Agenda item

To consider the erection of 1no. one bedroom and 1no. two bedroom dwelling houses and provision of publicly accessible open space.

It was RESOLVED: That the application 23/0006/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the applicant having first entered into a S106 legal agreement and the conditions and reasons set out in the report.

 

The Committee considered a report in respect of application 23/00066/FP seeking the erection of one 1-bed and one 2-bed dwelling houses and provision of publicly accessible open space.

 

The Senior Planning Officer presented photos of the site location and site layout. The application sought to build two houses with the open space being retained a publicly accessible privately owned open space. There would be a one-bed house at the top of the site and a two-bed house at the bottom. The trees displaced would be replanted as part of the landscape strategy. There would also be hedgerow replaced and extended to enclose the site but would allow site access.

 

The Chair introduced Mr Paul Raymond, an objector, to address the Committee.

 

Mr Raymond, a resident of Conifer Walk, expressed issues with the application. Firstly, it was his view that the development would have a negative effect on the wildlife and residents. The small area of land was used regularly with children playing and people walking their dogs. Established conifer trees were also being removed. Secondly, as a neighbour to the proposed development, the boundary of his home was 1m away from the new house. He believed there would be a significant loss of light into his home.

 

The Chair thanked Mr Raymond for his contribution to the meeting.

 

The Senior Planning Officer informed Members that the application did not meet policy H05 as it was not previously developed or an urban site, however, it met policy H09 as it was supplying smaller dwellings. The development would contribute to the housing supply and would have an economic benefit during construction. She reminded Members that the land was privately owned and was publicly accessible private land, not public open space. Conditions could be imposed in terms of the access to the open space, that it must still be publicly accessible and who would conduct landscaping and maintenance, but they could not force the developer to do this.

 

Conifer Walk had no uniformity in terms of size, design, or materials, so the properties would be constructed in line with the elevation of the other properties. The one-bed would have a steep garden, but this was similar to other properties in the area due to the topography. She noted there would be some overlooking but this would not be different to semi-detached or terraced buildings. The separation distances all meet or exceed the minimum requirements set out in the design guide, and there would be no side windows. The Hertfordshire Highways Authority had agreed the proposal was acceptable.

 

There would be new trees planted and the applicant had agreed a financial contribution for a 3-for-1 tree planting and a 10% biodiversity net gain contribution. There had been suggestions for the trees to be planted in Chells Park. A more detailed design strategy had been asked for and this was determined under condition 17.

 

The Chair asked a question in relation to comments made by Hertfordshire Police. The Senior Planning Officer advised that the comments were regarding a blank gable wall that would potentially reduce opportunities for surveillance but was deemed acceptable as to install windows in the side elevations would result in overlooking and loss of privacy to neighbouring properties. The boundary treatments would be done via conditions, such as a recessed rear gate which created a small alleyway.

 

A Member asked whether the financial contribution in relation to the trees would be done before the development. It was advised that the financial contributions were done through the Section 106 legal agreement.

 

A Member raised concerns around the shape of roads and car parking situations. The Senior Planning Officer advised that the car parking provision was policy compliant, and the Committee could not refuse the application on parking grounds when it complied with the policies. In relation to the impact on highway safety, the Planning Officers had to take the advice of the statutory consultee which were the Herts Highways Authority who deemed it acceptable.

 

Another Member asked questions in relation to the loss of space and the owner of the land. It was advised that the land was owned by Moody Homes who built that area of Chells Manor. It was then sold at auction last year. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) stated that it was common to have private estates like this that were passed onto developers. Mr Raymond also added that the land didn’t sell at auction the first time and was sold for cheaper a second time. He also added that the parking would make a difference and there would be off road parking lost in a very busy area.

 

A Member raised concerns surrounding the construction and the impacts on traffic and parking in the area. There were also questions around the loss of lighting. The Senior Planning Officer advised that there was a condition for a construction management plan which would be submitted to Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) which detailed when and how many construction vehicles there would be, the hours they work, etc. In terms of the lighting, the daylight and sunlight were all deemed to be acceptable and because the new properties were in line with current properties there wouldn’t be any significant overshadowing.

 

A Member asked whether it could be specified that the properties could not be multiple occupancy. It was advised that properties could not be converted into multiple occupancy HMOs without planning permission. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) added that there was a planning library with all the planning policies that could be sent out to Members.

 

A Member asked a question about the 10% biodiversity contribution, and the conditions for maintenance. It was advised that the 10% biodiversity contribution was not on site, instead there would be a financial contribution to Chells Park. There were conditions in the report for a landscaping and maintenance strategy to be submitted.

 

A Member asked who would maintain the public access. It was advised that there was no legal mechanism to impose on private land owners, but there was a condition that it needed to be maintained as publicly accessible. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that because the land wasn’t required by this development there was nothing Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) could do if the developer wanted to withdraw access.

 

Another Member asked whether there were lots of drainage issues in the area. It was also asked whether the design of the houses could be flipped so the garages were next to each other, and the garden moved so the open space would be wider. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) reminded Members that they had to consider what was before them. Officers challenge applicants and ask a lot of questions and this was the application that had been put forward. The developer was offering to keep the open space publicly accessible but did not have to do so and did not affect planning policy. Any issues with drainage were considered in the application.

