Planning Services COMMITTEE REPORT APPLICATION DETAILS APPLICATION NO: DM/15/03912/OUT Outline application with all matters reserved (except for access details of roundabout and internal distributor road) for a maximum of the following; 270 dwellings (class C3), a 70 bed hotel (class C1), a 60 bed residential care home (class C2/C3), a 3.96ha solar farm, change of use of 710m2 of agricultural land to residential FULL APPLICATION DESCRIPTION: garden space, 170,859m2 of general industrial, storage and distribution (class B2/B8), 1,858m2 of restricted goods retail (class A1), 409m2 restaurant/café/takeaway (class A3/A5), 613m2 public house (class A4), 450m2 childrens nursery (class D1), 400m2 GP surgery (class D1) and 1860m2 car showroom (class sui generis) NAME OF APPLICANT: Citrus Durham Ltd ADDRESS: Land South of Bowburn and West of the A688, Bowburn ELECTORAL DIVISION: Coxhoe Henry Jones, Senior Planning Officer CASE OFFICER: 03000 263960 [email protected] DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND PROPOSALS The Site 1. The application site comprises approximately 83 hectares of arable fields and pasture and is located to the immediate south of Bowburn. It includes the buildings of Peat Edge Farm, together with two residential properties located towards the eastern side of the site. The site excludes the Northumbrian Water Sewage Treatment works located within the application site towards the Leamside Line and would remain in situ. 2. The eastern boundary of the site follows the A688, with the exception of a small parcel of land that lies to the east of the A688, adjacent to Durham Services. The site is bounded to the north by the Bowburn Industrial Estate and to the south by the Tursdale Industrial Estate. The western boundary of the site generally follows the disused Leamside Railway line, with the exception of a small parcel of agricultural land lying to the west of the Leamside line. 3. The site is located on land which was identified in the City of Durham Local Plan, under Policy EMP7, as a Prestige Industrial site/Rail Freight Interchange facility. The site contains no statutory or locally designated landscape, ecological sites or designated heritage assets, although Peat Edge Farm and one of the vacant residential properties (Crow Trees), located within the site, are considered to be non- designated heritage assets. Tursdale Local Wildlife Site lies adjacent to the southern site boundary. There are some listed buildings and Conservation Areas located in Bowburn and the surrounding area. 4. Bridleway No. 36 (Cassop cum Quarrington Parish) runs westwards from Bowburn along the northern boundary of the woodland and into the countryside to the west of the disused railway line. Footpaths No.s 1 and 10 (Cassop cum Quarrington) run through the site. Footpath No. 10 runs diagonally through the site from Bowburn towards the sewage works, it then crosses the railway line to the south of the sewage works. This route is joined by Footpath No. 1, which runs east-west across the site from Durham Services towards the sewage works where it joins the other footpath. The Proposal 5. Planning permission is sought in outline with all matters reserved (except for access details of the roundabout and one internal distributor road) for a maximum of the following; 270 dwellings (class C3), a 70 bed hotel (class C1), a 60 bed residential care home (class C2/C3), a 3.96ha solar farm, change of use of 710m2 of agricultural land to residential garden space, 170,859m2 of general industrial, storage and distribution (class B2/B8), 1,858m2 of restricted goods retail (class A1), 409m2 restaurant/café/takeaway (class A3/A5), 613m2 public house (class A4), 450m2 children’s nursery (class D1), 400m2 GP surgery (class D1) and 1860m2 car showroom (class sui generis). It is assumed that delivery of the site would be over three phases and take ten years to be fully occupied, 6. Access would be taken from the A688, approximately 0.5km south of the A1 (M) roundabout. The roundabout would have an inscribed circle diameter of 70 metres and will have two lane approaches on the north and south and A688 approaches and the main exit from the proposed development. The fourth arm that would serve the residential and mixed retail uses would be a single lane approach. The internal access roads would be developed to adoptable standards with a main access road taking a dual carriageway format complete with central verge and footway/cycleway provision on both sides. The remaining access roads would be single carriageways with footway cycleway provision throughout. 