Demolition of Agricultural Shed and Erection of a Single New Dwelling At land adjacent to Mayfield, Youlton Lane, Alne, YO61 1SB
Design, Access and Planning Statement On behalf of Mr S Hopkins & Miss L Newton
July 2016
KVA Planning Consultancy Project Manager Katie Atkinson 8 Acres Close Helmsley North Yorkshire YO62 5DS
Contract This Planning and Design and Access Statement was commissioned by Mr Sam Hopkins and Miss L Newton in May 2016.
Report Prepared by Katie Atkinson, BA (Hons), Dip TP, MA, MRTPI
Purpose This document has been prepared to support the application for planning permission for the demolition of an agricultural shed and erection of new dwelling house on behalf of Mr Hopkins and Miss Newton. KVA Planning Consultancy accepts no responsibility or liability for any use that is made of this document other than by the Client for the purposes for which it was originally commissioned and prepared.
KVA Planning Consultancy has no liability regarding the use of this Statement except to Mr Hopkins and Miss Newton.
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Contents Page
1. Introduction 4
2. Description of the Development Proposal 6
3. Design and Access 9
4. Planning Context 12
5. Conclusion 16
Appendix A - Letter from Alne Primary School 17
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1. Introduction
1.1 KVA Planning Consultancy has been commissioned to prepare a Design and Access Statement incorporating a Planning Statement. This is to accompany the submission of an application for planning permission for the demolition of an existing unused agricultural shed and the erection of a single new dwelling on behalf of Mr Sam Hopkins and Miss Lucy Newton at land adjacent to Mayfield, Youlton Lane, Alne, YO61 1SB, who are the applicants.
1.2 Mayfield (small-holding) was acquired by the present owner’s family (Mr John Newton) in the late 1930s. The late Mr D Newton developed an extensive nature reserve in the early 1980s. The Business Strategy submitted alongside this application for planning permission provides more detail regarding the history of the small-holding and the creation of the nature reserve.
1.3 When Mr John Newton took responsibility for the small-holding, an extension to the existing dwelling-house, including a double garage, was applied for (89/0546/FUL) in 1989. A further application to alter and extend the house was applied for in 1996 in order to accommodate his young family. These were both approved and subsequently constructed.
1.4 As stated in the accompanying Business Strategy (within the context section of its Introduction) Mr J Newton is wanting to take full retirement and pass on the family business to his daughter Miss L Newton (the applicant). In 2010, an application to construct a separate dwelling within the small-holding was validated in May, however, was withdrawn and not progressed further. This was, however, superseded by plans to extend the original dwelling house further in order to create new ancillary accommodation for the applicants in order for them to take full control of the family business. An application for planning permission to this extent was approved in March 2011 and an application to extend the extant planning permission in order to extend the time limit for implementation for the extension and alterations to the existing dwelling in line with the 2011 permission was granted in February 2014.
1.5 Whilst this planning permission remains extant until February 2017, the approved proposal has not been delivered. The predominant reasons for this is that the new ancillary accommodation, once extended, will prove to be part of the original house and therefore an extension, rather than become a separate dwelling. As Mr John Newton and his wife will remain the primary residents of the original dwelling after retirement with no desire to leave their house, implications for obtaining a mortgage and insurances are somewhat complicated and proving impossible. Responsibilities for ownership of the dwelling-house are also complicated from a legal and professional insurance point of view, never mind the day to day living arrangements needed for both couples to live comfortably and at ease in their own homes with the right to privacy that both couples are entitled to. Mr Hopkins and Miss Newton are a young couple with future plans to have a family and intend to live at the small-holding throughout their lifetime as previous generations have done and therefore the extension at Page 4 of 17
the side of the original house is simply too small and in reality impractical.
1.6 The proposed site for the new dwelling is within the footprint of the small-holding, adjacent to the existing dwelling house. The original dwelling house is currently the last house in a line of three residential properties which all currently sit outside of the development limits of the village of Alne. Three further properties sit on the opposite side of the road to the north-west of the proposed site, also outside of the development limits, however cannot be seen from the proposed site due to the curvature of the public highway. A further small-holding (Atlas Farm) exists to the south west of the proposed site, however, this is not visible from the site due to the presence of the heavily wooded nature reserve inbetween the two small holdings and the curvature of the public highway known as Youlton Lane.
