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Agenda item

25/02998/FP LAND BETWEEN SHANGRI-LA AND TODDS CORNER, STEVENAGE ROAD, TODDS GREEN, HERTFORDSHIRE, SG1 2JE

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

 

Erection of four detached dwellings including landscaping, parking and widening of existing vehicular access off Stevenage Road.

Decision:

RESOLVED: That application 25/02998/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to:

 

A)        The receipt of the Impact Assessment and Conservation Payment Certificate (IACPC) following an application to Natural England under the GCN District Level Licensing (DLL) and a response of no objection from the North Herts Ecologist; and

 

B)        The agreement to an extension of time to the statutory determination date to allow time for (A) to occur; and

 

C)        The conditions and informatives as set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

Minutes:

Audio recording – 57 minutes 48 seconds

 

The Senior Planning Officer gave a verbal update on matters relating to application 25/02998/FP and advised that the comment from Todds Corner at paragraph 3.1 of the report was an objection rather than a neutral comment.

 

The Senior Planning Officer then presented the report in respect of application 25/02998/FP accompanied by a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

 

The following Members asked questions:

 

·             Councillor Dave Winstanley

·             Councillor Ruth Brown

·             Councillor Louise Peace

·             Councillor Nigel Mason

·             Councillor Val Bryant

·             Councillor Martin Prescott

 

In response to questions, the Senior Planning Officer advised that:

 

·             The application had been assessed against the Grey Belt rather than Green Belt as Todds Green was not a village under Policy SP2 of the Local Plan, therefore, it did not constitute infilling in the Green Belt.

·             The in-depth development would impact the character of the landscape and the area, but the delivery of housing was deemed to outweigh the perceived harms of this.

·             Changes made to plots 1 and 2 from the last application had been summarised in the report, but the plots were similar in scale and form.

·             The last application at this site had also been assessed against the Grey Belt.

·             Despite the loss of an on-site 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) from the last application, the application was still subject to the mandatory 10% BNG condition, and this would likely be delivered off-site.

·             Harm resulting from the view lost between plots 1 and 2 had been considered and more on this was detailed at paragraph 4.3.57.

·             They were unaware why the Applicant had decided to submit this application with two extra dwellings compared to the previous application.

·             The proposed road within the site would lead to the neighbouring paddock.

 

In response to questions, the Development and Conservation Manager advised that:

 

·             It would not be reasonable to impose a condition relating to development that would require planning permission.

·             If a separate application was submitted, it would be considered on its own merits.

·             Conditions only came into effect once development on the site began.

 

The Chair informed Members that the Member Advocate Objector, Councillor Caroline McDonnell had given their apologies and was unable to attend the Committee meeting to provide a verbal presentation. The Chair then read out a written statement on their behalf, and highlighted the following:

 

·             The application should be refused permission because of the effect it would have on the nature of Todds Green.

·             Although each application should be determined on its own merits, several Members had raised concerns over the gap between the two dwellings in the last application.

·             Wymondley Parish Council had objected to both this application and the previous one.

·             This land represented the last remaining open space in Todds green that provided views of the countryside.

·             On-site BNG in the form of a hedge between plots 1 and 2 had been removed.

·             Provision had been made for refuse and emergency vehicle access, resulting in further loss of the Green Belt.

·             Double stacking had been introduced in this application, which would disrupt the views and openness of the site, and impact the immediate neighbour.

·             It was disingenuous not to categorise Todds Green as a village.

·             Members should be mindful of the harm this development would have on the Green Belt, which played a significant role in the prevention of urban sprawl.

·             It contradicted the NPPF, Local Plan and Wymondley Neighbourhood Plan.

·             Provision of two additional 5-bed dwellings was not the answer to address the five-year housing land supply.

·             The land was Green Belt and the application had not demonstrated any very special circumstances to allow development.

·             The built form would not be in keeping with the linear layout of Todds Green.

 

The Chair then invited the Agent to the Applicant, Mr Kevin McBride to speak in support of the application. Mr McBride thanked the Chair for the opportunity to speak and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

 

·             This application presented an important opportunity to deliver homes in a sustainable, well-designed way while complementing the rural setting of Todds Green.