 

It was RESOLVED: That the application 23/0006/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the applicant having first entered into a S106 legal agreement and the conditions and reasons set out in the report.

 

Conditions:

 

1.    The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans: 2021/72/03; 2021/72/01/A; 2021/72/02/A;

 

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 be used in the construction of the external surfaces of the dwelling 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.    In the event that contamination is found at any time when carrying out the approved development that was not previously identified it must be reported in writing immediately to the local planning authority. An investigation and risk assessment must be undertaken and where remediation is necessary a remediation scheme must be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. Following completion of measures identified in the approved remediation scheme a verification report must be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.

 

5.    No demolition or construction work which is audible at the site boundary 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 07:30 and 18:00 on Mondays to Fridays and between the hours of 08:00 and 13:00 on Saturdays.

 

6.    Prior to the first occupation of the dwellings herby permitted the parking provision, access and visibility splays as shown on approved plan 2021/72/02/A, shall be constructed, hardsurfaced and made ready for use. Any new areas of hardstanding created, or existing areas which are replaced, shall be constructed in a porous material or provision shall be made for a sustainable urban drainage system (SuDS) to be built into the hardsurfaced areas.Once provided the parking facilities shall be retained in that form and thereafter be used for the parking of vehicles only.

 

7.    Prior to the occupation of the dwellings hereby permitted, the parking spaces shown on approved plan 2021/72/02/A shall be provided with the underlying infrastructure for connection to the electricity network to enable them to be served by an electric vehicle charging point.

 

8.    No development shall take place above slab level until details of measures to address adaptation to climate change 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.

 

9.    Prior to the first occupation of the dwellings hereby permitted, the cycle storage as shown on plan 2021/72/02/A shall be implemented accordingly. The cycle storage shall be retained and maintained accordingly during the lifetime of the development.

 

10.  Prior to the first occupation of the dwellings hereby permitted, the general waste and recycling storage associated with the development shall be implemented in accordance with the details as specified on plan number 2021/72/02/A.

 

11.  All planting, seeding and turfing shall be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the first use of the site or the completion of the development whichever is the sooner.

 

12.  Any trees or plants comprised within the approved plans 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.

 

13.  All areas of hedges, scrub or similar vegetation where birds may nest which are to be removed as part of the development, are to be cleared outside the bird-nesting season (March - August inclusive) or if clearance during the bird nesting season cannot be reasonably be avoided, a suitably qualified ecologist will check the areas to be removed immediately prior to clearance and advise whether nesting birds are present. If active nests are recorded, no vegetation clearance or other works that may disturb active nests shall proceed until all young have fledged the nest

 

14.  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.

 

15.  No development shall take place above slab level until a detailed scheme of the open space provision, management and maintenance of, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall include the location, dimensions/size and layout of the open space, its regular maintenance of, and how the space will be managed to ensure its continued availability to the public. The open space shall thereafter be provided and maintained in full accordance with the approved details.

 

16.  The area of open space as identified on the approved Site Location Plan and 2021/72/02/A and in accordance with condition 15 shall be used only for the provision of publicly available open space and for no other means, at any time.

 

17.  Prior to first occupation of the development hereby permitted, a landscape management plan, including long term design objectives, management responsibilities and maintenance schedules for all landscape areas, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The landscape management plan shall be carried out as approved.

 

18.  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. The approved boundary treatments shall be completed before the use hereby permitted is commenced or before the building(s) is occupied.

 

19.  No development shall take place (including demolition and site clearance) until a Construction Management Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, including elements of the CLOCS standards as set out in the Highway Authority's Construction Management template. Thereafter, the construction of the development shall only be carried out in accordance with the approved plan. The Construction Management Plan shall include details of:

a)    Construction vehicle numbers, type, routing;

b)    Access arrangements to the site;

c)    Traffic management requirements;

d)    Construction and storage compounds (including areas designated for car parking, loading/unloading and turning areas);

e)    Siting and details of wheel washing facilities;

f)     Cleaning of site entrances, site tracks and the adjacent public highway;

g)    Timing of construction activities (including delivery times and removal of waste) and to avoid school pick up/drop off times;

h)    Provision of sufficient on-site parking prior to commencement of construction activities;

i)      Post construction restoration/reinstatement of the working areas and temporary access to the public highway;

j)      where works cannot be contained wholly within the site a plan should be submitted showing the site layout on the highway including extent of hoarding, pedestrian routes and remaining road width for vehicle movements.

k)    Demolition and construction works between the hours of 0730 and 1800 on Mondays to Fridays and between the hours of 0800 and 1300 on Saturdays only (These times relate to works which are audible at the boundary)

l)      hours of construction operations including times of deliveries and removal of waste;

 

20.  Notwithstanding the provisions of Classes A and B of Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (or any Order revoking or re-enacting this Order) no extensions or loft conversions including dormer windows / roof extensions shall be constructed on the dwelling hereby approved unless permission is granted on an application made to the Local Planning Authority.

 

21.  The parking and garaging facilities shown on drawings 2021/72/01-A and 2021/72-02A shall be retained in that form and kept available for those purposes for the lifetime of the development unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.