Music school given green light to stay open

Praise for Cold Ash community support after row qirh neighbour over pupils numbers led to planning case

A COLD Ash music teacher has thanked the local community for its support, after his music school was saved from closure.

Leo Westby's business at his home, Wee Mere, Cold Ash Hill, was under threat after a dispute with neighbours regarding noise and parking.

He thanked his supporters in the village for attending two meetings to show their strength of feeling to keep open the school, and added that if the decision had gone the other way, it would have been the end of his livelihood.

He said: “I'm absolutely blown away.

“It's amazing the amount of people who turned up.

“I think it was a huge help.”

During a meeting of the western area planning committee on March 2, at which planners decided that the school could stay, district councillor Jeff Beck (Clay Hill, Con) commented on the “truly commendable” level of community support for the music school.

Mr Westby had been asked by West Berkshire Council to apply for a lawful development certificate after residents in Cold Ash Hill questioned whether the school had the relevant paperwork to operate at its current level.

They believed the business had expanded in recent years.

However, Mr Westby said that he used just one room within his home for teaching, and that the business had been operating at the same level for at least 10 years.

He said that when he first bought the property he used a bedroom, but that since his two-storey extension was completed in 2006, he now had a purpose built, sound-proofed space.

The committee granted the certificate based on Mr Westby's evidence.

One of his supporters, Collette Thomson, whose daughter Zoe is a pupil at the school, said that the outcome was a huge relief. She said: “I can't imagine any other teacher getting out of her what he does.”

Concerns were raised as to why permission for the music school had been brought to committee when many people felt it should have been rubberstamped.

District councillor Barbara Alexander (Compton, Con) questioned why the western area planning committee was wasting time debating the application.

The committee was being asked to approve the application for Mr Westby to be able to continue to use a single room within his Cold Ash Hill home for teaching pupils, and

he was asked to prove that the business had existed for at least 10 years.

Mrs Alexander said: “When one sees this application and realises what we are trying to approve, to me this is fairly clear cut.

“Quite honestly, when you look at the facts, it seems quite obvious it has been used for at least 10 years.”

However, district councillor Geoff Findlay (Cold Ash, Con) defended the decision to call it in because of the objections made by four neighbours regarding noise, parking and the size of the school.

He said: “Not only did it seem unfair to those objecting that the applicant could gain planning permission by just stating the house had been used for music lessons for 10 years, and that the decision would be taken behind closed doors, but there was real resentment that their legitimate concerns – such things as noise and traffic/parking – would not be taken into account.”

Committee chairman Paul Bryant (Speen, Con) said that the school had started out in one room but that an annex had been built and therefore there was some confusion about whether the certificate should be granted.

He added: “Perhaps it should not have come to committee.

“It is a bit of a storm in a tea cup.”