Clerk

Please find the comments on Planning Application DMPA/2023/0700, that were submitted to South Derbyshire District Council Planning Department on 11th March 2025

Description of Planning Application: Repton School, Workshop Latham House ,Tanners Lane, Repton, Derby, DE65 6FP: Change of use of a field from agriculture to education and the creation of two 3G football pitches with the associated floodlighting and fencing, the erection of a changing room pavilion building with tiered spectator seating, the erection of four Padel Tennis courts (two covered), the relocation and extension of an existing groundman’s maintenance shed and the creation of a new car park area with the associated lighting and EV charging points and improved vehicular access road. – The above application has been amended. The amendments are summarised as: Amendments to the proposed scheme have been received, the description of development has been changed and additional information has been received and is available to review on the South Derbyshire District Council Website.

The Repton Parish Council would raise the following comments on the revised Planning Application DMPA/2023/0700 – Repton School 3G Pitches –

It is noted that the original application was withdrawn after its consultation period.  The application has been revived but it is still using the original application form.

Comments –

1. The Repton and Milton Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) has not been addressed at all in the application.  This failure by a local applicant is surprising and needs to be addressed since it has equal weight to the SDDC Local Plan.  This comment was made by the Repton Parish Council against the original application but it continues to be ignored in this revised application.  In particular the following NDP policies need to be clearly referenced and covered in the application –
   1. OS2 – The impact of new development on views and the view from the countryside. (It is noted that SDDC planners requested the applicant to assess the proposal against this NDP policy).
   1. CLE1 – Improvements in sport and play facilities.
   1. CLE3 – Support for Existing and New Businesses. 
2. The Parish Council supports the statement in paragraph 3.7 of the Planning Statement –     When not required by the school, the 3G pitches will be available to Repton Casuals and Willington FC. Pitch hire will also be available to the local community.  The proposal in paragraph 5.26 – Repton School proposes to hire out the pitches to the community at market rates comparable with the 3G pitch at Pingle Academy. The School proposes to subsidise Repton Casuals and Willington FC with a 15% discount from the general community rate. This will be secured via the Community Use Agreement, is also supported by the Parish Council.
3. The Planning Statement states that the facility will help fill a local need for the local community.
   1. The Application quotes SDDC Local Policy S1 (in para 4.9) as being supportive citing section S1 iii) ‘Provide new infrastructure to support the growth across the District. This will include new transport and education provision, and other services and facilities’.  However section iii) of Policy S1 is included in order to support either growth in housing (S1 i) or employment (S1 ii) in South Derbyshire.  The application does not support either of these requirements so Policy S1 is not relevant and cannot be used to support the application.
4. A condition, if the application was granted, would be needed that covers the priority of use by the local community (Repton and Milton, Willington and Newton Solney) to support SDDC Policy INF9.  We would like the following statements to be agreed by the School and binding as part of planning approval:  Repton School commits to making the pitches available to Repton Casuals and Willington FC and the local community (Repton and Milton, Willington and Newton Solney) in line with the timetables included in the application.
5. Paragraph 5.57 states that the access has good visibility both ways.  This is not true for traffic coming up Burton Road from the Cross where visibility is severely hampered by the high bank supporting a large tree.  Nor is there good visibility when turning right out of Tanners Lane because of the same tree and bank.  The Tree and bank should be removed to increase visibility.  There should be a condition of planning approval that the bank be reduced in height and the tree replaced further away from Burton Road.
6. The local Community Speed Watch has shown significant speeding on Burton Road. The Repton Parish Council, with the support of Repton School, currently supports a 20mph speed limit in the Tanners Lane area of Burton Road because of the risk to pedestrians and the observed traffic speed in that area.  Derbyshire County Council Highways Department is aware of our concerns.  The situation would be made significantly worse with the volume of traffic from the facility, particularly in the event of a knock out tournament, with traffic entering and exiting at similar times.  It should be a condition, if the application is granted, that a 20 mph limit should be imposed on the Tanners Lane area of Burton Road. 
7. The use of the facility must not negatively impact the use of the Village by residents.  The application defines 67 parking spaces with seating for 168 spectators provided in the stand.  With the number of players, officials and organisers involved, if more than four teams are involved in an event (e.g. a knockout competition) then parking at the facility must be restricted to participants only and spectators would be required to park elsewhere on the applicant’s estate and suitably marshalled. This would need to be a condition of use if the application was approved.  Double yellow lines at the Tanners Lane area of Burton Road to stop any inconsiderate and dangerous parking should also be installed.  (It is noted that the application states that coaches would be required to use the Repton Sports Centre parking or other parts of the school estate and needs to be included as a condition if approved.)  The assumptions in the Applicants Traffic Statement are plainly wrong and grossly underestimates potential users and their transport needs.  The use of an overflow car park on an adjacent green field for these situations will mean there will be considerably more cars than parking places using Tanners Lane.
8. The access assessment in the application states the access to the facility will be limited to Minibuses of up to 17 seats and would need to be a condition of use. 
9. The increase in traffic modelled by Integrated Transport Planning Ltd. and documented in section 5 of their May 2023 report “Transport Statement” which might naively assume that drivers know when the car park is full and not proceed down Tanners Lane.  This statement shows 66 cars leaving the new facility at roughly the same time that day pupils are leaving their houses – some on foot and some being collected in cars.  The Transport Statement is also naive in assuming that the car park, Padel Courts and pitches will generate no more traffic at any other time.  Match days and other busy days will see large volumes of traffic movements which may be marshalled to prevent parking overflow but will not stop the movements themselves.  There could also the use of an overflow car park on an adjacent green field to the facility that will mean there will be considerably more cars than parking places using Tanners Lane.   This will cause Tanners Lane to be very busy at times and, for the protection of all pedestrians, we require that a new footway (Public Right of Way) is built along Tanners Lane from Burton Road to Jeremiah’s Walk with a high kerb (or equivalent) that cannot be overrun by Range Rovers and the like.
10. The design and supporting documentation of the Floodlights (planning statement para 5.70) must be clarified and consistent (eg height) to allow the planned design, to minimise light pollution and glare external to the site, to be agreed with SDDC before construction is started as a condition if the application was approved.  The installed lights would also need to be reviewed by SDDC after installation, to assess their effect on the surrounding environment following the installation of the recent floodlights at the Repton Sports Centre and the problems faced by drivers using the Willington to Repton road that were found.
11. Repton has a wealth of historic links going back to before the time of Vikings.  The application planning statement, in paragraph 5.84 to 5.90, covering other material considerations makes no reference to any heritage requirements. The application does however include a desk top assessment in the supporting documentation.  We do not consider the use of a desk top Archaeological assessment to be adequate at this site.  This supported by Appendix 1 (attached) to this document and would require the involvement of competent archaeologists in the work as a condition if the application was approved.
12. The hours of floodlight use need to be restricted to from 9am to 9pm throughout the year to minimise disturbance to the local community (paras 5.12 and 5.29).
13. The Padel courts cause considerable noise, and in some instances have been refused an application, because of the gun shot sound that happens with every shot.  For any housing near the courts, this would be unnerving and socially disruptive.  We therefore respectively suggest that the courts should be moved as far from housing as possible, both school houses of Latham, Garden and Field as well as Serendipity at the end of Tanners lane and houses on Burton Road.  There should be an assessment of noise nuisance and the provision of sound deadening features to produce adequate noise reduction in the design for SDDC approval as a condition.  We would require the use of the Pitches, court lighting and back ground music to be ceased at 9 pm sharp throughout the year.

