Agenda item
20/00037/FULM - 425 - 445 St Albans Road
- Meeting of Development Management Committee, Wednesday, 13 May 2020 7.00 pm (Item 73.)
- View the background to item 73.
Minutes:
The Development Management Team Leader summarised his report to the meeting, including the relevant planning history of the site.
The Chair invited Mr Don Messenger of DP9, the agent for London Square to address the meeting. Mr Messenger introduced the design and his client, London Square, an established developer committed to building this development, despite the current recession.
The approach from the outset had been to align this scheme with local and national policy. Working closely with the council and in consultation with residents via two local public exhibitions, achieving an overall attendance of over 600 people.
He commented that affordable housing was a priority, but also a challenge for developers and the viability study had resulted in there being none in this development. However, the developers had committed to make a commuted sum payment of £500,000 to the council to allow them to commission their own development of affordable housing.
The Chair then invited Councillor Richard Smith, councillor for Leggatts ward, to address the committee.
Councillor Smith explained that he had spoken with local residents and the developers, but felt that this was not the right scheme for this area, which really needed three-bed units. He expressed surprise that there were no three bed units as he felt family style units would be appropriate, especially with a school nearby.
He added that the overall height and the blocking of light, lack of communal areas coupled with the likelihood of traffic issues in an already busy area, made it an unsuitable development.
The Chair commented that he felt the scale was resolved well, but that there was not the right mix of accommodation.
There followed a discussion where the committee expressed their disapproval about the lack of affordable housing within the application; the lack of space in the units for small families and the lack of car parking spaces.
The Development Management Team Leader commented that all units met the internal space standards and this was addressed in his report from paragraph 6.10 onwards. Forty-six of the units were two bed, four person units. Whilst the surrounding area was predominantly three bedroom houses with gardens, most young families could not afford such a property, but needed to start with a smaller apartment, such as was offered here.
Councillor Bell expressed his opinion regarding the ‘huge size’ of the development.
It was pointed out that the scheme was policy compliant, despite the high density of dwellings and lack of affordable housing. Councillor Johnson expressed his concern that the developer had no requirement to agree to a late stage review.
Councillor Sharpe commented that whilst he deplored the lack of affordable housing, the scheme was entirely policy compliant and therefore there were no grounds to refuse.
Councillor Bell proposed a motion to refuse the application, based on the large scale of the building not matching the surrounding area.
In accordance with Standing Committee Procedure Rules, paragraph 4.2, Councillor Peter Jeffree requested that it be recorded in the minutes how Members cast their votes.
Those Members Voting For the Motion :
Cllr Bell.
Cllr Ezeifedi.
Cllr Mills.
Those members voting against the motion:
Cllr Collett.
Cllr Johnson.
Cllr Pattinson.
Cllr Sharpe.
Cllr Hastrick.
Cllr Jeffree (Chair).
Accordingly the motion was refused.
The Chair then proposed a vote to approve the application in accordance with the officer’s recommendation and the update sheet.
Those members voting for the motion:
Cllr Johnson.
Cllr Collett.
Cllr Pattinson.
Cllr Sharpe.
Cllr Hastrick.
Cllr Jeffree (Chair).
Those members voting against the motion:
Cllr Bell - against.
Cllr Ezeifedi - against.
Cllr Mills - against.
RESOLVED –
That planning permission be granted subject to the completion of a legal agreement under s.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to secure the planning obligations listed below and the following conditions:
Section 106 Heads of Terms
i) To secure a financial payment to the Council of £500,000 towards the provision of affordable housing in the Borough of Watford.
ii) A financial contribution of £6,000 to Hertfordshire County Council for monitoring of the Travel Plan for the site.
Conditions
1. The development to which this permission relates shall be begun within a period of three years commencing on the date of this permission.
