DYSON SCHOOL TO GO TO PUBLIC INQUIRY
Entrepreneur Sir James Dyson's £56 million school plan for Bath was
today thrown into doubt after a minister called a public inquiry into
the scheme.
Local government minister Baroness Andrews has told council chiefs and
the Dyson Foundation that she wants the fate of the controversial
riverside school to be decided by a planning inquiry.
Her decision will delay the school, which has already been put back by
a year.
The foundation has always stressed that it faces a race against the
clock to hang onto public funding for the school, which will pioneer
new ways of teaching design and engineering.
The Dyson School of Design Innovation is planned for the old Stothert
and Pitt site at South Quays but has been opposed by many
conservationists because of the impact on the historic Newark Works
building and worries over flooding.No date has yet been set for an
inquiry but the move is likely to mean that it will be at least another
year before Sir James knows whether his scheme has planning permission
or not.
The scheme was approved by Bath and North East Somerset Council earlier
this year but needed the minister's approval.
A letter announcing the decision, which is in the name of Communities
and Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears, says that the inquiry will
look at flood risk issues, whether the scheme fits in with the
Government's Regional Spatial Strategy blueprint, and the impact on
listed buildings and the city's World Heritage status.
The inquiry will be presided over by an experienced planning inspector,
who will make recommendations to ministers.