1.7 Currently an unused corrugated iron/timber agricultural shed is on the site of the proposed dwelling house. The shed is rotten, in a bad state of repair and causes a detrimental impact to the locality due to its proximity to the existing houses and adjacent wooded area to its immediate South – South-West. Regardless of whether the applicants were applying for this application, the shed would need to be demolished in order to ‘tidy-up’ the existing small- holding and its beautiful environs.
1.8 The justification for this application is therefore to allow the couple to build a house on land owned by the family and live with sufficient space and privacy within the existing footprint of the small-holding’s boundaries, as well as to have sufficient space to start their own family. This will allow them to be on the site for the benefit of their existing cattle business (for example, to be able to feed the cattle first thing in the morning and later in the evening, to be on hand to ‘bed’ the cattle, amongst many other procedures). By being located on the site, the applicant hopes to be able to grow the commercial side of the business and expand into other farm-related products as necessary and potentially expand into the rearing of other animals which require a full time presence. Alongside this, the applicants would be able to manage the nature reserve for the benefit of the community and for educational usage as set out in the Business Strategy accompanying this application.
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2. Description of the Development Proposal
2.1 The land currently within Mr J Newton’s ownership is shown on the Location Plan submitted in support of this application and is highlighted by blue boundaries. The part of the site bounded by the red line denotes the section of the small-holding which this application specifically relates to.
2.2 The building shown within the red-line boundary is a redundant agricultural shed due to its current poor state of repair. The shed is predominantly made out of corrugated iron and timber with a brick base. Existing images of the shed and its proximity to the current dwelling ‘Mayfield’ are shown below.
Image 1 – View of existing shed showing southern elevation
Image 2 – View of existing shed taken showing eastern and northern elevations
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Image 3 – Existing eastern elevation of shed – set in front of the built form of the residential dwelling
Image 4 – illustrating the western elevation of the existing dwelling house and the existing unused agricultural shed
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2.3 The proposed site for the dwelling house sits slightly further back than the current agricultural shed and is therefore more in-keeping with the current built line of the adjacent properties. The plan shown below indicates how the applicants have designed the new building to be positioned set back and at a different angle to the existing barn to the benefit of neighbouring properties. The applicants have also designed the new dwelling to be positioned further away from the existing dwelling house as can be seen by the Site Plan (drawing number: 2016/Mayfield/002) showing that the old vehicular access could be reinstated if so desired by the highways department where a dropped kerb already exists. However, the applicants were intending to retain and use the existing access (which can also be seen on the Site Plan immediately to the left (south) of the existing barn and proposed dwelling).
2.4 The footprint of the current shed is 115m², however, the applicants have reduced the size of the footprint of the proposed building to 95m². Mayfield – the existing dwelling house, adjacent to the proposed site - is approximately 107m² by comparison. (The details of which can be found on the Site Plan (drawing number 2016/Mayfield/002) submitted alongside this application).
2.5 The site location and current layout is shown on the Location Plan submitted alongside the planning application. 2.6 The applicants seek to demolish the agricultural shed and replace it with a new dwelling house to meet their current and future needs. The proposed dwelling has been designed to sit well within its location alongside the use of sustainable materials which will reduce the carbon emissions associated with the new build, as highlighted in Section 3 of this Statement. The applicant also intends to use an existing area of hardstanding as a specific car parking area for the new dwelling. 2.7 All of the existing beech boundary hedges to the frontage of the site, adjacent to Youlton Lane, and the existing hedges forming the southern boundary to the plot will be protected and retained at their current heights. 2.8 No other development is intended as part of this application for planning permission. The development proposal will not impact on the current operations of the small-holding or upon the occupiers of the existing dwelling ‘Mayfield’; it is therefore considered a sensible re-use of the land provided within the existing footprint of the site.
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3. Design and Access
3.1 The design of the site is straight forward and uncomplicated. Should the Council be so minded as to approve planning permission, the unused agricultural shed would be removed from the site as discussed in Section 2 of this Statement.
3.2 The existing grassed area positioned between the front (north-west elevation) of the shed and the hedge adjacent to Youlton Lane will remain in situ to form a small front garden to the proposed property; the new footprint will be brought in line with the existing dwelling as illustrated by the drawings on the Site Plan (2016/Mayfield/002) and shown in the image below.
Image 5 – illustrating that the existing house and other properties are all positioned in a similar built ‘line’
3.3 The proposed dwelling will be representative of the other dwellings and buildings found within close proximity to the site and within the small-holding itself. Elevations and sections of the proposed development can be found on drawing number 2016/Mayfield/001, submitted in support of the application for planning permission.
