Planning Committee - 22Nd October 2015
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Report to: Planning Committee - 22nd October 2015 Report of: Development Services Manager Subject: APPLICATION P15G0309: ERECTION OF NEW COMMUNITY BUILDING WITH 10 PARKING SPACES AND AMENITY SPACE AT SITE OF FORMER HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, LICHFIELD AVENUE 1. Decision Required 1.1 The Development Services Manager recommends that planning permission is granted, subject to the conditions set out in the plans list. 2. Background 2.1 At time of writing this report the application had not been called in by a Councillor for consideration by Planning Committee. The application is presented to committee as it forms part of the wider redevelopment of the former Holy Trinity Church site. 2.2 The application was submitted on 10th July 2015. An extension of time for the determination of the application has been agreed with the applicant until 30th October 2015. 3. The Site and Surrounding Area 3.1 The site is located to the east of the city and currently comprises a vacant parcel of land, which was previously occupied by the Church of Holy Trinity and St Matthew. It is located within a central island at the junctions of Lichfield Avenue, Exeter Road, Wells Road, Westminster Road and Norwich Road and formed the central core of the Ronkswood housing estate. Prior to this development the site was agricultural land. 3.2 The site has no specific land use designation within the adopted City of Worcester Local Plan proposals map. Part of the outer island is allocated as a Neighbourhood Shopping Centre with a public house and retail units located within. The remainder of the outer island is residential, as is the majority of the surrounding area. 3.3 The site is allocated within the emerging South Worcestershire Development Plan (Policy Reference SWP43/ab) for mixed residential development and replacement faith/meeting facility. 3.4 The site and surrounding topography is relatively level. 3.5 The site area is approximately 0.16 hectares. 4. The Proposal 4.1 This is an application for the erection of a new community facility with a floor area of 600sq.m. utilising a circular single storey form rising towards the centre of the building. 4.2 The proposal will provide accommodation for meeting rooms, café facility, main hall and off road parking for 10 cars. 4.3 The proposal utilises a semi-circular plan form to reflect the previous church and compliment with the proposed affordable housing. 4.4 The application is accompanied by a set of plans together with a Design and Access Statement. 5. Policies 5.1 The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (‘the Act’) establishes the legislative framework for consideration of this application. Section 70(2) of the Act requires the decision-maker in determining planning applications/appeals to have regard to the Development Plan, insofar as it is material to the application/appeal, and to any other material consideration. Where the Development Plan is material to the development proposal it must therefore be taken into account. Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires the application/appeal to be determined in accordance with the Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 5.2 On 24th April 2013 the Secretary of State laid in Parliament a statutory instrument to revoke the Regional Strategy for the West Midlands, which came into force on 20th May 2013 (The Regional Strategy for the West Midlands (Revocation) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/933)). This legislation also revoked all Directions which had previously saved policies of the Worcestershire Structure Plan. As a consequence, the Development Plan for Worcester now comprises: • The saved policies of the City of Worcester Local Plan (1996 - 2011), which was adopted on 8 October 2004. • The Worcester Balance Housing Market Development Plan Document, which was adopted on 11 December 2007 • The Worcestershire Waste Core Strategy, which was adopted on 15 December 2012 • The saved policies of the County of Hereford and Worcester Minerals Local Plan, which was adopted in April 1997. City of Worcester Local Plan 1996 – 2011 5.3 The City of Worcester Local Plan, together with the Balanced Housing Market Development Plan Document is the Development Plan for the area. The Local Plan was adopted in 2004 and only intended to cover the period for 1996 – 2011 and provide for development for that period. It will in due course be replaced with the new South Worcestershire Development Plan. In 2007 a number of policies were ‘saved’. The following saved policies of the City of Worcester Local Plan are considered to be relevant to the proposal:- BE1 Environmental Standards for Development BE29 Light NE7 Landscaping scheme TR4 Cycle Parking TR12 Car Parking Standards for New Development 5.4 The current local plan covers the period to 2011 and so is considered out-of-date the weight to be given to any relevant policy will depend on its degree of consistency with the Framework. In this particular case the above Local Plan policies are considered to be in general conformity with the Framework. As such, it is considered that due weight should be given to them. Supplementary Planning Documents 5.5 Supplementary Planning Documents of relevance include: Accessibility (2012). National Planning Policy Framework 5.6 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) comprises national planning guidance which is relevant in the determination of this application. The Framework was published in March 2012 and replaced all former national planning policies, except for Planning Policy Statement 10: Waste. The Framework sets out the Government's planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. It sets out the Government's requirements for the planning system only to the extent that is relevant, proportionate and necessary to do so. All the policies in the Framework constitute Government's view of what sustainable development in England means in practice. Economic, social and environmental improvement should be sought jointly and simultaneously. The social role is to support strong and vibrant communities by providing the supply of housing required to meet the needs of present and future generations and by creating a high quality built environment with accessible local services that reflect the community’s needs. 5.7 The NPPF goes on to outline a series of considerations against which delivering sustainable development should be assessed. In terms of the proposed development these are: Chapter 1: Building a Strong, Competitive Economy – The planning system should do everything it can to support sustainable economic growth and significant weight should be afforded to this. Planning polices should recognise and seek to address potential barriers to investment. Planning policies should avoid the long term protection of employment sites where there is no reasonable prospect of it being used for that purpose. Proposals for alternative uses should be treated on their merits having regard to market signals and the relative need for different land uses to support sustainable local communities; Chapter 7: Requiring Good Design – Good design is a key aspect of sustainable development and is indivisible from good planning. High quality and inclusive design for all development should be sought, including individual buildings and public and private spaces, through good architecture and appropriate landscaping; Chapter 8: Promoting Healthy Communities – Developments should provide safe and accessible environments where crime and disorder do not undermine quality of life. They should also contain clear pedestrian routes and high quality public spaces; Chapter 10: Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change, Flooding and Coastal Change – New development will be expected to minimise energy consumption. Inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided; Chapter 11: Conserving and Enhancing the Natural Environment – Impacts on biodiversity should be minimised and net gains in biodiversity should be promoted where possible. Pollution and contamination issues should be considered in order to safeguard the amenity of future occupiers; and Chapter 12: Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment – Weight should be given to conserving heritage assets. Where a proposal will lead to substantial harm or total loss of a heritage asset, planning authorities should refuse consent, unless it can be demonstrated that public benefits outweigh any harm caused 5.8 The NPPF confirms in paragraph 12 that its publication, “…does not change the statutory status of the Development Plan as the starting point for decision making.” Proposals must be determined in accordance with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 5.9 The Framework is in itself a material consideration in planning decisions and sets out at paragraph 14 a presumption in favour of sustainable development: “For decision-taking this means: approving development proposals that accord with the development plan without delay; and where the development plan is absent, silent or relevant policies are out‑of‑date, granting permission unless: – any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole; or – specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted.” 5.10 This is reiterated at paragraph 197 whereby in determining proposals, “…Local Planning Authorities should apply the presumption in favour of sustainable development”. 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