Agenda item

Application for the construction of 2 No. detached houses with associated parking and landscaping.

The Committee received a report of the Development Management Section Head including the relevant planning history of the site and details of six responses referred to in the report, citing objections. 

 

The Applications Casework Manager referred to the Update Sheet and noted that two additional representations had been received since publication of the agenda.  The Update Sheet noted that no new material planning considerations had been received which had not already been discussed within the report included in the agenda. 

 

The Chair advised the meeting that all members of the Committee had seen the additional representations: a letter from a resident in Lingfield Way and four photographs as illustration to another resident’s objections.  He then invited Mrs Sarah Myhill to speak to the Committee.

 

Mrs Myhill noted that:

·        the elevation of the proposed development would be 1.1 m higher than the adjacent property in Lingfield Way.

·        access to the new development would be via a single track road of 250 cm width.  Mrs Myhill maintained that this would be too narrow for fire service vehicles, ambulances or refuse collection lorries. 

·        planning permission was contrary to Policy SS1 and had originally been refused due to the impact on residents in Wentworth Close.  This decision had not been upheld.

·        there would be serious issues in connection with parking.

·        whilst the house at Plot 1 had been repositioned this did not reduce the overbearing aspect. 

·        there would be brickwork visible at the end of the gardens in Wentworth Place – this would impact on residents’ living conditions.

·        trees at the rear of the plots were 1.5 m deep and plot 1 would be set 4.3 m beyond the adjacent boundary fence.

·        the report states that the house at Plot 1 is not visible.  In fact the trees form a screen; it is imperative that the height of the trees remain at bedroom window level.

·        the greatest impact on neighbouring properties would be to number 23 Wentworth Close: the ground level would be raised.  The house at Plot 1 would tower over the adjacent home.  

·        there would be dispute regarding access to properties; this would deter potential purchasers and devalue current residents’ homes. 

 

The Chair reminded the Committee that they could comment on those points which had been raised in the letter that they had received so long as they related to material planning considerations.   He noted that some issues Mrs Myhill had raised, such as boundary disputes, were civil matters and were not in the Development Control Committee’s remit to determine.   He asked that the Applications Casework Manager comment on the statement that Policy SS1 had been breached and also on matters of distance. 

 

The Applications Casework Manager said that Policy SS1 was a strategic level policy and could not be applied without reference to other more detailed supporting policies.   He reiterated the Chair’s comment that boundary disputes, and also house value, were not material planning considerations.  He added that all aspects of parking provision had been addressed and met the appropriate standards.  With regard to loss of light, he agreed that light would be diminished to a slight degree but that the application met the appropriate tests.  In conclusion, the Applications Casework Manager advised Members that this application could not be refused on grounds of loss of light. 

 

Councillor Watkin expressed sympathy for residents and considered that the development would make life less pleasant for those living in Wentworth Close.  He agreed that the houses would be overbearing for neighbours as their heights would impact on the existing houses.  He also questioned the adequacy of the 2.5 m wide access road.   Councillor Watkin said that he objected to the application on grounds of overbearing aspect, an inadequate point of access and a lack of turning space. 

 

Councillor Sharpe commented that it was imperative that valid and measurable evidence of harm be produced in order to justify refusal.  Whilst he agreed with sentiments expressed he considered that there were no defendable reasons to refuse the proposal. 

 

Councillor Derbyshire also expressed sympathy for residents but agreed that Committee members were duty-bound to be rational in their decision-making.  He advised that it was not possible to turn down an application for reasons which an inspector would then not uphold.  He noted that efforts had been made to mitigate the perceived harm of the previous proposal and advised that he would struggle to find strong grounds for refusal in this instance.

 

Councillor Bashir agreed that an application could not be turned down for reasons which were, in essence, based on emotion: decisions must be made on legal and planning grounds and he could find no such reasons for a refusal. 

 

In response to questions from the Chair, the Applications Casework Manager advised on matters of access, loss of light and the perceived overbearing aspect of the plans:

 

Access:

Hertfordshire County Council, as Highway Authority, had concluded that the access road was acceptable so long as turning space was provided for vehicles; that provision could be secured by a planning condition. Consequently, there were no grounds for refusal on this aspect of the application.

 

Loss of Light:

The ‘25^o angle’ test for loss of light had been applied and the development was found to have met this test as set out in the relevant Building Research Establishment (BRE) guidance.  The height of the buildings had also been reduced and, although there would be some loss of light, it would not be so significant as to justify a refusal of planning permission. 

 

Overbearing Aspect

The previous scheme had caused a sense of enclosure but officers considered that this problem had been overcome in the present application by the redesign and relocation of the dwellings.

 

The Development Management Section Head referred to Councillor Sharpe’s comments on the necessity of referring to valid, measurable, evidence were the Committee to refuse the application.  He advised that the previous application had no bearing on the one currently presented: the committee should focus on the report in the agenda.  He noted that application 14/00692/FUL had been determined on the basis of former policies in the Residential Design Guide.  These policies had been updated and the current application was based on standards in the revised Residential Design Guide.  He noted that officers had found no instances where the Council’s guidelines had not been applied.