3.4 The proposed dwelling will be a two-storey, two bedroomed, detached house designed with sustainable features, using locally sourced materials and sympathetic to its surrounding area. The existing three properties immediately adjacent to the development site are all of different design, however, a two storey house has been chosen to compliment the immediate neighbouring property. It will also allow the couple to effectively ensure that the proposal does not extend beyond the existing footprint of the existing shed (indeed, they have managed to keep it under that square meterage) whilst providing enough space for their needs.
3.5 Local bricks will be sourced to match those of the existing dwelling and agricultural buildings. It is proposed to utilise these towards the base of the dwelling and use locally sourced timber to sustainably clad the remainder of the building. The timber will be painted/treated with an appropriately coloured wood stain to ensure that the building resembles the agricultural buildings contained within the site.
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3.6 The frontage of the property (facing onto the public highway of Youlton Lane) will be designed to resemble the adjacent existing property (minus the conservatory) incorporating a first floor level porch-way and entrance lobby. The second floor will comprise of three windows and the roof pitch will be made to mirror that of the existing property and contain two roof lights which will provide natural lighting to the internal stairwell and landing corridor.
3.7 The northern elevation (that which faces onto the neighbouring property of Mayfield) will contain no windows at either floor level as can be seen on drawing number: 2016/Mayfield/001. Whilst on the same drawing, it can be seen that the southern elevation will contain two windows, one on each floor, which will face on to the adjacent driveway and part of the woodland nature reserve owned and managed by the family.
3.8 The applicants have designed the building to contain a flat ‘roof well’ shown on the elevational drawing of 2016/Mayfield/001 but also in detail as an image on drawing number: 2016/Mayfield/003. The roof well will accommodate both photovoltaic and solar hot water arrays, which will provide low carbon electricity and hot water, reducing the properties reliance on the national grid. The bespoke roof design adds character to the property and helps to maximise the internal space afforded to each living area.
3.9 The large eastern elevation will consist of a two-storey glazed façade to half of the elevation (furthest away from the neighbouring property) which will maximise daylighting, reducing overall energy consumption. The remaining half of the elevation will consist cleverly of a lower storey entrance way directly into the kitchen which incorporates its own single storey roof and roof lights, to again maximise natural light into the downstairs area.
3.10 The entire design of the house has been imagined to fit into one rectangular footprint in respect of the shed which currently exists, however, like the neighbouring properties, it has interesting features which makes this much more than the standard ‘box’ design of a typical house.
3.11 Due to the angle of the proposed property, and that it is to be brought into line with the rest of the built development along the street, there will be no loss of privacy or sunlight to the neighbouring properties.
3.12 The access for the development is taken directly from the public highway of Youlton Lane as highlighted on both the Site and Location Plans. Access from this road already exists and no alterations to this are proposed.
3.13 As previously stated, prior to the erection of the existing shed, a vehicular access previously existed adjacent to the existing dwelling house - indeed the dropped kerb still exists, although the access is no longer in use. The following image illustrates where the access was and the presence of the dropped kerb.
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Image 6 – abandoned vehicular access and dropped kerb.
3.14 The applicants are intending to share the existing current vehicular access, used by the occupiers of Mayfield, which is also used to access the operational side of the small-holding. However, both parties would be willing to re-instate the unused drive way should the Highways Department prefer this option and sufficient space has been provided for this potential use in the design and situation of the proposed dwelling.
Image 7 - the current vehicular access and the intended access to support this application for planning permission
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4. Planning Context
4.1 Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires planning applications to be determined in accordance with the Development Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
4.2 The Development Plan that this application should be determined against is the Hambleton District Council Local Development Framework (fully adopted in 2010) consisting of the following documents:
Core Strategy (adopted April 2007); Interim Policy Guidance Note – development in rural settlements (adopted 2015); Development Policies DPD (adopted February 2008); and Allocations DPD (adopted December 2010).
4.3 In September 2014, the Council agreed to conduct a full Plan Review in order to assess which policies, if any, were in need of updating due to the publication of the Government’s intentions for planning policy via the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012 and the supportive online National Planning Policy Guidance in 2014. As a result, Hambleton District Council has commenced work on a new Local Plan for the District, which will set out the policies by which planning applications for new development will be considered. It will also identify developable land suitable for housing, employment, mixed use and recreation up to 2035.The Local Development Plan timetable (published December 2015) sets out that the Council are hopeful of adoption by December 2018.
