Planning Application: 2011/18367 HILLCREST, KNUTSFORD ROAD, Location: AND THELWALL, , WA4 3LA Parish:

Proposed first floor side extension with solar panels to roof Proposal: (amendment to permission 2008/12398).

Applicant: Cruden Construction Ltd

HILLCREST, KNUTSFORD ROAD, GRAPPENHALL AND 2011/18367 Applicant Address: THELWALL, WARRINGTON, WA4 3LA Applicant Tel No:

Applicant Email:

Agent: Mr Carl Grannell, John McCall Architects John McCall Architects No1 Arts Village Henry Street, Agent Address: Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 5BS Agent Tel. No:

Agent Email: [email protected]

Application Type: Full Planning

Date Received: 09-Jun-2011 Date Registered: 10-Jun-2011

Expiry Date: 04-Aug-2011 Consultation Start 10/06/11 Date: Consultation End 01/07/11 Date: Case Officer: Jason Lewis

WKSFP Application for Planning Permission. Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Publication of applications on planning authority websites. Please note that the information provided on this application form and in supporting documents may be published on the Authority’s website. If you require any further clarification, please contact the Authority’s planning department.

1. Applicant Name, Address and Contact Details

Title: First name: Surname:

Company name Cruden Construction Ltd Country National Extension Street address: Hillcrest Code Number Number Knutsford Road Telephone number:

Grappenhall Mobile number: Town/City Warrington Fax number: County:

Country: Email address:

Postcode: WA4 3LA

Are you an agent acting on behalf of the applicant? Yes No

2. Agent Name, Address and Contact Details

Title: First Name: Carl Surname: Grannell

Company name: John McCall Architects Country National Extension Street address: John McCall Architects No1 Arts Village Henry Street Code Number Number Telephone number:

Mobile number: Town/City Liverpool Fax number: County: Merseyside

Country: Email address:

Postcode: L1 5BS [email protected]

3. Description of the Proposal

Please describe the proposed development including any change of use: Renewal of lapsed planning approval Extension of Existing offices. New extension to comprise a single storey extension at first floor level to the rear of the building with new pv solar panels to the existing and new roof.

Has the building, work or change of use already started? Yes No

Ref: 04: 2309 Planning Portal Reference: 4. Site Address Details Full postal address of the site (including full postcode where available) Description:

House: Suffix:

House name: HILLCREST

Street address: KNUTSFORD ROAD GRAPPENHALL

Town/City: WARRINGTON

County:

Postcode: WA4 3LA

Description of location or a grid reference (must be completed if postcode is not known):

Easting: 365350

Northing: 385657

5. Pre-application Advice Has assistance or prior advice been sought from the local authority about this application? Yes No

If Yes, please complete the following information about the advice you were given (this will help the authority to deal with this application more efficiently):

Officer name: Title: Mr First name: JASON Surname: LEWIS

Reference: 2008/12398

Date (DD/MM/YYYY): 04/04/2008 (Must be pre-application submission)

Details of the pre-application advice received: Consultation leading upto full planning submission and approval in April 2008. Approval has now lapsed and this application is a resubmission of the same application but with solar panels to the roof

6. Pedestrian and Vehicle Access, Roads and Rights of Way

Is a new or altered vehicle access proposed to or from the public highway? Yes No

Is a new or altered pedestrian access proposed to or from the public highway? Yes No

Are there any new public roads to be provided within the site? Yes No

Are there any new public rights of way to be provided within or adjacent to the site? Yes No

Do the proposals require any diversions/extinguishments and/or creation of rights of way? Yes No

7. Waste Storage and Collection

Do the plans incorporate areas to store and aid the collection of waste? Yes No

Have arrangements been made for the separate storage and collection of recyclable waste? Yes No

8. Authority Employee/Member

With respect to the Authority, I am: (a) a member of staff (b) an elected member (c) related to a member of staff (d) related to an elected member Do any of these statements apply to you? Yes No

9. Materials

Please state what materials (including type, colour and name) are to be used externally (if applicable):

