Proposed supported living dwelling house and alteration of an existing vehicle crossover.

The application was approved contrary to the Case Officer’s recommendation.

(Proposed supported living dwelling house and alteration of an existing vehicle crossover.)

The Principal Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application.  He noted that additional information had been circulated by the applicants relating to their personal circumstances.  However, no weight could be given to this information in considering the planning application.

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking, Mr G Poulton, Chairman of Luston Group Parish Council, spoke in support of the Scheme.  Mr and Mrs King, the applicants, spoke in support.

In accordance with paragraph 4.8.2.2 of the Council’s Constitution, the local ward member, Councillor J Stone, spoke on the application.

He made the following principal comments:

·         The applicants had sought to engage with officers at the pre-application stage.  An earlier application had been refused with location of the proposed dwelling being the main reason.

·         The applicants wished to remain in the locality despite deteriorating health.  The proposal was consistent with the Council’s housing policies aimed at helping older people to say in their homes.

·         There was no criticism of the design of the property or the materials to be used.  He considered, contrary to the report, that the proposal did have sufficient innovative elements to meet the requirements of paragraph 55 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which provided that the development of new isolated homes in the countryside should be avoided unless there were special circumstances.

·         There was substantial support in the local community for the proposal including from the applicants’ GP.

·         The Parish Council supported the proposal.

·         There were no letters of objection.

·         There was no objection from the Transport Manager.

·         The development was not isolated and was sustainable with many local amenities readily accessible.  The proposal therefore fulfilled the relevant considerations set out at paragraph 6.8 of the report used to determine whether a site represented a sustainable location, having regard to the NPPF and relevant policies.

In the Committee’s discussion of the application the following principal points were made:

·         The proposal was consistent with the aim of enabling people to remain in their own homes within their local community.

·         The Parish Council supported the proposal and there were also 23 letters of support.

·         There were grounds to support the application having regard to the NPPF.  The proposal was sustainable and was of innovative design.

·         It was to be hoped that the Neighbourhood Plan would make provision for other residents facing similar circumstances.

The Development Manager commented that the applicants already had two properties on the site.  The application would provide a third dwelling.  The development was in the open countryside and was unsustainable.  The proposed building was over 300sqm and would be dominant in the landscape.  The proposal was a clear departure from the NPPF together with existing and emerging Council policies.

The local ward member was given the opportunity to close the debate.  He reiterated that the development was innovative and sustainable and had no adverse impacts.  There was considerable local support and no objections.  The Council should seek to meet the wishes of residents to remain in or near their existing homes.

RESOLVED: that officers named in the Scheme of Delegation to officers be authorised to grant planning permission subject to conditions considered necessary on the grounds that the proposal met a local need and was innovative and sustainable.