ST CLEMENTS CHURCHstclementschurchcb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/St...St Clements Church - Extension FB Architecture Ltd Chartered Architects. It does however open up what is a

FB Architecture Ltd Chartered Architects & Development Consultants.

8 The Courtyard, Roman Way. Coleshill, Birmingham, B46 1HQ, 01675 464810. [email protected]

St Clements Church - Extension

ARCHITECTURE

ST CLEMENTS CHURCH Green Lane, Castle Bromwich.

Proposed Extension & Alterations to form Community Café Facilities.

Planning Application Report

Issue 18 May 2015

Project.

This document has been prepared as part of a Planning Application for an extension and the

alteration to an existing meeting room and store, to create accommodation to provide

community café facilities for use with the church and its community work.

This document includes the following:

1) Planning Statement.

2) Client Statement.

3) Landscaping Scheme.

4) Planning Policy

mailto:[email protected]


FB Architecture Ltd Chartered Architects.



1) PLANNING STATEMENT St Clements Church is located on a site which has roads on three sides, Lanchester Way, Green Lane and Cleveland Avenue with the Vicarage taking up the corner of the first two. Gardens from a housing estate back on to the rear boundary. It is set back from the Main Road in an open grassed site with mature trees. A hard standing area is to the side accessed off Cleveland Avenue and rear for car parking. The site frontage onto Lanchester Way has no access only a secure fence through which the overflow carpark can be seen with the back/ end of the church beyond. The building is of facing brickwork construction with felted flat roofs, the main part of which was built in 1966 with an extension added in 1974 with the adjacent Vicarage also being built in the 1970’s. There have been a number of schemes in the past prepared for altering and enlarging the church but these have not been carried out. The existing toilets have been altered to incorporate a WC suitable for disabled people. From the main entrance lobby the multi-purpose church is off to the right and a multi-purpose hall is off to the left, both of which are hired out for activities and a number of local groups. The St Clements PCC need to develop their community work by having a separate room adjacent to the Church for a permanently set out café including catering fascilities. The church have provided a café service within the church for a few years which is a way of reaching out to bring the community together particularly the elderly and vulnerable. They wish to formalise this facility where they do not have to set out and put away all the furniture each time and also have new kitchen more geared up for this type of operation. This would also be used following church services as a side area which again takes away the need for moving furniture around and not having space for setting out in advance. The proposed extension will be taken off to the side of the church, behind the vicarage, over part of the overflow car park and would also give the opportunity to incorporate an existing meeting room and a storeroom. The accommodation would consist of one café area, a play space, a disabled toilet, and a new kitchen (partly in the original building) with counter space to the café and the church. The position of the extension is to take up some of the open tarmac rather than the mature landscape at the front of the church, and to give the opportunity of improving the frontage to Lanchester Way with a new entrance and a pathway through a community garden. The running of the café will be on the same lines as at present with church members and other volunteers not only to prepare, cook and serve the food and drink but also to help bring people together with spiritual and practical help where required. The proposal will be a positive addition to the community both as a building and community garden and providing a cultural, spiritual and care to the community and help to bring people together who may not usually meet and those that would otherwise be lonely and feel isolated. The proposal would not result in loss of amenity or valuable land to the area as it is already part of the church site, is a tarmac area which is not fully used, with no loss of green space, natural habitat or heritage land.



It does however open up what is a closed boundary with a new face to the church onto Lanchester Way as a community café accessed through a community garden. This will give further enhancement to the area and providing a space for certain wildlife and volunteers to grow produce for use in the kitchen. The extension will be single storey but to improve the aesthetic quality of the whole of this part of the church, a pitched roof will be used providing the extension with a character of its own and cover over some of the existing rather poor quality flat roofs at the rear of the church. The site is surrounded by pitched roofs including the vicarage, so this will not seem out of context. There will be no traffic issues associated with the proposed extension as it will only be used for small meetings by the church or small local groups and organisations or for café with an expected footfall very similar to the current-run café. Although the use is a continuation of what is happening at present it does give the opportunity to reach out to more people and groups in the community. Many of the people who would use the new café are within walking distance as it is surrounded by housing but is also on a bus route.



