A PLANNING application has been submitted to build an extension and provide new facilities at a Northumberland college.
Kirkley Hall, a campus of Northumberland College based in Ponteland and managed by Education Partnership North East, has submitted an application to build a two-storey side extension to provide new refectory and classroom facilities.
It is proposed to extend the Kielder Building to the north, into an area of bare ground currently used for parking and storage.
The existing two-storey Kielder Building, which the proposal is to be an extension of, houses major teaching facilities including classrooms, IT resources, SEND facilities, and ancillary staff and student functions.
The vision for the proposal is to enhance the educational offer available, extending the existing Kielder building to provide kitchen and back of house spaces, and gender neutral and accessible toilet facilities.
These are to be integrated into the existing building encouraging inclusion, equality and accessibility.
The site's existing refectory and kitchen facilities are limited and located away from the main spaces of the central campus and Kielder Building.
E3 Ecology Ltd was commissioned by Education Partnership North East in August 2022 to undertake an Ecological Appraisal of land at Kirkley Hall.
Earlier consultation for the college for another project at the site indicates the site lies within 1.3 kilometre of the Blyth and Pont Rivers Local Wildlife Site (LWS) and within 1.7 kilometre of the Benridge Bog LWS.
There are records of otter, badger, red squirrel and various species of bats within a two kilometre radius of the site.
The proposed development is not expected to have any impacts on statutory or non-statutory sites or on areas of deciduous woodland. With good working practice, no negative effects on local watercourses are expected.
To mitigate effects on wildlife, several measures have been proposed.
Two built-in bat roosts will be created in the new extension building, lighting will minimise light pollution in the local area, and excavations left open overnight will have a means of escape for mammals that may become trapped in them.
No negative effects on biodiversity are expected if the proposed preventative measures are taken.
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