Agenda item

The Principal Planning Officer (CO) delivered his report to the committee.

 

The Chair thanked the officer for his report and invited Sunita Patel to speak against the development. 

 

Sunita Patel began by introducing herself and stated that she was speaking on behalf of both her family and other interested parties.  She went on to address several points.  The first was in relation to sunlight and daylight indicating that residents would be affected by shadowing from the new development and that they disputed the officer’s report stating that the outlook would not be significantly affected and pointed to the loss of privacy in particular to 1A Farm Field and 33 Glen Way.

 

Her next point related to the size and mass of the new property, stating that in each of the other plots the properties accounted for approximately 15-40% of the total area, while the new development would be 50%.  Additionally the proposed house was 2.7 times larger than required by the National Dwelling Space Standards and she believed a smaller development could meet the same housing needs.  Mrs Patel then relayed the objections of The Twentieth Century Society in particular their comments on the opening in to Farm Field.  Her next point related to distance, she commented that the officer reported that the proposed development would maintain a 24m distance from the front of her home, however she had measured it and it would only be 21.7m, and that along Devereux Drive it varied between 27 and 34m.  She believed this would have an adverse effect on their privacy.

 

She concluded by talking about the adverse effects on access for fire and emergency vehicles.

 

The Chair thanked Sunita Patel for her comments and asked the officer to clarify several points.

 

In relation to the loss of light the officer responded saying that the loss of light would not be significant due to the building height and the separation maintained to neighbouring properties. It would not be of great enough impact to justify refusal of the application.

 

In relation to the separation distance, he stated that the measurements had been calibrated against the scale bar on the plans, which showed a separation of 24 metres to No. 1A Farm Field. In terms of privacy, the Residential Design Guide said that the front separation distance between front elevations would be determined by the street layout and the size of the front gardens. In this case, the dwelling would be set back a minimum of 8.5m from the driveway which was reasonable. Whilst the front separation distance was slightly less than the typical arrangement in the street, the proposed separation was reasonable and would not cause a significant loss of privacy to neighbours.

 

In relation to the two storey scale and size of the house it was in keeping with neighbouring buildings in the area. It was noted that there were examples of nearby properties that had second floor accommodation with roof dormers, which were not proposed under the current proposal.

 

Finally in relation to the access road the officer stated that fire safety access was a matter for consideration under the Building Regulations regime and planning should not seek to duplicate the controls of separate legislative processes. Whilst the Planning Practice Guidance stated that for ‘relevant buildings’ fire safety matters such as layout and access should be considered at planning stage, as the proposal was a single dwelling it was not a ‘relevant building’.

 

The Chair thanked the officer for his input and invited the committee to ask questions.

 

The Chair then invited Helen Sugden to speak on behalf of the applicant.

 

Helen Sugden started by introducing herself and her family’s connection to the area and the nearby listed building known as Sugden house, over the previous seventy years.  She described how her father had divided the Farm Fields plot into four areas and the remaining one was always intended for development.  The placement of both the major trees and shrubs on the boundaries were designed to keep that clear.  The plans for the new development would not impose on Sugden house, and that the project was not profit driven but of high quality and would provide a quality family home.  She stated she was surprised by the objections as they had changed the proposal to work with the other local residents. 

 

Her key principles related to the development being a single house and not a group of houses or flats in the way another developer would, that it respected the local look and did not compromise the trees.

 

The Chair thanked her for her comments before stating that in his opinion the development met all of the requirements of the local plan and was an individually designed family home in an area of the same, and while they could debate the aesthetics, that was not the role of this committee.   He then invited the committee to discuss the development.

 

It was noted that the aerial view made it clear it was a plot for development and was suitable for a single dwelling.  The respect for biodiversity was applauded and concerns about the trees had been alleviated.  They were happy that building control would look at the fire safety aspects.  There was also sympathy for the local residents and the disruption they would face during the construction period but could find no planning reason to refuse it.

 

The Chair moved for the committee to vote on the officer’s recommendation.

 

On being put to the committee the application was approved.

 

RESOLVED –

 

That planning permission be granted subject to the following conditions:

 

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:

PL01; PL02; PL03; and, PL04.

 

3. Tree Protection Measures

No development shall commence until an updated Arboricultural Impact Assessment and Arboricultural Method Statement to include further design

details of the proposed ground protection measures to protect trees during construction works, as indicated on the submitted Tree Protection Plan, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details for the duration of construction works.

 

4. Materials

No development above ground level shall be carried out until full details of the materials to be used for all the external finishes of the development hereby approved, including all external walls, all roofs, doors, windows, fascias, rainwater and foul drainage goods, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

 

5. Detailed drawings

No development above ground level shall be carried out until detailed section drawings of the external elevations of the proposed dwelling, including walls/brick detailing, door and window reveals, cills, gable edges, parapets/eaves design and balustrades have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

 

6. Hard and Soft Landscaping

Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved, full details of both hard and soft landscaping works, including:

·trees and soft landscaping to be planted (including location, species, density and planting size),

·a scheme of ecological enhancements,

·details of any changes to ground levels,

·materials for all pathways, all hard surfacing and amenity areas/paving, and,

·boundary treatments,

shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved landscaping scheme, with the exception of the planting, shall be completed prior to any occupation of the development. The proposed planting shall be completed not later than the first available planting and seeding season after completion of the development. Any new trees or plants which within a period of five years, 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.

 

7. Parking and Manoeuvring Area

Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved, surface water drainage details (including details of the construction of the hard surface and disposal of surface water) of the parking area shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The parking area shall be laid out in accordance with the drawings approved under Condition 2 and constructed in accordance with the approved drainage details prior to the first occupation of the development. The parking area shall be retained at all times thereafter.

 

8. Electric vehicle charging

Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved an electric vehicle charging point shall be installed and made available for use. The electric charging infrastructure shall be retained at all times thereafter.

 

9. Permitted development rights removed

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3, Schedule 2, Part 1 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (or any modification or re-enactment thereof), no enlargements of a dwellinghouse permitted under Classes A or B or the provision of hard surfaces permitted under Class F shall be carried out or constructed without the prior written permission of the Local Planning Authority.

 

10. Water efficiency

The development hereby approved shall be constructed to meet the water efficiency optional requirement of 110 litres of water per person per day, as set out in The Building Regulations (2010) Approved Document G Requirement G2 and Regulation 36.

 

11. Accessible dwellings

The development hereby approved shall be constructed to The Building Regulations (2010) Access to and Use of Buildings, Approved Document M (2015 as amended), Volume 1: Dwellings, M4(2): Accessible and adaptable dwellings.

 

12. No balcony

No part of the flat roof above the single storey rear projection (comprising the living room) shall be used as a balcony or roof terrace.

 

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