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DESIGN & ACCESS STATEMENT (INCLUDING MODIFICATIONS AS REQUIRED UNDER TAN 12 DATED JUNE 2009 AND TAN 22 DATED 22 SEPTEMBER 2010) FULL PLANING APPLICATION PROPOSED INDUSTRIAL UNIT, WITHIN THE DEMISE OF COMPLETE CORE, UNIT 6 YNYSBOETH ESTATE, ABERCYNON CF45 4SF INTRODUCTION Complete Core Ltd. are a well established packaging company, who expanded into their own premises at Ynysboeth Estate, Abercynon, during the course of July 2011. The company is growing from strength to strength, and now requires additional warehouse facilities, within the curtilage of their site. This Application therefore outlines the details of those additional facilities. SITE ASSESSMENT The site chosen for the new storage facility, is to the immediate North of Complete Core’s main production facility, and is currently a large area of tarmacadum, unused by the company, other than for the storage of various surplus materials, which at present are accommodated within an external environment. Complete Core’s main building has a generous area of operational and non-operational areas, associated with their building. The main production facility circa. 3173.12 m² (34,156 sqft), is located in the South West corner of the site, leaving an extensive area of tarmacadum both to the East and to the North of their building. LOCATION Ynysboeth Estate is a small industrial estate, located approximately midpoint, between the interchange with the A470 to Merthyr Tydfil and the Town of Aberdare. The site is accessed by a heavily wooded road, accessed off the A459. This access, being located at the Northern end of what was previously a more extensive industrial location. However, in recent years, the Southern part of the site, comprising a former electronics factory, has been developed, in favour of small scale private residential accommodation. At present therefore, there are only 2 – 3 industrial units remaining on the site, which (as indicated), are accessed via an access to the North of the site. SUSTAINING AND ENHANCING LOCAL CHARACTER As indicated below, the introduction of a further small industrial unit, will clearly enhance the immediate local character of this part of the site. As such, the proposals clearly promote legible development. THE BRIEF The main principle of our brief, is to provide important undercover storage facilities for our Clients. Early on in the design process, our Clients identified the Northern tarmacadum area within their site, as being surplus to requirements, whilst at the same time, being ideally located to provide separate but linked storage facilities, ideally located to service their existing production facility. Therefore, whilst the main purpose of the building is to solely provide an undercover storage facility. PROMOTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACE The interface between the public access roadway to the site, and the private curtilage of our Clients premises, will be unaffected by the proposal. THE DESIGN SOLUTION Constructing small scale industrial buildings, is relatively expensive. Ideally, most manufacturers seek to purchase existing buildings, as it is often more cost efficient to purchase a redundant industrial building, rather than construct a new build. Certainly the Regulations associated with new build, and under some instances, the Requirements of BREEAM and other Legislation, also add significantly to the cost of construction. The sole use of the building, is as indicated, for storage purposes. Our Clients have therefore chosen to propose a pre-fabricated building, which will be economic to construct, and quick to erect. The proposal therefore envisages a simplistic industrial portal frame building, constructed from cold rolled steel work, rather than traditional hot rolled steel work. As the buildings requirements are therefore purely functional, combined with the site’s completely hidden location, the aspects of Promoting Innovative Design are therefore not applicable to our Clients requirements. COMMUNITY SAFETY Complete Core’s Legal demise, has been well secured with 2.5 m high security fencing. As indicated, there are housing areas both to the South and to the West of the industrial estate. However, they themselves are well segregated from the estate, not only by natural vegetation, but also by security fencing. Security through natural surveillance, is therefore generally not possible, on the Ynsyboeth Estate. Hence the buildings and the site are well secured by security fencing and regretfully, roller shutters appear on all exposed windows to the building. In summary, the site’s hidden and well landscaped location, coupled with our Clients need simply to provide additional but economic storage facilities, has been the main thrust of the design proposals. Cladding colours associated with the new building, will harmonise with those of the existing. As indicated on the site cross sections, the scale of the proposed buildings, is similar to the existing buildings, other than the eaves height is slightly higher, whilst the ridge height will be slightly lower, when compared with the existing factory