Appeal Statement of Case
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Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. September 2020 Appeal Statement of Case Appeal by Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. against the refusal by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to permit full permission to Form 1 No. Temporary Access. Site Address: Land at Redlands, Reading Road, Sherfield- On-Loddon, Hampshire Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Application: 20/00953/FUL Appeal Statement of Case Form 1 No. Temporary Access Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. The Appeal Site and Surrounding Area 3 3. The Planning Application Submission 4 4. Planning Policy 9 5. Appeal Grounds and Statement of Case 14 6. Third Party Responses 18 7. Conditions 23 8. Conclusions 24 9. Annexures 25 10. Submission Documents 26 Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. September 2020 i Appeal Statement of Case Form 1 No. Temporary Access 1. Introduction 1.1 This Statement is submitted in support of an appeal to Form 1 No. Temporary Access. The appeal is submitted against Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s refusal of planning permission dated 14th August 2020. The application is to seek a temporary construction access as a means to promote early delivery of 150 homes that have detailed planning permission (Reserved Matters approved pursuant to an Outline Planning Permission) that would otherwise be delayed by approximately 12 months until the S278 Highway’s Agreement and construction has been completed to form a new 4th arm of the A33 Gaiger Avenue (Taylor’s Farm) roundabout. 1.2 The application, the subject of this appeal seeks to bring forward; site set-up, provision of haul roads, groundworks, on-site infrastructure provision, house build and the internal estate roads, under the auspices of outline planning permission 16/02457/OUT for the erection of 150 dwellings, including 60 affordable units, with associated internal access streets, car parking and landscaping and subsequent reserved matters application 19/02773/RES which was approved on 7th August 2020. 1.3 The outline planning application envisaged a construction access that coincided with the long term and permanent access from the A33 off a new arm of the Gaiger Avenue / Taylor’s Farm roundabout (the approved access plan from the outline planning permission is attached at Annex A) but that construction access arrangement is not the optimal method for efficient housebuilding in this case. 1.4 The application, the subject of this appeal, was dated 9th April 2020 and was validated on the same date. 1.5 Following receipt of comments from the local highway authority, Hampshire County Council, which confirmed no objection to the highway safety considerations arising from this application (Letter attached at Annex B), the application was recommended for approval by the Planning Officer (Committee Report attached at Annex C). Subsequently the Planning Committee resolved to refuse the application contrary to the officer’s recommendation on the 12th August 2020. 1.6 The council’s subsequent decision notice dated 14th August 2020 (Annex D) sets out a single highway safety reason for refusal. Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. September 2020 1 Appeal Statement of Case Form 1 No. Temporary Access 1.7 Through this appeal statement of case it will be demonstrated that the appeal proposal should be allowed when considered in highway safety terms, in the context of local planning policies and the overall planning balance of the proposals. Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. September 2020 2 Appeal Statement of Case Form 1 No. Temporary Access 2. The Appeal Site and Surrounding Area 2.1 The temporary construction access is proposed to be located at the southwest corner of the approved housing site, known as Redlands, near Sherfield-on-Loddon. The housing site is located on the eastern edge of the built up area of Chineham and is approximately 5.6km northeast (by road) from the centre of Basingstoke. The site currently comprises relatively flat arable fields with perimeter trees and hedges. The proposed temporary access would connect onto the A33 Basingstoke Road at a point some 55m north of the Redlands Lodge access lane and c.350m south of the Taylor’s Farm Roundabout. The A33 takes a general north to south alignment at this point and is a single carriageway road with double, solid, central lining (denoting no overtaking) and a 50mph speed restriction. Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. September 2020 3 Appeal Statement of Case Form 1 No. Temporary Access 3. The Planning Application Submission 3.1 This section of the appeal statement outlines the documents that were submitted within the course of the planning application. Submission Documents and Drawings 3.2 The application, the subject of this appeal (LPA Ref: 20/00953/FUL), is for full planning permission. The following documents were submitted with the application and have been submitted with this subsequent appeal: 1:1250 Red Line Plan (011915-BEL-WSX-TCR) Highways Technical Note (18-007-05A), General Arrangement Block Plan (Dwg. 18-007-026) and Swept Path by Odyssey (Dwg. 18-007-027) A Construction Environmental Management Plan (Sherfield CEMP rev. B) An Arboricultural Technical Note and Overlay by Aspect Arboriculture (Dwg. 9795.TN.01) A Planning Statement within covering letter dated 31st March 2020 An Additional Statement dated 11th June 2020 3.3 The 1:1250 scale site location plan clearly indicates where the proposed temporary access is to be located, at the SW corner of the larger site and its position on the A33. 3.4 The 1:500 scale block plan elaborates on the detail of the proposed left-in left-out (only) bell-mouth access, based on a topographical site survey and sets out the proposal relative to known features on and off site and the lane serving Redlands. 3.5 The Construction Access Technical Note (Odyssey 18-007-05 March 2020) clarifies that: An ‘all movements junction’ would not be feasible due to the vertical visibility considerations relating to the crest of the hill on the A33 to the south. The proposed ‘left-in left-out access’ would be a safe and practical arrangement. Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. September 2020 4 Appeal Statement of Case Form 1 No. Temporary Access A Swept Path analysis of the largest construction related vehicles is included (Odyssey Dwg. 18- 007-027). The construction access design has been undertaken with due consideration of the construction related vehicle tracking and ensures that these vehicles are not required to overrun the double white centreline of the A33 carriageway. The design and visibility of the proposed access accord with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) CD123 for the 50mph speed limit of the A33 in this location and indeed visibility is achievable for vehicle speeds of up to 60mph. 3.6 The CEMP confirms the appropriate wheel washing and road cleaning arrangements and the provision of on-site construction parking and delivery arrangements. The CEMP document also sets out the safeguarding procedures within the construction that will interface with and address any areas where a conflict, risk or incident may occur. 3.7 The Planning Statement confirms that the proposal is for a temporary access that can be conditioned by the Council to be removed and reinstated within the shorter of 5 years or final occupation. It should be noted the appellant has subsequently been open to discuss the wording of this condition and variants to the long stop date such as relating it to the provision of the Taylor’s Farm roundabout junction: demonstrating that this application is not a device to provide an alternative permanent access. Post Validation Submissions 3.8 An e-mail from the applicant to the Council dated 1st May 2020 explained the reasons for the application and clarified the submissions. The Appellant is seeking an alternative, temporary, construction only arrangement, to be considered on its planning merits, for the following reasons: Bellway Homes (Wessex) Ltd. September 2020 5 Appeal Statement of Case Form 1 No. Temporary Access Levels differ at the A33 roundabout and there are multiple services that need to be diverted and lowered. This is a complicated and time consuming process to resolve and at present can only be started after the post planning permission S278 approval process and implementation of extensive off-site highway and utility works. The potential hiatus of up to one year for the S278 (design, construction and certification, road space booking and implementation) process for the Taylor’s Farm roundabout 4th arm access would otherwise prohibit preparatory ground works and homes starting to be built from this site. That is a delay the appellant would wish to avoid, to achieve an early construction start at a time when businesses and the economy need all the help it can get. Building a temporary access under S171 of the Highways Act 1980, as proposed, would reduce pre-start timescales and enable the appellant’s groundworker to undertake site preparation, welfare and construction management arrangements, the installation of utilities and services, haul roads, commence the construction of the permanent access from within the site and construct sub-structures within the year that it would otherwise take to obtain S278 approval and construct the main access. The S278 process for the main site access has been commenced as a highways technical note and access design check pack was submitted to the Highway Authority dated 12th May 2020 (Annex E) and this has subsequently been validated by the highway authority. It demonstrates that the appellant is not looking to create an alternative permanent access or evade its obligations to improve the wider network. Working concurrently rather than sequentially on site would; help to provide homes more efficiently, underscore the local and national economy, and deliver on a Local Plan commitment that is in the Council’s Housing Supply Trajectory for 2021-24.