I am downhearted today. The application to demolish Old Pennar School was determined yesterday and conditional planning approval was given.
I feel a massive sense of injustice in the whole affair - but it is not over yet. There could be a Judicial Review! More about this in a later post........
Progress is progress, but at what price? Should one of the few buildings left in Pennar, that holds a communal connection with the past be eradicated to provide yet more housing?
That people need places to live cannot be denied - it is a human right to be able to live, with your family, where you wish. Does this mean that everything else is subsidiary to this? I think not! The basis of society is family. As Mrs Doubtfire said, "There are all sorts of different families, Katie.", and family is a generational thing. A community of families needs a sense of place, an identity - this is the cement of a civilised society and places the community in both time and space. Do people want to live in a landscape devoid of any concrete statement of their communal heritage?
My experience as a teacher for many years has taught me that a school is focus for a community. "School days are the happiest days of your life" - not true for all, but so true for the majority. School days are NOT, in our memories, about the 3Rs - they are about the teachers who made a connection with us, the social life of the playground, the subversive passing of notes, the moaning about school dinners, the adoration of spotted dick and custard, the friends we made, the "falling outs" we had (a girl thing mainly;)) and the tumult of learning about how to deal with the vast complexity of life.
All these things happen in a school. A school is a place where - in the case of Old Pennar School - there were:
....outside loos, frozen milk, coal burner fires in the classroom, football or "Kingy" at break, marbles in the pits along the lane into school. The teachers and their foibles, the screaming swifts, Pioneers, Discoverers, Adventurers and Pilgrims. I was a Pilgrim!
and more.....
Stephen Butland and myself in the wheel-barrow race!!! Football practice in the park - "Sir, I think I've pulled a muscle!"; "James, I didn't know you had any muscles!" Pride in your own stories read out in class or your art work posted on the walls of the classroom. Lizards and shrews in your desk after lunch. Allowed home early for good work. Watching the launch of the QE2 with Mrs Harris......
How many of us have deliberately driven past our old schools to show our young passengers where we went to school and revisit tales of classroom derring-do?
None of the above plays any role in the planning process. The decision to demolish old buildings is reduced to the type of thing that is written below:
Planning Application - Details
Having regard to the details of the application proposals, and the relevant provisions of the Local Development Plan for Pembrokeshire (adopted 28 February 2013) as summarised below Policies SP 1, SP 14, GN.1, GN.2, GN.26 and GN.37 It is considered that subject to compliance with the conditions attached in this permission, the proposed development would be in accordance with the Development Plan. This informative is intended only to be a summary of the reasons for the granting of planning permission. For further details on the decision, please see the application report under the above reference.
I remain unclear about the details in the "application report under the above reference" . I can't find it or indeed the reference??
The documents relating to the application can be found on the PCC Planning website at reference: 14/1098/PA
I will be writing more about this very soon. Meanwhile, there are threads running on the following Facebook Groups.
I Live in Pembrokeshire and I Love it!"
Pembroke and Pembroke Dock in Old Photographs
Pennar, Pembroke Dock in Old Photographs
Also see Facebook Page: Save Old Pennar School
Adrian, what a sad day for Pembroke Dock, how does the town get back some control over how its' heritage or any other buildings are disposed of and what becomes of the town? It seems county council officials have all the power and our elected representatives, even if they wanted to, have no say or do can do nothing. I am still pursuing my attempts to obtain written evidence of the process that led to Paterchurch being disposed of and how it was possible that who the building was sold to and the proposals for it were considered and decided by one small internal team within the County Council with no discussion outside. Once I eventually obtain the information I need I will pursue it further. Persevering with the thick brick wall that this attempt means coming up against is difficult and time consuming. This is what should and no doubt will, one day, be demolished. I know how much the work you have put into trying to save Pennar School represents.I can understand your heavy heart today but take courage and do keep up the good work. Siân
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