The application for Wilberforce Primary School is due to be decided by the council’s planning committee on September 1
A Westminster primary school is planning to build a new artificial grass pitch complete with floodlights to boost local sports facilities.
Wilberforce Primary School, on Beethoven Street near Queen’s Park, has applied to construct the new area with artificial grass and enclosed by a high-wire fence with a net on top.
It will be intended for use by pupils while also being available for bookings outside of the school day, with hours of 8am to 9pm Mondays to Fridays and 11am to 3pm on Saturdays being proposed.
In documents filed as part of the planning application it is stated: “Over recent years, the sports facilities around Westminster City Council have undergone major reconstruction and refurbishment works to bring them up to the very highest standards.
“To build on the resounding success of this investment and as part of an ongoing refurbishment programme, the construction of the MUGA [multi-use games area] within Wilberforce Primary School forms the basis of this planning application.”
The scheme has drawn objections over two rounds of consultation, with the application amended following the first to include two acoustic screens to dampen the impact of noise. Concerns however remain among those opposing the plans, with fears about light pollution, increased pressure on parking and the fact alternative facilities already exist nearby.
The Queen’s Park Community Council, the area’s first layer of local government, is “broadly in support” of the proposal, according to an officers’ report.
The council’s entry continues: “Measures should be taken to ensure priority access for local residents and groups, and to ensure that use of the facilities is affordable to them. These should be set out in a Management Plan detailing how the facility is to be operated to ensure the above, together with how any impact on neighbours is to be mitigated.
“There should also be proposals for review of the operation in the light of experience or in the case of a change in external circumstances. Some adjacent residents have written to the Community Council citing concerns including noise, floodlighting, and traffic.”
Officers acknowledge that an acoustic report assessing the impact of the noise did not review the levels on weekends, and that due to this lack of evidence the 11am to 3pm use on Saturdays is the maximum that can be accepted.
A previous application for a sports area was submitted and then withdrawn in 2023, which would have occupied a different space on the school site.
The proposal is due to go to Westminster City Council’s Planning Applications Sub-Committee next week (September 1). Officers have recommended that the scheme be approved.
Westminster City Council, which submitted the application, was approached for comment.
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