4.4 Paragraph 216 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that decision takers may give weight to relevant policies in emerging plans according to the stage of preparation of the emerging plan (the more advanced the preparation, the greater the weight that may be given). As the Council are at such an early stage in the plan preparation process it is not possible to place any weight on the emerging plan as yet, therefore, for the purposes of this decision, the Council will need to take into account the policies in the adopted Local Development Framework (LDF).
4.5 The NPPF also states at Paragraph 211 that for the purposes of decision-taking, the policies in the Local Plan should not be considered out of date simply because they were adopted prior to the publication of the Framework.
4.6 However, it goes on to state at Paragraph 212 that policies within the NPPF are material considerations which local planning authorities should take into account in both plan making and decision taking processes.
4.7 The relevant sections of the LDF which apply to the determination of this application for planning permission are policies DP8 and DP9 of the Development Policies DPD.
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4.8 Policy DP8 deals specifically with development limits. The Policy sets out that “permission for development will be granted within the settlement development limits as defined on the proposals map, provided that it is consistent with other LDF policies.” The settlement of Alne is identified in the Core Strategy as a Secondary Village with a development limit. The development site and indeed all the houses located along Youlton Lane are located out-with the Development Limit, therefore are technically categorised as being within the open countryside.
4.9 It is clear from the location of the proposed development and the location of other buildings and agricultural workings surrounding the development site that the building would not be an ‘isolated’ dwelling in the countryside, and would be re-using a plot of land that currently houses a redundant agricultural building, thereby will not adversely impact upon the countryside, nor will it cause coalescence of neighbouring settlements. The site could easily be interpreted as a natural infill to the built environment of the locality and is sympathetic to its surroundings in terms of its design.
4.10 Policy DP9 is highly appropriate to the determination of this application as it deals specifically with development outside the development limits. It states:
“Permission will only be granted for development outside Development Limits in exceptional circumstances having regard to the provisions of Core Policy CP4, or where it constitutes replacement of a building, where that replacement would achieve a more acceptable and sustainable development that would be achieved by conversion.”
4.11 Images set out in section 2 of this Statement illustrate that the existing agricultural shed is in a poor state of repair therefore simply could not be converted. The following image shows the dilapidated state of the interior of the building in support of this fact.
Image 8 – the interior of the existing shed Image 9 – view looking into the existing shed
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4.12 Core Policy CP4 sets out that development in the countryside will be supported in exceptional cases where it is necessary to meet the needs of farming and other enterprises with an essential requirement for a countryside location, where it would make provision for renewable energy generation of a scale and design appropriate to its location and that in all cases development should not conflict with the environmental protection and nature conservation policies in the LDF.
4.13 The Business Strategy submitted in support of this planning application sets out how the applicants intend to take over the established family business based at the small-holding. It goes on to detail their intentions, providing they can be based on site, for growing and developing that business all within the current footprint of the site. The development site is located within the footprint of the small-holding and is screened by the woodland nature reserve which is currently owned and managed by the family and used by local school children and community groups (see accompanying letter of support from the school in appendix A). The applicants intend to continue to manage this nature reserve, founded by the applicant’s grandfather and develop it into a full educational resource to be marketed and used by more school groups and community groups in the future (see Business Strategy for further details).
4.14 As set out in the preceding pages of this report, the proposed dwelling would replace the agricultural building at an appropriate scale and design incorporating renewable energy generating features, therefore it is considered to be in general conformity with Core Policy CP4 and Policy DP9 of the LDF. 4.15 Paragraph 28 of the NPPF states that planning policies should support economic growth in rural areas by taking a positive approach to sustainable new development. This can be achieved by supporting the sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business and enterprise in rural areas, both through conversion of existing buildings and well-designed new buildings.
4.16 Paragraph 111 of the NPPF goes on to state that planning decisions should encourage the effective use of land by re-using land that has been previously developed (brownfield land) provided it is not of high environmental value which is also a core principle of the NPPF as set out at paragraph 17.
4.17 The development site is not located within a Conservation Area or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, nor is it located close to a Heritage Asset.
