17/02479/FUL (FULL PLANNING APPLICATION) Proposal

DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 18 June 2018

Case No: 17/02479/FUL (FULL PLANNING APPLICATION)

Proposal: CHANGE OF USE FROM WAREHOUSE (CLASS B8) TO HEALTH & FITNESS CLUB (CLASS D2) WITH INSTALLATION OF NEW ENTRANCE DOORS.

Location: UNITS 1 AND 1C GREENEWABLE PARK, STATION LANE, OFFORD CLUNY PE19 5ZA

Applicant: MR MARC FREEMAN

Grid Ref: 521796 267400

Date of Registration: 29.11.2017

Parish: OFFORD CLUNY AND OFFORD DARCY

RECOMMENDATION - APPROVE

This application is referred to the Development Management Committee (DMC) as the Parish Council of Offord Cluny and Offord Darcy’s recommendation of refusal is contrary to the officer recommendation of approval.

1. DESCRIPTION OF SITE AND APPLICATION

1.1 This application relates to Unit 1 and Unit 1C Greenewable Park, Offord Cluny. Greenewable Park is located upon the northwest edge of Offord Cluny and comprises a series of linked industrial/warehouse units at the northern end of the site and a range of shipping containers which have been converted to office space at the southern section along with a substantial amount of hardstanding. Unit 1 and 1C are located in the northern section of the application site.

1.2 The site lies adjacent to the East Coast Mainline (ECM) and is accessed from a priority junction off Station Lane. A linear arrangement of established trees runs along the west boundary of the site.

1.3 The nearest residential unit (No. 5 Asplins Lane) is located approximately 64m to the east of the application site, with the ECM providing an easily interpreted separation between the relevant part of the application site and No. 5 Asplins Lane.

1.4 The majority of the application site lies within Flood Zone 2, with a small section of the existing building falling within Flood Zone 3b of the LPA's SFRA mapping.

1.5 The proposal is for the change of use of approx. 344 sq. m of warehouse (Class B8) floor space to a health & fitness club (Class D2) and the installation of new entrance doors.

2. NATIONAL GUIDANCE

2.1 The National Planning Policy Framework (2012) sets out the three dimensions to sustainable development - an economic role, a social role and an environmental role - and outlines the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Under the heading of Delivering Sustainable Development, the Framework sets out the Government's planning policies for : building a strong, competitive economy; ensuring the vitality of town centres; supporting a prosperous rural economy; promoting sustainable transport; supporting high quality communications infrastructure; delivering a wide choice of high quality homes; requiring good design; promoting healthy communities; protecting Green Belt land; meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change; conserving and enhancing the natural environment; conserving and enhancing the historic environment; and facilitating the sustainable use of minerals.

For full details visit the government website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities- and-local-government

3. PLANNING POLICIES

3.1 Saved policies from the Huntingdonshire Local Plan (1995) • CS8: Water Supply, Sewerage, Sewage Disposal and Surface Water Drainage Requirements • E1: Promotion of Economic and Employment Growth • E7: Small Businesses Establishment or Expansion • EN25: General Design Criteria • T18: Access Requirements for New Development

3.2 Saved policies from the Huntingdonshire Local Plan Alterations (2002) • None relevant.

3.3 Adopted Huntingdonshire Local Development Framework Core Strategy (2009) • CS1: Sustainable Development in Huntingdonshire

3.4 Huntingdonshire's Local Plan to 2036: Proposed Submission 2017 (as amended March 2018 for submission) • LP1: Amount of Development • LP2: Strategy for Development • LP5: Flood Risk • LP10: Small Settlements • LP12: Design Context • LP13: Design Implementation • LP15: Amenity • LP17: Sustainable Travel • LP18: Parking Provision and Vehicle Movement • LP23: Local Services and Community Facilities

3.5 The LPA consider the Local Plan to 2036 to be a sound plan and it was submitted for examination on the 29th March 2018. The plan has therefore reached an advanced stage and is consistent with the policies set out within the NPPF. 3.6 Supplementary Planning Documents: • Huntingdonshire Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document 2017 • Cambridgeshire Flood and Water Supplementary Planning Document 2017

Local policies are viewable at https://www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk

4. PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The warehouse building to which this application relates does not hold any recent planning application history, although the wider Greenewables site includes:

16/02255/FUL - Part retrospective application for the retention of warehouse and office units. Approved - 16.08.2017

16/02256/FUL - Erection of warehouse. Approved - 16.08.2017

0302133FUL - Erection of warehouse Approved - 22.09.2003

5. CONSULTATIONS

5.1 Offord Parish Council (13.12.2017): "The Parish Council is in favour of new local businesses but is recommending refusal because of the increased concerns with traffic over the narrow bridges/railway. This application does not state the amount of increased traffic, although to be a viable business it would require a lot of patrons. Council has issues with more traffic turning right into the site which could increase existing problems of blocking the railway. The increased number of trains from this month will only make the situation worse. Previous applications for this site referred to old and out of date traffic survey information, not relevant to the actual situation today. Recommend refusal".