Until the points raised above have been satisfactorily answered The Repton Parish Council is bound to object to the application as it stands.

Appendix 1.

Comments provided by a knowledgeable parishioner.

There are concerns about the plans to develop this land as, in addition to the building work, it will almost certainly involve elements of levelling and terracing which would destroy any archaeological evidence – which may span a thousand years.

It is generally accepted that by 550CE there was a recognisable Anglo-Saxon settlement in Repton preceded by the Romano British – evidence of which was found during the construction of the Science Priory. All the land around that site has been either terraced or not archaeologically explored and it is unknown how far west, this or later settlement may have extended. From this and the earlier Roman period, there may be evidence of settlement and field boundaries in the area in question.

The Viking winter camp in 873/4 used Repton as a base for its attack on Burghred in Tamworth, but given the improved understanding of the size of the Great Heathen Army, it could not have been camped only in the D-Shaped enclosure embracing the church. Foremark is a Norse name and a good clue that parts of the army (and there were 5 separate groups) were camped there – supported by archaeological evidence. However it is likely that the army – likely to be around 5000 strong ¹ – was camped all along the high ground over the Trent from the Viking Cremation Cemetery in the east at Heath wood towards Newton Solney in the west with Repton as a central point.

In later times, antiquarians (Hipkins and Bigsby² ) note stone work being found along the high ground west of the core village in the area of the proposed work.

A desk-based study is considered inadequate as no archaeological work has been done there and so there will be nothing for a desk-based study to find. Ideally a geophysical survey would be carried out and, at the very least, a competent archaeological watch be kept and techniques for levelling and terracing used which will enable this watch to be effective. It is likely that metal detecting has already taken place over the years and the finds dispersed, but it might still be worth offering an opportunity to a responsible detecting club.

1. In the 1960’s the army was thought to be in the hundreds. Archaeological work at Torksey (the winter camp in 872/3 – before Repton) changed that – a much bigger site. Coupled with the A-S Chronicle’s evidence of a 300 ship Viking Fleet in the Thames Estuary in 851CE and similar large numbers at other times, carrying maybe 10,000 people  the army could be bigger than 5000 and occupy considerable space.
2. Bigsby: PP114, 115

Did you know that civil enforcement officers have replaced traditional traffic wardens and are responsible for enforcing: 

• Limited Waiting Bays
• Double and Single Yellow Lines
• On Street Pay and Display Bays
• Residents’ Parking Zones
• Blue Badge Bays
• Loading Bays
• Bus Stops
• Taxi Bays
• School Keep Clears
• Clearways
• Dropped Kerb Access (also Police)
• Double Parking (also Police)
• Pedestrian Crossings (also Police)
• Car Parks (with orders)

To report issues that the civil enforcement officers enforce such as double yellows or school zig zags please report direct via email: contact.centre@derbyshire.gov.uk or by Calling: 01629 533190

The police are responsible for enforcing:

• Double White Lines
• Obstruction – For example, pavements with No Parking Restrictions
• Dangerous Parking where there are no restrictions in place, for example, On Bends, Brows Of Hills and Junctions
• Dropped Kerb Access (Also Civil Enforcement Officers)
• Double Parking (Also Civil Enforcement Officers)
• One-Way Traffic
• Box Junctions
• Access Only
• White-Hatched Areas
• Pedestrian Crossings (Also Civil Enforcement Officers)

For Police related offences, please call 101

The B5008, Willington Road, Repton will have a temporary speed limit restriction to facilitate patching prior to surface dressing with the traffic order being in effect from 3rd to 7th March 2025. Please contact Call Derbyshire for further information on 01629 533190

THIS HAS NOW BEEN UPDATED BY DCC TO EXTEND UNTIL 14TH MARCH 2025

Would you or someone you know, like to be involved in representing the Repton Parish?  Repton Parish Council has a casual vacancy for a councillor, due to a resignation   This now means that the vacancy can be filled by co-opting a councillor. This post of Councillor would be held until the next local elections which are due in May 2027 for the Repton Parish, which includes not only Repton but also Milton.  The criteria below are the same for a Councillor that is voted in during an election or co-opted.

What is the Purpose of a Parish Councillor?

You are there to represent the views of all the residents within your parish.  You will be responsible for the running of services the Council provide, such as the burial ground, allotments, arboreta and recreation facilities at Mitre Field and Broomhills recreation ground.  You work to bring forward issues that are important to the residents that you represent and help to plan how the Parish Council can improve the Parish’s facilities.  The Council are trying to improve Youth Facilities in the area at the moment.  You can comment on planning applications in the area and represent the views of the residents that may be affected by the plans.  You must be willing to represent the views of the whole community.

What criteria must you meet to be a Councillor?

1. Over the age of 18 years and
2. Be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of any member of the European Union and
3. Be registered as a local government elector for the parish OR occupy as an owner or tenant, land or premises in the parish for the past 12 months OR work in the parish as your principal or only place of work OR live within three miles of the parish boundary

What obligations are there?

1. You must sign a declaration of office before you can attend your first meeting.
2. You must abide by the Parish Council’s code of conduct, this can be found on the website
3. Complete a register of interests which will be published on the Parish Council’s website and that of South Derbyshire District Council.  This ensures that you have declared any interests that you may have of a financial nature or that may benefit you or could influence what decisions you make as a Councillor.

What will be expected of you?

Repton Parish Council has 11 meetings per year; these are usually held on the second Monday of the month at 19:30 (excluding August).  Usually held in Repton Village Hall, the October meeting is held in Milton Village Hall. You should attend as many of these as possible.  You will be expected to have read the agenda and previous month’s minutes before the meeting.  The meeting is your chance to present your views and that of the residents that you represent.  Committee meetings are also held for Finance.  The Council has various working groups that you should try and involve yourself with, hopefully these will encompass areas of the parish that you may already have an interest in. Please follow this link for a description and expectations of a Parish Councillor.

Still interested or think you may know someone that is?

Please follow the links for application forms and details of the co-option process or by contacting the Clerk, details shown below.  Application forms need to be submitted to the Clerk.  The co-option will occur at the next meeting, see meetings for details of when and where this will be. 

Any queries please contact the Clerk on 07341 907137 or clerk@repton-pc.gov.uk or speak to any of the Councillors.

Pinfold Lane/Mount Pleasant Road, between the junction with High Street and Springfield Road will be closed to facilitate gas main replacement with the traffic order being in effect from 28th April to 29th May 2025. Please contact Call Derbyshire for further information on 01629 533190

As your Parish Council Chairman, I thought I would give you an update on what projects we are all involved in.  There is of course an ulterior motive as we still need two further councillors to make up our numbers (information and application forms can be found here: https://www.repton-pc.gov.uk/councillor-vacancies/) and to explain what your council tax pays for!

Over the past year we have been concentrating on a number of projects.  The SIDS speed monitors have taken time to get the licences for, have the lamp posts tested for safety and now we are about to buy them and have them installed.  They will be able to be moved around Repton and Milton and we hope this will help reduce the speed especially of the through traffic.

Our Mitre Field project, the multi-wheeled pump track, will very soon be out for planning permission and we hope that it will be ready for the summer.  The play area of Mitre Field will be Part 2 of the project as all the play equipment is really past its sell by date though it still passes its safety tests.

The Monsom Lane cemetery has taken some thought as the gate was broken, now replaced, the grass, leaves and tree debris have needed more looking after and some of the burial stones have been unsafe and needed attention.  The Allotments are now in a much better state and Repton received an award for them this year.

Our footpaths around Repton, perhaps one of our jewels in our crown, need constant vigilance to keep them passable and open.  We have a new jitty light at the far end of Matthews jitty.  The Matthews Jitty Bridge over the Brook has been rebuilt and is now safe for the future.  The bins, railings and steps also require constant attention.  You will have noticed that we have beautiful colourful planters around Repton and Repton in Bloom got an award in its first year, thanks to one Parishioner, and these need constant attention.

Repton has an active group of Flood Wardens led by an experienced Hydrologist and we are making progress.  We are also in the process of setting up a Significant Incident group to become the first responder to any incident, for example the sink hole on Brook End this summer, to help before the professionals arrive.

This past year we have been concerned with the Milton Telephone box and its new Defibrillator to complement the Repton Village Hall and Broomhills Defibrillators.  These need regular attention to allow them to be registered on the Defibrillator website.

Speed watch in Repton and Milton has been a great success and whilst they still need volunteers, they are very active.  Buying and replacing equipment all takes money!

We do have regular commitments, Remembrance, Broomhills pavilion, Christmas and occasional jubilees when hopefully the Repton village takes the lead but often need pump priming from the Parish Council.

All this this on top of the regular commitments such as our invaluable clerk, insurances, St Wystan’s clock servicing and the Public Works Loan for our wonderful Village Hall and now we are committing to our Youth club as we believe that we all need to do more for the youth in Repton

Now the painful bit!  This all costs money but In order to do more than just pay our running costs, the Parish Council needs a small income and I hope you can see something of what your Volunteer Councillors do for us all.  South Derbyshire District Council is considering taking £15,000 from our grant next year (2026/27) and this very fact means we need to achieve as much as we can in the year 25/26.  We have increased the total precept to £75,000 which is an increase of approximately 67p per month for a Band D property.  We all have to pay this tax and any increase is painful but I hope I have shown you that we are active and doing the best we can for Repton.

The next meeting of the Parish council is scheduled for Monday 10^th February 2025, starting at 19.30 in the Repton Village Hall.  All are welcome to attend.

The clerk is available for any queries via telephone or email every Monday from 2pm to 5pm and every Thursday from 9am until midday, unless on annual leave.  Outside of these times please do leave a voicemail or send an email, which will be picked up by the Clerk.

You can contact Caroline Crowder – Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer for the Repton Parish Council by mobile 07341 907137 or email clerk@repton-pc.gov.uk  All parish council documents are available on the web site www.repton-pc.gov.uk

Jonathan Sheldon

Chairman of Repton Parish Council

Footpath 29, that runs from Burdett Way past Askew Hill towards Milton is temporarily closed by Derbyshire County Council for footbridge repairs.  They are waiting for the ground conditions to be less wet in order to allow them safe access to make the repairs.  They believe is unlikely to happen for a few months.