SEND School sports facilities get nod amid noise concerns
PLANS for athletics tracks, fiveaside football pitch and BMX pump track at a special needs school in Cheltenham have been approved amid concerns over noise and disturbance.
Belmont School has been granted permission to install a 200m oval running track with a 60m and run-off.
The school’s plans include two smaller 100m ovals, a campus-wide two metre wide cycle track, long jump pit and informal play areas as well as a five-a-side football pitch, BMX pump track and bleacher seating. The site will be open for use between 8.30am to 7.30pm, Monday to Friday, with use from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays to just be restricted to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) users.
The running tracks, multiple use games area, cycle track and BMX pump tracks shall not be used at any time on Sundays and Bank Holidays apart from when Belmont School annual sports days and annual fetes are held.
Some 23 people objected to the proposals while 19 people wrote in favour of the scheme. Julia Webberley spoke on behalf of residents living near Belmont School at Cheltenham Borough Council’s planning committee on April 18. She said they appreciate the role the school plays in supporting special educational needs children in the area.
“Residents would have no issue if the development was to be solely used by SEND children during normal school hours, or even in limited numbers and in sensitive times outside school hours,” she said.
“This development is to be made available for private hire much more widely. It’s something much bigger that will inevitably be used to generate income for the school. It’s these outside school uses that are causing such consternation among residents and in some cases significant stress.”
She said Cheltenham and County Harriers Athletics Club will be using the facilities and at a recent meeting the headteacher refused to rule out applying for floodlights in future. Residents have also complained over issues such as alarms sounding at all hours and overly bright security lights left on all night.
Kevin Day, the headteacher, said there is an urgent need for better facilities for the children at Belmont. He said the school is an essential lifeline for the SEND community which is open all year around for that community.
Mr Day told the committee he had a vision three years ago to upgrade a slippery and uneven sports field.
“It’s a field that desperately needs to be converted to allow access for all of my children, not just some of them.
“This is needed to promote the physical and mental health of the most vulnerable children in our society.”
He said his community could not go to Leisure at Cheltenham or GL1 in Gloucester because the big noisy facilities don’t meet their needs.
Councillor Tim Harman (C, Park) said the residents’ concerns are about the out-of-hours commercial usage of the site.
“There are issues around noise and lighting particularly,” he said. “There are too many unanswered questions.”
And Councillor Graham Beale (LD, Warden Hill) said the plans received strong objections from nearby residents. Councillors convened a meeting between the school and residents.
“The school’s leadership team produced a presentation to respond to the majority of their questions,” he said.
“Some of those concerns were allayed however there remains strong statements from residents focussed on noise and disturbance.”
The committee voted to approve the proposals unanimously.