DESPITE a number of reservations from planning councillors, plans for a new secondary school between Chadwell St Mary and Grays were approved at last night's meeting of Thurrock Council's planning committee (Thursday, 18 March).

Councillors raised concerns about the slope of the land used for playing fields and particularly the traffic and parking problems on the road outside the school.

Though the school sits in the heart of the green belt, there was little mention of a subject that has been at the heart of many recent planning debates. Officers gave reasons in their report why a blind eye should be turned to green belt issues because of the urgent need for new school places.

Despite not getting all their questions answered to their full satisfaction approval was given for the Thames Park Secondary School because of the time pressure on creating new school places in the borough, particularly for children from Grays.

Councillors said they expect some changes to be made as the plan is developed - and didn't want to see problems repeated like those outside the recently opened new Harris Academy secondary school in Purfleet.

Committee chair Cllr Tom Kelly was at the forefront of concerns about parking and wanted the council to investigate more drop off points, though he received conflicting advice from highways officers who said the laybys he wanted put in place were not practical.

Cllr Kelly said: "I'm slightly disappointed. There are a lot of grass verges that could have been some laybys. I know time is up against us and if it wasn't of the essence I would be minded to say go back and bring it back to us.

"Going forward, officers must be aware parents are going to park up at the side of the road. What I want to see is what can be done on those grass verges to potentially put laybys there. There is no question it is going to block up that road if we don't plan mitigations."

However, he was told by highways officers that laybys would be inappropriate and even dangerous.

Cllr Kelly responded by saying: "We will have to agree to disagree on parking mitigation issues. I am very nervous and I think at a later date we will have to come back and revisit this. But there is nothing that can be done and we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

Cllr Angela Lawrence echoed his concerns, saying: "I think it is going to be a problem, we should act now, not wait for the problem. Anyone with common sense would know this is going to be a problem. It is going to cause hassle for everybody."

Cllr Mike Fletcher raised concerns about the school's design, saying: "I am a little bit concerned, I absolutely agree there is a need for school provision, nobody is going to argue about that. But I am concerned that this doesn't fully meet our design requirements. Are we doing anything to make sure that design shortfalls will be addressed?"

Planning officer Matthew Gallagher answered by saying: "This is an issue which does crop up on school developments, we raised similar issues at the new Purfleet school.

"There are some criticisms but it is a balance like everything else. You have to weigh up the overall design against the benefit of meeting the need for school places now. This needs to be operation by September 2022 so there's probably not a lot that can be done."

Cllr Kelly raised concerns about the slope of the site and potential issues in construction and, beyond that, with subsidence. He said: "We can't be in a position in a few years time where we find it was a problem building a football pitch and athletic track on a steep slope and have to spend to put them right."

East Tilbury councillor Sue Sammons was concerned about the catchment area and appeared to be pressing for students from her ward to be able to attend the school. And she was concerned that if they were, would transport links be available for them? "How are children from East Tilbury going to get transported?" she asked.

However, it became clear later in the meeting when the committee was addressed by the CEO of the Osborne Trust that will run the school that it is primarily for children from Grays!

That was backed up by Mr Gallagher who said: "There's a fair chance that the majority of the pupils will be drawn from the immediate Grays area. How pupils will get there will interest a lot of members but there are buses locally, it's relatively well served by bus routes."

Chief executive officer of Osbourne Co-operative Academy Trust Paul Griffiths, spoke to councillors, saying: "The site that is presented to you this evening is the best and only option for the Department for Education to invest over £22m to build our new secondary school to serve the community of Grays."

"We have worked very closely with the main contractors Bowmer and Kirkland and the DfE on the design of our new school and we feel the educational principles and digital vision that drive this project have been keenly thought through, so that this project delivers more than just a state-of-the-art school, but a community facility that serves the local area and enhances the landscape in which it sits."

"Bowmer + Kirkland (B+K) is the main contractor for the school and will manage all aspects of the project to ensure the works are carried out safely, on time and with the least possible disruption to neighbours."

In conclusion Cllr Gerard Rice said: "The department have done a good job, a new secondary school costing £22m is very much needed in Grays, and dare I say it, in Chadwell St Mary."

The application was unanimously approved, though Cllr Kelly continued to be concerned about parking and drop off, saying: "I want some condition there that the traffic situation will be monitored and subject to review. I want to approve this evening but know if it is a problem it will be addressed."

After the meeting the school's head, Kam Bains, said: "We are delighted to get the go ahead from Thurrock Council and excited by the opportunity to deliver outstanding learning facilities and a permanent home for the wonderful students at Thames Park Secondary School. Thurrock students deserve the very best education in a happy and high achieving school."