Decision details

The Committee considered an application for the construction of three and four storey building to comprise 21no. one and two bed flats with associated parking, landscaping, bin and cycle stores and new vehicular access. Members noted that the application was required to be considered by Committee as the council was the applicant and landowner.

 

The Principal Planning Officer gave an introduction to the Committee and drew attention to revised condition 1. 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 neighbours, amenity of occupiers, landscaping and trees, access and parking, waste, noise drainage and climate change. It was noted that the proposed development was at the site of a former residential care home.

 

The Chair invited Mr Chris Hughes, an objector to address the Committee.  Mr Hughes’s objections related to scale and height of the building, parking, highway safety, loss of privacy and appearance and design. The Chair thanked Mr Hughes and then invited the Assistant Director (Housing Development), on behalf of the applicant, to address the Committee.

 

The Assistant Director (Housing Development) informed the Committee that the proposal was considered to be in a sustainable location and the scheme had been amended to address the concerns of adjoining occupiers with the height being reduced and the orientation of some windows had been adjusted to address loss of privacy. He also advised that this development was required to help fund the development at Shephall Way and Scarborough Avenue which were delivering 100% affordable housing. He also confirmed that the building’s designers had used the latest available maps and technology and therefore the details on the proposed plans were accurate.

 

The Principal Planning Officer advised Members that Condition 1 had been amended in response to feedback regarding plans for the bin and cycle stores. She highlighted that the site was on land classified as previously developed. The Principal Planning Officer indicated that the windfall site met criteria set out in Policy H05 of the adopted local plan. The Committee was informed that there would be no affordable housing on site. The six unit affordable housing provision as required by Policy H07 of the adopted local plan would be provided at Shephall Way (application ref: 19/00197/FP) or Scarborough Avenue (application ref: 19/00136/FPM). The Principal Planning Officer clarified that the adopted 2019 Local Plan did not specify housing density standards.

 

The Officer informed Members that the proposed new vehicular access was considered acceptable in principle and that the proposal was considered to be in a sustainable location. The height of the rear element of the building and the orientation of some windows had been adjusted to address loss of privacy and light issues raised by the occupiers of 28 Daltry Road to the rear. Members were informed that the parking provision was within HCC guidelines. The building designers had used the latest available maps and technology and therefore there details on the proposed plans were accurate.

 

The Principal Planning Officer concluded by stating that the redevelopment of 12 North Road with a four storey flat development of high quality design was considered acceptable and would not harm the character and appearance of the area generally. The proposal would provide adequate living accommodation, external space and parking area to satisfy the Council’s adopted standards and would not result in an unacceptable loss of privacy to the occupiers of properties in Daltry Road to the rear.

 

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;

•              Libraries and Youth Facilities;

•              Sustainable transport improvements

•              The improvement of open outdoor space and children’s play space;

•              Securing the off-site provision of affordable housing;

 

The detail of which is to 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: 18003SU2.01 Existing Site Location Plan; 18003SU2.02 Location Plan; 18003WD2.01 J Proposed Site Location Plan; 18003WD2.02 F Proposed Floor Plans; 18003WD2.03 E Proposed Floor Plans; 18003WD2.04 F Proposed Elevations; 18003WD2.05 C 3D Perspective Plan; 18003WD2.06 C Street Scene Elevations; 18003WD2.07 C Proposed Section; 18003WD2.09 B Proposed Roof Plan; 18003WD2.10 Proposed Bin and Cycle Store Plans.

 

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

 

3.         No development shall take place above slab level until a schedule and samples of the materials, to include windows and doors, to be used in the construction of the external surfaces of the approved building, bin and cycle stores hereby permitted, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

 

4.         Notwithstanding the details shown in this application the treatment of all boundaries including details of any walls, fences, gates or other means of enclosure shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to the commencement of development above slab level. The approved boundary treatments shall be completed before the use hereby permitted is commenced or before the building(s) is occupied.

 

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.

 

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 tree shown retained on the approved plans, or subsequently approved landscaping scheme, shall be cut down, uprooted or destroyed, nor shall any retained tree be topped or lopped within five years of the completion of development without the written approval of the Local Planning Authority.

 

10.       No development, including site clearance, shall commence until the trees shown to be retained on the site, as identified on drawing 18003wd2.01 revision J, have been protected by fencing in accordance with details which have first been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning.

           

11.       Within the areas to be fenced off in accordance with condition 10, there shall be no alteration to the ground levels and they shall be kept clear of vehicles, materials, surplus soils, temporary buildings and machinery.

           

12.       No removal of trees, scrubs or hedges shall be carried out on site between 1st March and 31st August inclusive in any year, unless searched before by a suitably qualified ornithologist.

 

13.       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.

           

14.       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.

 

15.       Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby permitted the vehicular access shall be provided 4.8 metres wide and thereafter retained at the position shown on the "in principle" approved drawing number 18003wd2.01 revision J in accordance with the current specification of Hertfordshire County Council and to the Local Planning Authority's satisfaction. An arrangement shall be made for surface water drainage to be intercepted and disposed of separately so that it does not discharge from or onto the highway carriageway.

 

16.       Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby permitted the vehicular access shall be hard surfaced as shown on the approved drawing number 18003wd2.01 revision J for the first 9.0 metres from the edge of the carriageway.

 

17.       The gradient of access road shall not be steeper than 1 in 20 for the first 9 metres from the edge of the carriageway.

 

18.       Prior to the first occupation of the development hereby permitted the car parking spaces as detailed on drawing number 18003wd2.01 revision J shall be surfaced and marked out in accordance with the approved plan and thereafter retained for the sole use of parking for the development hereby permitted.

 

19.       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.

 

20.       No development shall take place 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.

 

21.       The north-eastern facing panel of each Oriel window approved on the eastern rear elevation of the northern gable projection of the proposed building shall be glazed with obscured glass (minimum level 3 on the Pilkington scale) and shall be fixed so as to be incapable of being opened below a height of 1.7 metres above floor level, and shall be retained in that form thereafter.

 

22.       The development permitted by this planning permission shall be carried out in accordance with the Flood Risk Assessment and SuDS Strategy in relation to proposed residential development at 12 North Road, Stevenage, SG1 4HL, prepared by Marks Heeley Ltd, Revision A, dated Nov’18 and the following mitigation measures:

 

1. Provide attenuation (approximately 88m3 of storage) to ensure no increase in surface water run-off volumes for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + climate change event.

2. Implement drainage strategy based on restricted surface water discharge at 1.3l/s and include permeable paving with sub-base and land drains, deep cellular attenuation tanks as indicated on the Proposed Surface Water Drainage Strategy Drawing Number H12887/D1.

           

23.       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 and SuDS Strategy in relation to proposed residential development at 12 North Road, Stevenage, SG1 4HL, prepared by Marks Heeley Ltd, Revision A, dated Nov’18. The scheme shall also include:

 

1.         Detailed engineered drawings of all 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/modelling to ensure the scheme caters for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + 40% allowance for climate change event.

 

2.         Demonstrate that the permeable paving sub-base will infiltrate (BRE Digest 365 tests) or provide detail on lining, including any necessary updated calculations.

 

3          Approval from the relevant Water & Sewerage Company that they have the capacity to take the proposed volumes and run-off rates

 

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

 

24.       Upon completion of the drainage works for the site and in accordance with the timing/phasing arrangement, 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 a 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.

           

25.       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.