Planning Consent Granted |
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Planning Permission has been granted for the proposed Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) adjacent to the School and the Village Hall. We thought that obtaining planning consent would be a huge hurdle, but with the help of the Lancashire County Property Group who produced detailed plans and surveys, permission has been obtained at the first attempt. There are, as we expected, minor restrictions on the hours of use of the games area, and we will not be allowed to use lighting without specific permission from the Planning Authority. We are also required to plant a screen of trees and shrubs round part of the site. These conditions are imposed to moderate the visual impact on the landscape, and to reduce any inconvenience to our neighbours. The latest plans will shortly be on view at the Village Hall and at the School. They are essentially the same as the draft plan, with additional detailed information and some minor changes to layout such as car parking and access. There will be an Open Meeting in the Village Hall on Sunday 4th. November at 2pm to present details of the MUGA project and to allow everyone interested to exchange ideas and views. |
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Fundraising |
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We have been very fortunate so far: our planning application did not hit any expensive snags, and we have enough money in the bank to pay for the work done so far. Now we need to raise the money for the building work. The current estimate is something like £280,000 and we are going to need some outside help! People are very generous, donations and our events so far have raised enough money to get the project rolling, but there is a huge difference between the costs of the initial work that is mainly on paper, and the costs of the real work of moving earth about, landscaping, and laying a complex all-weather safe playing surface. The current estimate is around £280,000 for the complete project. There are various sources of grants and funding. We are learning our way through the maze of organisations who may be persuaded that we are a good cause, and learning how to complete application forms and jump through all the hoops that are held up for us. Any good ideas about possible sources of money will be very welcome. |
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Initial Survey |
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We have received a huge amount of enthusiastic help from Martin Whittle and his colleagues at the Frank Whittle Partnership. Martin has conducted the necessary site surveys, produced a detailed draft plan for the site, and provided much needed help and support for the initial stages of the project. He has also briefed us on the required planning application process, and the various hoops and hurdles that will need to be negotiated. Although we are paying for this work, it has been largely subsidised by The Frank Whittle Partnership and we are not paying anything like the commercial rate. We would like to thank Martin and his colleagues for their very generous support and contribution to the project, and for providing the initial professional assistance needeed to get things moving. |
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The Draft Plan |
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The draft plan provides for:
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An all weather sports area immediately south of the bowling green providing facilities for:
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| A grass play area and an all weather soft play area south of the village hall . | ||
| Additional car parking for visitors. | ||
| A large grass area for occasional school and community use: sports days etc. | ||
| Changing facilities within the existing Village Hall. | ||
| Click here for a .pdf version of the draft plan. | ||
Planning Application |
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We appointed the Lancashire County Council Architects Department to progress the project. The project leader is Mike Hill, a landscape architect working for the LCC Architects Department. The work required breaks into two phases: completing the outline plan and surveys and obtaining planning permission, and then providing supervision of the actual work that would be carried out by a specialist contractor. Planning permission is a considerable hurdle. Although the project is designed to be a benefit to the school and to the community, it still has to gain planning permission, and this is made difficult by the restrictions on development in our rural area. The planners will be concerned, quite rightly, with matters such as the visual impact of the development on the landscape, any increased noise nuisance for neighbours, impact of increased road traffic, etc. We need to submit surveys showing the effects that the development will have, and plans for landscaping, car parking, changing facilities etc. This is a complicated business, and we are very happy to have received initial advice from Martin Whittle, and now to be guided by the County Architects. |
