There were no apologies for absence.

There were none.

The minutes of the Development Management Committee held on 18 May 2016 to be submitted and signed.

Copies of the minutes of this meeting are usually available seven working days following the meeting.

All minutes are available on the Council’s website.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2016 were submitted and signed.

Demolition of buildings and erection of 25 no. 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and commercial/retail uses on the ground floor

The committee received the report of the Head of Development Management, including the relevant planning history of the site and details of the responses to the application. 

The Planning Officer introduced the item, explaining that the application proposed the demolition of the existing buildings and the erection of 25 one and two bedroom apartments and commercial/retail uses on the ground floor.

It was reported that the committee had undertaken a site visit prior to the meeting.

The Chair invited Douglas Bond from Woolf Bond Planning to speak in support of the application.  Mr Bond, the agent for the application, explained that there had been considerable pre-application dialogue to agree a high quality, policy compliant development proposal. 

The site was ideally suited to a mixed housing and retail development, and the developer had worked with officers to meet local residents’ concerns and to optimise the number and type of affordable housing units.  The current affordable housing proposals had the support of the Council’s housing manager.

The Chair then invited Councillor Bolton, Central Ward Councillor, to speak to the committee.  Councillor Bolton explained that whilst the principle of development was accepted, its current form was not.  This area of the town had undergone considerable development in recent years and he was concerned about the on-going disruption to residents and businesses.

Councillor Bolton questioned the design of the proposed development, as well as its scale which seemed more in keeping with Beechen Grove rather than the adjacent Estcourt Conservation Area.  It would result in a loss of amenity to local residents.

He also expressed concerns about: the loss of commercial space on the ground floor, which ran contrary to moves to increase commercial activity in the area; the size of some of the housing units, which fell short of national standards; and the potential loss of parking and loading spaces during construction.

In the event that planning permission were granted, Councillor Bolton requested that careful consideration be given to the street planting in front of the development.

In response to a request from the chair, the Planning Officer clarified that careful consideration had been given to the impact of the development on the neighbouring conservation area.  The current proposal, including its roof line, had been approved by the Urban Design and Conservation Manager.  He further explained the need to balance housing needs against the loss of a relatively small area of commercial space in the application.

The Chair invited comments from the committee. 

Whilst welcoming development of the site and the improvement of the current proposal over previous applications, Committee members expressed some concerns.  In particular, they had reservations about the percentage of affordable housing which fell short of the council’s 35% target.  Councillors did not wish to set a precedent at a time of acute housing shortage. 

Concerns were also expressed about the shortfall on room sizes in some of the affordable housing units against minimum standards.

Addressing Councillors’ concerns, the Head of Development Management explained that in order to make the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.