Hybrid planning application proposed for the development of employment uses including b1, b2 and b8, including full details of the access, internal road infrastructure and circulation routes, and landscaping within a landscape buffer zone providing surface water attenuation and planting.

The application was approved in accordance with the Case Officer’s recommendation.

(Hybrid planning application proposed for the development of employment uses including b1, b2 and b8, including full details of the access, internal road infrastructure and circulation routes, and landscaping within a landscape buffer zone providing surface water attenuation and planting.)

 

(Councillor Cutter fulfilled the role of local ward member and accordingly had no vote on this application.)

The Principal Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application.

In accordance with the Planning Code, Councillor DG Harlow – Cabinet Member (economy and communications) spoke on the application.  He commented on the importance of the project to the Herefordshire economy and encouraged the Committee to support it, expressing the view that the scheme was well designed, flexible to the needs of a range of occupiers and provided mitigation to address any impacts associated with the scheme.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the local ward member, Councillor PGH Cutter, spoke on the application.

He made the following principal comments:

·        He endorsed the comments of the cabinet member on the economic value of the project.

·        He expressed sympathy towards the tenants who were vacating smallholdings currently on the site and expressed the hope that the council would provide such assistance to them as it could.

·        Issues relating to highways and transportation had been satisfactorily addressed as set out in the report to the Committee.

·        His principal concern was to ensure that the housing estate neighbouring the site was well screened from the development, with a buffer zone in place before development commenced.

·        It would be important that sub-contractors provided infrastructure of the appropriate quality to support the development.

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

·        It would be important to ensure that the landscaping was good.

·        It was to be hoped that drainage costs could be contained.

·        It was important to ensure the provision of walking and cycling routes.

·        The economic benefits of the scheme should be welcomed.

·        The geographical location was suited to the development.

·        One of the positive aspects of the development was the prospect that people living on the neighbouring residential development would secure employment on the economic development site, so minimising travel and reducing congestion.  A concern was expressed that if the phasing of the two developments was not managed this aim would not be achieved.

·        Clarification was sought on the buffer zone between the employment uses and the neighbouring residential areas and whether it would be preferable to provide more trees around the perimeter of the development.

The Lead Development Manager commented that the delivery of the site was in accordance with the Core Strategy policies to provide housing and employment. It was to be hoped that provision made in the capital programme would enable the economic development site to be delivered in a similar timespan to the neighbouring housing development.  With reference to concerns expressed by Weston under Penyard Parish Council he observed that significant funding had been provided for highway works as part of the planning permissions granted for housing development within the Parish and it was to be hoped that this should address the Parish Council’s concerns.  The landscape buffer would be maintained and managed by Herefordshire Council.

The local ward member was given the opportunity to close the debate.  He reiterated his support for the scheme.

Councillor Edwards proposed and Councillor Greenow seconded a motion that the application be approved in accordance with the printed recommendation.  The motion was carried with 10 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions.

RESOLVED: That officers named in the Scheme of Delegation to Officers are authorised to grant outline planning permission, subject to the conditions below and any further conditions considered necessary by officers named in the scheme of delegation to officers:-

 

1.         Application for approval of the reserved matters shall be made to the local planning authority before the expiration of eight years from the date of this permission.

 

            Reason: Required to be imposed by Section 92 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

 

2.         The development hereby permitted shall be begun either before the expiration of eight years from the date of this permission, or before the expiration of two years from the date of the approval of the last reserved matters to be approved, whichever is the later.

 

            Reason:  Required to be imposed by Section 92 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

 

3.         Prior to or concurrently with the submission of the first of the reserved matters application(s), a Site Wide Phasing Plan shall be submitted to the local planning authority for approval. The Phasing Plan shall include the sequence of providing the following elements for each identified phase or part thereof:

 

a)         Development Parcels and Associated Access Off the Internal Spine Road

b)         Foul Surface Water Features and Sustainable Urban Drainage

c)         Landscaping as per the Approved Drawings

d)         Other Environmental Mitigation Measures

 

            No development shall commence apart from works agreed in writing with the LPA until such time as the phasing plan has been approved in writing by the LPA. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved phasing contained within the Phasing Plan unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

            Reason:  In order to ensure that the development is undertaken in conjunction with the requisite mitigation and to comply with Policies SD1 and LD1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

4.         No development within a phase (or part thereof) shall commence until approval of the details of the layout, scale and appearance relating to that phase (hereinafter called “the reserved matters”) has been obtained from the local planning authority in writing and carried out as approved.

