On behalf of the Governing Board of Coltishall Primary School, we are writing to express grave concern about the possibility of further greenfield housing development on or near Rectory Road, Coltishall. We previously provided reasons against developing GNLP0265 and GNLP0388 and it is disappointing to see that sites GNLP2072 and GNLP2019 have now also been proposed. School concerns remain centred on two primary issues: safety and capacity.

Safety

Our school community already faces a series of safety and access challenges. We are situated in a cul-de-sac adjacent to the village medical practice. The amount of manoeuvring traffic is therefore already of concern. Rectory Road itself is a designated Speedwatch site and bus route and suffers from alternating congestion and speeding through the day. It is not uncommon for cars to mount the pavement to avoid or get around buses and bin lorries. Our 'safe route to school' from the Ling Way estate crosses a dangerous road, made ever more dangerous by the development of housing in North Walsham for people commuting (often at illegal speed) through our village to Norwich.

The school has previously expressed concern about the proposed development of thirty houses at the north end of Rectory Road. This concern was ignored in granting the site outline planning permission last year. The consequences of that decision are yet to be realised, but our expectation is that Rectory Road will become even more dangerous for our children than it already is. Expansion of this site as proposed under GNLP2019 can only exacerbate this situation and puts our children at even greater risk.

It is in this context that we read the following text of the site suitability appraisal for site GNLP2019: "In 2013 an informal agreement was reached with a Norfolk County Council Highway Officer that, subject to these highway improvements, the site access strategy was suitable for up to 50 dwelling" The Governing Board finds this to be an inexplicable statement that disregards the safety of our children.

Capacity

Coltishall Primary School is a one-form entry school with capacity for 30 students per year with 210 students in total. Our site contains two large mobile buildings already, one of which is used as a classroom and one as a staff room and library. This accommodation is far from ideal as we suffer from regular heating issues. The staff room was flooded earlier in the year as a result of bad weather causing an internal pipe fracture which left 10cm of water across the whole floor space.
Coltishall Primary School is a popular primary school and is significantly overscribed for Reception intake. For the 2018-19 year, Coltishall Primary School was listed as a preference for 56 students to fill the 30 places on offer. With the 30 houses already planned for Rectory Road, another site designated for development on Station Road and other small scale developments we are at risk of preventing young children from attending their local primary school even though they live within our extensive rural catchment area including Horstead and Belaugh. The fact is that they will live further away from the school than the new development, which will stand some 300 metres away.

The Governing Body believes there is no realistic opportunity for school expansion without extensive construction, which would be detrimental to the school environment, values and learning conditions. This will be a similar situation for any of the proposed developments (GNLP2072, GNLP2019 and previously consulted on GNLP0265 and GNLP0388). If the decision to develop, for better or worse, is made then these are issues that the school will simply have to address. Naturally, the Governing Board and staff will do everything to ensure that the outstanding quality of education at the school is maintained notwithstanding any loss of facilities due to buildings expansion. However, we can only express our dismay and disbelief at the prospect of further housing development even being considered at this time.

Conclusion

We are aware that other Coltishall institutions will be writing to you to object to any further housing development in the vicinity of Rectory Road and the wider area. We have therefore chosen not to raise wider issues in relation to this development in any detail. However, we would wish to point out on behalf of our children that they have a reasonable expectation of living in a Broads village and attending a rural community school. That expectation is being eroded by the actual and proposed development of greenfield sites and the associated congestion it brings to our constrained infrastructure. We would ask you to think very carefully about changing the character of our community and our school in the face of widespread local opposition.