7. Pedestrian access from the north of the development to the A177 and Bowburn village would be achieved at two locations; approximately 100m and 400m west of the A1 (M) roundabout. The latter being on the alignment of the existing PROW. An additional footway connection would be provided to the Leamside line south of the sewage works on the alignment of the existing PROW. There would be improvements to the existing footpath network outwith the application boundary, including a new shared use footway/cycleway running from the development adjacent to the A688 to the A1 (M) junction. Within the proposed development site, an alternative route for the existing right of way would be provided. There would also be a number of other footpath/cycleway links within and into the site. 8. As the application is in outline it is accompanied by a series of parameter plans and an indicative layout plan. The parameter plans set out details in relation to the extent of development, land use zones, access arrangements, maximum building heights, dark zones and green infrastructure. The land use plan shows the residential areas, doctors surgery and residential care home would be located to the north and east of the site, adjacent to the existing settlement of Bowburn. The bulky goods retail uses, pub/restaurant, separate restaurants and cafes, nursery and car show room are proposed in the ‘hub’ area near the site entrance. The employment (B2\B8) uses would occupy the majority of the site and be located to the south, north and north west of the main entrance. A solar farm is proposed to the west of the disused railway line which in part could serve an energy user on site. The existing woodland in the north of the site would be retained and structural planting is proposed around the majority of the site boundaries. 9. The application is accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES). This report has taken into account the information contained in the ES and subsequently submitted details and that arising from statutory consultations and other responses. 10. This planning application is being reported to County Planning Committee as it is a major development of over 4 hectares. PLANNING HISTORY 11. The application site has a complex planning history and there are three planning permissions of relevance to the application proposals, which relate to approximately 30 hectares of the 83 hectare application site. 12. Outline planning permission (4/06/00746/OUT) was approved in October 2006 for a Business Park (Use Class B1) with associated site access arrangements to include works to A1 (M) motorway junction 61, A688 road and motorway service area. This remains an extent planning permission. 13. Outline planning permission (4/09/00071/OUT) was approved in May 2009 for an application for a business and employment park to include use class B1 (65030sqm gross internal floor area), B2 and B8 (27870sqm gross internal floor area), with associated site access arrangements to include works to A688, motorway service area link and works to A1(M) junctions 60, 61 and 62. The time limit to implement this application was subsequently extended through an application to renew the outline permission (CMA/4/78) in August 2012. This permission has not been implemented. PLANNING POLICY NATIONAL POLICY 14. The Government has consolidated all planning policy statements, guidance notes and many circulars into a single policy statement, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The overriding message is that new development that is sustainable should go ahead without delay. It defines the role of planning in achieving sustainable development under three topic headings – economic, social and environmental, each mutually dependant. The presumption in favour of sustainable development set out in the NPPF requires local planning authorities to approach development management decisions positively, utilising twelve ‘core planning principles’. 15. In accordance with paragraph 215 of the National Planning Policy Framework, the weight to be attached to relevant saved local plan policy will depend upon the degree of consistency with the NPPF. The greater the consistency, the greater the weight. The relevance of this issue is discussed, where appropriate, in the assessment section of the report. The following elements of the NPPF are considered relevant to this proposal. 16. NPPF Part 1 – Building a Strong, Competitive Economy. The Government is committed to securing economic growth in order to create jobs and prosperity, building on the country’s inherent strengths, and to meeting the twin challenges of global competition and of a low carbon future. 17. NPPF Part 2 – Ensuring the Vitality of Town Centres. A sequential test should be applied to planning applications for main town centre uses that are not in an existing centre and are not in accordance with an up-to-date Local Plan. Such planning applications should also be required to provide an impact assessment, which considers the impact of the proposal on the vitality and viability of defined retail centres and investment in these centres. 18. NPPF Part 4 – Promoting Sustainable Transport. The transport system needs to be balanced in favour of sustainable transport modes, giving people a real choice about how they travel.