Walls - description: Description of existing materials and finishes: N/A Description of proposed materials and finishes: Zinc Metal cladding system

Ref: 04: 2309 Planning Portal Reference: 9. (Materials continued)

Roof - description: Description of existing materials and finishes: N/A Description of proposed materials and finishes: Composite insulated metal roof cladding system Windows - description: Description of existing materials and finishes: N/A Description of proposed materials and finishes: Metal Windows Doors - description: Description of existing materials and finishes: n/a Description of proposed materials and finishes: n/a Boundary treatments - description: Description of existing materials and finishes: N/A Description of proposed materials and finishes: N/A Vehicle access and hard standing - description: Description of existing materials and finishes: N/A Description of proposed materials and finishes: N/A Lighting - add description Description of existing materials and finishes: N/A Description of proposed materials and finishes: N/A Others - description: Type of other material:

Description of existing materials and finishes: N/A Description of proposed materials and finishes: N/A

Are you supplying additional information on submitted plan(s)/drawing(s)/design and access statement? Yes No If Yes, please state references for the plan(s)/drawing(s)/design and access statement:

See PD01 Design and Access Statement

10. Vehicle Parking

Please provide information on the existing and proposed number of on-site parking spaces: Existing number Total proposed (including spaces Difference in Type of vehicle of spaces retained) spaces Cars 71 71 0 Light goods vehicles/public carrier vehicles 0 0 0 Motorcycles 0 0 0 Disability spaces 2 2 0 Cycle spaces 10 10 0 Other (e.g. Bus) 0 0 0 Short description of Other

Ref: 04: 2309 Planning Portal Reference: 11. Foul Sewage

Please state how foul sewage is to be disposed of:

Mains sewer Package treatment plant Unknown

Septic tank Cess pit Other

Are you proposing to connect to the existing drainage system? Yes No Unknown If Yes, please include the details of the existing system on the application drawings and state references for the plan(s)/drawing(s):

12. Assessment of Flood Risk

Is the site within an area at risk of flooding? (Refer to the Environment Agency's Flood Map showing flood zones 2 and 3 and consult Environment Agency standing advice and your local planning authority requirements for information as necessary.) Yes No If Yes, you will need to submit an appropriate flood risk assessment to consider the risk to the proposed site.

Is your proposal within 20 metres of a watercourse (e.g. river, stream or beck)? Yes No

Will the proposal increase the flood risk elsewhere? Yes No

How will surface water be disposed of?

Sustainable drainage system Main sewer Pond/lake

Soakaway Existing watercourse

13. Biodiversity and Geological Conservation

To assist in answering the following questions refer to the guidance notes for further information on when there is a reasonable likelihood that any important biodiversity or geological conservation features may be present or nearby and whether they are likely to be affected by your proposals.

Having referred to the guidance notes, is there a reasonable likelihood of the following being affected adversely or conserved and enhanced within the application site, OR on land adjacent to or near the application site:

a) Protected and priority species

Yes, on the development site Yes, on land adjacent to or near the proposed development No

b) Designated sites, important habitats or other biodiversity features

Yes, on the development site Yes, on land adjacent to or near the proposed development No

c) Features of geological conservation importance

Yes, on the development site Yes, on land adjacent to or near the proposed development No

14. Existing Use Please describe the current use of the site: Offices Is the site currently vacant? Yes No Does the proposal involve any of the following? If yes, you will need to submit an appropriate contamination assessment with your application. Land which is known to be contaminated? Yes No Land where contamination is suspected for all or part of the site? Yes No A proposed use that would be particularly vulnerable to the presence of contamination? Yes No

15. Trees and Hedges

Are there trees or hedges on the proposed development site? Yes No

And/or: Are there trees or hedges on land adjacent to the proposed development site that could influence the development or might be important as part of the local landscape character? Yes No If Yes to either or both of the above, you may need to provide a full Tree Survey, at the discretion of your local planning authority. If a Tree Survey is required, this and the accompanying plan should be submitted alongside your application. Your local planning authority should make clear on its website what the survey should contain, in accordance with the current 'BS5837: Trees in relation to construction - Recommendations'.

