Plans to turn bungalow into preschool rejected

Plans for a new preschool on the former site of a caretaker's house have been rejected due to fears over highway safety.

St Thomas of Canterbury's School in Merrow, Guildford, submitted a proposal to transform a bungalow on the site into a school that parents say is needed to "help children achieve" academically.

Members of Guildford Borough Council's planning committee have rejected the plans in line with the recommendation made for refusal, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Officers argued that the significant benefits of providing early years schooling did not outweigh the massive highway safety risks.

While more than 30 letters supporting the application were received, the committee ultimately determined that it had to follow the Highway Authority's advice despite supporting the principle.

Councillor Joss Bigmore said: "I'm desperate to approve this application […] However, we cannot ignore the language of the Highways Authority- I've never seen it that strong."

Highways officers had condemned the plans as seeing an "unacceptable highway safety impact on the adjoining Highway" for both drivers and pedestrians.

Council documents reveal the preschool could result in eight additional cars around the site at peak hours of 08:00 and 09:00 and 16:00 and 17:00 BST. No extra parking spaces would be provided for the new nursery.

James Kibble, responsible for running the St Thomas of Canterbury's School, argued there would be no major traffic increase given the crossover between families with children attending the preschool and primary school.

Telling members that the school would be willing to pay for traffic measures like yellow lines, he said: "I don't believe we have investigated all the options."

However, some members raised concerns the starting and finishing times were different for each setting.

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