·             The proposal represented a carefully considered, proportionate and sustainable development which respected both local need and planning policy.

·             This site was between two existing dwellings and met the definition of Grey Belt. Therefore, the application would be compliant with paragraph 155 of the NPPF.

·             The maximum amount of land allowed for a minor application had been used in this application to integrate it with rest of Todds Green, as highlighted in the plans.

·             The Edwardian character of the proposed dwellings would match the rest of the housing in the immediate surrounding vicinity.

·             Site access had been designed to consider residents at Todds Corner as it would the gap between their home and the proposed dwellings.

·             Significant pressure on the Council to deliver new housing would be addressed by these well-scaled dwellings that would respect the locality.

·             The application was a modest, sensible and sustainable development that would be appropriate, even in the Green Belt.

 

The following Members made points of clarification:

 

·             Councillor Louise Peace

·             Councillor Dave Winstanley

·             Councillor Emma Fernandes

 

In response to points of clarification, the Agent to the Applicant advised that:

 

·             It would have been possible to achieve 10% BNG on-site, however, they had responded to the comments from Wymondley Parish Council by removing trees to maintain a countryside view.

·             There was no reason to keep the delivery of BNG exclusively on-site.

·             There would be a better countryside view from the existing road with the 4 proposed dwellings rather than 2.

·             Plots 1 and 2 would be more set back from the existing road.

·             Dual development was present elsewhere in Todds Green.

 

In response to points raised in the verbal presentations, the Senior Planning Officer advised that plot 1 in this application was set back 15.6 metres from the red line boundary compared to 12 metres in the last application.

 

Councillor Nigel Mason proposed to grant permission subject to the conditions and informatives set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager, the receipt of an Impact Assessment and Conservation Payment Certificate (IACPC) and no objection from the North Herts Ecologist, and the agreement to extend the statutory determination date to allow for the IACPC to be completed. This was seconded by Councillor Emma Fernandes.

 

The following Members took part in the debate:

 

·             Councillor Dave Winstanley

·             Councillor Ruth Brown

·             Councillor Val Bryant

·             Councillor Martin Prescott

·             Councillor Ian Mantle

·             Councillor Emma Fernandes

·             Councillor Tom Tyson

·             Councillor Clare Billing

·             Councillor Nigel Mason

·             Councillor Louise Peace

 

The following points were made as part of the debate:

 

·             Todds Green had a linear built form, and the application deviated from this.

·             The justifications for the last application had been removed from this one.

·             The special character and setting of Todds Green would not be preserved.

·             Encroachment into the countryside would result from this application and it would not assist with the development of previously developed urban land as stated in the report.

·             It was under the Grey Belt classification, and they were reluctant to support it, but permission should be granted.

·             This was inappropriate back land development, and they could not support it.

·             The Council could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, and this was a high-quality, well-designed development.

·             It would be hard to refuse permission if looking at planning policy alone.

·             They had to be mindful of the tilted balance and whether the harms outweighed the benefits that would be delivered.

·             There was no legal reason to refuse permission, therefore, it should be granted.

·             The application felt like linear development, however, this was not a material planning consideration.

·             Even with the tilted balance, the benefits and harms were finely balanced.

·             The Ecologist had not objected to the application.

·             They wished that the Urban Design Code had been implemented ahead of this application, and they were looking forward to this being in place in the future.

 

In response to points raised during the debate, the Locum Planning Lawyer advised that developers could deliver a mix of on-site and off-site BNG, such as through the purchase of BNG units.

 

Having been proposed and seconded and, following a vote, it was:

 

RESOLVED: That application 25/02998/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to:

 

A)          The receipt of the Impact Assessment and Conservation Payment Certificate (IACPC) following an application to Natural England under the GCN District Level Licensing (DLL) and a response of no objection from the North Herts Ecologist; and

 

B)          The agreement to an extension of time to the statutory determination date to allow time for (A) to occur; and

 

C)          The conditions and informatives as set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

Supporting documents: