Plans submitted for new school pitches

The application details a change of agricultural land to form two grass sports pitches with landscaping, pathway, drainage and associated works.

Recent development in the town has led to an increase in the school-age population requiring an expansion of education facilities. A three-classroom extension opened at North Berwick High School in 2022 while a new nursery is nearing completion on land that formerly housed part of the secondary school’s sports pitches. The school has since been using pitches elsewhere in the town to meet its extra-curricular sporting requirements.

Grass pitches

The plans for two new grass pitches were developed following extensive discussions with the school’s management team and its health and wellbeing department. The configuration also allows for the addition of a running track alongside the school’s existing grass and synthetic pitches, and learning and teaching space for general use. The expansion will provide sporting facilities in accordance with the optimum sizes recommended by national agency SportScotland for the school population now and in the future. In response to a request from the school’s Parent Council, the plans also show that the existing school campus would be able to further accommodate three hard courts that could be part of a future development if additional funding was made available.

Additional land

Additional land has been secured from North Berwick Trust to extend the boundary of the school campus. A 142 linear metre (lm) section of existing hedge will be removed to reflect the new boundary while providing staff with clear sightlines across the pitches providing a safe environment for physical education. This section will be replaced with over 247lm of extensive planting along the three new boundaries including over 3000 new trees, shrubs, hedge and ivy plants together with wildflowers. The retained boundary hedge will also be underplanted with small native trees and shrubs.

Native planting

The landscape has been designed to increase the use of native planting and provide a diverse year-round environment for a wide range of insects, birds and wildlife. Increasing the total area of hedgerow habitat and enhancing connectivity between the existing and new woodland strips, the planting will provide an important linear corridor between the habitats on site and the wider environment as well as providing a visual barrier between properties and pitches. It also reflects recommendations in an independent ecological report which was commissioned in relation to the proposed development.

A new path network will connect Farquharson Rest to the wider education campus providing a safe route to the schools and nursery.

The planning application is available to view online from the council’s planning portal [use application reference 23/00911/P in the 'simple search' function]. Planning applications may be notified through a neighbour notification notice, through a site notice posted at the site and/ or through a statutory planning notice in the local press. Respondents have 21 days, from whichever is the later date given in these, to submit their comments. In exceptional circumstances the planning case officer may agree an extension to this period.

Notes to Editors

• The application relates to a 1.83 hectare parcel of land to the west of the existing school campus and which is zoned for Education use on the Local Development Plan. It has been secured following an agreement with North Berwick Trust, which owns part of the land. The additional space is required to facilitate the expansion of the school campus.

• The council has a statutory responsibility to provide adequate and efficient education across all areas of the curriculum. The new pitches are being delivered to meet the school roll beyond national optimum guidance with a new school campus layout and boundaries put in place.

• An independent ecological survey of the current hedgerow carried out by specialist consultants determined that it was ‘highly modified and not of high conservation value. Even the main wooded shelterbelt was primarily non-native trees. Therefore, increasing native species on site in any accompanying landscape plan is recommended.’ The full report is available to read online as part of the planning application via the council’s planning portal [use application reference 23/00911/P in the 'simple search' function]

• The landscape design statement has been prepared to consider the landscape impact and proposed mitigation for the extension of the campus. A planting schedule is included. The design statement outlines plans to increase the area of planting, increasing the presence of native species and enhancing biodiversity. Two hedges on the new north and south borders of the pitches will contain hedgerow trees with herbaceous understorey while a woodland will be created on the western boundary with trees and shrubs with herbaceous underplanting. The retained boundary hedge will be underplanted with small native trees and shrubs as recommended in the ecological report to increase the biodiversity value.

• All of the reports and drawings are available to view on the council’s planning portal (search with reference 23/00911).

• Planning applications may be notified through a neighbour notification notice, through a site notice posted at the site and/ or through a statutory planning notice in the local press. Respondents have 21 days, from whichever is the later date given in the aforementioned notice(s), to submit their comments. In exceptional circumstances the planning case officer may agree an extension to this period.