16. Trade Effluent

Does the proposal involve the need to dispose of trade effluents or waste? Yes No

Ref: 04: 2309 Planning Portal Reference: 17. Residential Units

Does your proposal include the gain or loss of residential units? Yes No

18. All Types of Development: Non-residential Floorspace

Does your proposal involve the loss, gain or change of use of non-residential floorspace? Yes No

Gross Existing gross Total gross new internal Net additional gross internal floorspace to be internal floorspace proposed internal floorspace Use class/type of use lost by change of use or floorspace (including changes of use) following development demolition (square metres) (square metres) (square metres) (square metres) A1 Shops Net Tradable Area 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

A2 Financial and professional services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

A3 Restaurants and cafes 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

A4 Drinking estabishments 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

A5 Hot food takeaways 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

B1 (a) Office (other than A2) 1306.0 0.0 367.0 367.0

B1 (b) Research and development 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

B1 (c) Light industrial 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

B2 General industrial 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

B8 Storage or distribution 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

C1 Hotels and halls of residence 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

C2 Residential institutions 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

D1 Non-residential institutions 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

D2 Assembly and leisure 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other Please Specify 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Total 1306.0 0.0 367.0 367.0

For hotels, residential institutions and hostels, please additionally indicate the loss or gain of rooms: Existing rooms to be lost by change of use Total rooms proposed (including Use Class Types of use Net additional rooms or demolition changes of use)

19. Employment

If known, please complete the following information regarding employees:

Full-time Part-time Equivalent number of full-time

Existing employees 120 0 0 Proposed employees 132 0 0

20. Hours of Opening

If known, please state the hours of opening for each non-residential use proposed:

Monday to Friday Saturday Sunday and Bank Holidays Not Use Start Time End Time Start Time End Time Start Time End Time Known

B1A 8.30 5.30 - - - -

21. Site Area

What is the site area? 00.62 hectares

22. Industrial or Commercial Processes and Machinery

Please describe the activities and processes which would be carried out on the site and the end products including plant, ventilation or air conditioning. Please include the type of machinery which may be installed on site: N/A Is the proposal for a waste management development? Yes No

23. Hazardous Substances

Is any hazardous waste involved in the proposal? Yes No

Ref: 04: 2309 Planning Portal Reference: 24. Site Visit

Can the site be seen from a public road, public footpath, bridleway or other public land? Yes No

If the planning authority needs to make an appointment to carry out a site visit, whom should they contact? (Please select only one)

The agent The applicant Other person

25. Certificates (Certificate A) Certificate of Ownership - Certificate A Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) () Order 2010 Certificate under Article 12 I certify/The applicant certifies that on the day 21 days before the date of this application nobody except myself/ the applicant was the owner (owner is a person with a freehold interest or leasehold interest with at least 7 years left to run) of any part of the land or building to which the application relates.

Title: Mr First name: Carl Surname: Grannell

Person role: Agent Declaration date: 27/05/2011 Declaration made

25. Certificates (Agricultural Land Declaration) Agricultural Land Declaration Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010 Certificate under Article 12 Agricultural Land Declaration - You Must Complete Either A or B (A) None of the land to which the application relates is, or is part of an agricultural holding.

(B) I have/The applicant has given the requisite notice to every person other than myself/the applicant who, on the day 21 days before the date of this application, was a tenant of an agricultural holding on all or part of the land to which this application relates, as listed below:

If any part of the land is an agricultural holding, of which the applicant is the sole tenant, the applicant should complete part (B) of the form by writing 'sole tenant - not applicable' in the first column of the table below

Title: Mr First Name: Carl Surname: Grannell

Person role: Agent Declaration date: 27/05/2011 Declaration Made

26. Declaration I/we hereby apply for planning permission/consent as described in this form and the accompanying plans/drawings and additional information.

