MILEHAM APPNTYPE: Outline Litcham Road POLICY: out Settlemnt Bndry Mileham ALLOCATION: N CONS AREA: N
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BRECKLAND COUNCIL - PLANNING COMMITTEE - 22nd July 2019 ITEM: RECOMMENDATION: APPROVAL REF NO: 3PL/2018/1564/O CASE OFFICER Mark Simmonds LOCATION: MILEHAM APPNTYPE: Outline Litcham Road POLICY: Out Settlemnt Bndry Mileham ALLOCATION: N CONS AREA: N APPLICANT: Norfolk County Council LB GRADE: N Norfolk County Council County Hall AGENT: NPS Property Consultants Ltd TPO: N Nautilus House 10 Central Avenue PROPOSAL: Construction of 6 new dwellings including two affordable units REASON FOR COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION The application is brought to Committee as the recommendation is contrary to Policy. KEY ISSUES - Principle of Development - Impact on the character and appearance of the area - Highway Safety impact - Impact on amenity - Impact on ecology - Impact on trees - Flood risk & Drainage - Affordable Housing - Other matters DESCRIPTION OF DEVELOPMENT This application seeks outline planning permission, with access to be considered and all other matters reserved, for the construction of six dwellings including two affordable units on land adjacent to Number 35 Litcham Road, Mileham. Access to serve the development would be via three new access points directly from Litcham Road. SITE AND LOCATION The application site comprises a broadly rectangular parcel of land to the south of Litcham Road in Mileham. The site area is approximately 0.48 hectares of agricultural land located adjacent to No. 35 Litcham Road. The site lies immediately adjacent to and opposite Mileham Settlement Boundary. COMREPORT (ODB-Ocella One Click Agenda/Officer report) BRECKLAND COUNCIL - PLANNING COMMITTEE - 22nd July 2019 EIA REQUIRED No RELEVANT SITE HISTORY POLICY CONSIDERATIONS The following policies of the adopted Breckland Core Strategy and Development Control Policies and the adopted Site Specific Policies and Proposals Document, including the Proposals Maps, have been taken into consideration in the determination of this application. The provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework and National Planning Policy Guidance have also been taken into account, where appropriate CP.01 Housing CP.08 Natural Resources CP.10 Natural Environment CP.11 Protection and Enhancement of the Landscape CP.14 Sustainable Rural Communities DC.01 Protection of Amenity DC.02 Principles of New Housing DC.04 Affordable Housing Principles DC.05 Affordable Housing on Exception Sites DC.12 Trees and Landscape DC.16 Design NPPF National Planning Policy Framework NPPG National Planning Practice Guidance SS1 Spatial Strategy OBLIGATIONS/CIL Section 106 to secure the 2 affordable units. CONSULTATIONS NORFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL HIGHWAYS The site is located in a village with limited amenities and poor public transport . The village is served by a restricted bus service which only provides: 1 return trip between Narborough and Easton College week days/ term time only (Konnectbus 13D) 1 return trip between the village and Dereham on Tuesdays and Fridays only ( Carters Routes 1 and 2) 1 return trip between Litcham and Norwich on a Wednesday only 1 return trip to Kings Lynn on a Tuesday (Peelings Route 1) The frequency of the service, and choice of destination, could not realistically contribute COMREPORT (ODB-Ocella One Click Agenda/Officer report) BRECKLAND COUNCIL - PLANNING COMMITTEE - 22nd July 2019 toward a model shift away from the use of the private car to access services and amenities required on an everyday basis and it is therefore considered that the residents of this development would have a high reliance on travelling by private car. I appreciate, however,that transport sustainability is only one of the matters you need to consider and that there may be planning reasons which outweigh concern in this respect. With that in mind and given that the application is submitted in Outline with only Access included for current consideration, if you are minded to grant permission I will require details of parking and turning to form part of any Reserved Matters submission and subject to further conditions. HOUSING ENABLING OFFICER Additional affordable housing is a welcome addition to the stock. ECOLOGICAL AND BIODIVERSITY CONSULTANT This planning application is supported by an Ecology Report (Wild Frontier Ecology; June 2018). It is not clear from the plans provided if a 5m buffer zone will be enforced during construction works to mitigate potential impacts on water voles. As stated in the report due to the presence of great crested newts within 50 metres of the proposal site, an EPS licence must be obtained from Natural England in order to proceed with the development. Full great crested newt presence/absence surveys of all ponds within 500 metres of the proposed development, with further surveys to estimate the population of newts in any pond in which they are found to be present needs to be carried out prior to the planning application being determined. As stated in the report the mitigation strategy for this species will depend on the size and location of populations found. A full impact assessment and mitigation