School Planning Permission Case Study - St Mark’s School Southampton

Challenge

The area onto which the school was to be built, was small, given the requirements for all-through school to fit onsite, creating ecology, lighting and neighbourly challenges, as well as parking and facilities issues.

Meanwhile, the design of the school facilities needed to take into account community access to the school’s playing field outside core school hours, in a more managed way.

How we helped

• Provided expert planning advice to achieve planning consent at planning committee for the demolition of existing primary school and construction of new all-through school.
• Addressed planning constraints throughout, including highways issues, protected trees, site capacity and public use of the playing fields.
• Undertook vital public consultation and in-depth pre-application discussions to address potential challenges.
• Overcame issues raised, including concerns over floodlighting of improved sports facilities and ecological concerns over bat corridor.
• Ensured a phased approach to delivery through planning, to maintain operating primary school onsite.

Results

• Planning process was completed on schedule.
• Secured planning permission for new £39.8m ‘all-through’ school.
• Secured approval of temporary school and discharge of conditional planning applications
• New school will provide 1,200 pupil places, accounting for 60% of the additional secondary school spaces needed in Southampton by 2023.