In 1877 the South Molton United Schools commissioned a new building comprising of two large classrooms, two school rooms and two large playgrounds. The building provided schooling for 480 day pupils and was officially opened in January 1880. In 1909 a new extension of four classrooms was added and the South Molton Technical and Art school moved into them. This building is now in danger of becoming another victim of a developer’s excessive desire for financial gain and the rush to build houses over a more thoughtful and holistic approach (Planning Application 65101). We have already lost too many buildings and green spaces to developers in the last ten years it is time to call a halt to the destruction of our past.

A town is so much more than just a collection of buildings and people. There is a sense of ‘place’ generated by the memories of those who have lived in a town for many years and those arriving new to the town making their own memories. The thousands of pupils, teachers, parents and others who have passed through this school building provide an intangible, but nevertheless unbroken, history of South Molton and alongside other buildings and sites provide the basis for the community spirit that we must foster if South Molton is to survive and prosper. The school is in itself a repository of 140 years of memories both good and bad and as such should remain a part of the community and remain an educational establishment not a block of box like dwellings (three of the nine flats have less total area than the Department for Communities and Local Government Technical Housing Standards – nationally described space standard, which makes them pretty tiny). Given that over 1500 houses are being built on agricultural land all around South Molton, which will double the population (Under 5,000 at the 2011 census) the need for some form of community centre becomes ever more important.

In South Molton, there is no Adult Education available, few restaurants, no cinema, little entertainment beyond the George Hotel and one bank left. Public transport is far too infrequent and stops too early to be of any use (last bus 19.15 from Barnstaple. No service on Sunday. Single Fare £1.80).

South Molton needs its own Arts and Education centre and we ask the planners to reject this application which will profit no-one but the developers and make South Molton as a community a great deal poorer for the loss of yet another potential resource. We understand from the Local plan and other policy documents that there are a number of policies within the Local Plan, Neighbourhood Plan and other studies that are directly addressing these concerns.

There is a restrictive covenant on the property limiting it to educational use only but this is not a planning consideration, although approval of this development will help the case for removal of this covenant.

We ask the North Devon Council Planning Committee to deny the applicants planning permission for this project as the building would be far more important and useful to the town as an Arts & Education Centre. There are many people in the town who given the chance will support the creation of such a centre.

Planning Application 65101
http://planning.northdevon.gov.uk/search.asp