Hayesfield School News
Quick links to the Second Consultation [13/7/08], and to the Third Consultation [19/10/08], and to the Fourth Consultation [13/12/08].
Background
The First Consultation
In October last year, Hayesfield School started a public consultation exercise to inform of their intention to create more and better sports facilities on the Oldfield Park site, plus replacements for the science and canteen blocks. Unlike many consultation exercises, this started at a very early stage, before plans were place and indeed before an architect had been appointed. The school was seeking the public's views before preparing their design brief. This consultative approach from such an early stage is unusual, but very welcome.
The first meeting described the rationale: the need for indoor sports facilities with sufficient area for full-sized courts and sufficient height to allow unhindered ball sports; the need for low maintenance "all weather" outdoor sports; the desire for music and drama rehearsal space without the risk of causing a noise nuisance to neighbours; additional classrooms and better dining facilities. All this was desirable within the existing site, and compatible with the style of the school buildings and the surrounding streets.
That first meeting resulted in a "wish list" from the neighbours:
• Keep as many trees as possible, and especially the mature chestnut trees.
• Use materials and landscaping to blend into the area, for a climate friendly
(ideally zero carbon) modern building with a low roofline.
• Provide an on-site drop-off point and adequate on-site parking.
• Preserve the views across and from the site (arrowed) if possible.
The school established a "Stakeholder Group" of neighbours, parents, students, local professionals and interest groups and then engaged a Project Manager, an Engineering Practice, Educational Consultants, and a Planning Consultant to evaluate architect's outline ideas, as a result of which they opted to work with AWW Architects of Bristol.
The Second Consultation
[13/7/08] The second public consultation was primarily to gauge reactions to the concept offered by the architects, and it was made clear that this was not a finished article. The proposal is to move the tennis courts westward, demolish the existing gymnasium and canteen plus a couple of temporary buildings, to make room for the new development (pale blue in the sketch on the right).
A profile view was also provided (but not reproduced here) showing how the new buildings are to be partially sunk into the ground, so that the roofline is always subordinate to the main school. It was emphasised that the height of the current gymnasium was to be the maximum height for any of the new development.
An indicative sketch of the appearance from Lower Oldfield Park was also provided (shown left). We and the other people who had attended the consultation were asked for comments and suggestions.
The comments on the educational needs were almost entirely positive: a lot of the shortfalls in the current accommodation have been addressed, though some concerns about the alignment of the proposed tennis courts were expressed.
The comments on the architecture were a little more cautious:
• Keep in mind the cost of maintenance: timber cladding, planted roofs and the like will be a recurring drain on school funds, whereas traditional materials like stone and slate are virtually maintenance free.
• Remember the school grounds are visible from many locations around Bath, so ensure that it looks as though it belongs in the conservation area when seen from afar.
• The lines need to be tidied up: the west edge looks too fussy and the roofline is far too higgledy piggledy for the style prevalent in this part of Bath (see the sketch above left, which somebody referred to it as a "Spanish Hillside Village" style).
• There was some concern about the height of the frontage at its nearest approach to Lower Oldfield Park.
The stakeholder group and the architects will now discuss this feedback and refine the design. There is more information on the presented design on the Hayesfield website.
The Third Consultation
[19/10/08] On 16th October 2008, Watchdog was invited to the third consultation meeting, along with other interested parties. There was a small model (which hadn't quite caught up with the very latest revisions) plus a series of drawings. We also had the opportunity to discuss the designs with the architects.
This latest design looked a real improvement over the one that we had seen in July, but there were still a small number of details where we considered some relatively minor changes could make a significant difference to the overall appearance. We will be sending our suggestions to the architects soon. We will also post some pictures here so that readers will have an easy way of getting an idea of what is proposed. There are pictures on the Hayesfield website, but it is a huge file, so don't try to follow this link unless you have broadband.
The plans at this stage are now being passed to the planning officers for their views prior to submitting a formal planning application.
The Fourth Consultation
[21/12/08] On 13th December 2008, Watchdog was invited to the fourth consultation meeting, along with other interested parties. There was a small model which had been updated with the latest roofline and a new set of poster sized artists impressions.
It is the school's intention to update its website so that the public can examine these, but it has not happened yet. We provide this link to it so that when it is updated, it is easy to find. Beware though that most of the information it gives access to is too big to be practical on a dial-up connection. All we have for now is a rather fuzzy shot of the latest model (see right) taken with a mobile phone.
This latest design looked a real improvement over the one that we had seen in October. The appearance of the end that faces Lower Oldfield Park (bottom of the picture) is much tidier, and with a greater presentation of Bath stone. The large roof that stretched over more than half of the left hand part of the development (as positioned in the picture) has been divided into two to reduce the bulk.
But there were still a small number of details where we considered some relatively minor changes could make a significant difference to the overall appearance. We thought that the inclusion of a spiral staircase, which because if its shape has asymmetric treads, would be a safety hazard. We think that hiding the entire side of the old hall, which is rather elegant, is unnecessary when the only think that is gained is an extra high ceiling in the entrance which will make the floor level difficult to heat in the winter. But most of all, we think the timber cladding proposed would be a maintenance nightmare. Unlike most construction materials, timber cladding is not durable, and preservative treatment and regular replacement of the cladding when the inevitable rot sets in would be a continual drain on the school's finances.
Comment
Watchdog applauds this approach of consulting during the early design phase, when it is far more common for public consultations to be a presentation of the final design, and the developer is much more resistant to suggestions for changes.
What we saw at this consultation was not ideal but was good in parts, and we found the members of the steering group that we spoke to were keen to arrive at a final design that the neighbours were happy with, and were receptive to constructive criticism. We look forward to the refined plans with some optimism.