DLP Planning Ltd (DLP) have assisted in securing full planning permission and listed building consent on behalf of Sheffield City Council for a new 3-18 through school at Andover Street, Sheffield following a positive recommendation to grant planning permission from officers to planning committee on 21st June 2017. In response to the need for more school places in Sheffield, the new school will accommodate 1,400 pupils from nursery age through to sixth form.
The proposed development includes the alteration and refurbishment of the Grade II Listed Former Pye Bank School to accommodate nursery and primary school children. There were a number of challenges associated with meeting modern education and design quality standards within the former school building while retaining the character of the building as an asset of heritage value. Secondary and sixth form students will be accommodated in a new school building on vacant land to the south of Andover Street, which had previously been cleared of housing. The new through school will provide a sports hall and outdoor multi-use games areas which will be made available for use by the local community via a Community Use Agreement.
A community consultation programme was undertaken to inform the local residents of the proposed development and ensure key issues including parking provision and existing recreation facilities were taken into account as part of the evolution of the development. The design, prepared by Race Cottam Associates, will ensure a functional and flexible teaching space and learning environment that is able to adapt to the changing needs of education. A strong design concept which maximises the views to and from the school, creating a strong built edge to the site which is in a number of views from the city centre, has been achieved. The steeply sloping nature of the site required careful consideration for both building design, areas of play, landscaping and for pedestrians and vehicles.
DLP coordinated the submission of the application and were involved in the prepared the Planning Statement and Statement of Community Involvement.
