Agenda item

The Development Management Manager delivered the report.

           

The Chair thanked the officer and invited Mairead Flower, Planning Consultant, speaking on behalf of the applicant, to address the committee.

 

Mairead Flower described the scheme, including the £300,000 payment for off-site affordable housing in lieu of providing affordable housing as the viability study did not support the provision of affordable housing.  She pointed out that the proposed development was supported by the drive to utilise brownfield land for housing and all the 65 homes met or exceeded the minimum space standards.  Attention was drawn to the communal outdoor amenity area as well as all units having a balcony and good daylight provision. 

  

Mairead Flower emphasised the sustainability credentials of the scheme, being a car-free development due to the excellent location near the town centre and the excellent rail links close by.  She also pointed out that the location was ideal for active transport options (walk or bike). 

 

Mairead Flower moved on to describe the architecture and how it borrowed elements from nearby listed buildings and the aim to produce a high quality building.  Referring to the previously rejected application, she pointed out that this application was considerably reduced in height to 8 and 12 storeys, stepping down towards Clarendon Road.  She commended the application to the committee. 

 

The Chair thanked Mairead Flower and invited Councillor Aga Dychton to address the committee. 

 

Councillor Dychton opened her address by praising the beauty of Watford and the prominence of this site, close to the Palace Theatre and Baptist Church, both grade 2 listed.  She also highlighted the immediate proximity of the site to two conservation areas. 

 

The Councillor detailed the special policy SPA1 that applied to the site, pointing out that the focus was on balanced facilities and infrastructure for the town centre.  She expressed the opinion that the current proposal was still too tall and would overshadow the listed buildings and she stressed the importance of protecting Watford’s heritage. 

 

Councillor Dychton concluded her presentation by highlighting the differences between the streetscape and that of the town centre, expressing her profound disappointment at the lack of affordable housing and asserting that the design, scale and bulk of the proposed building would cause considerable harm to the context of the area and was therefore inappropriate.  She urged the members to refuse the application. 

 

The Chair thanked Councillor Dychton and invited comments from the committee members.  

           

The discussion on this development was lengthy, with a number of members expressing concerns about the proposed scheme.  The main points were:

·      Height – the committee noted that the building height had been considerably reduced from the earlier refused application, but some still felt that the 12 story element was still too tall and bulky.  One member disagreed with the comparison in height with the nearby church, as the two buildings were entirely different. 

·      Design quality – there was a clear split in opinion, with some of the committee liking the design and feeling that a real effort had been made to produce a high quality design.  Others felt that the design was poor, of low quality and did not meet the policy requirements of high quality design. 

·      Size of some of the units – it was noted that whilst the design did meet and exceed nationally described space standards and light levels, the Place Shaping Panel had commented that the units felt small.  Comment was made that to describe the accommodation as “units” was missing the point that these were actually to be homes for people. 

·      Affordable housing provision – A number of the committee members expressed their annoyance about the total lack of on-site affordable housing provision and the small (relative to the developer’s profits) sum of £300,000 for off-site provision.  Some felt that this was insulting.  It was noted that although the policy was for 35% affordable housing, the viability study had not concluded that any provision was required.

·      Amenity spaces – Although every flat had a private balcony and there was a roof terrace as an outdoor communal amenity space, members commented that the provision for amenity space was still below the requirement from the Residential Design Guide. 

 

The Chair acknowledged the concerns of some of the committee and commented that the application had been through three iterations before the Place Shaping Panel and they were now satisfied that the current proposal met the threshold of high quality design.  Therefore those who still felt the design was substandard were challenging the panel.  He added that design was subjective, but some members were taking the Place Shaping Panel’s comments that the space was small, but ignoring their comments that the design was good. 

 

The Chair asked the Development Management Manager to comment on the design and space standards. 

 

The Development Management Manager stated that the living space standards were met with this scheme and explained the role of the Place Shaping Panel and that the panel were very strong in their comments to push developers towards meeting the emerging policy. 

