Read Peter Gale Nonsuch new blog post about the proposed sports dome amid face of opposition.

Nonsuch High School for Girls, in Ewell Road, Cheam, still needs to build the dome on the edge of nature reserve Warren Farm yet has brought down the proposed height from 45ft (13.6m) to 31ft (9.5m).

Its reexamined plans for the air-supported dome and a running track, pitches and a structure have now a pavilion been submitted to Epsom Council.

The school will hold two open gatherings on its recommendations later this month.
Residents opposed to the plans and who have been requesting more prominent consultation have created a pressure group, No to Nonsuch Dome, and are also forming a residents’ association.

Neill Denny from the pressure group, who lives in close-by Holmwood Road, said the plans remain "virtually unchanged" and nothing had been done to ally fears over parking, pollution, and out-of-hours use.

Mr. Denny stated: "We are pleased that the school has agreed to reduce the enormous size of the dome but that is only one cosmetic concession, slightly more alluring shade of lipstick on what remains a gigantic pig. As planned, the sports development is too big for the site, will generate traffic and noise late into the evening and at weekends, will harm local wildlife and represents a blot on the landscape that will wreck the tranquillity of the Warren Farm Woodland Trust site."

The school's plan said the creation of a "high-quality sporting facility would profit both the school and the local community

It said trees would be planted along the limit with Warren Farm nature hold to screen the sports dome and there would be "minimal visual change" to the character of the site.

Neill Denny by the site
Since the plans have just been submitted, Mr. Denny said the school meetings, on August 20, were to advise residents what will happen, not to consult them in any meaningful sense

He included: "It’s a little bit like shutting the stable after the horse has bolted." A response from the school is as yet anticipated however on Monday headteacher Peter Gale, confirmed the school was looking at holding a "public information hearing" about the sports development in the third week of August.

An Epsom Council spokesman said the plans were expected to come before the council's planning committee in October. Learn more about Peter Gale Nonsuch here, Connect with Peter Gale Nonsuch through Linkedin here and follow Peter Gale Nonsuch on twitter here.