REPORT TO: Development Control Committee DATE
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REPORT TO: Development Control Committee DATE: 13 th October 2008 REPORTING OFFICER: Strategic Director - Environment SUBJECT: Planning Applications to be determined by the Committee The following applications for planning permission are submitted to the Committee for consideration with a recommendation in each case. Those applications marked * are considered to have significant employment implications. An Amendments List, containing the categorisation of planning applications, additional information and amendments to recommendations, will be circulated to Committee Members before the meeting together with plans showing the location of each application site. Those applications now before the Committee, where the planning issues are considered clear by the Chairman, will be included in List A. Unless a Member considers that additional information is required on a particular application in List A it is RECOMMENDED that each of the applications be determined (whether for approval or for refusal) in accordance with the conditions or the reasons printed in the Agenda and in the Amendments List previously circulated. The remaining applications are included in List B. Together with those applications about which Members require further information, List B applications will be considered following determination of applications remaining in List A. PLAN NUMBER: 04/01064/FUL and 04/01065/LBC APPLICANT: Daresbury Hall Developments PROPOSAL: Application for part demolition, restoration and conversion of hall and outbuildings into 22no. residential units and erection of 9 no. houses (31 no residential units in total). ADDRESS OF SITE: Daresbury Hall, Daresbury Lane, Daresbury WARD: Daresbury SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Referred to the Secretary of State with a recommendation to approve subject to conditions and legal agreement CONSULTATION AND REPRESENTATION: The applications have been advertised by site and press notices. No. 1 and 2 Hall Lane Farm were sent neighbour consultation letters. English Heritage, the Victorian Society, Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Rural Scene, Ancient Monuments Society, Council for British Archaeology, Halton Civic Society, The Georgian Group, United Utilities, Environment Agency, Health & Safety Executive, Cheshire Fire Service, Daresbury Parish Council and Warrington Borough Council have been consulted. The Council’s Highways Engineer, Trees and Woodlands Officer, Nature Conservation Officer and retained adviser on the built heritage and conservation matters have also been consulted. Comments received can be summarised as follows: • Warrington Borough Council raise no objection. • United Utilities raise no objection. • Health and Safety Executive have raised an initial objection to the scheme which is expected to be withdrawn. • Fire Service recommends that turning heads be provided near the Coach House development and the Staff Houses. The Fire Service also recommends the instillation of sprinkler systems. The applicant is also advised to submit details of the water main installations in order that fire hydrant requirements can be assessed. • Cheshire County Council recommend a developer funded watching brief to be maintained during the relevant groundworks, such as the excavations for foundations for the new houses, the digging of major drains, and other significant earthmoving • The Georgian Group raised concerns over the scale and nature of the enabling development and the setting of the listed building and felt that the Managers House should be included as part of the proposal. The group also objected to the scheme as they are not convinced that the scheme satisfies English Heritage’s assessment for enabling development, they consider that the staff houses should be toned down, the Arts House should be removed due to the impact on the Hall, the walled garden element would be screened from the Hall by the existing trees and the enclosing walls and the extension of the managers house is not acceptable due to it’s impact on the hall. • Daresbury Properties raised issues of land ownership and the proximity of the Kitchen Garden to the trees. Amended plans have been received addressing these issues. • Lord Daresbury (through Nathaniel Litchfield and Partners) has raised objections in relation to the costs forming the basis of the enabling development, impact on the openness and visual amenity of the greenbelt. • Environment Agency raises no objection to the scheme • Highways Engineer recommends an improvement of the visibility splay and the improvements of pedestrian access and sufficient turning is provided for a fire tender. • Ancient Monument Society thought that the Managers House should be included within the scheme, the large numbers within the Hall would require a high level of parking within its setting. They concluded that if the proposal satisfied English Heritage criteria for enabling development then they would not wish to object to the proposal. • Warrington and District Model Engineering Society object to the kitchen garden element of the proposal due to the proximity of the rail track and landscaping impacting on the use of the track. • Daresbury Parish Council welcomed the proposed development of the Hall however raised concerns of the proposal’s impact on the green belt and that the Mangers House should be dealt with at the same time. They also raise concerns in relation to the Kitchen Garden in particular the westerly elevation as it is unsympathetic with the view of the Hall and have requested to be consulted on proposed materials and have requested a S106 payment towards improvements to the community. • English Heritage have confirmed that the scheme can now be justified as an exceptional circumstance and that they withdraw their objection to the application. They are satisfied that the proposed enabling development scheme offers a means of securing the future of Daresbury Hall without causing undue harm to its special architectural and historic interest. Any other significant issues and comments raised will be covered within the Observation and Issues section of this report. SITE/LOCATION: Daresbury Hall is located in open countryside between Runcorn and Warrington. It is set within landscaped grounds with an area of around 6.75 ha on slightly elevated land around 500m east of the village of Daresbury and to the south of Daresbury Lane. The hall is three storey brick Grade II* Listed Building set in it’s own substantial grounds. To the rear of the hall is a single storey sandstone block and beyond that two storey brick outbuildings. There are a number of additions and extensions to Daresbury Hall, together with freestanding classrooms and residential accommodation within the grounds. RELEVANT HISTORY: There is extensive planning history on this site. Applications 96/00196/FUL; 96/00197/LBC and 96/00305/LBC for the refurbishment and conversion of Daresbury Hall and outbuildings into 18 flats together with 23 dwellings in the grounds was recommended for approval in 1996. However, the applications were ‘called-in’ by the Secretary of State and a Public Inquiry held in May 1997. The inspector refused the applications, as inappropriate development in the Green Belt, excessive number of units and harmful to the setting of the Listed Building. In 1998, planning permission was granted for the change of use of the Hall and outbuildings to a single dwelling with ancillary workshops and demolition of modern additions (Application no. 98/00486/COU). The applicant in this case was the Rural Building Preservation Trust. Applications 99/00082/FUL and 99/00085/LBC for the proposed restoration and conversion of the hall and outbuildings into 14 no. units and erection of 24 no. houses, garages and associated hard and soft landscaping were refused in January 2000. Applicants 99/00083/FUL and 99/00084/LBC were for the same development except 27 no. new dwellings instead of 24 no. dwellings. All four of these applications were refusewd and the subject of a planning appeal, and were also dismissed, for the same reasons as the previous applications. UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN DESIGNATION, KEY POLICIES AND SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES: The site is allocated as within Green Belt and an Area of Special Landscape Value where policies S21 Green Belt, GE1 Control of Development in the Green Belt, GE3 Extensions, Alterations and Replacement of Existing Dwellings in the Green Belt, GE4 Re-Use of Buildings in the Green Belt and GE23 Protection of Areas of Special Landscape Value in the Halton Unitary Development Plan (UDP) are of relevance The other key policies of relevance are BE 1 General Requirements for Development, BE2 Quality of Design, BE9 Alterations and Additions to Listed Buildings, BE10 Protecting the Setting of Listed Buildings, BE11 Enabling Development and the Conservation of Heritage Assets. OBSERVATION AND ISSUES: The proposal involves the restoration of Daresbury Hall and converting it into 7 residential apartments, and also the restoration of the former coach house by converting it into 8 cottages, together with two new build cottages to the rear to form a courtyard. The current scheme totals 31 dwellings, comprising 8 converted dwellings in the coach house, 7 apartments in the hall and 16 new dwellings. The 16 dwellings comprise of: • A three storey terrace of 5 No. houses located to the north of the hall in the location of the existing terrace of Staff Houses. • A three storey Arts House to the north of the Hall, in approximately the same location as an existing bungalow building.