An appeal for 95 dwellings located on land off the A38, Coombe Hill near Tewkesbury has been allowed, and has concluded that there was no need for financial contributions towards educational infrastructure.
Neil Tiley, Director at Pegasus Group demonstrated that the approach of the County Council in seeking financial contributions towards educational infrastructure to address the impact on local schools was flawed. Detailed evidence was provided which outlined the flaws, but also provided a robust assessment of the actual need.
The Inspector found that the child product ratios had been exaggerated and the translation to pupil product ratios overestimated. The capacity of existing schools was examined and there is no suggestion that the examination capacity should be limited to a single school planning area, as the Council had done in this case. The site is also located on the cusp of several school planning areas, which were found to have sufficient school capacity.
The appeal decision concluded that in light of the evidence provided, there was no need for any financial contributions towards education which was contrary to the County Council. This decision has significant bearing on calculating any contributions towards educational infrastructure in Gloucestershire as many of the arguments are directly transferrable to all sites.
If you would like any advice in respect of calculating the need for educational infrastructure and how this should be funded, please contact Pegasus Group.