Outline Planning Application

**LATEST UPDATE**

The outline planning application will be presented to the Planning Committee on Monday 10th January 2022 at 4pm. 

The Council have made some additional documents available on their website, which attempt to deal with the highways issues raised by our consultant last year. However, these fall short of being definitive solutions. We urge all supporters to contact the Planning Committee members and voice your concerns about allowing the field to be lost to development. This could be your last chance to make a difference.

The document that the Councillors will be considering is here. However, we have added our own thoughts and comments to this version, so please read those as well.


The Council have submitted its Outline Planning Permission application (OPP). The application reference number is P/2021/0680 and this number should be quoted in all correspondence made to the Planning Department, regardless of whether this is by e-mail or post. The last date for objections to reach the Planning Department is Monday 9th August 2021.

At first glance, the design seems to be an improvement on the one submitted during the Pre-Planning Consultation. However, do not be fooled !

The plan shows an area of open space to the west of the school. The Design and Access statement suggests that this area will be for public use - and therefore the plan provides an increase in "public" open space. This is incorrect.

The Welsh Government (and Fields in Trust) define open space as any area of land that provides an amenity or value, regardless of whether it is open to the public or not. So whilst at first glance, the plan might benefit the community, it exacerbates an area already underserved by a lack of open space. There are no guarantees that once the plan is approved, this area isn't immediately reserved exclusively for use by the school, excluding the public completely. Furthermore, this plan goes against the Councils own Unitary Development Policy and Local Development Plan which has objectives to improve and increase open space. 

There are now FOUR vehicle entry / exit points to the site. Three on Rhosnesni Lane, and one on Westminster Drive. One can only imagine the traffic chaos that will ensue during drop off and pick up times. Expect anyone commuting along Rhosnessni Lane to quickly find alternative routes through other residential side streets. This school, on this field, will affect EVERYONE within a mile or so of Nine Acre Field.

Certain Councillors might push the narrative that a school would be better than housing. This is a untrue. There is a covenant on the site that restricts it's use to educational use only. And, if that were to be removed somehow, existing planning regulations would prevent residential development on the majority of the site. The Councils own document describes this clearly. Arguably, residential traffic to a small portion of the site would be less intrusive and damaging than school traffic.

In an attempt to appease the inevitable traffic objections, the Council have removed the bus bays that were on Chester Road, and increased the area of hard surfaces on the field so that busses can unload and pick up within the school boundaries. In turn, this will increase the amount of surface water run-off, from what we all know is a particularly wet field.

No matter how much spin the Council want to put on this planning application - THIS IS A LOSS OF OPEN GREEN SPACE - which is totally unacceptable, and against every Planning Guideline. Once the field is lost to development - IT IS LOST FOREVER.

Missing from the application pack is the Geo-Technical Report, that found some areas of the field to be less than favourable to the construction of a large building.

The application consists of the following documents:

Application Form
Site Plan
Site Location Plan
Indicative 3D Views
Design, Access and Planning Statement v2.00
Design, Access and Planning Statement v2.01
Transport Statement
Travel Plan
Car Park Management Plan
Arboricultural Impact Assessment
Pre Planning Application Survey Disclaimer  *To view comments made during the Pre-Planning stage - you have to visit the Planning Department in person*

WCBC Highways Dept Response

Design & Access Statement Appendix A - St Marys School analysis

Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment

Ecological Report

What can you do to help?

In the first instance, you can submit your objection to the plan using one of the following methods (in each case, use the reference number P/2021/0680). You must do this BEFORE Monday 9th August 2021. We have compiled a list of reasons you could use as part of your objection. Click HERE to view this document.

1)  Through the Council planning portal HERE: 
Please note that the planning portal does not issue confirmation e-mails. If you can screen print your objection before submitting it, that would be helpful. Feel free to send a copy of the screenshot to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . You may be able to request a confirmation receipt by contacting This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

2)  By e-mailing your objection to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Ensure you add the reference number P/2021/0680 to your submission. If you can cc or bcc This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. on your e-mail, we'll get a copy for our records.

3)  By post - write to Matthew Phillips, Case Officer, Planning Department, Wrexham County Borough Council, 16 Lord Street, Wrexham, LL11 1LG. Include the reference number P/2021/0680 and request a receipt for your submission.

 

Contact the Councillors who are on the Planning Committee.

The following 20 people will decide whether Nine Acre Field is the right place to build a school. Many of them will already be receiving complaints about traffic and parking problems near to schools in the wards they represent.

The pandemic has highlighted how crucial access to open space is. Some wards are better served with open space than others. The further from the town centre you travel, the greater the access to open space becomes. As the town centre becomes more densely populated, the need to have somewhere to walk, play or relax becomes even more essential. Make sure these Councillors know how you feel about this, and what you would want them to do about it going forward.

The Planning Committee is made up of the following Councillors, listed below in no particular order: