Plan to increase capacity at Cheshire Day Nursery rejected by planners

A bid to increase the capacity of the Cheshire Day Nursery at Thelwall has been rejected by Warrington planners due to excessive noise pollution.

The Bright Stars Nursery Group was seeking permission to increase the existing cap on the number of children and to utilise the remainder of the building as nursery space at The Cheshire Day Nursery, Thelwall New Road Industrial Estate, Thelwall New Road, Warrington.

The proposal involved unutilized space within the existing nursery being used to accommodate the demand for more nursery spaces at The Cheshire Day Nursery Thelwall and to remove the existing capacity caps on previous planning applications when the property was smaller.

Planning permission was sought to replace the existing permissions on the site with one new permission which would cover the use of the entire building and application site as a children’s nursery. It is requested that permission is granted for up to 130 children to attend at any one time.

There were three objections from nearby residents, all occupiers of properties off Woodford Close and highlighted excessive noise from the existing operations of the nursery, which has an adverse impact on their amenity and the enjoyment of their properties and garden areas.
Concerns were also raised that the increase in traffic will have a detrimental impact on the wider environment.
Warrington Borough Council planners said the proposed increase in the number of children to be accommodated on the site would result in excessive noise pollution arising from the increased use of the outdoor play areas associated with the nursery. This would have a harmful impact on the amenity and quality of life of existing neighbouring, residential occupiers. Insufficient information has been provided in relation to the operation of the outdoor play areas to demonstrate that the noise impacts can be mitigated or controlled.

They said the application also failed to demonstrate that the additional vehicle movements and parking requirements associated with the proposed increase in the number of children to be cared for on the site can be accommodated without detriment to the local highway network and the amenity of the surrounding local area and community. The existing number of parking spaces available on the site would fail to meet the requirements set out in the adopted SPD, Standards for Parking in New Development (2015), for a children’s nursery of the proposed size.