building. Our overall assessment, is that a triangle based on ‘the Site’, the ‘Clients brief’ and ‘the Planning viewpoint., are well balanced by the proposals. PRE-APPLICATION DISCUSSIONS There have been no formal pre-Application discussions with the Local Authority Planning Department in respect of this Application. However, we have considered that pre-Application discussions with the Environment Agency (Wales) are paramount in connection with this Project. We therefore wrote to EA (Wales) on 2 February 2012, to explore any concerns which they may have had with regards to the site’s potential for development. This letter, plus the EA (Wales) response dated 27 February 2012, being enclosed within Appendix A to this document. The EA (Wales) position at the time of writing this report, is that an FCA is required for the site. However, we have subsequently identified that an FCA associated with Application 06/0937/10, concluded that the land levels associated with the site, are higher than EA (Wales) had been led to believe. As part of the Application 06/0937/10 was concerned, an FCA was therefore not required. This was based upon the assumption that the criteria were based on predicted 1.100 year flood levels. EA (Wales) current advice is that the criteria is 1.1000 years. Based on their initial information, their advice is that the FCA is required. To clarify this matter, we have written to EA (Wales) as of 22 May 2012, enclosing the original RS Drayton report on flood risk (November 2005) and asked them to finally clarify matters prior to our Clients expending substantial funds in respect of an FCA. For your information, a topographic survey of the site related to Ordnance Survey datum, was sent to EA (Wales) as part of that communication. Once we receive a response from EA (Wales) we will further advise you as to whether an FCA is to be undertaken. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY INCLUDING ENHANCING BIO-DIVERSITY AND DESIGNING FOR CHANGE As identified above, the brief from our Clients, is to provide an undercover storage facility, both for packaging raw materials (i.e. corrugated card) , and packaged goods, awaiting delivery to Clients. We do not envisage that the building will be heated, although the external walls will comprise composite thermally insulated panels. The roof to the building and the gable spandrel panels, will however comprise a stretch fabric material, which will in itself, provide some thermal resistance, therefore assisting with the internal temperature control of the building. The aspects of the ‘efficient use’ and ‘protection of natural resources’ and ‘Design For Change’, have not been key elements in respect of the Project. That said, our Clients business is expanding in difficult economic circumstances. However, having regards to the proposed use of the building and its location onto an existing hard standing area, we consider that (in this particular instance), the issue surrounding the use of natural resources, and developing our designs for future climatic change, have been proportionately considered within the context of the proposals. The site itself is however surrounded by mature woodland on at least two sides. Clearly these areas will have developed their own bio-diversity, and ecological environment. Our Clients proposals do not interfere with this environment. DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE The immediate site context, has been examined in the first part of this Statement. It comprises an under-utilised tarmacadum area, which is being partly utilised for the storage of surplus materials, along its Northern and Eastern boundaries. The development will therefore regularise these materials to an external compound, assuming that they are not actually stored within the building context itself. EXISTING USE OF THE SITE The site is a well established industrial location, and is currently the main headquarters of Complete Core Business Solutions Ltd. Both operational and non-operational car parking, are well defined and separated on the site, and will continue to be so, as part of the new proposals. At present, the site can comfortably accommodate a minimum of 23 parking spaces. Other non-operational spaces are identified within the rear and side service areas, but are not required either from a staffing viewpoint. Our assessment of the non-operational parking requirement, being: 40 spaces associated with the existing building 17 spaces associated with the proposed building. In both cases, non-operational parking can be easily accommodated, leaving sufficient area available for operational car parking, associated with both buildings. This totals 1628 m² whereas the requirement is 467 m² (combined operational space). STATUTORY SERVICES All Statutory Services associated with the proposals are available on the site. Information we have received to date, is enclosed as part of Appendix B to this report. We are aware from our site inspection, that some form of surface water culvert passes within the vicinity of the site, and outfalls in an Easterly direction, below the railway track, towards the Avon Cynon.