Agenda item

Application for Development: Land At 94 And 96 Newland (Taste Of Marrakesh) And No. 100, 102 And 104 Newland, Lincoln

Minutes:

The Planning Manager:

 

a.    advised that full planning permission was sought for:

 

·         Erection of a four storey building to the south of Nos. 100, 102 and 104 Newland to provide student accommodation

·         Demolition of rear extension to Nos. 100, 102 and 104 Newland

·         Demolition of Nos. 94 and 96 Newland (Taste of Marrakesh)

·         Erection of a partial subterranean four and five storey building to provide student accommodation

·         Erection of a partial subterranean building to provide four storeys of student accommodation between Nos. 96 and 100 Newland, including glazed link to No. 100 Newland (revised description, revised plans)

 

b.    described the location of the application site from east to west occupied by a mix of buildings and parking, as detailed within the officers report

 

c.    advised that access to the buildings was currently a mixture of pedestrian access from Newland and vehicular access from Carholme Road

 

d.    described the relevant planning history to the application site as detailed within the officer’s report

 

e.    provided details of the policies pertaining to the application as follows:

 

·         Policy LP1: A Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

·         Policy LP2: The Spatial Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy

·         Policy LP3: Level and Distribution of Growth

·         Policy LP5: Delivering Prosperity and Jobs

·         Policy LP13: Accessibility and Transport

·         Policy LP14: Managing Water Resources and Flood Risk

·         Policy LP16: Development on Land affected by Contamination

·         Policy LP17: Landscape, Townscape and Views

·         Policy LP25: The Historic Environment

·         Policy LP26: Design and Amenity

·         Policy LP29: Protecting Lincoln's Setting and Character

·         Policy LP31: Lincoln's Economy

·         Policy LP33: Lincoln's City Centre Primary Shopping Area and Central Mixed Use Area

·         Policy LP36: Access and Movement within the Lincoln Area

·         Policy LP37: Sub-division and multi-occupation of dwellings within Lincoln

·         National Planning Policy Framework      

 

  1. outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise

 

  1. referred to the update sheet which contained plans of proposed elevations in relation to the proposals and additional responses received from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, Lincoln Civic Trust and local residents

 

  1. advised members of the main issues to be considered as part of the application as follows:

 

  • The Principle of the Development;
  • The Impact of the Design of the Proposals;
  • The Implications of the Proposals upon Amenity;
  • Sustainable Access, Highway Safety and Air Quality
  • Other Matters; and
  • The Planning Balance.

 

  1. concluded that:

 

  • The presumption in favour of sustainable development required by the National Planning Policy Framework would apply to the proposals as there would not be conflict with the Framework in respect of sustainability that would apply to development as set out in the planning balance.
  • It was the conclusion of officers and therefore the recommendation to Members that there would not be harm caused by approving the development so the application should benefit from planning permission for the reasons identified in the report and be subject to the conditions outlined below.
  • However, in the event that any new material planning considerations were to be raised within correspondence received following the writing of this report which would lead to a different conclusion being reached or which would require further consideration and/or planning conditions, officers would provide members with a detailed response on the Update Sheet. This would have regard to any further consultation responses received in the timeframe from the agenda being published and the date of Planning Committee, or these would be reported directly at Planning Committee if appropriate.

 

Chris Spendlove representing the University of Lincoln, addressed Planning Committee in support of the proposed development, covering the following main points:

 

·         He worked as Registrar at the University of Lincoln.

·         He wished to speak in support of the planning application.

·         The development proposed represented the second phase of a gateway site into the City.

·         The scheme would help satisfy demand for student accommodation in the city.

·         The University had received several awards in recognition of its high standards of education.

·         There was a demand for an additional 2,800 bed spaces over future years.

·         There would be an additional 3,300 students coming into the city from 2017/18 to 2024/25.

·         There was a deficit of 200 bed spaces forecast for the year 2019/20.

·         The proposals would not have a negative impact on local residents.

·         CCTV screens would monitor the unit from the main University campus.

·         As part of the development proposals, all residents of No1 The Brayford had been written to with a positive response.

·         75% of construction staff would live within 5 miles of the site.

·         The scheme allowed the townscape to be ‘set down’ to the addition of a modern building.

·         The proposals included the demolition and replacement of the Marrakesh building as approved by the City of Lincoln Council Conservation Officer.

·         The developer had tried to submit the planning application in tandem with phase 1 of the scheme, however, timescales had not permitted this.

·         He hoped members of Planning Committee would offer their support to the proposals.

 

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail, raising the following comments:

 

·         Custom built accommodation for students freed up private housing for families.

·         Some concerns were raised regarding the design of buildings around the Brayford area,

·         This was further exasperation of the balance between residents and students in the area.

·         Other members welcomed the design of the building.

·         Praise was offered for the way the Brayford area had been transformed from its derelict state in 1994.

·         The units needed to be sustainable and lived in by students. They would not attract Council tax or business rate tax. It would be useful to source proof that students were moving out of HMO’s to occupy purpose built student accommodation

·         The design may not be to everyone’s taste, however it was an improvement to what was there before.

 

The Planning Manager offered the following points of clarification to members:

 

·         With regards to the issue of student occupation in private houses, Article 4 was an effective tool to help control this problem. There was a significant move to private landlords seeking flexibility of C3 use properties.

·         There were more families in the West End. The shift was happening slowly.

·         Loss of council tax/business rates - there was no means to identify students coming out of private accommodation apart from council tax records.

·         Expansion of the University required extra accommodation for additional students coming in. It was strategically important to meet this provision through purpose built student accommodation to retain residential accommodation for family use.

·         Planning officers considered that the proposed development offered a good use, good provision and good location.

 

RESOLVED that

 

·         As the overall public consultation period for the application did not expire until 23 June 2018, authority be delegated to the Planning Manager to issue planning permission subject to the planning conditions listed below.

·         However, should there be any further material planning considerations raised (within correspondence received following the Planning Committee agenda being published) that had not already been considered in this report or that could not be addressed by existing or additional planning conditions, the application would be referred back to the next available Planning Committee for the consideration of Members.

 

Standard Conditions

 

Timeframe of the Planning Permission

Approved Plans

 

Conditions to be discharged before commencement of works

 

Materials Schedule and Detailed Plans (Windows etc.)

Contaminated Land Remediation

Archaeology

Site Drainage

Air Quality and Noise Mitigation (including design of plant and machinery)

 

Conditions to be discharged before use is implemented

 

Closing of Accesses to Newland and Carholme Road

Building-wide Management Plan

Scheme of Landscaping

Refuse Storage and Servicing

 

Conditions to be adhered to at all times

 

Construction Working Hours and Deliveries

Scheme of External Site Lighting

Supporting documents: