When considering planning applications, the decisions made by local councils must be made in line with detailed planning guidance which the councils themselves have published as part of their Unitary Development Plan, together with any supplementary documents (see below). These sets of 'rules' must themselves be consistent with the Government's own general planning guidance. In the case of transport matters, the latter is enshrined in "Planning Policy Guidance 13 - Transport" published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Two paragraphs in the above PPG13 document which are particularly relevant for planning applications submitted on behalf of existing schools, are the following:
49. Reducing the amount of parking in new development (and in the expansion and change of use in existing development) is essential, as part of a package of planning and transport measures, to promote sustainable travel choices.
89. The Government considers that travel plans should be submitted alongside planning applications which are likely to have significant transport implications, including those for: . . . new and expanded school facilities which should be accompanied by a school travel plan which promotes safe cycle and walking routes, restricts parking and car access at and around schools, and includes on-site changing and cycle storage facilities;
Car Park Location and Layout
Most schools are situated within residential areas and are surrounded by houses and gardens, and so the positioning of parking facilities needs careful consideration because of the potential for disturbance, visual intrusion, and exhaust pollution.
Parking should, of course, never be allowed close to the rear of houses and back gardens. To quote Solihull Council's planning guidance again: " - There will be a presumption against the provision of substantial areas of car parking to the rear of properties adjacent to private gardens in order to prevent unreasonable detriment to the amenities of neighbours by reason of
noise, disturbance and the emission of fumes. - Overlooking of rear gardens from living rooms or areas will be subject to the same controls that govern consideration of development with facing windows".
It is accepted that developments which include new parking facilities must be accompanied by screening and buffering. As an example, in the Basildon area (item number 4 in the agenda) permission for a new 13-space car park was sought at the side of an existing back garden. Here, the proposal included a very substantial screen and buffer between new car park and adjoining garden. Despite these measures, the application was refused for several reasons, including: “… the impact on the residential amenities of neighbouring occupiers at No. 10 Stock Road from noise and disturbance generated adjacent to their rear garden, by vehicle movements in the proposed car parking area …”. An appeal was lodged, but was dismissed by the inspector purely on the grounds of noise and disturbance from the parking.
Detailed planning standards relating to screening and buffering are often specified in the US. For example, Burbank, California, states in its "Zoning Ordinance" (Sec. 31-1417.2.):
Parking Lots Abutting and Adjacent to Residential Zones
• Where a parking lot abuts or is across the street from a residential zone, a 10’ landscaped buffer is required. [10 feet is 3.05 metres]
• Where a parking lot abuts a residential property, a 6’ masonry wall is required along the common property line. [6 feet is 1.83 metres]
"Off-street parking areas, including drive-aisles, which abut residential properties shall be separated from such property by a minimum ten-foot-wide dense planting screen and a six-foot-high masonry block wall, or other alternative material, ... ". "Off-street parking areas which face residential properties, shall provide a ten-foot dense planting screen which includes berming, low retaining walls, or a combination thereof to buffer the residential use."
Parking Restrictions
The fact that parking provision must now be set at or below a maximum number of parking spaces obviously requires that measures be taken to prevent areas which are not intended for parking being used for this purpose (quite apart from the dangers of mixing people with cars in a school environment).
"Car parks have created problems in the past by their appearance, their misuse and the lack of safety and security of both vehicles and people. In line with Central Government direction, car parks should be designed to comply with the Association of Chief Police Officers Secured Car Park Accreditation Scheme. It is also apparent that car park layouts can lead to misuse in terms of accommodating vehicles in undesignated areas such as verges and access routes; such practice runs counter to using car parking as a travel demand management tool."
