Agenda item

17/01125/1 - LAND AT WEATHERHEAD MARK LTD, GARDEN WALK, ROYSTON, SG8 7HT

Meeting of Planning Control Committee, Thursday, 17th August, 2017 7.30 pm (Item 45.)

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Approval of details relating to appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for the erection of 19 dwellings comprising 3 x 5 bedroom dwellings, 12 x 4 bedroom dwellings and 4 x 3 bedroom dwellings (pursuant to outline planning permission ref no. 16/01477/1 granted on 24 October 2016). Separate new access to plots 18 19 onto Garden Walk (As amended by plan TROY161123-SW SS.01C)

Decision:

RESOLVED: That application 17/01125/1 be GRANTED reserved matters permission subject to the conditions and reasons as set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager and the following:

Condition 1

That Condition 1 be deleted.

Condition 14 in the report (now Condition 13)

That Condition 14 in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager (now Condition 13) be amended to read:

“Prior to the commencement of development a Construction Method Statement shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority in consultation with the highway authority. Thereafter the construction of the development shall only be carried out in accordance with the approved Statement.

The Construction Method Statement shall address the following matters:

a. Off site highway works in order to provide sufficient access throughout the construction period, work shall be completed prior to the commencement of development, and reinstated as required.

b. Construction and storage compounds (including areas designated for car parking and delivery vehicle holding pen away from the site)

c. Siting and details of wheel washing facilities and street sweeping

d. Cable trenches

e. Foundation works

f. Substation/control building.”

Minutes:

The Development and Conservation Manager advised the Committee of the following corrections to the report:

· The first line of Paragraph 6.1 should read: “That approval of reserved matters be granted subject to the following conditions:”;

· Condition 1 was not necessary and should be deleted as the time limit was imposed that the granting of the outline permission.

The Development and Conservation Manager introduced the report supported by a visual presentation consisting of plans, drawings and photographs of the site.

Mr Matthew Wood, Applicant’s Agent, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and advised that the principle for the redevelopment of the application site to provide up to 19 new dwellings together with its associated access had been established through the Council’s previous approval of the related outline planning application and the associated Section 106 agreement, including the relevant community contributions, had already been duly signed and agreed with the Council.

This reserved matters planning application sought only to agree matters of appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale.

The outline planning permission included a design informative encouraging the applicant to ensure that the detailed proposals were reflective of Royston’s farming heritage with particular reference to the properties intended to front onto Garden Walk itself.

Following collaborative working with officers, including early pre-application engagement, the current proposals had been accepted as providing a suitable reference to Royston’s heritage which was reflected in the building facades which displayed clear Victorian influences as can be seen in their window arrangements, entrance porches, inclusion of chimneys and the use of traditional materials such as buff brickwork, slate roofs and a panel of knapped flint work to the garage situated on the Garden Walk frontage. Whilst buff brickwork was the predominant material across the site, a number of plots were finished with render, and black timber boarding was used sparingly where appropriate.

A high quality soft landscaping scheme for the site had been prepared and submitted in support of this planning application which included a good level of soft vegetation across the site including to its frontage and bounding the site’s proposed open space and was supported by officers with reference to their supporting Committee report.

The detailed layout proposed provided a high quality proposal set around a central access road and included a well-integrated central area of public open space as well as good levels of private garden and off-street car parking fully compliant with the Council’s Adopted Standards in these regards.

The proposal therefore provided a significant overall enhancement of its setting as well as demonstrating full compatibility and harmony with existing residential properties neighbouring the site as again confirmed by officers.

The scale of redevelopment proposed was strictly in line with the scope of the permitted outline planning permission in providing 19 new dwellings on the site, with this planning application clearly demonstrating the appropriateness of such a design approach.

It included a majority of two storey properties, with associated outbuildings, and, importantly, officers concluded that, given the level of spacing to surrounding properties and such improvements over previous buildings on the site, such scale was fully acceptable in planning terms.

The applicant’s commitment to a high quality design solution for the site had also received the support of the Council’s Environmental Health Officer, the Lead Local Flood Authority and the Highway Authority, who had raised no objection to such proposals, subject to a number of conditions which the applicant was agreeable to.

It was noted that Royston Town Council had commented about the width of the site access road and sought construction delivery restrictions around school times. The applicant would wish to re-iterate that the Highway Authority was fully supportive of the proposal and the applicant had accepted the imposition of a planning condition requiring a construction management plan as recommended by officers in order to suitably control such construction vehicle movements.

The applicant had also positively engaged with local residents through the application process, including resolving a tree related issue as detailed within the officer’s report.

Mr Wood concluded by stating that the proposal represented a sustainable form of redevelopment, as supported by both the Local Development Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework. In line with the recommendation, this proposal provided a high quality and highly sustainable form of residential redevelopment that provided an overall enhancement of its setting and there were no adverse impacts associated with such details that would result in any material harm being caused.

Mr Wood urged Members to support this detailed proposal and grant Reserved Matters planning permission accordingly.

The Chairman thanked Mr Wood for his presentation.

A Member referred to the meeting at which the ouline planning permission had been granted, when she had queried whether Section 106 funding could be used to improve road safety in the area, particularly for children, by providing enhancements to the existing 20 MPH speed limit and proposed speed indicator device, and advised that she felt this issue had not been addressed satisfactorily.

The Development and Conservation Manager advised that, at the time that the outline planning permission had been granted, contributions towards pedestrian safety was not mandatory as the Highways Authority had not required that particular contribution. It was his understanding that the applicant had been asked if they would wish to make a contribution towards this but they chose not to do so. The Section 106 agreement had been signed at the outline permission stage and the application being considered at this meeting was for reserved matters approval and the Section 106 agreement could not be revisited.

Members referred to Condition 13 of the report and acknowledged the proposed restrictions to construction traffic during school hours, but expressed concern that there was nothing to stop construction traffic from stacking up along Garden Walk rather than entering the site and queried whether this could be conditioned.

They were concerned that turn round time of delivery and leaving the site should be factored in to the Traffic Management Plan and that there was a plan in place for the period of the school holidays.

They were also concerned that the road be kept clean during construction and this should include not only wheel washing, but street sweeping as well.

The Development and Conservation Manager agreed that construction traffic should not stack up along the road, particularly when near a school and suggested that this scenario could be addressed by amending Condition 14 b to read:

“Construction and storage compounds (including areas designated for car parking and delivery vehicle holding pen away from the site)”.

In respect of avoidance of school hours, the Traffic Management Plan must be submitted, which would include plans for school hours and school holidays. Timetables should be submitted in advance so that officers could review them taking into account the comments regarding turn round times. The details of the Traffic Management Plan would also be available to the public to view on line

Concerns regarding cleaning of the roads could be addressed by amending the wording of Condition 14 c to read:

“Siting and details of wheel washing facilities and street sweeping”.

Members asked for clarification that officers were satisfied with the provisions for bin storage and for access by waste vehicles.

The Development and Conservation Manager advised that the proposed layout of the development was low density with lots of space outside each property for bin storage. The Highways Authority had considered the width of the access and the roads within the development and were satisfied that there was sufficient space to undertake normal waste collection services.

It was proposed, seconded and