 

He added that it was important to remember that the developers had listened to critical comment and addressed the issues.

           

The Chair responded to some of the criticisms of the £300,000 payment for off-site affordable housing.  He pointed out that this payment was supported by the data from the viability study and it would be very difficult to refuse the application on the basis of the lack of affordable housing, given the viability study.  He asked the Development Management Manager to comment in relation to the affordable housing provision

 

The Development Management Manager explained that viability was a material consideration, was within the NPPF and was something that must be considered. Any viability study was checked and verified by external consultants.  He did point out that at the end of the construction and once sales completed, should the actual profits materially exceed the projected one, then an increase in payment might be obtained via a late stage viability review. 

 

The Chair pointed out to the committee that any refusal must be accompanied by sound and robust reasons that would stand up to appeal.  The Development Management Manager added a thorough explanation as to why taller buildings were essential to the Borough meeting its dwelling targets.  He also went into considerable depth about the design characteristics of the proposed scheme and demonstrated exactly why it was deemed to be high quality design and not overbearing in scale in relation to the listed buildings. 

 

Accordingly Councillor Johnson put forward reasons to support a motion to refuse the application.  This was fully discussed and subsequently amended, with the final motion to refuse being:

 

“The scale and height of the proposed development fails to respond appropriately to the character of the local area and would be an unsympathetic neighbour to the nearby buildings by virtue of its scale and height, the development would be of an unduly dominant nature in the townscape and an adverse character of the local area. 

 

The dominant nature of the proposed development, in terms of its height, scale and architectural design, would cause less than substantial harm to the settings of significant grade 2 listed Beechen Grove Baptist Church and the Watford Palace Theatre grade 2 listed building.”

 

Councillor Johnson’s motion to refuse was moved. 

 

The motion to refuse the application was lost. 

 

The Chair then moved the officer’s recommendation to approve the application.

 

RESOLVED –

 

That, pursuant to a planning obligation under s.106 of the Town and Country

Planning Act 1990 having been completed to secure the following Heads of Terms, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions listed below:

 

Section 106 Heads of Terms

 

i)               To secure a financial contribution to the Council of £300,000 (index linked) towards the provision of affordable housing in the Borough of Watford;

 

ii)             To secure a review mechanism of the viability of the development to be undertaken towards the end of the project (at 75% of flat sales) when actual build costs and sales values of the flats are known. This shall allow a financial payment to be made towards affordable housing provision where the viability of the development can be shown to have improved to provide a financial surplus.

 

iii)           To secure a financial payment to the Council of £2,000 towards the variation of the Borough of Watford (Watford Central Area and West Watford Area) (Controlled Parking Zones) (Consolidation) Order 2010 to exclude the site from the controlled parking zone, thereby preventing residents’ parking permits being issued to the future occupiers of this site.

 

Conditions

 

1.             Time Limit

          The development to which this permission relates shall be begun within a period of three years commencing on the date of this permission.

 

2.             Approved Drawings and Documents

          The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved drawings and documents:

          01 Topographical survey

          02 Outline Existing plans

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0000

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0001

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0010

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0011

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- B1- DR- A-1_0099

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 00- DR- A-1_0100 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 01- DR- A-1 _ 0101 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 02- DR- A-1_0102 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 03- DR- A-1_0103 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 04- DR- A-1_0104 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 05- DR- A-1_0105 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 06- DR- A-1_0106 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 07- DR- A-1_0107 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 08- DR- A-1_0108

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 09- DR- A-1_0109

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 10- DR- A-1_0110

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 11- DR- A-1_0111

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- 12- DR- A-1_0112

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0200 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0201 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0202 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0600 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0601 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0602 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0603 Rev A

          BA9623- PRP- ZZZZ- ZZ- DR- A-1_0604

          BA9263-PRP-ZZZZ-00-DR-L-2001 Rev 02

          BA9263-PRP-ZZZZ-08-DR-L-2002

          BA9263-PRP-ZZZZ-12-DR-L-2003

          BA9263-PRP-ZZZZ-00-DR-L-2004 Rev 02

          BA9263-PRP-ZZZZ-08-DR-L-2005

          Design and Access statement prepared by PRP dated February 2022

          Sustainability and Energy Statement prepared by Iceni Projects dated December 2021

