Extension Approved for Whitby School

Wednesday, 22 March 2023 12:56

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

A Whitby school has been granted permission to construct a single-storey ground floor extension for use as accommodation.

The East Whitby Primary Academy has been granted full planning permission to construct an extension to the existing building despite an objection from the Highway Authority.

The school, located at Stainsacre Lane in Whitby, was previously granted permission to carry out the works in 2019 but the permission expired.

The extension will provide new accommodation for “physical educational days outside the classroom” and is proposed to the South and East elevation to create a purpose-built unit including sleeping accommodation, cloakroom, and toilet facilities.

In addition to the previous application, the proposal includes additional car parking spaces to compensate “for the shortfall in current parking requirements” of the school staff and visitors of the Field Study Centre.

However, the Highway Authority objected to the plan and recommended that permission be refused by the planning authority.

The Highway Authority said it was aware of issues concerning the traffic parking near the access road onto Helredale Road and Stainsacre Lane “along with the buses having difficulty to access the adjacent bus layby”.

It said: “Any intensification in the amount of traffic will exacerbate these issues.”

The planning authority noted the objection but stated in its report that “the proposed development would not create any additional traffic” and that any harm would be outweighed by the benefits of the new development.

The application was supported by Whitby Town Council and during the consultation period no objections were received from members of the public.

According to a council report, an existing roof over a sheltered area will be removed to make way for the extension and the building will be refurbished with alterations to the doors and windows.

The plan states that the facility will be used for classroom activities and will provide accommodation for residential trips for primary school children and accompanying adults.

The visits would take place both during term time and in the holidays with activities taking place in and around the Whitby area.

According to the report, there would be a maximum of 30 children who would be supervised at all times by up to four staff members.