Scenario
The Village Hall
Slaugham Parish Council (SPC), the parish council for Slaugham village in Mid-Sussex in the south of England, has applied for and received a grant from central government to build a community centre to serve the population of the town and surrounding rural area.
You have been employed as a consultant to SPC, acting as their specialist on matters of planning,building regulations and management of health and safety.
Site and Context SPC already owns the land on which the community centre will be sited; thus it is publicly-owned property. The location already has an established sports/recreation field which originally included a sport’s pavilion, however, the pavilion was demolished due to structural safety concerns. The site is just north of an area zoned as Green Belt at present. While this is not an immediate problem, Mid-
Sussex local council could use this area for housing and locate the community centre elsewhere.
The Mid-Sussex local council Planning Department has also indicated that the proposed development should address the government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Proposed Design
The proposed community centre design is a single-storey building, designed to fulfil several functions needed by the people in the community it serves. The building functions as a multi-purpose structure: meeting place, sports hall, theatre venue, childcare centre, changing facilities,storage facility (outdoor and indoor maintenance tools, mowers, sports equipment) and so forth.
Your role
SPC have hired you to provide advice on a variety of issues related to planning items, building regulation compliance and health and safety concerns.
Refer to the folder in the module on the VLE containing plans, drawings, 3D visualisation and other documents to support your work on the tasks described below.
Task 1 – Town and Country Planning
Provide a short, structured report, that addresses how approval for the proposed design could be achieved in the currently proposed location, and how it addresses sustainable development. The report commentary shall; relate to key elements from the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and associated legislation along with the NPPF.
The report shall include the following:
a. Discuss how the proposed development of a new village hall/community centre may impact the boundary of the adjacent greenbelt land (in relation to Chapter 13 of the NPPF).
b. Discuss the justification for the proposed development at the current site location, with possible options for an alternative site location and any consequential impact in
changing the location of the project (in relation to Chapter 13 of the NPPF).
c. With the project at pre-planning stage explain how sustainability could be incorporated into the final detail plan/design to meeting the requirements of the Mid-Sussex District (Local) Plan, District Policy 39 (DP39).
(approximately 750 words)
Task 2 – Building Regulations
In advance of the Planning Application being granted, the Parish Council has requested that you provide an additional short, structured report, that addresses their concerns related to the ‘Full Plans’ Building Control Application and the Building Control inspection process during construction.
The report shall include the following:
a. A detailed review of the Village Hall proposal in regards to ‘Means of Escape’ and exiting requirements related to fire safety. This is to ease the client’s concerns over Building Regulation compliance with fire safety measures and should clarify if an appropriate ‘means of escape’ is provided or if adjustments are needed. This review should include discussion of these items from Approved Document B, Volume 2:
i. the number of ‘exits’ likely required and the number of appropriate ‘exits’ provided.
ii. the required maximum distance to those exits in comparison to the actual exiting
distance provided for each.
iii. identification of any potential ‘Dead-End Corridors’ that may require modification in design.
iv. a basic plan drawing of the ground floor of the building with escape paths / distances shown from key occupied spaces.
b. A section devoted to Building Control inspections during construction that includes:
i. an explanation of the difference between Local Authority Building Control and an
Approved Inspector and identify any key items to be aware of depending on the type
of inspector assigned to the work.
c. Give an explanation of what a building control officer will be looking for at one of the following construction stages: –
i. Excavation of a strip foundation prior to the pouring of the concrete, or
ii. Ground floor, Finished Floor Level (FFL) prior to the installation of the floor screed for a beam and block floor system, or
iii. Pre-plaster, board fixing (tacking).
(approximately 750 words)
Task 3 – Health and Safety
Once contracts for the construction of the community centre have been awarded, and the principal contractor is on site, the client wants to ensure that the various potential site hazards and risks to any visitors to the site are clearly and visibly communicated.
For the client, design a poster reflecting the various hazards and risks for the Village Hall project during the construction phase. Base your poster’s content on your understanding of the site layout and proposed building construction, and your knowledge of the related Health and Safety Regulations.
The poster shall include a combination of images and text. Images that are not your own will need to be referenced and all text needs to be input directly into the PowerPoint (or equivalent) file.