 

The Development Management Section Head advised further that it was difficult to find clear evidence of harm such as an Inspector in a possible appeal case would search for.  An appeal could thus be lost and failure to provide appropriate reasons for refusal was not only likely to result in an appeal being allowed but could also give rise to a claim for costs against the Council.

 

Councillor Sharpe agreed that since the proposal met all policies applicable to the case; there were no valid reasons to refuse and the Committee had no choice but to grant approval.

 

Councillor Connal reiterated Mrs Myhill’s concerns that an ambulance would be unable to access the homes in case of need. 

 

Councillor Watkin said that he would be prepared to vote against the granting of approval and maintained that the character of the development was unacceptable. 

 

Councillor Watkin MOVED that the application should be refused as it was overbearing in aspect and would cause harm to numbers 21 and 23 Wentworth Close and also to number 5 Lingfield Way. 

 

On being put to the Committee the Motion was LOST.

 

The Chair concluded the discussion by reminding the meeting that it was important to look at the scheme in totality and that good, defendable reasons were needed for a refusal.

 

RESOLVED –

 

That, in consequence of a unilateral undertaking under s.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) having been entered into to secure the contributions and other provisions set out in this report, planning permission be granted subject to the following 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.         Construction of the development hereby permitted shall not take place before 8am or after 6pm Mondays to Fridays, before 8am or after 1pm on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays and Public Holidays.

           

3.         No work shall commence until details and samples 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 and samples.

           

4.         No work shall commence until full details of both hard and soft landscaping works, including details of all existing trees to be retained, trees and soft landscaping to be planted, any other arboricultural works to be carried out, details of any changes to ground levels around the building, all pathways, all hard surfacing, amenity areas/paving and boundary treatments have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Notwithstanding the details shown on the approved drawing number 13/3286/5, the hard standing for the access and driveways shall include a turning area for vehicles within Plot 1. The approved landscaping scheme, with the exception of the planting, shall be completed prior to any occupation of the development. Any 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 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.

           

5.         No work of demolition or development shall be commenced until an arboricultural impact assessment and tree protection plan have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority. The protection measures approved shall be put in place before any work of demolition or development commences and shall be retained throughout the development, unless otherwise approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. No materials, vehicles, fuel or any other ancillary items shall be stored or buildings erected inside the tree protection areas. No excavations shall be carried out, no hardstanding shall be laid, and no underground cables, pipes or services shall be installed in the areas designated as tree protection areas unless otherwise approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. 

           

6.         No work shall commence until details of the siting, size and design of refuse, recycling and cycle storage have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. No part of the development shall be occupied until the storage facilities have been installed in accordance with the approved details. The storage facilities shall be retained at all times thereafter.

           

7.         No work shall commence until a Construction Environmental Management Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. This Plan shall include details of contractors’ parking, arrangements for the delivery and storage of materials, any temporary access/egress points to adjoining highways, measures to mitigate noise and dust, and wheel washing facilities for vehicles exiting the site. The Plan as approved shall be implemented throughout the construction period.

           

8.         No dwelling shall be occupied until the respective vehicle parking accommodation within garages and on the driveway areas, as shown on the approved plans, has been provided and made available for use. This parking accommodation shall be permanently retained and shall not be used for any other purpose than the parking of vehicles.

           

9.         Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (or any modification or re-enactment thereof), no development permitted under Schedule 2, Part 1, Classes A, B, C, D, E or F of the Order shall be carried out to the dwellings hereby approved without the prior written permission of the Local Planning Authority.

           

10.       The first floor windows in the north-west side and south-east side elevations of the houses both Plots 1 and 2 shall be obscure-glazed and shall be non-opening other than those parts of the windows which are more than 1.7 metres above the floor of the room in which the window is installed. The windows shall be installed and retained as such unless otherwise approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

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

 

13/3286/5; 13/3286/6; 13/3286/7; 13/3286/8; Site Plan 1:1250 received 14th October 2014

 

Informatives

 

1.         In dealing with this application, Watford Borough Council has considered the proposal in a positive and proactive manner having regard to the policies of the development plan as well as paragraphs 186 and 187 of the National Planning Policy Framework and other material considerations, and in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010, as amended.

 

2.         The grant of planning permission does not override any property rights that may exist. As such, ownership of the access or rights over the access would need to be secured in order to implement this planning permission.

 

3.         This planning permission is accompanied by a unilateral undertaking under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to secure financial contributions to Hertfordshire County Council and Watford Borough Council for the provision or improvement of community facilities to support the new residential properties.

 

Drawing numbers

13/3286/5

13/3286/6

13/3286/7

13/3286/8

Site Plan 1:1250 received 14th October 2014