Deadline follows planning mix-up (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Deadline follows planning mix-up

Ref. 23883-20SWINDON Council and New College are at odds over plans to build an all-weather sports pitch.

Council planners have set the college a deadline of one year to construct the pitch next to its East Walcot campus in Queen's Drive.

But college principal Graham Taylor believes it will take at least double that time.

Councillors imposed the one-year deadline at a planning meeting last week, partly in response to a mistake by architects that saw the college built five metres from where it should have been.

As a result the building, which opened last year, encroached on public open space and breached the original planning application.

Officials only recognised the error when people living behind nearby Buckhurst Field in Park North complained that the building spoiled their view and asked the developers for compensation.

Councillors could have ordered the college to demolish the £15 million building and put it up again on its correct site.

When it came to the vote, they granted the college retrospective planning permission on the condition that it moved forward proposals for the all-weather pitch.

But Mr Taylor said the college was still waiting for the council to grant them the lease of the land where the pitch was supposed to be built.

The floodlit pitch could cost up to £500,000, and the college will need to borrow the money from a bank once governors have agreed to go ahead with the project.

The principal said he doubted it could be completed within a year.

"Although we would like to build it sooner rather than later I'm not sure we could do it within that time frame," he said.

"Two years would be more reasonable."

Councillor Lisa Hawkes (Con, Highworth), chairwoman of the council's planning committee, said she was confident the land lease could be granted quickly.

But she insisted she would be seeking to enforce the one-year deadline.

"We want the pitch quickly and we will stick with what we asked for," she said.

"A lot of members were asking for a lot more and the college should consider they have got off reasonably well. We will not be backing down on this one."

Andy Tate