Date 27/05/2011

Ref: 04: 2309 Planning Portal Reference: Cruden Construction Ltd Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Design / Access Statement Revision C 1056 (June 2011)

Re-submission of previously approved Application 2008/ 12398

In support of Planning Application June 11

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Site & Context Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Existing main building (front)

Location plan

The existing site is located on the A50 (Knutsford Road) not far from junction 20 on the and about 3.5 miles from the centre of Warrington. Situated on the brow of hill the site lies within a greenbelt area on the outskirts of Grappenhall village. The current premises were originally built in the 1950s and was used as a transport café, although it had been derelict for approx 3 years before being bought. The current occupants Cruden Construction purchased the site in 1983 approx and have since renovated and extended the existing buildings as well as extending once before in 1996.

Knutsford Road (Front of Site) There are very few buildings in the areas, the only neighbouring properties are a couple of bungalows, one of which has temporary permission for office use by Crudens themselves as an office and a large complex opposite, which is used as a dog kennel club. The rest of the surrounding area is farmland.

Although within the boundary denoted by the Grappenhall and Thelwall village design statement, the site does not interfere with or affect either the strategic views or green buffer zone set up around the villages and is not itself a listed building or within any conservation zone.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Site & Context Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Rear of Existing main building

Side of existing Building (proposed Grappenhall and Thelwall village boundaries plan extension over single storey area) The existing buildings on the site, comprise of the original building which is 2 storeys at the front and whose entrance is identified by the protruding curved feature in the centre. Behind the 2 storey main façade, the larger portion of the building is single storey to the rear. The site has previously been extended once in 1996, with the addition of a two storey extension at the side.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Site & Context/ Client Profile Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

To the front of the building, the area is landscaped with trees/ shrubs and the land banked towards the road to reduce sound from passing traffic. At present Crudens have the use of 3 separate access / egress points off the A50, 2 for the main buildings and 1 for the bungalow on the site next door.

To the rear of the buildings is the main car park, which is landscaped around the perimeter with trees and shrubs. Beyond this boundary is farm land to 2 sides and the bungalow to the other.

In terms of car parking provision, there are 71 existing spaces Existing Aerial photo including disabled spaces as well as space for cycles/ motorcycles.

Crudens Profile

The current occupiers of the site since 1983 approx are Cru- den Group. As a company Crudens have existed for 40 years and employ approximately 450 people. The site referred to in

this report is Crudens Primary location within the Northwest, although they do have smaller secondary locations such as Salford.

Crudens currently employ approximately 190 people directly at this site, however they have many employee’s working on various sites throughout the north of England. Site operatives often need to visit the head office for meetings, etc although the use of car sharing and technology such as the internet etc

does help reduce the use of cars trips etc.

Crudens currently have a turnover of £86million and current forecasts and programming are a current growth prediction of 8% per annum. The development arm of Crudens themselves is predicted to grow by 150% over the next 3 years.

In planning for the future, in order to satisfy Crudens rising employment projections as currently forecast, better use of the

existing space through reorganisation as well as extending the existing buildings all need to be reviewed and pursued.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Access Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Access

The location provides easy access to the motorway network

linking all areas at the northwest, however in respect of available public transport ie buses or trains, journeys even from central Warrington involve several transfers and are sporadic at best.

Due to the remote nature of this site, there is no readily available form of local transport available to reach this site. Though only 3 or 4 miles from the centre of Warrington, travel by bus involves several changes using bus services 4+7 and

only occurs two days a week. As such most travel to and from the site is by car.

There are currently 71 existing carparking spaces including disabled spaces and space for motorcycles and bicycles which are located to the rear of the existing offices. This figure is in excess of Warrington councils current carparking/ office space ratio and so at this stage It is not proposed as part of this application to add any additional parking on the site to

serve the new office space.

Due to the nature of Crudens business which involves dozens of sporadic construction sites throughout the north, the location of this office near to junction 20, significantly reduces the travel time to these sites, than would be achieved if travelling from a city/ town centre location.

Once on site, the firm encourages car sharing where ever possible when visiting the various sites.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Flooding Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Flooding

As shown below, information from the Environment Agency

website illustrates that the proposed area/ site is not associat-

ed with any flood risk.

