Site for demolition of existing workshop/storage units and erection of eleven houses (seven market houses and four affordable houses) with associated landscaping and infrastructure.

The application was approved in accordance with the case officer’s recommendation.

The Principal Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application.

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking, Mr Rawlings, the applicant’s agent, spoke in support of his application.

In accordance with paragraph 4.8.2.2 of the Council’s Constitution, Councillor JW Hope MBE, the local ward member, commented on a number of issues, including:

·         The Planning Inspector’s view was that the land was suitable for housing and it would have been included in the UDP had it not been considered that the change could result in a delay in the adoption of the policy.

·         The lack of a 5 year housing supply had resulted in the site now being considered as suitable for housing development.

·         The Parish Council had objected to the application although their proposed neighbourhood plan would consider it for development.

The Committee raised concerns in respect of the proposed layout of the site and were of the opinion that the affordable housing provision on the site should be better integrated with a provision of larger homes. They were concerned that the proposed layout could result in a social division on the site.

The Concerns of the Parish Council were noted however the Committee disagreed with their comments that nothing had changed since the application was previously submitted in 1999. It was noted that the situation had changed and that the lack of a 5 year housing supply had made it difficult to refuse these types of applications.

The Committee expressed their concerns regarding the lack of a 5 year housing supply for the County as defined in the National Planning Policy Framework. They discussed the matter at length and requested that further investigation be undertaken outside of the remits of the Planning Committee. They were concerned that more suitable sites could be overlooked in favour of sites bought to the attention of the Committee through the planning application process. The Chairman was requested to liaise with the Scrutiny team to address the concerns of the Committee.

In respect of the points raised during the debate, the Principal Planning Officer advised that the layout plan was purely indicative and that the actual site layout would be determined at the reserved matters stage. He did however add that in general housing associations preferred affordable housing to be in one area for ease of maintenance. In response  to a point raised regarding the size of the proposed affordable units, the Principal Planning Officer confirmed that two-bedroom homes had been recommended as a result of the housing needs survey undertaken in the area. In response to a final point regarding land use he also advised that the commercial usage on the site would cease and move to an alternative a new site.

Councillor Hope was given the opportunity to close the debate. He chose to make no additional statement.

RESOLVED

Subject to completion of a planning obligation under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, in accordance with the terms in the agreement annexed to this report, Officers named in ths Scheme of Delegation to Officers, be authorised to issue planning permission subject to the conditions below and any additional conditions considered necessary by Officers:

1.         A02 Time limit for submission of reserved matters (outline permission)

2.         A03 Time limit for commencement (outline permission)

3.         A04 Approval of reserved matters

4.         A05 Plans and particulars of reserved matters

5.         L01 Foul/surface water drainage

6.         L02 No surface water to connect to public system

7.         L03 No drainage run-off to public system

8.         G11 Landscaping scheme – implementation

9.         K4 Nature conservation - implementation

Informative

1.         I33 – General ecology

Reasons for Approval

It has been established that Policy H7 of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) is not up to date due to the deficit in housing land supply, and therefore the provision of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) take precedent.  Accordingly there is a requirement for the local planning authority to release further land for housing and grant planning permission, provided that it accords with the UDP in all other respects.

It has been demonstrated that the proposal is sustainable in terms of its location and through the fact that part of the site is previously developed land, and therefore the proposal accords with Policy S1 of the UDP and the NPPF.

The local planning authority is satisfied that there is sufficient capacity within the local road network to accommodate the traffic likely to be generated by this proposal, particularly as this will be offset by existing traffic movements associated with the existing use of the site.  The proposal accords with Policies DR3 and T8 of the UDP.

In light of the fact that the application is made in outline, other matters relating to the detailed layout, drainage arrangements and impact on residential amenity can all be dealt with through the submission of an application for reserved matters.