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Articles from Norwich
Evening News
Planners' traffic study was wrong
21 March
2005 10:08
Campaigners fighting plans for a private gym on a school playing field have
commissioned their own traffic study to try to prove it will cause congestion.
Residents Against Inappropriate Development (RAID) claim the £10 million scheme
on part of the Hewett School playing fields would increase traffic and turn
roads into rat-runs.
The group has commissioned Norwich-based transport consultants to produce a
detailed traffic assessment that will be submitted to a public inquiry in
October.
Private developer David Lloyd wants to build the leisure sports and fitness
centre on the site.
The Cecil Road school will use money from the playing field sell-off to build a
new £2 million sports hall.
The controversial plans, which would also see a nursery and nursing home built
on the site, were last year called in by the Secretary of State.
If they are rejected at the public inquiry the school will lose its intended
funding.
Keith Farwell, of RAID, said concerns about a traffic assessment had prompted
them to commission their own study of the data.
"We are going to put in a detailed independent traffic assessment to the public
enquiry, because we are not confident the assessment done by the planners is an
accurate picture," he said.
"It was not done by a local firm and it makes several completely unjustified
claims about traffic in the Lakenham area, and is plainly wrong."
Mr Farwell said the scheme would attract traffic at a time when the Norwich
Highways Agency was spending £288,550 on traffic calming in the area surrounding
the school.
He said: "This gym is not for local people. I cannot afford the £150 monthly
fees, and I doubt others around here can either.
"It is going to be the fairly wealthy off from villages like New Buckenham and
Mulbarton who will drive in. The give away is that the plans have 240 parking
spaces."
PE is currently being taught at the Hewett across three existing gyms dating
back to the 1950s.
In 1998 an inspection by school watchdogs Office for Standards in Education
(OFSTED) identified a lack of adequate indoor facilities for the subject.
Head teacher Tom Samain said the school would be forced to search for
alternative funding if the David Lloyd plans were rejected at the public
inquiry.
Decision on
playing field sale on hold
PETER WALSH
September 17,
2004 14:19
COUNCILLORS
have given their backing to controversial plans to concrete over a school
playing field.
People living near the Hewett School had argued a £10 million scheme for a
sports and leisure complex would lead to increased traffic and noise.
The Norwich Society, Sport England and local councillors had objected to the
plans at the Cecil Road school because of the loss of playing fields.
A final decision on the scheme will now rest with GO-East, the region's
government office.
Although councillors on Norwich's planning committee yesterday agreed in
principle to plans they said it was a departure from the Local Plan and so had
to be deferred.
The plans include a crèche and nursing home at the playing fields off Hall Road/
Lakenham Road.
The cash generated by the sell off would enable the Hewett to build its own
sports facility for its students.
The project will include indoor and outdoor tennis courts, indoor and outdoor
swimming pools, badminton courts, a gym and two all weather surfaces for
football basketball or hockey.
Dozens of people, including Green party councillor Adrian Ramsay, packed the
meeting at City Hall to object to the proposals.
"This area has been designated public green space," said Juliet Wimhurst, of
Trafford Road, who runs a group called Gardens for Wildlife.
"What sort of example are we showing to our city and young people if we agree to
get rid of this huge acreage of green space."
She also had concerns about the number of car parking spaces on the site.
"A lot has been suggested about benefits to the community, but they will be
private facilities and probably expensive private facilities," she said.
Keith Farwell, of Cecil Road, said he was also concerned about the amount of
traffic it would bring.
"The increase in traffic will be quite marked given that there will be some 250
car parking spaces and another 20 to 30 parking spaces allocated for staff —
we've got more than 500 journeys potentially."
Tom Samain, head teacher of the Hewett School, said after the meeting: "We want
first rate sporting and recreational facilities for the students of the Hewett
School.
"That is important for them, and not just because we want to do even better at
sport. It's all about their whole lifestyle. Through this scheme that's what
we're going to have — first rate sports and recreational facilities.
"The fact that this vote has gone in our favour takes us a giant step nearer the
objective which we've been campaigning for the past 10 years for.
"The central thing is that the quality of these facilities goes way beyond what
we could expect to obtain through Government funding alone."
Mr Samain said the facilities would not only benefit his students but also
pupils at other schools in Norwich and the wider community as well.
Evening News
Anger at
school playing field revamp
September 15,
2004 12:00
FAMILIES
today made a last-ditch bid to stop school playing fields being redeveloped in
Norwich.
Tomorrow, members of Norwich City Council's planning committee will decide
whether a £10 million sports and leisure complex should be built on land at the
Hewett School.
Planning officials are recommending that they approve the plans are for a sports
centre, crèche and nursing home on the site of the Hall Road/Lakenham Road
playing fields.
The cash generated by the sell-off would allow the Hewett to build its own
sports facility for its students.
But people living around the proposed development site, in a campaign
spearheaded by the local Green city councillors, are fighting the plans.
Leaflets were delivered around the community over the weekend informing people
about the proposed development and some protestors will be attending the
planning meeting to show their concerns.
The principal reasons for objecting are because it will result in loss of some
of the Hewett School playing fields and it will have an impact on already high
levels of traffic in the area.
Keith Farwell, of Cecil Road, said he would be attending Thursday's meeting.
"In terms of sports facilities I don't think the thing's necessary, in terms of
traffic generated I don't think it's thought through enough and in terms of
opening hours for the sports centre, it's far too long," said Mr Farwell, 39.
"There's provision in the plans for 244 parking spaces for visitors to the
centre.
"That's an awful lot of cars and inevitably they're going to be rat running
where we already suffer from rat running.
"The other objection is that the hours this place will be open are proposed to
be from 6.30am until 11pm. There will be more traffic when it's quiet."
He added that south Norwich was already well served by sporting facilities, such
as the Lakenham Sports and Leisure Club and the swimming pool at Riverside.
Juliet Wimhurst of Trafford Road, who also runs a group called Gardens for
Wildlife in the area, said: "The whole thing is disgusting really.
"We as an organisation are trying to encourage people not to make their front
gardens into car parks, not to get rid of the greenery in their gardens, but
here is the local authority planning to put green land under concrete."
She added that planning laws allowed for sports facilities to be built on urban
green space if they were needed, but there was already enough provision in the
area to make the proposed centre worthless.
Green councillor Adrian Ramsay said: "Charles Clarke has recently been talking
about improving the physical health of younger people. Exercise is vital if this
is to be achieved.
"Hewett is a large school and needs a large playing field to help all its pupils
keep fit through physical education lessons and extra-curricular sports.
"It is not right that lack of Government funding for schools is forcing Hewett
to sell part of its playing fields so that it has money to spend on other
projects, such as a new gym.
"The current Local Plan for Norwich does not allow for development on the Hewett
School site. I hope this means the planning committee will reject the
proposals."
As reported in the Evening News on Monday, Sport England has also objected to
the proposals for the crèche and nursing home, saying they would not compensate
for a loss of playing fields.
There have also been concerns raised by the Norwich Society about
over-development, and Lakenham Sports and Leisure Club fears for its future is
threatened if a rival sports centre is set up.
But the Department for Education and Skills has agreed that the site is surplus
to the current and future needs of the school.
If city planners do give the green light to the development, GO-East (The
Government Office for the East of England) will have the option to take the
final decision on the development, as it is a departure from the Local Plan for
Norwich.
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