events are held and occur at prayer times.

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1.5. There would be minor alterations to the front (Francis Road) elevation to create the

main and school entrances, whilst there would be a number of new openings at the ground and first floor to the side (car park) elevation to serve the school hall and boarding bedrooms.

Link to documents 2. Site & Surroundings 2.1. Application premises are a 2-storey redbrick building located on a traditional terrace

street consisting of residential housing and Redhill Junior and Infant School. There is on-street parking along Francis Road and there is no direct vehicular access to Coventry Road to the north. The wider area consists of traditional terrace housing, a school and industrial units. Hay Mills Neighbourhood Centre is located to the north, to the opposite side of Coventry Road. Site location Street view

3. Planning History 3.1. This site: 25/11/14 - 2014/05742/PA. Change of use from Use Class B8 (stationery

distribution warehouse) to Use Class D1 (community and educational use). Refused on the grounds that information requested under Regulation 4 was not received.

3.2. Nearby (1177 Coventry Road): 18/03/15 – 2014/09318/PA. Change of use from car sales (Sui Generis) to education and community centre with prayer facilities (Use Class D1). Approved.

4. Consultation/PP Responses 4.1. Transportation Development – No objection subject to conditions relating temporary

consent for the weekday evening education centre and Saturday Community Centre uses, hours of use, no major events, ancillary worship, pavement boundary treatment, amended car park layout, cycle storage, School Travel Plan and Travelwise.

4.2. Regulatory Services – Request Noise Impact Assessment.

4.3. West Midlands Police – No objection.

4.4. West Midlands Fire Service – No objection.

4.5. Nearby residential and non-residential properties, residents associations, Councillors and MP consulted with site and press notices posted.

4.6. Representations received from John Hemming MP and Councillor Zaker Choudhry

raising the following concerns:

• Insufficient parking spaces for the number of people who would use the site. • Warehouse was previously used 0700-1800hours 5 days a week and

proposal would use be used 24hours 7 days a week.

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• Increase traffic and traffic-related problems. • Traffic survey was undertaken during the Christmas Period and the results do

not truly show the state of traffic on this road.

4.7. Petition containing 44 signatures received raising the following objections:

• Many community centres within 1 mile of the site. • Road is currently peaceful and quiet residential area. • Parking and traffic surveys are misleading. • Anti-social behaviour.

4.8. Representation received from the Head Teacher of Redhill Primary School raising

concerns relating to the health and safety of children associated with road congestion.

4.9. 11 representations received from local residents raising the following issues:

• Scheme was previously refused. • Congestion associated with residents and school traffic. • Sufficient provision of community centres in the area. • Inaccurate information. • Noise and disturbance – would be open 24hrs. • Inappropriate location for mortuary. • Segregation within the building. • Question what type of education would be offered. • Devalue property. • Recreational needs of boarding pupils. • Ample provision to worship for all faiths in the area. • Would benefit one section of the local community. • No reference to proposal at 1177 Coventry Road. • Already a school on the road. • Would support other uses for better causes.

5. Policy Context 5.1. Birmingham UDP, Draft Birmingham Development Plan, Loss of Industrial Land to

Alternative Uses SPD, Places of Worship and Faith-Related Community and Education Uses SPD, Car Parking Guidelines SPD and the NPPF.

6. Planning Considerations 6.1. Loss of industrial land

6.2. The Loss of Industrial Land SPD highlights a general presumption against the loss

of industrial land to ensure there is an appropriate portfolio of industrial land available. Key consideration involving the loss of industrial land include, amongst others, whether the site is non-conforming and has been actively marketed.

6.3. The application site is located within a predominantly residential area, though there

is a school to the immediate north and light industrial / warehouse to the immediate east. The premises have been vacant since January 2013, and whilst representation received identifies that it was only used between 0700-1800hours 5

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days a week, there are no restrictions on this established industrial unit. Therefore, a new operator could occupy the premises with no planning conditions restricting hours of use / deliveries etc. Supporting information confirms that the property has been on the open market for a period in excess of 2 years with no viewings from an industrial/warehouse operator. Issues associated with the premises for continual industrial use relate to it not being suitable for articulated vehicles, restricted access, extent of office accommodation and limited working heights. It is argued that the property no longer meets modern industrial requirements.

6.4. Whilst the large Tyseley industrial area is a short distance to the south, it is

considered that the unrestricted industrial use of the premises represents a sufficient non-conforming use within the context of the neighbouring uses to comply with the relevant UDP and SPD policies relating to loss of industrial land. In addition the premises have been marketed for over 2 years with no interest from an industrial/warehouse operator. Therefore no objection is raised in principle to the loss of this industrial land to an alternative use.

6.5. Education and Community Uses:

6.6. In terms of community and educational uses, the Places of Worship SPD applies to

faith-related community and educational uses where the proposals are linked to the use/function of an existing or proposed place of worship. Whilst the applicant has been explicit that the proposal is not for a mosque, in light of the presence of the prayer room associated with the education and community uses it is considered appropriate to still consider the SPD.

6.7. The SPD highlights the importance of finding the right location for any uses which

attract a large number of users. To reduce the need for travel and to achieve more sustainable patterns of development, so reducing reliance on the car, established centres are often the most suitable location. The SPD adds that the preferable location for places of worship serving a purely local need should be within a parade of commercial premises, easily accessible to the community. If suitable sites cannot be found then a site within easy walking distance of a parade of commercial premises, and/or on the fringe of residential areas should be identified, as long as this is in keeping with the local character of the area. The application site is outside the nearest local centre (Hay Mill Neighbourhood Centre to the north on the opposite side of Coventry Road) and would be located adjacent to an existing school in an area of transition between the commercial uses to the north and east and the residential properties to the south and west. The site is accessible from surrounding residential areas as well as the Hay Mill Neighbourhood Centre and Coventry Road. In light of this context, no objection is raised in principle to the proposed education and community uses in this location.