 

3.             Materials

          No external facing materials shall be installed on the building until:

 

a.      full details of the materials to be used for all the external surfaces have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority; and

b.      sample panels have been constructed to show the typical facades including brickwork, window frames and glazing, and these have been made available for inspection and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

4.             Surface Water Drainage Strategy

          The development permitted by this planning permission shall be carried out in accordance with the SuDS Report carried out by RSA Design, reference: 935982, dated May 2021, providing the following mitigation measures:

 

1.      Implement drainage strategy based on attenuation and discharge into the Thames Water surface water sewer restricted to 2.0 l/s for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + 40% climate change event, as indicated on the proposed drainage strategy drawing (ref: 210311 D01, rev: P1, dated: 29.04.2021).

2.      Provide attenuation 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.

3.      Implement drainage strategy including permeable paving with storage and a geo-cellular attenuation tank and a blue roof.

 

          These flood mitigation measures shall be maintained for the lifetime of the development

         

5.             Surface Water Drainage Scheme

          No development shall take place until the final design of the drainage scheme has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The surface water drainage system will be based on the submitted SuDS Report carried out by RSA Design, reference: 935982, dated May 2021. The scheme shall also include:

 

1.      A detailed drainage plan including the location and provided volume of all SuDS features, pipe runs and discharge points into any storage features.

2.      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.

3.      Detailed post development calculations/ modelling in relation to surface water are to be carried out for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year including +40% allowance for climate change.

4.      Structural calculations in relation to the loading for the blue rooves.

5.      Provision of half drain down times less than 24 hours for proposed SuDS features.

6.      Final detailed management plan to include arrangements for adoption and any other arrangements to secure the operation of the scheme throughout its lifetime.

7.      Demonstrate an appropriate SuDS management and treatment train and inclusion of above ground features such as permeable paving etc. and reducing the requirement for any underground storage.

8.      Exceedance flow paths for surface water for events greater than the 1 in 100 year including climate change allowance.

 

          The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved drainage scheme.

 

6.             Surface Water Drainage Management Plan

          Upon completion of the drainage works for the site in accordance with the timing / phasing, a management and maintenance plan for the SuDS features and drainage network must be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall include;

 

1.      Provision of a complete set of as built drawings for site drainage.

2.      Maintenance and operational activities.

3.      Arrangements for adoption and any other measures to secure the operation of the scheme throughout its lifetime.

 

          The development shall be maintained in accordance with the approved management and maintenance plan.

 

7.             Contamination assessment and verification

          Prior to the commencement of development approved by this planning permission (or such other date or stage in development as may be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority), the following components of a scheme to deal with the risks associated with contamination of the site shall each be submitted to and approved, in writing, by the local planning authority:

 

i)       A site investigation, based on the findings of the Phase 1 Geo-Environmental Assessment prepared by BWB Consulting Limited (Report ref. CRW-BWB-ZZ-XX-RP-YE-0001-Ph1), to provide information for a detailed assessment of the risk to all receptors that may be affected, including those off site. This should include an assessment of the potential risks to: human health, property (existing or proposed) including buildings, crops, pests, woodland and service lines and pipes, adjoining land, ground waters and surface waters, ecological systems, archaeological sites and ancient monuments.

 

ii)      The site investigation results and the detailed risk assessment (i) 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.

 

iii)     A verification plan providing details of the data that will be collected in order to demonstrate that the works set out in (ii) are complete and identifying any requirements for longer term monitoring of pollutant linkages, maintenance and arrangements for contingency action. Any changes to these components require the express consent of the local planning authority. The scheme shall be implemented as approved.

