Agenda item

The Planning Team Leader:

a.    advised that an application had been submitted for reserved matters including access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for the erection  of a building to accommodate 14 self-contained apartments with 14 associated parking spaces as required by outline planning permission 2017/0236/OUT

b.    confirmed that the outline planning permission in common with all extant permissions that were yet to be implemented had been extended by the Business and Planning Act 2020 in terms of the time by which reserved matters should be submitted until 1 May 2021

c.    described the location of the application site at the corner of Carholme Road and Derwent Street, formerly occupied by Machins motorcycles within a large single storey building facing the main road, now demolished and a vacant site

d.    referred to the surrounding area as overwhelmingly residential in use and character and a well-used approach into the City from the west

e.    reported that the proposed building would be of an L shape following the road frontage of Carholme Road and Derwent Street, of two storeys adjacent to the existing two storey houses on Carholme Road, stepping up to three storeys on the prominent north west corner of the site, predominantly brick with pitched roofs over the various elements of the structure in common with the prevailing character of the area

f.     referred to the previous site history for the application as detailed within the officer’s report which included outline planning permission granted in August 2017 together with a refused planning application in 2019

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

·         Policy LP1: A Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

·         Policy LP14: Managing Water Resources and Flood Risk

·         Policy LP26: Design and Amenity

·         National Planning Policy Framework      

h.    advised members of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regard to:

·         Compliance with National and Local Planning Policy

·         Impact on the Character of the Area in Terms of Visual Amenity

·         Impact on the Amenity of Adjacent Residents

·         Developer Contributions

·         Highway Matters

·         Flood Risk

i.      outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise

j.      concluded that :

·         The application proposal before Planning Committee had been carefully considered and revised taking account of the previous refusal and the input of ward members and comments from neighbours in respect of the design changes.

·         The design was of a high quality and would deliver 14 new apartments in this important location without causing harm to amenity.

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail. The following comments/questions emerged:

·         It was pleasing that the original planning application had been refused earlier in the year as this submission was presentable, in keeping with the area with the addition of a pitched roof which was a much improved design.

·         It was good to see that the proposed footprint of the development had been taken back from the pavement now encompassing a boundary wall with space in front of the development in between which was in keeping with the rest of the area.

·         The circumstances of this improved planning re submission bore weight to resistance of government proposals to change planning laws as the new regulations would have failed to allow the original application to be discussed at Planning Committee. Local people had to live with planning developments given the go ahead for the rest of their lives. The authority employed experienced planning officers to give advice to Planning Committee to enable valuable improvements to be made to schemes which in this case was a far more acceptable scheme.

·         How would the green strip behind the wall be maintained without having a gate?

·         Access into the parking court was still quite close to adjacent properties.

The Planning Team Leader offered the following points of clarification to members:

·         The applicant had revised the point of access to the car parking court at Derwent Street so that it did not directly face 2a Derwent Street opposite, improving the amenity for the residents of that property.

·         A management company would be responsible for the maintenance of the car park and communal areas. The land behind the wall facing the pavement was not gated, however, there was ample opportunity for a decent planting scheme which would enhance the look of the adjacent area. 

Councillor Tweddle, Chair, emphasised that this planning application demonstrated a good example of local democracy involving the input of local councillors which had resulted in a massive improvement to a former proposed scheme for the site. She thanked officers, the applicant and local residents for giving their views.

RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to the following conditions:

The following conditions are attached to the extant outline planning permission and will need to be complied with as part of the development of the site:

• Finished Floor Levels – as set out on the Flood Risk Assessment
• Archaeology;
• Contaminated Land;
• Delivery times and working hours – 7.00am to 6.00pm and 7.00am to 1.00pm on a Saturday; and
• Electric Vehicle Recharging points

The following condition should be added to the reserved matters approval:

• Sample of facing materials