2) CLIENT STATEMENT

The following is a statement by St Clements Church outlining their work and why

they need the extension in-order to improve how they deliver this service and how

they are seen by the community.

Background

Our need for a dedicated kitchen and café area on the site of St Clements’ Church of

England is directly linked to a current facility.

“Oasis” is a non-profit-making Community Café and Drop-In facility in the hall of St

Clément’s. Now in our third year the Friday café (9am. -3pm.) was opened on 24th

September 2012 after community consultation and two years’ of trial “coffee and drop in”

mornings. No similar facility was available and people wanted a warm safe place where they

could spend as long as they wanted in the company of others. In January 2015 the oasis

coffee lounge was opened on Monday mornings to give a quieter meeting place, giving

people even more opportunities to make friends.



Oasis is not a commercial venture but aims to be a meeting place for local people, including

many vulnerable individuals and families. Our prices reflect this and the project is run by a

team of local volunteers. We also a have a Solihull MBC “STEPS” training placement,

currently for one adult with learning disabilities, on a scheme run by Bacon’s End Centre.

The cafes are currently used by 80 – 100 people each week, mainly from Smiths’ Wood and

the immediately adjoining area of Castle Bromwich. We are particularly aiming to be a focus

for community cohesion and development by helping isolated and vulnerable people to make

friends, gain confidence, voice opinions, ideas and concerns and feel a valued part of the

community.

We also aim to increase empowerment through knowledge by providing access to pastoral

care from trained members of our church and we are continually developing our capacity to

give signposting to community support groups. Targeted Awareness Days have given extra

sign posting and support for those affected by cancer, sight loss, Alzheimer’s disease and

Parkinson’s disease. “You Plus” Health advisors visit to run monthly health advice clinics and

we have visits from our local Police Community Support Officers. A Healthy Living Day gave

access to local support groups e.g. for those struggling with chronic pain and arthritis, and

gave ideas for increased exercise and healthy eating.

Individual organizers from the “Kingfisher Food Bank” (a 17-church initiative) have used us

as a meeting place. Staff and young people/ young adults with learning disabilities have had

outings, visiting us from Forest Oak School and from Bacon’s End Day Centre for young

adults. A nearby Sheltered Housing development used the café to discuss ways to inform

local residents and we have customers from 2 sheltered housing developments.

Quotes (overheard, not prompted) / Real Life Stories of Change

“It’s done fantastic things for people like me who are at home and have nowhere to

go. It’s given us a life”.

“It’s bringing people out of themselves”.

“You go home and after 4.00 you just lock the door and stop looking out of the

window. You know that no one will come and hardly anyone passes. Now I have

Fridays to look forward to”.

“This is our Bacon Club and it’s a good place to come to”.

“Some cafés are just a café but this is different. I know I’m not going to be rushed I

can take as long as I like. And there’s always someone to talk to”.

“I’m looking for somewhere to belong”.

(A lonely lady still very much in bereavement for her best friend): “I come here

because there are people to talk to”.

A widower brought along by 3 friends: “Before, after my wife died”, he said, “I didn’t

have a life. Now, I have a life: the Bacon Club”.

A group of 7, mainly widowed, have made friends and are using the cafes as a base

to support each other through periods of illness or depression. In more active times

they’ve encouraged each other to go on coach trips and done knitting projects in the

nearest of their homes.



Our Need for an extended purpose-built café facility

The proposed renovation and extension to the present building would enable us to continue

to provide this existing tried, tested and much-loved facility for our community more easily

and effectively in the long term and give us the opportunity to respond to other needs:

We are currently restricted in our opening days, limited to times when the main hall is not

used by other community groups. A bespoke café and kitchen would allow us to develop

extra sessions to fit specific needs EG. Recent work with Alzheimer’s’ patients and their

carers, including a very successful afternoon tea party with music and other activities, has

opened up the possibility of a regular café.

