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| Croxley Danes School site, summer 2016 |
As plans
progress to build a new school, the actual site remains one of the ‘hidden
secrets’ of Croxley Green as I recently discovered. These ‘hidden secrets’ may
be of public interest as the site is developed.
In many
ways the site is far from ideal, and the planners are going to have to think
very carefully how they can create contemporary learning environments, while at
the same time delivering structures that coexist with the present natural and
suburban environment. Such engineering
solutions do not come cheap!
The site
of appox. 25 acres is bounded by Rousebarn Lane to the north, the metropolitan
railway to the south, the Grand Union Canal to the east and the lane, Lodge End
to the west. For simplicity I will refer to each of 4 quadrants.
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| Croxley Danes site map |
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From the
shops at the bottom of Baldwins Lane, and when the leaves have fallen from the
hedgerow screen, we all enjoy the glimpse of one the most beautiful fields of
Croxley Green. This SW quadrant of the site is a flat expanse of meadow backed
by a row of tall majestic lime trees and is locally known as ‘the horses
field’. Given that this is the only part
of the site that makes contact with a main road, Baldwins Lane, this will be
the entry and exit for the new school. Imagine now a turning circle and parking
for staff, visitors, coaches and acres of tarmac similar to the current
forecourt at St Clement Danes! Sadly I
see no alternative but maybe some generous planting will help.
We will
have to wait and see if the plans include buildings in front of this row of mature
lime trees. If so they will sadly become hidden from view. Whatever happens
though, they really must stay! They are
the most stunning single feature of the whole site. The sight of this avenue will bowl you over!
They were once the grand approach to Cassiobridge House and surely must be preserved
despite the site being delisted from Green Belt for educational use. They have
been described by a local Environmental Officer as “the best example of a lime
walk in Hertfordshire”. This row of 14
pairs of stately limes runs across part of the site from north to south
separating the SW and SE quadrants. I gather they are protected with tree
protection orders but I trust they will be ‘sympathetically incorporated’.
A quick
reference to a google map earth view, shows the familiar NW quadrant of the
school site. Familiar that is, to anyone
who has ever been tobogganing or skiing in Croxley Green. This open field has provided
a good slope down which to slide on a snowy winter weekend for generations! It has yet to be revealed how this slope is intended
to be used, but what is absolutely certain is that this is a very prominent
landmark to many residents in Croxley Green.
This green lung is visible from houses, streets and gardens from Links
Way to Durrants Drive and from Canterbury Way to Baldwins Lane. Will the slope be terraced? Will it support buildings? Will ‘slope re-profiling’ remove this
hillside altogether? This is a
substantial topographical challenge! Whatever is done this green downland forms
the eastern horizon to this sector of Croxley Green and in turn ‘overlooks’ all
these houses!
Anyone up
here on the school site will be looking down on you!
The NE
quadrant is occupied by the top of a hill or spur and is generally flat and
hidden from view except for the houses at Gade Bank . Should major earthworks, as has been mooted, flatten the hilltop, some
specimen mature trees will need protection, and the neighbouring West Herts
golf club might well be concerned about the impact on the local water table!
The SE
quadrant, sandwiched between the canal and that row of special lime trees and
the Metropolitan railway line embankment, is an area of low-lying former flood
plain. It is a dark, dank and most uninspiring spot, shaded from the sun for
much of the day. I gather there is a plan to raise the level of the ground here to prevent flooding, but sadly it is
likely to remain a zone of poor environmental quality. I hope that this is not going to be the site
for a classroom block or playground! Not somewhere I would want my children to
spend many hours! Classroom block windows in this location would have a most depressing
outlook. Maybe the planners can stick a large sports complex here where it will
also be hidden from view!
At what is
virtually the middle of the entire site is where Cassiobridge House once stood
and before then the Medieval manor of Snells Hall. This was on slightly higher
ground but not so high as to be exposed. Maybe our predecessors knew something about
siting buildings. An assessment of the
site’s archaeological value has yet to take place.
I
still wonder if this is a sensible or suitable site for a school. A
tightly 'bounded' site creates restrictions that should ring alarm bells for
the planners - name a secondary school which has not needed to expand? Lets hope the planners will rise to the many challenges
and come up with some creative and inspirational solutions. I hope the local community will in
turn scrutinise the plans carefully and not accept them as a ‘faites accompli’ when the planning application is submitted. For our
children and future generations, we all want to make this space a joyous place
to learn and not an eyesore to the local community.