5.2 Offord Parish Council (18.05.2018): "…we cannot in all conscience recommend acceptance of the application". Full comment in attached documents.

5.3 CCC Highways (19.04.2018): The use of TRICS Software to determine the proposed trip generation is acceptable for use. It is acknowledged the development will generate 2 two-way vehicle trips in the AM peak and 3 two-way vehicle trips in the PM peak. The proposed development would not have a severe impact on the highway network. The Highways Authority does not wish to object to the proposal as submitted".

5.4 CCC Highways (24/04/2018): "Following the provision of the transport technical note I can confirm that I have no objections to that proposed, given the sites permitted use the change would have a minimal impact on vehicle movements with an approximate increase of one vehicle movement over each peak hr, and these would likely be saloon type vehicles rather than those associated with the existing warehouse use".

6. REPRESENTATIONS

6.1 None.

7. ASSESSMENT

7.1 The report addresses the principal, important and controversial issues which are in this case: • The principle of development; • Accessibility, parking and the impact on highway safety; • The impact upon the visual amenity and character of the area; • The impact on neighbours; and • Flooding.

The principle of development:

7.2 The presumption in favour of sustainable development is clearly outlined in the NPPF with paragraph 19 identifying that significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth.

7.3 At a local level, policy E1 of the Huntingdonshire Local Plan (1995) supports economic development and policy LP10 of Huntingdonshire's Local Plan to 2036: Proposed Submission 2017 outlines that a proposal that is located within a built-up area of a Small Settlement will be supported where a balanced judgement finds that the amount and location of development is sustainable with regard to service and infrastructure provision, access and the impact on the character of the locality.

7.4 The proposed development is considered to accord with both national and local policies and as such is considered to be acceptable in principle.

Accessibility, parking and the impact on highway safety:

7.5 The concerns of the Parish Council, especially the detailed and well considered comments dated 18 May 2018, are noted; however CCC Highways raised no objection to the proposed development.

7.6 The concerns of the Parish Council include: a) Vehicles from Offord turning right into the site will halt traffic behind them, potentially leaving cars trapped on the railway lines

b) Report includes assumptions and little real life data - validity called into question

c) Use of TRICS (Trip Rate Information Computer System) data is more suited to much larger developments

d) No third party verification/audit of TRICS data

e) Traffic impacts emanating from the Greenewables site must be assessed as a whole

f) CCC Highways and HDC have accepted the report to apply to both the Restaurant/Café and Health & Fitness centre, but report only uses restaurant data

g) Why was TRICS used and not the predicted numbers incorporated in to the Greenewable business plans?

7.7 Taking each point in turn:

a) The ECM crossing incorporates a 'yellow box' and road users observing the highway code would not enter the box unless the exit is clear. The entrance to the wider Greenewable site also includes a 'Keep Clear' box at the access junction.

b) TRICS is the UK's national standard system of trip generation analysis and is based on over 7000 datasets. The proposed development falls below the threshold which CCC Highways would require a Transport Assessment.

c) In the absence of a reliable comparative, TRICS is considered to be appropriate although the limitations of the database are noted.

d) The TRICS data has been assessed by CCC Highways. Due to the scale of the development, engaging the services of another party to revisit the data would be unreasonable.

e) CCC Highways have confirmed that the consideration of traffic impacts/highway safety implications have not been assessed in isolation.

f) Two Transport Technical Notes were submitted. One in support of this application, the other in support of 17/02460/FUL - Change of use from offices to restaurant/cafe (Class A3).

g) TRICS is the UK's national standard system of trip generation analysis. Details of a business plan have not been submitted as part of this application.

7.8 The TRICS data suggests that the proposed gym would result in one additional vehicle visiting or leaving the application site across both AM and PM peak hours in comparison to the existing B8 use. 20 parking spaces are indicated on the submitted application form and the wider site has sufficient capacity to accommodate this level of parking provision and it is noted that vehicles will be able to enter/leave the site in a forward gear.

7.9 CCC Highways confirmed that the proposal would not result in a detrimental impact upon highway safety. LPA Officers are guided by CCC Highways Officers and, whilst the strong objection from the Offords PC is noted, LPA Officers have no concrete evidence of their own to contradict or put into question the position of CCC Highways Officers, which are a statutory consultee in this instance. As such, the proposed development is considered to be acceptable in this regard.

The impact upon the visual amenity and character of the area:

7.10 The existing warehouse building is located over 220m to the north of the highway and views of the building from publically accessible viewpoints to the south are limited due to the layout and scale of the existing built form upon the site. Views from Asplins Lane afford a more expansive view of the structure, but the visual impact of the ECM which separates the two sites is notable.

