PLANNING APPLICATIONS Submitted By: DIRECTOR of COMMUNITY SERVICES
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DECISION RIBBLE VALLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL REPORT TO PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Agenda Item No meeting date: THURSDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2013 title: PLANNING APPLICATIONS submitted by: DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES PLANNING APPLICATIONS UNDER THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990: APPLICATION NO: 3/2012/0346/P (GRID REF: SD 374074 438457) OUTLINE APPLICATION FOR MIXED B1, B2 AND B8 INDUSTRIAL USE INCLUDING MEANS OF ACCESS ON LAND OFF HEY ROAD, BARROW PARISH COUNCIL: The Parish Council objects to the application in order to safeguard the village and its surrounding areas. This application is surprising as there appears to be no interest in commercial development in this area of the Ribble Valley. The applicants previously owned the print work site, part of which has now become residential after failing to attract any commercial interest. Members are concerned that a similar planning application for residential development might be made on this land if an application for change of use is approved. A planning application for residential development on an adjoining site designated for light industrial use also refers to a complete lack of commercial interest. That land should be used for its designated purpose before planning permission is granted to develop greenfield sites. The sewerage facilities in the village are insufficient to cope with any further development. There are also concerns regarding surface water on the site and whether the development would increase the pressure on the water systems and cause flooding in the cellars on Old Row. The application documents appear to have missed the colony of bats which live nearby. The surrounding green areas of the village must be protected as there is concern that the village is slowly losing its habitat for birds, bats and wildlife. A public footpath runs across the land contained in the planning application and this must be retained in its present position for future use. ENVIRONMENT Has no objections to this proposal in principle on highway DIRECTORATE safety grounds. (COUNTY SURVEYOR): 1 The principle of development on this site was accepted when planning consent was granted for the whole complex with all vehicular access from the A59. The access to the A59 has been constructed to adoption standards and the A59 dualled between Bramley Mead roundabout and the A671 Clitheroe roundabout. The proposed development is therefore acceptable from the highway safety aspect providing the extension of the spine road from the internal roundabout to the site entrance is constructed to full adoption standards before the site is first brought in to use. However, this road cannot be formally adopted until the existing spine road becomes the responsibility of the Highway Authority, following the completion of all relevant S38 Agreements. Any gates erected at the site access must either be set back 15m from the road edge so that a vehicle arriving can stand clear of the highway whilst waiting for them to open or the gates must be locked fully open at all times the premises are in use. ENVIRONMENT Comments that the site lies approximately 450m to the east of DIRECTORATE (COUNTY areas that have been identified as having a high potential for ARCHAEOLOGY): archaeological deposits dating to the prehistoric, Roman and Mediaeval periods. Well preserved archaeological deposits of either a prehistoric or Roman date would be likely to be considered to be of regional, and possible national, importance. The County Archaeology Service therefore recommends that, prior to the determination of the application, an archaeological evaluation of the site should be carried out to determine if any such deposits do exist. This would comprise an initial desk based assessment and, dependent upon the results of this assessment, further non-intrusive investigation of the site and intrusive sample trial trenching may also be considered necessary. The results of the desk-based assessment would enable LCAS and the Local Planning Authority to reach a properly informed decision as to the archaeological potential of the site and the nature and extent of any further mitigation preservation in situ and/or excavation. 2 ENVIRONMENT AGENCY: Comments that the proposed development will be acceptable in principle subject to the imposition of a condition that the development shall not be commenced until a scheme for the disposal and attenuation of surface water has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority; the scheme to be implemented fully in accordance with the approved details. UNITED UTILITIES: Comments that, following the applicant’s submission of a load and flow impact assessment, they confirm that modelling work has been completed, the results of which indicate that the proposed development is acceptable in principle. United Utilities would, however, require the imposition of three conditions to ensure the provision of any necessary infrastructure and to ensure the satisfactory drainage of the site based on sustainable drainage principles. ADDITIONAL Four letters have been received from nearby residents and a REPRESENTATIONS: letter from a planning consultant on behalf of one of those residents. The observations and objections made in the letters are summarised as follows: 1. The proposal would totally dominate the view from the rear of an adjoining property. The plans show commercial units over the whole length of the rear boundary almost without a break. They would completely overshadow the property and other neighbouring properties. 2. The application constitutes an unnecessary and unwarranted change of use from agricultural land. 3. Noise disturbance in a rural/residential area. 4. There is no evidence of demand for industrial development in this locality. 5. The application is tactical and if approved would be followed by an application for residential development. 6. A permission for a development of this scale would be at odds with advice recently given to a neighbour that the building of one dwelling in his garden would be unacceptable as it would detract from the visual amenity of the area. 7. Previous developments at Barrow have been piecemeal. In relation to the print works, numerous applications have been approved never to materialise only to be changed and altered to allow what was clearly the original intention – to build more houses. 3 8. Consideration should be given to other sites before approving this application including sites that remain undeveloped at the adjoining print work site. 9. Permission has been sought for residential development on a site at the print works with ‘lack of demand for industrial development’ being cited in support of the application. (Permission has subsequently been granted on appeal). 10. The size of the site is disproportionate to the locality. Permission should not be granted for uses for which there is no need. This will only blight the area. 11. Loss of view, including views of Pendle Hill. 12. Devaluation of property. 13. The buildings are so large that, even if single storey, they would overshadow nearby dwellings. 14. There would be an increase in noise, vibration, dust, noxious odours, fumes, pollution, vehicular noise and vibration and degradation of the entire area during construction works. 15. As the proposal is to build commercial units, the possibility of ground pollution is introduced. 16. There is insufficient information submitted in the application for the Council to make a proper determination. 17. The site is in open countryside and would not comply with Policy G5 of the Ribble Valley Districtwide Local Plan which seeks to restrict development in the countryside to specified small-scale developments, none of which would apply to this application. 18. The proposal would not accord with the general spatial framework of the RSS which essentially seeks to guide developments to the main urban areas; in the rural areas only limited development of an appropriate scale and nature is to be located at either Key Service Centres or Local Service Centres. 20. With regards to NPPF the proposal would not amount to sustainable development as it would involve a substantial extent of new industrial development located in the open countryside adjacent to a small village. 4 21. The proposal does not accord with the core planning principle that planning should be plan-led. The Core Strategy Consultation Draft (CSCD) confirms that decisions were to provide the 9 hectares of additional employment land will be matters for the subsequent site allocations stages. The CSCD accordingly incorporates a wide range of options and possibilities to accommodate these requirements. It states that employment development will generally be directed to the main areas of population growth linking to the underlying strategy of aligning jobs with homes in key areas. Whilst the A59 is a preferred location, this is not the only option. Another example is the employment land within the Standen Strategic Site. 22. The reference in key statement DS1 that employment opportunities will be promoted through the development of the Barrow Enterprise site is clearly referring to the existing identified site rather than making pre- determined judgements as to where the future employment land requirements are to be located. 23. Even if an extension to the existing Barrow Enterprise Park was eventually proposed in a subsequent site allocations DPD, the site proposed in this current application is considerably larger than that for which consideration was given under the ELRS. 24. The Planning System: General Principles document remains extant and is a material consideration to be taken into account. On the issue of prematurity, this states that ‘in some circumstances it may be justifiable to refuse planning permission on grounds of prematurity where a DPD is being prepared or in under review, but has not yet been adopted. This may be appropriate where a proposed development is so substantial, or where the cumulative effect would be so significant, that granting permission could prejudice the DPD by pre- determining decisions about the scale, location or phasing of new development which are being addressed in the policy in the DPD’.