6.8. Neighbour amenity:

6.9. The application site’s surroundings includes a number of uses that create noise and disturbance, most noticeable the adjoining Redhill Junior and Infant School as well as the heavily trafficked Coventry Road some 80m to the north. Furthermore, the application premises are an established and unrestricted industrial use, which has the potential to generate noise and disturbance to neighbouring occupiers. Within this context and the nature of the proposed use, Regulatory Services’ request for a noise impact assessment IS considered unreasonable.

6.10. Within the context described above, the proposed education and community uses

taking place during reasonable daytime/evening hours and the level of people

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attending (maximum 110 pupils and 6 staff during school hours) it is considered that the proposal would not represent harm to neighbour amenity that could sustain a reason for refusal. It is noted that there would inevitably be noise and disturbance associated with key drop-off and pick-up times but this is for relatively short periods of time. The presence of 38 boarding pupils living at the premises, within the context of its established industrial use, would not have an adverse impact on neighbour amenity. However it is considered that the evening education use and community use could have more of an impact and to coincide with Transportation Development’s comments (see below) it is recommended that the weekday evening education use and Saturday community use are given a temporary 1 year consent.

6.11. Highway safety:

6.12. A Transport Statement has been submitted in support of the application which

includes parking surveys as well as an analysis of the existing provision of the local highway network and availability of sustainable transport options as well as expected trip catchment, trip generation and parking provision associated with the proposal. The statement recognises that the site has the potential to generate a significant number of trips, particularly during weekday peaks. The indicated trip generation shows a worst-case scenario. It identifies that the majority of the intended site users are within reasonable walking distance, a significant population is within reasonable distance and the on-site parking is sufficient to cater for the demand of the site staff and people with disabilities. Furthermore, the statement’s survey shows that there is capacity within the local highway network to accommodate a significant amount of short-stay parking, associated with the dropping-off and picking-up of school children. The submission also includes a Travel Plan which includes measures to reduce the number of trips made by private car.

6.13. Transportation Development have assessed the submitted Transport Statement and also undertaken site observations. They conclude that there was a sufficient amount of unoccupied on-street parking capacity on Francis Road during the day-time with occurrences of parking for school pick-ups limited to the northern (Coventry Road) end of Francis Road. Therefore it is considered that traffic generated by the day-time school use could be accommodated on Francis Road without being problematic, due to residential parking demand being lower. However, evening observations showed a distinct increase in on-street parking demand on Francis Road. Some on-street parking was available in the vicinity of the application site, with the majority of available parking spaces at the southern (Speedwell Road) end of Francis Road. As such it is considered that the level of vehicular movements for the evening education use could be seen as problematic in terms of conflict with residential parking demand. Furthermore, vehicular movements associated with the Saturday community use are also likely to compete with existing residential parking demand. In light of this, Transportation Development recommends that the weekday evening education use and Saturday community use are given a 1 year temporary consent to ascertain their impact. I concur with this approach.

6.14. Other matters:

6.15. The external alterations to the Francis Road frontage are minimal and utilise existing openings and are acceptable. The proposed openings to the car park (south) elevation are more significant and would be visible from the public realm across the car park. Despite the number of changes, the new openings are of a uniformed appearance and would not have an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the building and the wider locality.

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6.16. A number of matters have been raised which are not material planning

considerations such as the segregation within the building and devaluation of property.

6.17. It is noted that the previous scheme (2014/05742/PA) included a mortuary.

However, the current scheme has omitted this element. 7. Conclusion 7.1. The provision of a religious day-time education accommodation in a sustainable

mixed residential, community and commercial area, which would have no adverse impact on visual and neighbour amenity or highway safety, is in accordance with relevant policy and guidance and planning permission should be granted. However, it is recognised that the weekday evening education centre and Saturday community could have a greater impact on highway safety and neighbour amenity and to enable a full assessment of their impact, a temporary 1 year consent should be given for these elements only.

8. Recommendation 8.1. Approve subject to conditions. 1 Limits the hours of operation of the education centre to 0845-1900hours Monday to

Friday.

2 Limits the hours of operation of the community centre to 0845-1300 hours Saturday

3 Requires the prior submission of extraction and odour control details

4 Limits the noise levels for Plant and Machinery

5 Prevents the use of amplification equipment

6 Requires that the materials used match the main building

7 Limits the number of children able to board at the premises at 38

8 Prevents weddings and other major events to take place on site

9 Restricts the use of the premises for worship purposes to ancillary to the approved use, by those already on the premises and no public attendance for worship use shall take place.

10 Requires the prior submission of details of pavement boundary

11 Requires the prior approval of an amended car park layout

12 Requires the prior submission of cycle storage details

13 Requires the prior submission of a school travel plan

14 Requires the applicants to join Travelwise

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15 Requires the weekday evening education centre and Saturday community centre uses

to discontinue on or before 16th April 2016.

16 Requires the scheme to be in accordance with the listed approved plans

17 Requires the prior submission of a commercial travel plan

18 Limits the approval to 3 years (Full) Case Officer: Peter Barton

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Photo(s)

Figure 1 – Francis Road frontage

Figure 2 – Car Park

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Location Plan

This map is reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Birmingham City Council. Licence No.100021326, 2010

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