Deeside primary school set for near £100,000 investment if plans for new 33 home development get green light

A Deeside primary school which missed out on over £140,000 from a housing developer because the council failed to invest it in time looks set for another cash injection if plans for 33 new homes are passed with week.

Plans submitted by Edwards Homes for a new development at Broad Oak Holding off Mold Road in Connah’s Quay look set to be given the green light by council planners this week.

The proposed development will see 29 detached and four semi-detached houses built, the plans also include a replacement three-bedroom bungalow for the existing old farmhouse on the site.

If the plans, which have been recommended for approval by Flintshire’s Chief Planning Officer, are passed this week a section 106 agreement will be triggered, this will see Wepre County Primary School receive nearly £100,000 for additional education facilities and improvements.

A ‘section 106’ is a legal agreement drafted between a Local Authority and developer when it’s considered a new development will have significant impact on the local area, in this case the possible increase in pupil numbers.

The primary school had previously been earmarked for £140,000 of funding as part of an agreement with David Wilson Homes in 2011, that followed the successful planning application for 137 new homes on Ffordd Newydd.

Flintshire County Council was accused of “sheer incompetence and mismanagement” over the handling of the money after it was revealed last year it was forced to hand the money back to David Wilson Homes because it hadn’t spent it within the specific timeframe set out in a legal agreement.

The council claimed the “pupil population at the time and the demography of the area did not provide any evidence to support increasing the capacity of the school.”

The section 106 which forms part of the 33 house Broad Oak development will also cover £5,500 to provide ‘teenager recreation facilities’ at Hillside Avenue Play Area.

The site off Mold Road is located close to a known breeding ground for great crested newts, a payment of £40,000 has been offered by the developer to mitigate any impact on the newt population.

The money will secure the long term maintenance of the great crested newt habitat surrounding the site.

An amphibian exclusion fence will be erected around the boundary of the development and maintained throughout the duration of works, a translocation site where the newts could be moved to will also be enhanced.

In a report to go before Flintshire County Council planning committee on Wednesday Chief Planning Officer Andrew Farrow says:

“The site forms the southern part of the housing allocation HSG1 (7) land adjacent Fairoaks Drive, Mold Road, Connah’s Quay within the Flintshire Unitary Development Plan.”

“It is also located within the settlement boundary of Connah’s Quay in the Flintshire Unitary Development Plan, which is a Category ‘A’ settlement with an array of facilities and services, as the site’s allocation for residential development reflects both the strategy of the Flintshire Unitary Development Plan and the principles embodied in Planning Policy Wales.”

“In this context therefore, there is a clear policy framework supporting the principle of residential development on the site.”

“This comprehensive report details in full the areas that required scrutiny, this being the impact on occupiers both existing and new, the character and appearance, the identified ecology and tree implications, highways and drainage, and the requisite developer contributions.”

“It is considered that these matters have been satisfied, and I therefore recommend that planning permission is granted subject to conditions and the completion of a legal agreement as set out within paragraph 2.01 of this report.”