Planning Applications PDF 1 MB - Meetings, agendas and minutes

which would be illuminated from within at night and would create a subtle symbol of the
identity of the school in the streetscene. The corner element of the building would be
constructed in Staffordshire Blue brick, which is grey in colour but has a blue tinge. An
active frontage at ground floor level would be provided to India Way including the main
entrance and reception to the school and to Commonwealth Avenue. The whole
building would be set back from the street behind a low boundary treatment to create
defensible space, but part of the ground floor around the entrance on India Way would
be further recessed to allow space for waiting parents to gather off the pavement.
3.22 At first floor level on either side of the entrance on India Way and at first floor level
on part of the Commonwealth Avenue elevation the brickwork would be relieved by a
glazed terracotta tiling system to provide articulation, colour and visual interest, which is
considered particularly important where the void above the new school hall on
Commonwealth Avenue limits the potential for windows. Six ceramic long rectangular
shaped tiles each of a different colour would be arranged vertically in each panel and
they would be evenly spaced against a two tone horizontal striped background which
would be consistent across the elevation. The first floor elevation would be subdivided
into five equal height panels within each bay and the arrangement of the colour of the
tiles would mirror vertically from one panel down to the next. The colour pattern would
repeat across the each bay to ensure that no two adjacent tiles (either vertically or
horizontally) are the same colour and that only two colour arrangements are ever
required. Details of material samples and the range of colours and the colour pattern
for the ceramic tiles would be subject to a condition (condition 7). The southern and
eastern elevations of the proposed building would be in brick.
3.23 The proposal was reviewed by the Council's Design Review Panel in December
2012. The DRP strongly supported the use of colour and the creation of a distinctive
corner feature to create a focus in the streetscene and give the building character. The
proposals were revised prior to submission of the application in order to reflect the
suggestions of the DRP including a simplification of the material palette to remove areas
of render and amendments to the design of the brick and glass corner feature.
3.24 The proposed landscaping plan would enhance the play areas across the site and
provide new soft landscaping, which currently contains few trees and little soft
landscaping.
3.25 The proposals would meet the needs of the school, allowing it to expand and
improve its facilities, while improving the appearance of the streetscene and adding
visual interest to the townscape. The proposal makes good use of the available land
and will enhance the quality of the built environment in the local area.
IMPACT ON NEIGHBOURS
3.26 The proposed new school building would consist of a detached, primarily two
storey building fronting located on the junction of India Way and Commonwealth
Avenue. The new building would be similar in scale to the existing Fatima Centre on the
corner and along the site's northern boundary with Commonwealth Road, with only
some minor infilling versus the current situation and a slight increase in height. The
proposed building would be similar in scale along its western India Way frontage, the
significant difference being that it would extend significantly further south than the
existing Fatima Centre whilst maintaining a similar building line in relation to its
projection towards India Way. Along the India Way frontage there would be an overhang