 

8.             Contamination remediation

          Following completion of measures identified in the approved remediation scheme and prior to the first use or occupation of the development, a verification report that demonstrates the effectiveness of the remediation carried out must be produced together with any necessary monitoring and maintenance programme and copies of any waste transfer notes relating to exported and imported soils shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for approval. The approved monitoring and maintenance programme shall be implemented.

 

9.             Unexpected contamination

          In the event that contamination is found at any time when carrying out the approved development that was not previously identified it must be reported in writing immediately to the Local Planning Authority. An investigation and risk assessment must be undertaken, and where remediation is necessary a remediation scheme must be prepared, which is subject to the approval in writing of the Local Planning Authority. Following completion of measures identified in the approved remediation scheme a verification report must be prepared, which is subject to the approval in writing of the Local Planning Authority.

 

10.        Construction Management Plan

          No development shall commence until a Construction Management Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, including elements of the CLOCS standards as set out in the Highway Authority’s Construction Management template. Thereafter the construction of the development shall only be carried out in accordance with the approved Plan. The Construction Management Plan / Statement 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;

k.      Phasing Plan.

 

11.        Deliveries and Servicing Management Plan

          No occupation of the development shall occur until a Deliveries and Servicing Management Plan (DSMP) has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The DSMP must include details of:

 

-        The procedure for tradesmen / removal vans etc to park without blocking the free flow of the public highway or footway network for periods over an hour;

-        The procedure for short stay deliveries such as online supermarkets, parcels etc;

-        The location for loading and unloading and expected frequencies and size of vehicles for the proposed Cafe / Business Lounge land use;

 

12.        Plant

          No part of the commercial premises of the development shall be occupied until details of all plant, ventilation and extraction systems for the commercial premises have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Details shall include appropriate noise and odour/air quality assessments carried out in accordance with BS4142 and undertaken by appropriately qualified technical consultants.

         

13.        Noise mitigation

          No part of the development shall be occupied until the sound insulation measures have been installed in line with the specifications and recommendations of the Noise Assessment Report, ref 100395 Version 2, dated 13/12/2021 prepared by Air and Acoustic Consultants.

 

14.        Hard landscaping

          No part of the development shall be occupied until full details of a hard landscaping scheme have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, and the works have been carried out in accordance with the approved details. The detailed scheme shall be based upon the approved drawings and Design and Access Statement and shall include details of seating, planters, site boundary treatments, lighting and the materials and drainage of all hardstanding.

 

15.        Soft Landscaping

          No part of the development shall be occupied until a detailed soft landscaping scheme for the site and a landscape management and maintenance plan, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The detailed scheme shall be based upon the approved drawings and Design and Access Statement. The approved soft landscaping scheme shall be carried out 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.

 

16.        Refuse and recycling

          No part of the development shall be occupied until the refuse and recycling facilities shown on the approved drawings and in the Design and Access Statement have been constructed and made available for use. These facilities shall be retained as approved at all times.

 

17.        Cycle storage

          No part of the development shall be occupied until the cycle parking facilities shown in the approved drawings and detailed in the Design and Access Statement have been constructed and made available for use. These facilities shall be retained as approved at all times.

 

18.        Communal Satellites/aerials

          No dwelling shall be occupied until details of communal terrestrial television aerial(s) and satellite dish(es) to serve the dwellings have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority and the works have been carried out in accordance with the approved details. No other aerials or satellite dishes shall be installed on the buildings.

 

19.        Ground floor café unit

          The ground floor commercial unit on the Clarendon Road/Beechen Grove corner shall only be used as a café/restaurant within Class E of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) and for no other purpose. The use shall not be open to the public before 0700 hours or after 2300 hours on any day.

 

20.        Ground floor community

          The ground floor unit to the south of the Clarendon Road frontage shall only be used as community shared space associated with the residential development and for no other purposes.

 

Informatives

 

1. IN907 – Positive and proactive statement

2. IN909 – Street naming and numbering

3. IN910 – Building Regulations

4. IN911 – Party Wall Act

5. IN912 – Hours of Construction

6. IN913 – Community Infrastructure Levy Liability

7. IN915 – Highway Works – HCC agreement required