Town Planning
Education
Client
Hertfordshire County Council
Services
Planning application
Status
Completed
Following a planning process that took several years to reach a successful conclusion, the Katherine Warington School, Harpenden is now open and fully operational.
The planning application required supporting technical evidence to prove that very special circumstances existed to develop in the Green Belt. A complex sequential site analysis together with viability analysis proved that the only site that could be delivered was the application site on the Lower Luton Road. A planning application was submitted in September 2017 with planning permission being granted in March 2018. Following two legal challenges both the High Court and Court of Appeal judges held that the decision to grant planning permission was sound.
Vincent+Gorbing worked as part of a consultant team led by Kier Construction, preparing and submitting the planning application, dealing with the matters raised by the legal challenges and assisting with some complex archaeological, highways and drainage issues to ensure that all the appropriate mitigation was in place to protect the environment.
The new school has provided much needed secondary education places for the children of Harpenden.