2. The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved drawings:-
1592-P-001 P1
1592-P-100 P8
1592-P-300 P5, 301 P5, 302 P2, 303 P3, 304 P5, 305 P5
1592-P-310 P5, 311 P4, 312 P2, 313 P3, 314 P5, 315 P5
1592-P-400 P2, 401 P1
3. No demolition of the existing buildings or construction of the development shall commence until a Construction Traffic Management Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Thereafter the construction of the development shall only be carried out in accordance with the approved Plan. The Construction Traffic Management Plan shall include details of:
a. Construction vehicle numbers, type, routing;
b. Access arrangements to the site;
c. Traffic management requirements
d. Construction and storage compounds (including areas designated for car parking, loading / unloading and turning areas);
e. Siting and details of wheel washing facilities;
f. Cleaning of site entrances, site tracks and the adjacent public highway;
g. Timing of construction activities (including delivery times and removal of waste) and to avoid school pick up/drop off times;
h. Provision of sufficient on-site parking prior to commencement of construction activities;
i. Post construction restoration/reinstatement of the working areas and temporary access to the public highway;
j. Where works cannot be contained wholly within the site a plan should be submitted showing the site layout on the highway including extent of hoarding, pedestrian routes and remaining road width for vehicle movements.
4. No demolition of the existing buildings or construction of the development shall commence until a detailed scheme to deal with the risks associated with the potential contamination of the site and the known underground fuel storage tanks has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall include:
i) a preliminary risk assessment which has identified: all previous uses; potential contaminants associated with those uses; a conceptual model of the site indicating sources, pathways and receptors; and potentially unacceptable risks arising from contamination at the site;
ii) a site investigation scheme, based on (i) to provide information for a detailed assessment of the risk to all receptors that may be affected, including those off site;
iii) the results of the site investigation and risk assessment referred to in (ii) above and, based on these, an options appraisal and remediation strategy giving full details of the remediation measures required and how they are to be undertaken;
iv) a verification plan providing details of the data that will be collected in order to demonstrate that the works set out in the remediation strategy in (iii) are complete and identifying any requirements for longer-term monitoring of pollutant linkages, maintenance and arrangements for contingency action.
No changes to these components shall be undertaken without the written approval of the Local Planning Authority. All works shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.
5. No occupation of the development shall commence until a verification report demonstrating completion of the works set out in the approved remediation strategy (see Condition 3) and the effectiveness of the remediation has been submitted to and approved, in writing, by the Local Planning Authority. The report shall include results of sampling and monitoring carried out in accordance with the approved verification plan to demonstrate that the site remediation criteria have been met.
6. If, during development, contamination not previously identified is found to be present at the site then no further development shall be carried out until the developer has submitted to, and obtained written approval from, the Local Planning Authority for a remediation strategy detailing how this unsuspected contamination is to be dealt with. All works shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.
7. The development permitted by this planning permission shall be carried out in accordance with the approved surface water drainage assessment carried out by Barnard and Associates Ltd (job number 19174, Report ref. 19174-REPORT01-FRA, revision P, dated February 2020), the revised drawings numbered 19174-15 P5 and 19174-16 P4, and the revised Micro Drainage calculations dated 24/04/2020:
i) Limiting the surface water run-off generated by the critical storm events so that it will not exceed the surface water run-off rate of 2.0 l/s during the 1 in 100 year event plus 40% of climate change event.
ii) Providing storage to ensure no increase in surface water run-off volumes for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + climate change event providing a minimum of 144m³ (or such storage volume agreed with the LLFA) of total storage volume in underground tank.
iii) Discharge of surface water from the private drain into the Thames Water sewer network.
The mitigation measures shall be fully implemented prior to occupation and subsequently in accordance with the timing / phasing arrangements embodied within the scheme, or within any other period as may subsequently be agreed, in writing, by the local planning authority.
8. No construction works (excluding demolition works) shall take place until a detailed surface water drainage scheme for the site based on the approved drainage strategy and sustainable drainage principles, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The scheme shall subsequently be implemented in accordance with the approved details before the development is completed. The scheme shall include:
i) Final detailed post development modelling in relation to surface water for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year return period including a +40% allowance for climate change. This should include the final version of the proposed drainage strategy.
ii) Detailed engineered drawings of the proposed SuDS features including cross section drawings, their size, volume, depth and any inlet and outlet features including any connecting pipe runs.
iii) Final detailed management plan to include arrangements for adoption and any other arrangements to secure the operation of the scheme throughout its lifetime.
9. No piling or other foundation designs using penetrative methods shall take place until a method statement (detailing the depth and type of piling and/or foundations to be undertaken and the methodology by which such piling/foundations will be carried out, including measures to prevent and minimise the potential for damage to subsurface sewerage infrastructure, measures to prevent harm to groundwater resources and the programme for the works) has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out only in accordance with the approved details.
