CHIGWELL: Headteacher defends school flats plans (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Headteacher defends school flats plans in High Road green belt, Chigwell.

12:24pm Tuesday 21st February 2012 in Epping Forest News By Tom Porter

A HEADTEACHER has offered a strong defence of a school’s plans to build a block of flats on green belt land as council officers recommended their application for refusal.

In January West Hatch High School in the High Road, Chigwell, applied to demolish an old sports pavilion and caretaker’s house on their grounds and build a block of seven flats and a new sports hall to replace their existing dilapidated facilities.

Residents protested against the plans, claiming that the flats would scar the green belt land that marks the boundary of the metropolitan London and mar the character of the leafy High road.

Planning officers have echoed residents concerns, recommending the application for refusal ahead of the planning meeting on Wednesday where councillors will deliver their verdict, and claiming they ‘would result in a very large and conspicuous development’ which would be ‘inappropriate’ in the green belt.

West Hatch’s headteacher Frances Howarth has defended the school’s plans and urged councillors to approve the application, claiming that they would be left unable to fund the new sports facilities if the application was rejected.

Mrs Howarth said: “The school has been built on green belt land and a case has been made for special circumstances in this development.

“The school desperately needs a new sports hall. We are the only school in the area without their own sports hall. We do not have any other choice but to build the flats as an enabling project to fund the construction of thefacilities. It is unclear how we could find the funds otherwise.

“If it is rejected we would have to look at our options then.”

She stressed that the sports hall would be opened up to the wider community.

“This development would contribute to the character of the local area. We would be looking to retain all of the trees that are already there.

“We do not feel nervous about people coming in to our school and would want people to come and use the new facilities.”

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