Environment Agency Flood Risk Map

(areas at risk highlighted light Blue + dark blue depending on severity)

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Design Brief Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Design Brief/ Ambition

In order to cover the future predictions of employment growth

on this site, Cruden group have appointed John McCall Architects with the aim of a analysing the existing site with a view to suggesting various options in which to meet the future employment needs both through reorganisation of the existing physical office space as well exploring options whereby the existing buildings could be extended to create room for the future needs.

The aim of the scheme is to provide a high quality working

environment, which will allow the client a flexible space which can be adapted in the future to meet the growing requirements of the firm.

The current building is two storey at the front and single storey to the rear with a previous two storey extension to the right hand side. In terms of minimising the impact from any expansion of the offices, it quickly became evident that a significant amount of space could easily be added to the single storey office space at

the rear of the main building.

When combined with the proposed interior alterations to the existing reception area the overall package of works will create a modern flexible working space.

This design has previously been submitted and approved by planning although this expired in April 2011. This submission is a resubmission of the original lasped application with the

exception that the client is now incorporating PV solar panels onto both the existing and new roofs as part of the firm s investment programme in making the premise more environ- mentally sustainable.

Design

As shown on the attached plans, the proposals involve adding a new single storey extension at the rear portion of the original building.

Visually from the main road, very little will be seen of the new extension, other than the enlarged side elevation with its large feature window to the conference room.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Design Brief Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

The whole of the new extension sits on the existing footprint provided by the rear single storey element of the building. The new extension will allow for the flexible expansion of the space without increasing the footprint of buildings on the overall site .

The new proposed extension, will in turn also improve the thermal efficiency of the existing building structure and help reduce the overall bills in the future. Further possible sustainable additions could also include for rainwater harvesting for utilization within the site.

As part of the future sustainable policy Cruden are including a

new PV Solar installation within this application and this will be Solar panels situated on both existing and new roofs on the site. These PV panels will provide a total of 22 kWp approx which in itself will provide future C02 savings in the order of 205,254kg over a 20 year lifetime.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Materials Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Materials

As per the original application, the materials proposed have be chosen to sit comfortably along side the existing and achieve its own sense of identity and modernity. The overall mixture of materials fused with some modern detail will provide a balance between a contemporary solution and a building which is in keeping with its surroundings.

As the original buildings already comprise several types of different brick, the new proposals are based on the use of a

Zinc cladding distinct material- zinc which is modern and light weight and can be supported by a steel framed structure. This structure is important to the design as will allow the client the future flexibility to be able to change the internal layout to suit various users whether in open plan or cellular office plan.

The walls to the new extension will form a parapet behind which unsightly plant and the new solar panels can be hidden from view. The roof itself will be a highly insulated composite

metal panel system and include a central glazed light which will allow daylight into the heart of the building, reducing the dependence on electrical lighting to these areas.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Highways/ Landscaping Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Highways

There are currently 71 approved / existing car parking spaces

including disabled spaces and space for motorcycles / bicycles which are located to the rear of the existing offices.

In discussions with the councils highways department, they have indicated that there are no concerns at present with the level of car usage in and out of this and other sites in the area.

The current provision is in excess of Warrington councils current car parking / office space ratio and so at this stage It is

not proposed as part of this application to add any additional parking on the site to serve the new office space.

Landscaping

As can be seen from the attached photos the client does take pride in the office space and surrounding environment. The existing grounds have been extensively landscaped previously and are constantly maintained.

The new building works as such, will not affect any of these areas. Visually from the front there will be relatively little seen of the new works.

Existing Site Landscaped Areas

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S Cruden Construction Ltd Design Statement Conclusion Hillcrest Knutsford Road Grappenhall Warrington Cheshire WA4 3LA

Conclusion

As with the original approved planning application, we believe that

the proposed scheme as shown, will provide a high quality working environment for our client with minimum visual Impact on the area, which will preserve and enhance the existing site and area.

The inclusion of a significant roof based PV system as part of this application also demonstrates Cruden’s commitment to putting in place a series of environmental sustainable improvements for the future.

J O H N M c C A L L A R C H I T E C T S