10. No construction works above ground level (excluding demolition works) shall commence until a noise mitigation scheme for each of the residential dwellings requiring acoustic double glazing, based upon the recommendations of the Acoustics Report (Report 70064957-AC1 dated December 2019) by WSP, has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall include the details and specifications of the sound reduction performance of all glazed and non-glazed elements of the building facades. No dwelling shall be occupied until the approved mitigation measures have been installed in full, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
11. No construction works above ground level (excluding demolition works) shall commence until details of the ventilation system for each of the residential dwellings requiring acoustic double glazing, based upon the recommendations of the Acoustics Report (Report 70064957-AC1 dated December 2019) by WSP, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The system must be capable of providing background and rapid ventilation for cooling with the windows of the respective dwellings remaining closed. The system must not compromise the sound insulation of the façades. No dwelling shall be occupied until the approved ventilation system has been installed in full, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
12. No construction works above ground level (excluding demolition works) shall commence until full details and samples of the materials to be used for the external surfaces of the building (including walls, roofs, windows, doors, balconies) have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. These should be based upon the details given in the Design and Access Statement (Revision P2 dated 10th January 2020) by Stanford Eatwell Architecture. The development shall only be constructed in the approved materials.
13. No dwelling shall be occupied until a detailed hard and soft landscaping scheme for all the land within the site, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved hard landscaping scheme shall be carried out in full prior to the occupation of the development. The approved soft landscaping scheme shall be carried out in full not later than the first available planting and seeding season after completion of development. Any trees or plants whether new or existing which within a period of five years die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of similar size and species, or in accordance with details approved by the Local Planning Authority.
14. No dwelling shall be occupied until details of the 4 external cycle stores to serve the dwellings have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The cycle stores shall provide 16 secure cycle spaces. These facilities shall be retained as approved at all times and shall be used for no other purpose.
15. No dwelling shall be occupied until the internal bin and cycle stores to serve the dwellings, as shown on the approved drawings, have been constructed and made available for use. The cycle stores shall utilise two-tier bike racks by Bike Dock Solutions or similar to provide 56 secure cycle spaces. These facilities shall be retained as approved at all times and shall be used for no other purpose.
16. No dwelling shall be occupied until the following works within the site and the public highway have been completed in full, as shown in principle on the approved drawings:
i) the formation of a new vehicular access junction to St Albans Road to serve the development;
i) the closing up of the redundant existing vehicular access junctions and the reinstatement of the footpaths;
ii) the formation of a new servicing bay within the public highway outside the site.
17. No construction works above ground level shall commence until a scheme for a minimum of 6 active and 6 passive electric charging points for on-site vehicles has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The electric charging infrastructure and charging points shall be installed in accordance with the approved scheme prior to the first occupation of the development.
18. No dwelling shall be occupied until a detailed Travel Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, based upon the Travel Plan within Appendix H of the Transport Statement by WSP (Ref. 70064957 dated January 2020). The approved plan shall be implemented in full.
19. No dwelling shall be occupied in the respective blocks until details of a communal terrestrial television aerial(s) and satellite dish(es) for the block have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
20. No external lighting shall be installed on the building or within the site until a detailed external lighting scheme for the development has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority and the lighting scheme has been installed in accordance with the approved details.
21. The vehicular access gates to the undercroft access road shall open into the site only and shall not open outward over the public highway and shall be sited a minimum distance of 5.5m from the highway kerb.
22. For the avoidance of doubt, no communications development permitted by Classes A, B or C of Part 16 of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) shall be undertaken on any of the buildings hereby approved.
Informatives
1. IN907 Consideration of the proposal in a positive and proactive manner.
2. IN910 Building Regulations.
3. IN911 Party Wall Act.
4. IN912 Hours of construction.
5. IN913 CIL Liability.
6. IN909 Street naming and numbering.
7. IN914 Section 106 Agreement/Undertaking.
8. IN915 - Highway Works - HCC agreement required.
Supporting documents:
- 20/00037/FULM - 425 - 445 St Albans Road, item 73. PDF 568 KB
- Appendix 1 for 20/00037/FULM - 425 - 445 St Albans Road, item 73. PDF 2 MB