7.11 The proposed replacement of the roller door represents the only alteration to the exterior of the building. The supporting information indicates that the replacement cladding will be selected to match the existing and a black powder coated aluminium door inserted. This arrangement is considered to be acceptable and will be secured by condition.

7.12 The proposed development is considered to sit comfortably within the context of the wider area and not create a detrimental impact upon the interpretation of the street scene or the character/appearance of the area. Views into, out of and across the Conservation Area to the southeast are not considered to be negatively impacted.

7.13 The proposed development is considered to comply with paragraphs 58, 59 and 60 of the NPPF, policy EN25 of the Huntingdonshire Local Plan (1995) and policies LP12, LP13 and LP25 of the Draft Huntingdonshire Local Plan to 2036 and as such, is considered to be acceptable in this regard.

The impact on neighbours:

7.14 Due to the aforementioned separation distance between the existing structure and the nearest residential units to the east, the proposed development is not considered to result in an unacceptable detrimental impact upon the amenity of the occupants of those properties in terms of a loss of light/overshadowing, a loss of privacy/overlooking or by way of being overbearing. As such, the proposed development is considered to be acceptable in this regard.

Flooding:

7.15 Paragraph 100 of the NPPF outlines that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, but where development is necessary, the risk of flooding should not be increased elsewhere.

7.16 Paragraph 4.4.2 of the Cambridgeshire Flood and Water Supplementary Planning Document 2017 (CF&W 2017) states that the Sequential Test does not need to be applied for a proposal which involves a change of use (other than to a caravan/camping site or similar). It is noted that both a Storage and Distribution (B8) use and a Gym (D2) use are described as 'Less Vulnerable' uses which accord with the Flood Risk Vulnerability Classification table (Table 4.3 of the CF&W 2017).

7.17 The proposed development is not considered to result in an increased risk of flooding either on, or off the site as the footprint/massing of the existing building will remain unchanged. Accordingly, the proposed development is considered to be acceptable in this regard.

8. RECOMMENDATION - APPROVAL subject to conditions to include the following

• Time limit • Development in accordance with plans • Opening Hours

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CONTACT OFFICER: Enquiries about this report to James Lloyd Senior Development Management Officer 01480 388389

Huntingdonshire DC Public Access

From: DMAdmin Sent: 13 December 2017 10:05 To: DevelopmentControl Subject: FW: Planning Permission Consultation - Units 1A 1B And 1C Greenewable Park Station Lane (ref 17/02479/FUL)

From: Offord Cluny & Offord Darcy Parish Clerk [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 13 December 2017 09:32 To: DMAdmin Subject: Re: Planning Permission Consultation - Units 1A 1B And 1C Greenewable Park Station Lane (ref 17/02479/FUL)

Parish Council Observations:

The Parish Council is in favour of new local businesses but is recommending refusal because of the increased concerns with traffic over the narrow bridges/railway.

This application does not state the amount of increased traffic, although to be a viable business it would require a lot of patrons.

Council has issues with more traffic turning right into the site which could increase existing problems of blocking the railway. The increased number of trains from this month will only make the situation worse.

Previous applications for this site referred to old and out of date traffic survey information, not relevant to the actual situation today.

Recommend Refusal.

From: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2017 11:43 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Planning Permission Consultation - Units 1A 1B And 1C Greenewable Park Station Lane (ref 17/02479/FUL)

Dear Parish Clerk,

Please find correspondence from Development Management at Huntingdonshire District Council attached to this email in relation to the following application for planning permission.

Proposal: Change of use from warehouse (Class B8) to health & fitness club (Class D2) with installation of new entrance doors.

Site Address: Units 1A 1B And 1C Greenewable Park Station Lane 1 Reference: 17/02479/FUL

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2 Offord Parish Council Response to the Wood Hardwick Report

Predicted Traffic Flows for the proposed development at the Greenewable Park, Station Lane Offord Cluny (ref 17/02460/FUL)

The Parish Council’s reason for refusal was all about the safety of traffic moving between the Offords and Buckden. The Greenewables Park entrance is a mere twenty metres west of the Level Crossing and the danger is that vehicles from Offord turning right into the site will halt traffic behind them, potentially leaving cars trapped on the railway lines. The road itself is already vulnerable to gridlocking as it traverses narrow single lane tracks, bridges and blind corners on the Buckden side of the crossing.

A census taken in April 2016 indicated that more than 2,200 vehicles use the road daily, along with 288 trains, resulting in the crossing gates being closed for 35 minutes per hour. The risk is increasing markedly as greater numbers of vehicles use the road, seeking to avoid the A14 construction and more trains are passing due to the Network Rail “Digital 2020” initiative. This has been recognised by both Hunts District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council who have made representations to Network Rail for an alternative means of crossing the railway line to be provided.