 

            Reason:  To enable the local planning authority to exercise proper control over these aspects of the development and to secure compliance with Policy SD1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

5.         The development hereby approved shall be limited to the following combined gross external floor areas for Class B uses as defined by the Town and Country Planning (use Classes) Order 1987, or in any provision equivalent to that Class in any statutory instrument revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification:

 

•           B1 – 16,500 square metres gross floor area

•           B2 – 8,900 square metres gross floor area

•           B8 – 4,000 square metres gross floor area

 

            Reason:  To define the terms of the permission in accordance with Policies SD1 and MT1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

6.         No future phase of the development shall commence until a detailed scheme of landscaping for that phase has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The details submitted should include:

 

            Soft landscaping

 

a)         A plan(s) showing details of all existing trees and hedges on the application site. The plan should include, for each tree/hedge, the accurate position, species and canopy spread, together with an indication of which are to be retained and which are to be removed.

b)         A plan(s) at a scale of 1:200 or 1:500 showing the layout of proposed tree, hedge and shrub planning and grass areas.

c)         A written specification clearly describing the species, sizes, densities and planting numbers and giving details of cultivation and other operations associated with plant and grass establishment.

 

            Hard landscaping

 

a)         Existing and proposed finished levels or contours

b)         The position, design and materials of all site enclosures (e.g. fences, walls)

c)         Car parking layout and other vehicular and pedestrian areas

d)         Hard surfacing materials

e)         Minor structures (e.g. street furniture, lighting, refuse areas, signs etc.)

 

            Reason:  In order to maintain the visual amenities of the area and to conform to Policy LD1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

7.         The soft landscaping scheme approved for each phase under condition 6 shall be carried out concurrently with the works to provide vehicular and pedestrian access to that phase of the development and shall be completed no later than the first planting season following the completion of that phase of the development. The landscaping shall be maintained for a period of 5 years. During this time, any trees, shrubs or other plants which are removed, die or are seriously retarded shall be replaced during the next planting season with others of similar sizes and species unless the Local Planning Authority gives written consent to any variation.

 

            If any plants fail more than once they shall continue to be replaces on an annual basis until the end of the 5-year maintenance period. The hard landscaping shall also be completed upon the completion of the works to provide vehicular and pedestrian access.

 

            Reason:  In order to maintain the visual amenities of the area and to conform to Policy LD1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

8.         A landscape management plan, including long term design objectives, management responsibilities and maintenance schedules for all landscape areas shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to the occupation of the development or any phase of the development, whichever is the sooner, for its permitted use. The landscape management plan shall be carried out as approved.

 

            Reason:  In order to maintain the visual amenities of the area and to conform to Policy LD1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

9.         The visibility splays of 4.5m x 215m as per drawing CH-051 (Appendix G of the Transport Assessment) shall be provided from a point 0.6 meters above ground level at the centre of the access to the application site.   Nothing shall be planted, erected and/or allowed to grow on the triangular area of land so formed which would obstruct the visibility described above.

 

            Reason:  In the interests of highway safety and to conform to the requirements of Policy MT1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

10.       As part of the Site Wide Phasing Plan (condition 3) details of works required at Overross Roundabout shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The Phasing Plan shall include details in relation to the point at which improvement works are required and work shall be completed in advance of the relevant phase of development or otherwise in accordance with a timetable to be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority. 

 

            Reason:  In the  interests  of highway safety and to ensure sufficient capacity on the highway network so as to conform to Policy MT1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

11.       Before any other works hereby approved are commenced, the construction of the vehicular access from the A40 shall be carried out in accordance with approved drawing CH-050 (attached as Appendix H of the TA) at a gradient not steeper than 1 in 12.  This shall include the provision of the ghost right turning lane on the A40 westbound approach, which shall be completed prior to the first occupation of the development.

 

            Reason:  In the interest of highway safety and to conform to the requirements of Policy MT1 of Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

12.       The Reserved Matters submission for each phase or part thereof shall be accompanied by details demonstrating that an area has been properly laid out, consolidated, surfaced and drained and the spaces demarked on the ground within the application site for the parking of cars and the loading and unloading of commercial vehicles and for all vehicles to turn so that they may enter and leave the site in a forward gear.  These areas shall thereafter be retained and kept available for those uses at all times.

