Decision details

The Committee considered an application for the erection of 29no. one, two and three bedroom flats over a semi-basement car park with associated landscaping. The development is at the site of a former ‘Annex’ community centre on Scarborough Avenue. The application was before the Committee as the Council was the applicant and landowner and this was classed as a major development.

 

The Principal Planning Officer gave an introduction to the Committee. The Principal Planning Officer drew attention to revised conditions 1, 12 and 16 and additional conditions 22 and 23. She advised that the main issues for consideration in the determination of this application were the acceptability of development in land use policy terms, affordable housing provision and s106 contributions, design, scale and the impact on the character and appearance of the area, amenity of occupiers, landscaping and trees, access and parking, waste, noise, drainage and climate change.

 

The Principal Planning Officer informed the Committee that whilst this was a Council-led scheme and the development is to be 100% affordable, to safeguard the delivery of affordable housing should circumstances change, it should be recommended that, a minimum, 25% of the units are required to be affordable. A s106 agreement was recommended to secure affordable housing and contributions toward primary and secondary education, sustainable transport improvements, improvement of children’s plays pace and outdoor sports provision. The Committee was advised that development would provide 35 unallocated car park spaces and 30 cycle parking spaces. The car park spaces would be one short of the parking requirement for a development of this nature. However, the cark park space provision was deemed satisfactory subject to the condition of one additional disabled car park space.  It was indicated that an additional condition had been added to reflect flood risk measures. 

 

Members sought clarification on public transport provision for the area, location of bin stores and the front to front separation distance between the proposed building and neighbouring properties. In her response, the Principal Planning Officer confirmed that HCC had requested £16,000 for the upgrading of bus stops adjacent to the site. Members were informed that HCC had the remit of negotiating bus service arrangements with providers. The Council had raised with HCC the issues of improving bus service around the site. The location of the bin store on the western boundary was not ideal but would be convenient for future occupiers and the Council’s waste operatives’ requirements. However, a condition would be imposed to require details to be submitted for consideration. The separation distance from the nearest corner of the proposed building to the front elevations of the properties would measure approximately 25m and this was considered to be acceptable. It was pointed out that since the Design Guide did not specify distances for front to front relationships, separation distances were assessed on a case-by-case basis.  

 

It was RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to the applicant having first entered into and completed a S106 legal agreement to secure/provide financial contributions towards:-

 

•              Primary and Secondary Education;

•              Sustainable transport improvement;

•              The improvement of Children’s plays pace and outdoor sports provision

•              Affordable Housing

 

The detail of which be delegated to the Assistant Director of Planning and Regulation in liaison with the Council’s appointed solicitor and subject to the following conditions:-

 

1.         The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans: RT18013, 001PL3 Existing Location Plan; 099PL3 Proposed Location Plan; 100PL6 Proposed Site Plan; 101PL4 Proposed Basement Floor Plan; 102PL5 Proposed Ground Floor Plan; 103PL5 proposed First Floor Plan; 104PL5 Proposed Second Floor Plan; 105PL3 Proposed Roof Plan; 110PL3 Proposed Elevations; 111PL3 Proposed Elevations; 112PL3 Proposed Elevations; 113PL3 Proposed Elevations; L001 Tree Constraint Plan; L002 Tree protection Plan.

 

2.         The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

 

3.         The development hereby permitted shall be constructed in accordance with the materials and finishes as set out for the approved building in the application.

 

4.         No development shall take place until details of the approved bin store have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

5.         No development shall take place above slab level until there has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority a scheme of soft and hard landscaping and details of the treatment of all hard surfaces. The scheme shall include details of all existing trees and hedgerows on the land and details showing all trees to be removed, or retained, together with details of all new planting to take place including species, size and method of planting, and boundary treatments.         

 

6.         All planting, seeding or turfing comprised in the approved details of landscaping shall be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the first occupation of the building(s) or the completion of the development whichever is the sooner.

 

7.         All hard surfacing comprised in the approved details of landscaping shall be carried out prior to the first occupation of the building or the completion of the development, whichever is the sooner.

 

8.         Any trees or plants comprised within the scheme of landscaping, which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of similar size and species, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

           

9.         No development shall take place until a detailed Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) to detail how waste materials generated as a result of the proposed demolition and/or construction methods shall be disposed of, and detail the level and type of soil to be imported to the site as part of the development has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

10.       No construction work relating to this permission shall be carried out on any Sunday, Public or Bank Holiday nor at any other time, except between the hours of 0730 and 1800 on Mondays to Fridays and between the hours of 0830 and 1300 on Saturdays, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. These times apply to work which is audible at the site boundary.

 

11.       No development shall take place until a scheme for protecting the proposed dwellings from noise from road traffic has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. None of the dwellings shall be occupied until such a scheme has been implemented in accordance with the approved details, and shown to be effective, and it shall be retained in accordance with those details thereafter.

 

12.       The development hereby permitted shall not commence until the proposed accesses have been constructed as identified on the “in principle” general arrangement site plan number RT 18013 100 PL6 and the existing accesses have been reinstated to footway construction to the current specification of Hertfordshire County Council and to the local Planning Authority's satisfaction.