We need an area in which a café can be set up and maintained. This will enable us to

leave tables and chairs out, along with the toy and book areas. We are currently struggling to

set up and put away tables and heavy church chairs each week. Most of our volunteers are

themselves over the age of 60.

We need a bespoke commercial-quality kitchen.

1. The current kitchen is used by 10 other community and church groups. We achieve a “4 star” hygiene rating by working hard before each café session ever even starts to thoroughly clean and sterilize.

2. During Lunch Time Rush hour, our approved but non-commercial kitchen is only just coping. We struggle during service to find preparation and work space and would be greatly helped by the installation of more work surfaces with room for a commercial dishwasher, oven, fridge/freezer and warming cupboard. Currently the kitchen is too small for these changes.

3. By using the larger kitchen and opening up the café area into the existing church hall we would also be able to offer luncheon club activities for larger numbers all meeting together occasionally.

We need bespoke toilet facilities. Rooms at St Clements are used by another 350 local

residents each week. A dedicated toilet/baby change facility specifically for use by café

users would be much easier to maintain, leaving other user groups able to use the current

facilities. We are not “work shy” but few other cafes have to do such a lot of work to just get

their kitchen, toilet and meeting facilities back to a normal standard before they ever start to

set up to open.

The proposed design would also allow use of a screened (sound-baffled) area for

situations needing extra privacy or for clinics e.g. by local Police Community Support

Officers and by health professionals.

Currently the main entrance is in Green Lane.



We would like to add a pedestrian entrance off Lanchester Way that is more accessible,

welcoming and obvious to people living in the Smiths Wood area of our Parish. (Our Parish

has over 12,000 residents. 9,000 live in Smiths Wood).

Those needing car parking would still use the Main car park (accessed from Clevedon

Avenue) and then enter using either the Green Lane entrance or the new direct entrance.



3) Landscaping.



Landscape & Planting:

The illustration above has been prepared by Wendy Carter of St Clements Church giving a

great impression of the proposed café extension and how the garden will integrate with it

and enhance the setting and approach.

“The proposed planting would be in raised bed “kitchen gardens” used in the summer

months by keen individuals or groups growing vegetables such as beans, peas, potatoes,

kale, chard, spinach etc. along with companion plants e.g. Nasturtiums and marigolds (to

attract pollinators/ remove aphids), herbs and ornamental grasses. In the winter the beds

would be planted up with winter flowering pansies and violas amongst the remaining grasses

and perennial herbs, with spring bulbs ready to come through after February. We would use

these beds to enthuse the children’s groups using the hall and to promote healthy eating.”

Traffic & Parking The extension will take away some of the existing overflow parking area which is not required. There would be few additional car movements as the use is a continuation of an existing use on the site and being community lead it will be generally used by people who will be coming on foot. Also the over flow car park is generally only required during Sunday services for particular events such as funerals, special services and for the larger community hirer, a ‘Slimming World’ Group.



4) PLANNING POLICY Introduction The site is in a built-up mainly residential area which is a local shopping destination and situated between the identified local centres of Chelmsley Wood and Castle Bromwich. The established use is for a community building, being an Anglican church, with a multi-purpose hall used by local community groups. It has a mature green open frontage to Green Lane and Cleveland Avenue with the proposed extension remaining within the existing established boundary on part of the rear tarmac area used as overflow parking area. The proposed alterations and extension are to create a permanent purpose built space for a community café which would be a development of a service they currently provide but which is currently restricted by having to use the church itself and the existing limited kitchen facilities. Also they would like to add an entrance to the site that is more accessible, welcoming and obvious to people living in the Smiths Wood area of the Parish. We feel that the proposal fits well within the aims of the national and local planning policies and should therefore be supported by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. Planning Policy The purpose of planning is to help achieve sustainable development. What is Sustainable Development?

o Change for the better, and not only in our built environment. o Positive growth – making economic, environmental and social progress for this and

future generations o Raising the standards of design.

