Cllr. Hamish Pollock reports: “Planning permission was granted last Wednesday (19th March 2014) when I attended and voted at the Council’s Development Control Committee for the new two storey block at Carshalton High School for Girls. The block will be built close to the boundary with the Carshalton Athletic Football Club. The block would be substantial – about 40 x 24 metres in size, and about 11 metres in height and will house the new school canteen, plus classrooms and dance and drama studios. It will be mostly painted render in appearance.”

He adds: “The existing canteen buildings will be demolished in the south-east corner of the school grounds near the West Street and Colston Avenue junction… The committee agreed with the planning officers’ recommendations that the scheme would not have a detrimental impact on the surrounding area. A resident from Colston Avenue in favour of the development addressed the committee. Councillors present were however concerned over the proposed loss of a group of some existing hornbeam trees near the west boundary, but they were reassured that their replacement by 15 new hornbeam trees about 4 to 4.5 metres high would help to substantially mitigate this loss”.