4.18 The site is heavily screened to the south by the nature reserve and dense mature woodland and cannot be seen from the neighbouring property Atlas Farm (which is located at some distance away, the other side of the nature reserve). There are no properties across the road from the proposed dwelling, just a field boundary made up of a mixture of trees and shrubs and open arable fields.
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4.19 The redevelopment of this land will lead to the enhancement of the immediate setting and is in effect the re-use of previously developed land in line with Government policy. Therefore, it is considered that the development proposal conforms to Paragraph 111 of the NPPF and the core principles underpinning the NPPF alongside Policy DP9 of the LDF.
4.20 Having considered the Environment Agency Flood Maps the site is not at risk of flooding being located in flood zone 1. The proposed development is a smaller footprint than that of the building which is currently in situ, therefore the area of hardstanding is smaller and thus reduces the risk of surface water flooding.
4.21 As demonstrated by this statement, the applicant is of the opinion that the development proposals at this location are in accordance with both national and local planning policies and should therefore be approved.
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5. Conclusion
5.1 This Design and Access and Planning Statement has been submitted to Hambleton District Council in support of an application for planning permission for the demolition of an agricultural shed and erection of a single new dwelling at land adjacent to Mayfield, Youlton Lane, Alne, YO61 1SB on behalf of the applicants Mr S Hopkins and Miss L Newton.
5.2 The development site presently consists of a redundant agricultural shed in a state of disrepair. Due to the fact that the current owner of the small-holding at ‘Mayfield’ wishes to retire and hand over the business to his daughter (the applicant), planning permission is sought for a new dwelling on the site to provide the applicants with a family home. Being positioned on the small holding will allow the applicant to be present to fully operate the family’s successful cattle business and develop and expand the small-holding’s produce line. In order to do so, the agricultural shed would need to be demolished.
5.3 In line with Government planning policy and those local policies highlighted within Section 4 of this statement, the proposal at this location would be re-using a previously developed site in an existing rural location, replacing a dilapidated and redundant building with a sympathetically designed building of a smaller scale. Furthermore, the applicant does not propose to alter the existing footprint of the site and will protect and retain the existing mature screening which contains the site. The applicants intend to retain and manage the existing woodland and nature reserve including large pond and landscaped area for the use of local educational and community facilities. Therefore, there will be no additional impact upon the surrounding area or a detrimental impact on the character of the countryside at this location caused by the proposed development.
5.4 The applicant proposes to utilise the existing access to the site directly from Youlton Lane and does not propose to make any alterations to this access as part of the development. An existing redundant vehicular access does, however, exist and could be re-instated for use should the Highways Department prefer this arrangement.
5.5 The applicant proposes to make use of existing hard standing for a car parking area to the rear of the new dwelling which could easily accommodate two cars.
5.6 Although out with the development boundary of Alne, it is considered that this proposal would make a positive contribution to the local area causing no detrimental impacts to neighbours or the countryside. Ergo, as detailed within this statement, the proposals are considered to be in general conformity with Policy DP9 of the Hambleton District Council LDF as well as with general development principles as set out by Government Policy within the NPPF.
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Appendix A – Letter from Alne Primary School
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ALNE PRIMARY SCHOOL HEADTEACHER MAIN STREET Mr. P PLATT ALNE YORK YO61 1RT
Tele/Fax:01347 838427 e-mail: [email protected]
Hambleton District Council Alne Primary School have been using Mr and Mrs Newton’s lake and the woodland around it for many years now.
This is a free resource offered by the Newtons for all our children to have access to outside learning.
The manmade lake and woodland, planted by Mr. Newton’s father, has been lovingly maintained to provide a haven for wild life and natural flora. The children have visited on many occasions, walking from the school, to use the facilities in many ways.
We have held a joint writing project with Masham School where we worked with a local artist to produce writing and artwork using the natural environment.
Another time we used it as part of our Art Week project when we were studying photography and children used the lake and the surroundings as a stimulus for their work in the style of Hockney.
Because of its beautiful peaceful setting, we have frequently used the lake as a base for work on poetry or Forest School skills allowing those children who are not always academic to flourish outdoors.
We are very grateful to the Newtons for allowing us to use this beautiful area and know all our children have gained a huge wealth of understanding about nature and a genuine love of writing and art stimulated by this setting which is so lovingly maintained by them. I hope we will continue to be able to access this resource for many years to come!
Yours Sincerely, Juliet Robson (English Coordinator} and Paul Platt (Head teacher)
Alne Primary School Fund - Registered Charity No. 1058200