Sustainable means ensuring that better lives for ourselves don’t mean worse lives for future generations. Development means growth. We must accommodate the new ways by which we will earn our living in a competitive world. We must house a rising population, which is living longer and wants to make new choices. We must respond to the changes that new technologies offer us. Our lives, and the places in which we live them, can be better, but they will certainly be worse if things stagnate.

The key policy documents that shape the planning decision process for this location are:-

1) The National Planning Policy Framework.

2) Solihull Local Plan – shaping a sustainable future Dec 2013.



1) NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK The relevant sections of the NPPF come under the following.

Achieving sustainable development

1. Building a strong, competitive economy

2. Ensuring the vitality of town centres

7. Requiring good design

8. Promoting healthy communities

10. Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change Achieving sustainable development Although not all relevant to this site the NPPF identifies three dimensions to sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. Economic role – While not a commercial business the project does provide a construction project in the area which in itself encourages development in an area that needs an uplifting. Social role – The proposal and particularly its future use will directly help to support and develop a strong, vibrant and healthy community with a quality building with accessible community services to support its health, society and cultural well-being. Environmental role – The site is currently not of natural, built or of heritage value but will enhance the existing building, street scene and incorporating a garden which will provide an improvement to biodiversity on a small scale. The scheme endeavours to use natural resources prudently and adopt construction for a low carbon economy.

The proposed alteration and extension will improve the quality of the built environment through better design and as well as improving people’s quality of life uplifting places where people live, work and take leisure.

Delivering sustainable development 1. Building a strong, competitive economy

Although not directly relating to this policy the proposal will provide employment through development and the presence of new development will help to enhance the profile of an area as being worthy of this type of investment. Helps the people of the area which in turn improves there opportunities for area.

2. Ensuring the vitality of town centres Although not a town centre it is a neighbourhood shopping area which in the same principle needs focus on ensuring it’s future and this project will help to raise the opportunities for active use of the location for those that may not otherwise use or pass it.

7. Requiring good design Good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning, and should contribute positively to making places better for people.



The extension within its limitations uses good design without detriment to the existing building in fact enhancing it by improving the existing frontage along Lanchester Way and improves the view currently of less interesting overflow parking and the back of the existing church building It will be of good quality in the context of the location and will function well alongside the existing building adding to the overall quality of the area for the full term of its life. It will establish a strong sense of place, providing an improved streetscape and will provide an attractive and comfortable place to work, visit and get involved with. The extension uses the part of the site to make the best use of space and street access. It avoids reducing the existing grass and landscaped areas and provides a new garden where there is currently tarmac, which will be seen from another perspective. There is no distinct local character or history in this locality as it is a mixed urban suburb predominantly 1950’s to 1980’s residential with a formal row of shops. The extension will be in keeping with its surroundings with familiar forms such as the pitched roofs and the use of materials such as concrete tiles and facing brickwork. The presence of the church and the café with the community work that goes with it helps to bring people together who may otherwise feel more isolated, where crime and the fear of crime particularly can be a barrier to the quality of life. Also the community work can involve the provision of a place for organisations, such as the police, to meet up with people more informally and within the community. Uplifting a site can also have a significant impact on an area or street where a good quality building and well maintained site and building is less at risk from undesirable attention. Within the limitations of the site and the budget the scheme does provide the opportunity to have a building of good design and detail making it visually attractive particularly with the garden setting. It improves the site of the existing church by enhancing the less attractive back view of the church building. The new development connects people and places in a new way with the new street access and will increase the opportunity for local volunteers. The proposal has been led by the local community with the church and local people helping to formulate what they need in-order to provide the service wanted and the shape of the building they require in order to deliver that service providing a direct link through need to provision.

8. Promoting healthy communities In accordance with this policy the place achieves the following

o Opportunities for meetings between members of the community who might not otherwise come into contact with each other.

o A neighbourhood centre and active street frontage which bring together those who work, live and play in the vicinity;

o Safe and accessible environment where crime and disorder, and the fear of crime, do not undermine quality of life or community cohesion.