 

            Reason:  To minimise the likelihood of indiscriminate parking in the interests of highway safety and to confirm to the requirements of Policy MT1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

13.       The sustainable transport measures as shown on approved plans CH-050 Proposed Junction Works and CH051 A40 bus stops and pedestrian crossing and the pedestrian/cycle ways, shall be constructed in accordance with a timetable to be agreed in writing with the local planning authority.  The sustainable transport measures comprise:-

 

•           Eastbound and Westbound Bus Stops on the A40 – Drawing CH-051

•           Controlled Pedestrian Crossing of the A40 – Drawing CH-051

•           Shared Footway/Cycleway Across the Site Frontage; &

•           Shared Footway/Cycleways within the Application Site.

 

            Reason:  To ensure an adequate and acceptable means of access is available in accordance with a timetable to be agreed with the local planning authority so as to confirm to the requirements of Policy MT1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy. 

 

14.       The Reserved Matters submission for each phase or part thereof shall be accompanied by details demonstrating secure and covered on site cycle parking for employees and visitors.  These areas shall thereafter be retained and kept available for those uses at all times.

 

            Reason:  To minimise the likelihood of indiscriminate parking in the interests of highway safety and to confirm to the requirements of Policy MT1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

15.       A full workplace Travel Plan will be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with Highways England prior to the occupation of each phase of the development. This shall contain details of actions to be taken to encourage the use of sustainable transport alternatives to private car, targets for mode shift and timescales for their implementation. The actions detailed shall then be implemented and monitored in accordance with the Travel Plan.

 

            Reason: To ensure the safe and free flow of traffic on the A40, A449 and M50 Motorway and that the A40, A449 and M50 Motorway continues to serve their purpose as part of the national system of routes for through traffic in accordance with Section 10 (2) of the Highways Act 1980 and to ensure that sustainable travel choices are available for occupants of the site.

 

16.       No development shall take place until a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with the Highways Authority for the A40 and A449 trunk roads and the M50 motorway. The CTMP shall provide details of the access routes to the site to be used by construction traffic. The approved CTMP shall be adhered to throughout the construction period.

 

            Reason: To ensure that the safety and efficient operation of the strategic road network is not compromised during the construction period.

 

17.       No phase of the development shall commence until full details of all external lighting to be installed for each phase have been submitted to and be approved in writing by the local planning authority. No external lighting shall be installed upon the site without the prior written consent of the local planning authority. The approved external lighting shall be installed in accordance with the approved details and thereafter maintained in accordance with those details.

 

            Reason:  In order to control the means of external illumination in the interests of protecting bio-diversity so as to comply with Policy LD2 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy.

 

18.       No phase of development shall take place until the following has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority:

 

a)         A 'desk study' report including previous site and adjacent site uses, potential contaminants arising from those uses, possible sources, pathways, and receptors, a conceptual model and a risk assessment in accordance with current best practice.

b)         If the risk assessment in (a) confirms the possibility of a significant pollutant linkage(s), a site investigation should be undertaken to characterise fully the nature and extent and severity of contamination, incorporating a conceptual model of all the potential pollutant linkages and an assessment of risk to identified receptors.

c)         If the risk assessment in (b) identifies unacceptable risk(s) a detailed scheme specifying remedial works and measures necessary to avoid risk from contaminants/or gases when the site is developed shall be submitted in writing. The Remediation Scheme shall include consideration of and proposals to deal with situations where, during works on site, contamination is encountered which has not previously been identified. Any further contamination encountered shall be fully assessed and an appropriate remediation scheme submitted to the local planning authority for written approval.

 

            Reason: In the interests of human health.

 

19.       The Remediation Scheme, as approved pursuant to condition no. (18) above, shall be fully implemented before the development is first occupied. On completion of the remediation scheme the developer shall provide a validation report to confirm that all works were completed in accordance with the agreed details, which must be submitted before the development is first occupied. Any variation to the scheme including the validation reporting shall be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority in advance of works being undertaken.

 

            Reason: In the interests of human health.

 

20.       If, during development, contamination not previously identified is found to be present at the site then no further development (unless otherwise agreed in writing with the local planning authority) shall be carried out until the developer has submitted, and obtained written approval from the local planning authority for, an amendment to the Method Statement detailing how this unsuspected contamination shall be dealt with.

 

            Reason: In the interests of human health.

