Planning Statement

Planning Statement The Site

The application site forms the curtilage of the Buchan Primary School in Castletown. The school and its grounds are accessed from the northern side of Arbory Road and backs the residential estate Westhill. The school comprises a mix of buildings varying in size, age and appearance.

The specific building for which this application relates is a small 8.5m x 6m classroom located in the north west corner of the site. The existing building provides a small classroom area for a children's nursery.

History

Planning application PA 11/01057/B for erection of a temporary classroom block was approved in September 2011, the application stated that the classroom was to be a temporary building for a period of 5 years to meet the demand of the nursery. The proposed classroom wasn't readily visible to the public and by reason of its size, design, proportion and form would have no impact on the neighbours and would be in keeping with the majority of the existing buildings within the school and therefore unobjectionable.

A second application 18/00609/B was submitted for a further extension of 4 years which was approved taking the permitted date to 30.09.22. This was due to continued use of the building by the Buchan Nursery for teaching.

Future of the site

The reason a scheme had not been brought forward for a more permanent structure presently is due to ongoing future planning to relocate the whole school to a new development within the grounds of King William College. A meeting was held on 11th May 2022 between KWC and IOM government representatives listed below:

Richard Collister Property Director Julie Edge Councillor Graham Kinrade Director of Enterprise

To discuss the site of the Buchan no longer being required for educational purpose and being developed for residential use in line with Area Plan for the South. The planning is presently under review with the government as part of their primary/secondary school review for the South of the island. IOM government intend to carry out a Strategy and feed back their findings to KWC in October 2022. Following feedback KWC hope following governor approval they will be able to progress the move in the next 5 years.

The cost to build a new permanent classroom block to replace the temporary structure would not be viable in the long run, pending the IOM government review for the South and the pending approval of relocation of the Buchan School. Hence the need to apply for a further 4 years extension for the temporary classroom to remain in place supporting the educational requirements for the Buchan Nursery.