Agenda item

(Councillor Mara re-joined his seat for the rest of the meeting.)

The Assistant Director of Planning:

a.    advised that planning permission was requested for a single storey rear extension at this semi-detached dwelling, 29 Severn Street, Lincoln to enable the reconfiguration of the internal arrangements of the existing accommodation and the provision of a ‘play room’

b.    detailed the location of the property on the south side of Carholme Road on a high density street, comprising traditional red brick, bay fronted, semi-detached and terraced 2 storey dwellings

c.    highlighted that the application property was located outside of the local West Parade and Brayford Conservation Area and within Flood Zone 2

d.    advised that the application was presented to Planning Committee as it had received more than four objections

e.    reported that no pre-application advice had been sought on the proposal

f.     reported on the planning history of the application property as detailed within the officer’s report, which permitted the property currently to be occupied as a C4 HMO for up to six individuals

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

·         Policy S6: Design Principles for Efficient Buildings

·         Policy S53: Design and Amenity

·         National Planning Policy Framework

8. advised Planning Committee of the main issues to be considered as part of the application to assess the proposal with regards to:

9. outlined the responses made to the consultation exercise

10. referred to the Update Sheet which included further information received in relation to the planning application after the original agenda papers were published

11. concluded that the proposals would not have a detrimental impact on the residential amenities of neighbouring properties or the visual amenity of the wider area, in accordance with Policy S53 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

The Committee discussed the content of the report in further detail.

Members asked whether the ground floor accommodation should be used for bedrooms being in Flood Zone 2.

The Assistant Director of Planning confirmed that the area was not as high a flood risk as Flood Zone 3 and therefore did not require floor levels to be elevated. Under its powers as a Local Planning Authority, use of the rooms could not be controlled, however would suggest informative guidance was for bedrooms not to be occupied at ground floor level.

A comment by one member suggested the application was spurious and that the intended use of the extension would not be as a playroom.

The Assistant Director of Planning offered the following points of clarification:

·         He accepted the comment made, however, it was not within the jurisdiction of the Planning Authority to stipulate that the space could only be used as a play room.

·         If the proposed use was to change in the future then separate planning permission would be required for permitted occupancy of more than six individuals living there.

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

Conditions

·         Development commenced within 3 years

·         In accordance with the approved plans