 

21.       No buildings on the application site shall be brought into beneficial use earlier than 31st March 2020, unless the upgrading of the Waste Water Treatment Works, into which the development shall drain, has been completed and written confirmation of this has been issued by the Local Planning Authority".

 

            Reason: To prevent overloading of the Waste Water Treatment Works and pollution of the environment.

 

22.       No phase of development shall be occupied until a drainage scheme for the related phase has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The scheme shall provide for the disposal of foul, surface and land water, and include an assessment of the potential to dispose of surface and land water by sustainable means. Thereafter the scheme shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details prior to the occupation of the development and no further foul water, surface water and land drainage shall be allowed to connect directly or indirectly with the public sewerage system.

 

            Reason: To prevent hydraulic overloading of the public sewerage system, to protect the health and safety of existing residents and ensure no pollution of or detriment to the environment.

 

23.       Prior to the commencement of the development hereby approved a detailed survey of the existing culvert under the former railway embankment shall be completed. The survey should establish whether the culvert is blocked or damaged and that it has sufficient capacity to accommodate the outflows from the proposed attenuation ponds.  The report shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.  If the report concludes that the culvert has insufficient capacity the report should also recommend a range of measures to be implemented to ensure that sufficient capacity is available. The development shall not be occupied until the measures identified have, if required, been completed.

 

            Reason:  To ensure satisfactory arrangements are in place for the attenuation and managed discharge of surface water run-off so as to ensure that the development does not exacerbate the potential for flooding downstream, so as to comply with Policy SD3 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy 2011-2031.

 

24.       The recommendations for species and habitat enhancements set out in the ecologist’s report from ARUP dated September 2017 should be followed unless otherwise agreed in writing by the local planning authority.  A working method statement for all protected species present, together with a 10 year ecological management plan integrated with the landscape plan should be submitted to the local planning authority in writing with each of the Reserved Matters submissions pursuant to this outline planning permission.  The plan shall be implemented as approved.

 

            To ensure that all species are protected having regard to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (with amendments and as supplemented by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000), the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (and 2012 amendment).

 

            To comply Herefordshire Council’s Policies LD2 Biodiversity and Geodiversity, LD3 Green Infrastructure of the Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy 2013 – 2031 and to meet the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

 

25.       In this condition ‘retained tree/hedgerow’ means an existing tree/hedgerow that is to be retained in accordance with the approved plans and particulars.

 

            With the exception of the formation of the means of access hereby approved no development, including demolition works shall be commenced on site or site huts, machinery or materials brought onto the site, before adequate measures have been taken to prevent damage to those trees/hedgerows that are to be retained.  Measures to protect those trees/hedgerows must include:-

 

a)         Root Protection Areas for each hedgerow/tree/group of trees must be defined in accordance with BS5837:2012 – Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction Recommendations, shown on the site layout drawing and approved by the Local Planning Authority.

 

b)         Temporary protective fencing, of a type and form agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority must be erected around each hedgerow, tree or group of trees.  The fencing must be at least 1.25 metres high and erected to encompass the whole of the Root Protection Areas for each hedgerow/tree/group of trees.

 

c)         No excavations, site works or trenching shall take place, no soil, waste or deleterious materials shall be deposited and no site huts, vehicles, machinery, fuel, construction materials or equipment shall be sited within the Root Protection Areas for any hedgerow/tree/group of trees without the prior written consent of the Local Planning Authority.

 

d)         No burning of any materials shall take place within 10 metres of the furthest extent of any hedgerow or the crown spread of any tree/group of trees to be retained.

 

e)         There shall be no alteration of soil levels within the Root Protection Areas of any hedgerow/tree/group of trees to be retained.

 

            Reason:  To safeguard the amenity of the area and to ensure that the development conforms to Policies SD1 and LD1 of the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy. The commencement of development in advance of these measures may cause irreparable damage to features of acknowledged amenity value

 

26.       List of approved drawings

 

INFORMATIVES:

 

1.         The Local Planning Authority has acted positively and proactively in determining this application by assessing the proposal against planning policy and any other material considerations, including any representations that have been received. It has subsequently determined to grant planning permission in accordance with the presumption in favour of sustainable development, as set out within the National Planning Policy Framework.

 

2.         I45 HN05 Works within the Highway

 

3.         I05 HN10 No Drainage to Discharge to Highway

 

4.         I38 N19 Avoidance of Doubt - Approved Plans

 

 

(The meeting adjourned between 10.42 and 10.52 am)

 

(Councillor PGH Cutter in the chair.)