 

13.       Before the accesses are first brought into use vehicle to vehicle visibility splays of 2.4 metres by 43 metres in a both directions shall be provided and permanently maintained, within which there shall be no obstruction to visibility between 600 mm and 2.0 metres above the footway level. These measurements shall be taken from the intersection of the centre line of the permitted access with the edge of the carriageway of the highway respectively into the application site and from the intersection point along the edge of the carriageway.

 

14.       Prior to the first use of the development hereby permitted 0.65 metre x 0.65 metre pedestrian visibility splays shall be provided and permanently maintained each side of the access. They shall be measured from the point where the edges of the access way cross the highway boundary, 0.65 metres into the site and 0.65 metres along the highway boundary therefore forming a triangular visibility splay. Within which, there shall be no obstruction to visibility between 0.6 metres and 2.0 metres above the carriageway.

 

15.       The gradient of the main access shall not be steeper than 1 in 10 from the back edge of the footway.

 

16.       Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby permitted the car parking spaces as detailed on drawing numbers RT18013, 100PL6 and 101PL4 shall be surfaced and marked out in accordance with the approved plan and shall be made of porous material, or provision shall be made to direct surface water run-off from the hardstanding to a permeable or porous area or surface within the curtilage of the site. They shall be retained in that form and kept available for the sole use of parking for the development hereby permitted.

 

17.       Prior to the commencement of the development, a Construction Management Plan/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 Plan/Statement.

 

The Construction Management Plan/Method statement shall address the following matters:

 

(i) Details of a construction phasing programme (including any pre-construction or enabling works);

(ii) Hours of construction operations including times of deliveries and removal of waste;

(iii) Site set up and general arrangements for storing plant including cranes, materials, machinery and equipment, temporary offices and other facilities, construction vehicle parking and loading/unloading and vehicle turning areas;

(iv) Access and protection arrangements around the site for pedestrians, cyclists and other customers;

(v) Details of provisions for temporary car parking during construction;

(vi) The location of construction traffic routes to and from the site, details of their signing, monitoring and enforcement measures;

(vii) Screening and hoarding details

(viii) End of day tidying procedures;

(ix) Construction and storage compounds (including areas designated for car parking);

(x) Siting and details of wheel washing facilities;

(xi) Cleaning of site entrances, site access roads and the adjacent public highway and:

(xii) Disposal of surplus materials.

 

18.       No development shall take place above slab level until details of Electric Vehicle Charging Points to include provision for 10% of the car parking spaces to be designated for plug-in Electric Vehicles have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved Electric Vehicle Charge Points shall be installed in accordance with the approved details and thereafter permanently retained.

 

19.       No development shall take place above slab level until details of measures to address adaptation to climate change and energy efficiency have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. These measures shall then be implemented and permanently maintained in accordance with the approved details.

 

20.       As this is a previously developed site there may be a risk of the land containing contaminants. If, during development, contamination not previously identified is found to be present at the site then no further development (unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority) shall be carried out until a remediation strategy detailing how this contamination will be dealt with has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

21.       No development shall take place until details of measures to address adaptation to climate change and energy efficiency have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. These measures shall then be implemented and permanently maintained in accordance with the approved details.

 

22.       No development shall take place until the final design of the drainage scheme is completed and sent to the LPA for approval. The surface water drainage system will be based on the submitted Flood Risk Assessment & Drainage Strategy, prepared by Ridge & Partners LLP, dated 29 April 2019, project 9009420, version 1.0 and all supporting information. The scheme shall also include;

 

1.     Implementing drainage strategy based on infiltration supported by infiltration testing carried out in accordance with BRE Digest 365 at the location of the proposed SuDS features.

2.     Where infiltration is not feasible implement a drainage strategy based upon attenuation and discharge into the Thames Water surface water sewer restricted to 1l/s for rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + 40% climate change event. Confirmation from Thames should be provided to support the scheme.

3.     Provide attenuation to ensure no increase in surface water run-off volumes for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + 40% climate change event.

4.     Demonstrate an appropriate SuDS management and treatment train and inclusion of above ground features such as permeable paving, swales etc. reducing the requirement for any underground storage.

5.     Silt traps for protection for any residual tanked elements.

6.     Detailed engineered drawings of the proposed SuDS features including their, location, size, volume, depth and any inlet and outlet features including any connecting pipe runs and all corresponding calculations to ensure the scheme caters for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + 40% allowance climate change event.

 

The scheme shall be fully implemented and subsequently maintained, in accordance with the timing / phasing arrangements embodied within the scheme or within any other period as may subsequently be agreed, in writing, by the local planning authority.

 

23.       Upon completion of the drainage works for each site in accordance with the timing / phasing, a management and maintenance plan for the SuDS features and drainage network must be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall include;

 

1.            Provision of complete set of as built drawings for site drainage.

2.            Maintenance and operational activities.

3.            Arrangements for adoption and any other measures to secure the operation of the scheme throughout its lifetime.