Having examined the report from Woods Hardwick “Change of Use from Office to Restaurant, Greenewable Park, Station Lane, Offord Cluny” dated April 2018, the Parish Council of Offord Cluny and Offord Darcy find that it contains so many assumptions and so little real life data, that its validity has to be called into question.

The Woods Hardwick report uses a traffic modelling system known as TRICS (Trip Rate Information Computer System) to produce their forecast of traffic flows. TRICS is a combination of a series of databases of surveyed real-life traffic flows in a variety of locations and a parameter-driven model that gives an indication of traffic flows resultant from a proposed development such as a housing estate, supermarket, industrial development or somesuch. In order to do this the operator inputs a series of parameters that would seem to most closely match the circumstances of the development under examination.

A perusal of the TRICS website would seem to indicate that it is mostly suitable for assessing the impact of quite large developments and really does not work for a development of this size – the potential percentage error goes off the scale. In a parameter-driven model such as TRICS, it is quite easy, by careful selection of the input variables involved, to end up with the result that the operator wishes to obtain – effectively to drive the model backwards. The “TRICS Good Practice Guide 2016” in section 17 (“Correct Presentation of Trip Rates and Methods”) emphasises this issue :

17.1. It is vitally important that all data obtained from TRICS® is presented in the correct manner that in no way misleads the recipient. Data producers have a responsibility to ensure that all TRICS® data generated has met the standards as outlined in this document.

17.2. All data obtained through the use of TRICS® must be re-traceable by a third party auditing the data. Any third party with use of the system should be able to examine the data provided and be able to re-create all procedures used in the production of that data. For example, if a data supplier states that “a trip rate of 2.34 arrival trips for the hour 1700-1800 per 100m² of Gross Floor Area was generated”, this cannot be taken as proven unless the methods used to produce this figure are included in the report, in either the main body of the report or as an appendix.

17.3. If an attempt at auditing TRICS® data fails due to lack of supporting information provided by the original data supplier, the auditor should request the missing information from the data supplier. This information is always available, and there is no acceptable technical reason in TRICS® why this should not be the case.

It does not appear that a third party has been used to verify or audit the procedures used as recommended by the Good Practice Guide. Without this we would argue that the report itself has little contribution to make to the discussion regarding this planning application. It is rather disappointing that CCC Highways appear to have accepted the conclusions of the report without question. The issues regarding the siting of the proposals are very specific to this particular road and rail layout in Offord Cluny which weakens the case for using a non-specific set of databases such as those contained within TRICS.

It is also important to note that the restaurant/café development is only one of three developments proposed for the Greenewables site, the others being an expanded warehouse facility and a health and fitness centre. Since all will contribute to traffic in and out of the site, they all need to be considered in total. It would appear that both CCC and HDC Development Management have accepted the Woods Hardwick report to apply to both the Restaurant/Café and the Health & Fitness Centre – which it does not – it only uses restaurant/café data.

Common sense alone would dictate that a prediction of a resultant zero increase in vehicle movements is nonsensical. It begs the question “Why was an over-complex modelling system used rather than the much simpler approach of using the predicted usage numbers incorporated into the Greenewable Business Plans?”

In conclusion the Parish Council maintains its stance on this issue. Whilst in other circumstances we would welcome such a development in our area, offering as it does both employment opportunities and leisure facilities, whilst the current situation with the Level Crossing exists, we cannot in all conscience recommend acceptance of the application.

The Parish Council of Offord Cluny and Offord Darcy 18 May 2018 Development Management Committee

Scale =1:2,500 Application Ref: 17/02479/FUL

LANE COURT

B 1043

PADDOCKS CHASE

CLOSE OPEFORD

HIGH STREET

STATION LANE

Key Listed Building Reference 17/02479/FUL Conservation Area

B 1043 LOCATION PLAN

CHANGE OF USE FROM WAREHOUSE (CLASS B8) TO HEALTH & FITNESS CLUB (CLASS D2) WITH INSTALLATION OF NEW ENTRANCE DOORS AT UNITS 1 & 1C GREENEWABLE PARK, STATION LANE, OFFORD CLUNY, ST. NEOTS, CAMBS. PE19 5ZA.

Plan No. F-290P

Scale 1:1250

Showers & Showers & Toilets Toilets Gym & Fitness equipment

Lockers New partition Wall

Roller shutter door removed and replaced with new cladding wall and entrance doors.

East Facing Elevation

Plan No. F-290P/1

Scale 1:100 @ A3

9.18 metres

Warehouse Warehouse

Roller Shutter Door

Current elevation

Plan No. F-290P/2

Scale 1:100 @ A3