strategy for this species needs to be produced following the completion of all necessary surveys. CONTAMINATED LAND OFFICER Based on the information provided to me at this time; there are no objections or further comments on the grounds of Environmental Protection, providing the development proceeds in line with the application details. TREE AND COUNTRYSIDE CONSULTANT No objection. No development should take place within the identified RPA of T2. NORFOLK FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service would like to add a planning condition to this development. FLOOD & WATER MANAGEMENT TEAM Further to our previous email below, we would like to highlight that a flood investigation into flooding in Mileham that occurred in 2016 and 2018 is going to be published in the next few weeks and will be made publically available. Please note that two properties were internally flooded and 11 properties were externally flooded downstream of the proposed development site in 2016 and 2018. Although we will not be technically reviewing this application as this is a minor application and falls outside our statutory role, we would advise that you satisfy yourself that the development does not increase flood risk downstream. Please note that there is a watercourse adjacent to the development and for major developments we would require a buffer strip to ensure that sufficient access is made available to maintain a watercourse within the development. We would also advise the applicant to apply for consent where there is the intention to amend the watercourse. NATURAL ENGLAND No objections. Based on the plans submitted, Natural England considers that the proposed development will not have significant adverse impacts on statutorily protected nature conservation sites or landscapes. NORFOLK RIVERS INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD I note that through the submission of an addendum to the flood/surface water drainage report (NPS Group, June 2019) the applicant has stated that if a strategy wholly reliant on infiltration is not viable, then a surface water discharge would be proposed to a watercourse. In order to avoid conflict between the planning process and the relevant Boards regulatory regime and consenting process please be aware of the following: COMREPORT (ODB-Ocella One Click Agenda/Officer report) BRECKLAND COUNCIL - PLANNING COMMITTEE - 22nd July 2019 As per our letter dated 20/02/2019, if (following testing) a strategy wholly reliant on infiltration is not viable and a surface water discharge is proposed to a watercourse within the Internal Drainage District (directly or indirectly), then the proposed development will require land drainage consent in line with the Boards byelaws (specifically byelaw 3). Any consent granted will likely be conditional, pending the payment a surface water development contribution fee, calculated in line with the Boards charging policy. Additionally, while the applicant has referenced attenuating any surface water discharge to the greenfield runoff rate, please be aware that consent is required in line with byelaw 3 for any additional rate or volume of water introduced to the Internal Drainage District. Whilst the consenting process as set out under the Land Drainage Act 1991 and the aforementioned Byelaws are separate from planning, the ability to implement a planning permission may be dependent on the granting of these consents. As such we strongly recommend that any application to discharge is made to the Board prior to determination of the planning application. REPRESENTATIONS The site notice has been displayed from 11-01-2019 to 01-02-2019. 28 Neighbours have been directly notified. Seventeen objections have been made by local residents raising the following issues: -A proposal for 5 dwellings (3PL/2018/0155/O) was already refused for the same site. -The proposal would seriously exacerbate the existing high flood risk in the area due to the ditch on the site. - Surface water drainage issues. -The site is out of settlement boundaries of Mileham. -Lack of public transport, facilities and amenities for the future residents. -Increase of noise and disturbance to the village through the arrival of new cars. -More supply than demand in view of long-term unsold new-built properties in Mileham. -Detrimental impact upon open views and landscape. -Loss of views to the oak tree in the middle of the field considered as local landmark. -Loss of verge land would mean a harm upon local wildlife, especially barn owls. -The road has heavy traffic -motorists, agricultural machinery, a sharp bend to west, uncertainty about on- street parking, -National speed limit where the site access is proposed -this would pose a risk to the safety of road users. -No footpath to serve the future residents of proposed houses. - Additional traffic/pressure on Litcham - Wider implication of the irreversible destruction of invaluable farmland. - The amended illustrative plan suggests that Plot No 1 will directly abut No 35 Litcham Road, thereby introducing restrictions to light and air access which I consider to be detrimental to the property and its occupants. - Further comments have been received with concerns that no site flood risk or ground investigations have been carried out.