In accordance with policy the proposal will deliver the social, recreational and cultural facilities and services the community needs

o shared space, community facilities (meeting places, cultural buildings, and places of worship) providing local services to enhance the sustainability of communities and residential environments;

o ensure that established facilities and services are able to develop and modernise in a way that is sustainable, and retained for the benefit of the community;

10. Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change The needs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is addressed by the alterations to the existing building improving their insulation value and extension will be constructed to the current high standards of insulation and tightly sealed construction.

2) SOLIHULL LOCAL PLAN – SHAPING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE DEC 2013

Similar to the points raised by the NPPF the local authority policies relevant to the development are as follows.

7. Sustainable Economic Growth • P2 - Maintain Strong, Competitive Town Centres 11. Promoting Quality of Place • P15 - Securing Design Quality 12. Supporting Local Communities • P18 - Health and Well Being

P2 – Maintain Strong, Competitive Town Centres As previously noted this is not a town centre but a neighbourhood shopping area which in the same principle needs support to ensure its future and this project will help to raise the opportunities for active use of the location for those that may not otherwise use or pass it. With many such shopping locations vacant properties are common but if a proposal for an improved use of a location is encouraged and supported it would be good for all the shops and business thus helping to maintain or even enhance this area. The proposal will provide a service which will enhance the feeling of community creating a focus to attract people to this particular location.



P15 Securing Design Quality The development proposals will achieve good quality and sustainable design, which meets the following key principles:

o Enhances local character, distinctiveness and streetscape quality in scale, massing, density, layout, materials and landscape which respect the surrounding natural, built and historic environment;

o This new development will aim to achieve a high standard of environmental performance through sustainable design and construction meeting the full requirements of the current building regulations at the time of construction. This would however need to be set within the context of the site location and the funding available.

o Secures the sustainable long-term use of new development through flexible, robust and future-proofed design.

The proposals will also contribute to the creation of a sense of place. With a use that has a community focus, the entrance setting through a garden and future incorporation of some form of public art on the front face of the building.

Supporting Local Communities P18 Health and Well Being The potential for achieving positive health outcomes will be taken into account when considering all development proposals. The new proposals promotes and supports the health and well-being of the community. Support will be given to proposals which:

o Contribute to encourage social interaction. o Provides a service to the community where health and well-being can be supported

particularly through interaction with others and advice sought. This is all provided within the community for that community so is available on foot, by bicycle and local public transport. Also those using cars will only be making short journeys.

o There is an opportunity for using produce grow grown on the premises with all others purchased locally.

The most important aspect of the proposal is the support it gives to providing community participation and reaching out to the vulnerable and lonely where social and physical isolation is a key issue. Through the café and the church community work it is possible to bring people together who would not normally meet and provides an opportunity for them to find help in improving their lives through companionship and a feeling of belonging to a community. There is also work relating to the problems faced by the elderly such as coping with mobility, disability and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It is not just the elderly as families and younger individuals will have a place to meet others and help to form and maintain the feeling of community.



North Solihull Regeneration Area Solihull MBC have identified and set out to address the economic social and environmental inequalities generally between the south and the north of the borough. They aim to make it possible for the following to happen and would support proposals that make these happen.

o Make the area a more attractive place to live and invest in, contributing physically and mental health and well-being and providing local character and distinctiveness.

o Reducing the opportunity for crime and providing safe environments o Make jobs more available o Enhances an existing community hub with shops community facilities, employment,

training and health care facilities. o Improving health and well-being. o Providing a place for people o Health and safe well-being.

In providing a sustainable community café the church hopes to improve on the work they have been doing over recent years developing a stronger more identifiable location where the local people and others, can feel less isolated in society and interact with one another on issues affecting them and the local community. This we feel is within the scope of the proposals that would help to address some of the issues in the area and so should be supported by the Local Authority.

Documents

ST CLEMENTS CHURCHstclementschurchcb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/St...St Clements Church - Extension FB Architecture Ltd Chartered Architects. It does however open up what is a