Plans for Herts sustainable primary school get the "green light"

Plans for Hertfordshire’s first ‘net zero carbon’ primary school have been granted planning permission by the county council – to provide ‘much-needed’ places for children in Buntingford.

According to the plans, the two-storey, 300-pupil ‘first’ school and nursery would be built on part of the former Sainsbury’s depot site, off the A10, in Buntingford,

It would provide the additional school places needed for children living in the hundreds of new properties built close by. And it could be open as early as next September (2022).

On Thursday (September 23) planning officer Rob Egan presented the plans for the proposed school – which includes a rooftop outdoor classroom, play areas and its own ‘forest school’ – to a meeting of the county council’s development control committee.

He highlighted the ‘compelling need for this school’. And pointing to the green credentials of the proposals, he said it would be an ‘exemplar of sustainable design within the county’.

Air source heat pumps – councillors were told – would heat the building and the water. Windows would be triple glazed. And there would be solar panels, which would power the EV charging points in the car park.

All the teaching spaces in the school would face north – without south-facing windows that could cause rooms to over-heating – while the ‘social functions’ of the school would face south.

And there would be conservation measures incorporated to limit the amount of water used.

Meanwhile the ‘simple’ building, said Mr Egan, would have coloured panels, brick and timber cladding to add to the aesthetic design.

Speaking in support of the application, local councillor Jeff Jones said around 1500 homes had been built in Buntingford since 2011.

And he said he was ‘really pleased’ that this ‘much-needed facility’ would satisfy the demand for children in Buntingford.

Meanwhile Chris Martin, from the county council’s school planning team, stressed that all the schools in Buntingford were already full.

And – pointing to housing growth – he said additional school places were needed to ensure the council could meet the statutory requirements to provide school places to every child in the area that wants one.

“This school also represents a first for Hertfordshire in being the first net-zero carbon build and in operation school in the county,” he added.

“Not only will this provide much needed additional first school places but also represents a unique milestone for sustainability in the county.”

At the meeting councillors were told that as part of the public consultation the council had received five responses – four objections and one that raised concerns.

As part of that consultation the need for a new school – and whether it would have a detrimental impact on existing schools – was questioned.

But children’s services officials stressed that the proposed level of housing in the town would create a need for a 2FE first school.

With 41 car parking spaces and two disabled bays planned for the school, there was also an objection relating to ‘the lack of parent parking’.

But councillors were told there would also be a ‘park and stride’ facility on adjoining Bury Youth Football Club car park, with more than 30 additional spaces.

Councillors were also told that Sport England had initially submitted a written objection to the proposal based on the provision of football pitches – which was later withdrawn.

Pitches on the site are, councillors were told, used by Bury Football Club, Buntingford Town Football Club and Buntingford Cougars Youth Football Club.

As part of the proposal – in order to make way for an ‘attenuation pond’ at the southern end of the site – the area available for smaller pitches has been reduced.

As a result the current provision of two seven-a-side pitches and one five-a-side would be replaced by two five-a-side and one seven-a-side.

According to the report to the committee, the county council (as applicant) has agreed to provide drainage for the existing pitches to ‘mitigate’ the loss of the warm-up area and the reconfiguration of the pitches.

And the objection from Sport England has been withdrawn, subject to a number of conditions.

Had that objection not been withdrawn the committee’s decision would have needed to be referred to the Secretary of State for further consideration.

Before the committee backed the proposals, Cllr Michael Muir praised the council officers for their inclusion of environmental measures such as solar panels and heat pumps.

Cllr Peter Hebden said overall he thought the proposal ‘fantastic’, but he was one of a number of councillors to raise concerns about safety around the attenuation pond area.

And ultimately the committee added a condition relating to measures around the pond area to protect the safety of users of both the school and the football club.

The school will share part of the site with The Bury Football Club, which will be granted a 30-year lease by the county council.