PLANNING APPLICATIONS BOARD 25 FEBRUARY 2021 ERECT 34 DWELLING HOUSES WITH NEW ACCESS AND SERVICES AT MELBOST, ISLE OF LEWIS Report by Head of Economic Development and Planning PURPOSE 1.1 Since the planning application has received in excess of 6 representations, the application cannot be determined under delegation and is presented for decision. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2.1 20/00424/PPD – Planning application for demolition of two existing buildings. Erect 34no. dwelling houses including service connections, new access and landscaping. install air source heat pumps on land adjacent to Stornoway Airport, Melbost, Point, Isle of Lewis 2.2 This is an application for planning permission to erect 34no. houses with air source heat pumps and allied construction of roads, footpaths and car parking, landscaping, public open space, drainage and service connections on a brownfield site, formerly an RAF base station. Located to the west of the Branahuie-Stornoway Airport road, it sits on the boundary of the Stornoway Airport site, beyond the edge of the main settlement of Stornoway. 2.3 Representations were received from 11 parties raising a wide range of similar issues, including, the setting of a precedent for future similar developments; a lack of public/community consultation; the site not one identified for housing in the Local Development Plan (LDP); impact on the character of the settlement; and concerns over road safety. There have been no consultee objections to the application. 2.4 The Comhairle is required to determine planning applications in accordance with the provisions of its Development Plan unless material planning considerations indicate otherwise. The assessment has concluded that the development of the site is considered to comply with the key strategic development policies of the Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan 2018, Policy DS1: Development Strategy - Rural Settlements and Policy PD1: Placemaking and Design, as well as the other relevant development policies relating to road safety and off-street parking, drainage and housing. The revised proposals are considered to be consistent with the advice on location and design of housing as set out in the Outer Hebrides Design Guide. Material considerations, including planning matters raised in representation, have been given due consideration and none individually or collectively indicate that a decision be taken other than in accordance with the Development Plan. RECOMMENDATION 3.1 It is recommended that planning application be APPROVED subject to the conditions set out in Appendix 1 to the Report. Contact Officer: Morag Ferguson, Planning Manager (Development Management) Telephone: 01870 604990 Email: [email protected] Helen MacDonald, Planning Officer Telephone: 01851 822690 Email: [email protected] Appendix 1: Schedule of Conditions Appendix 2: Selection of Plans Appendix 3: Consultation Responses Appendix 4: Representations Background Papers: None IMPLICATIONS 4.1 The following implications are applicable in terms of the Report. Resource Implications Implications/None Financial None Legal None Staffing None Assets and Property None Strategic Implications Implications/None Risk None Equalities None Corporate Strategy None Environmental Impact None Consultation None SITE CONTEXT AND PROPOSAL Site Description 5.1 The application site is located to the west of the Branahuie-Stornoway Airport road, sharing a boundary with the Stornoway Airport site. It is located beyond the edge of the main settlement of Stornoway within the rural settlement of Branahuie. The site is brownfield comprising the former and now semi derelict RAF base. There are three derelict buildings on site, all of which are to be demolished as part of the development proposals. It is bounded by the main public road to the south; open ground and the airfield to the north and west; and the Branahuie village and road to the east. 5.2 The site levels fall away from the Branahuie road edge in a north-east to south-west direction across the site. The difference in site levels is illustrated by the finished floor levels (FFL) of the buildings: houses no.31-32 will have an FFL of 10.47m while house no.12 will have an FFL of 5.7m. 5.3 The area of site subject to the development of housing, roads and infrastructure, plus garden areas, recreation spaces and a surface water management basin is just under 2.3ha but a wider site area of just over 4ha hectares in size is identified as the subject of the application. The additional area comprises ground to the west of that proposed for the housing development, to accommodate any requirements for deposit of overburden or surface water management and accommodate a service access. The landscape of the site and surroundings is classed as Gently Sloping Croftland Landscape Character type. The site is not within any area designated for natural or built heritage. The site is within an aviation safeguarding zone. Description of Development 5.4 The application seeks detailed planning permission to erect 34 semi-detached houses with air source heat pumps, as well as associated roads, foot paths, car parking, landscaping, public open space and drainage provision. The site will be served by an improved vehicular access taken from the unclassified but adopted road which serves Branahuie and Stornoway Airport. 5.5 This site will be serviced by one main vehicular access from the Branahuie-Stornoway Airport road. An additional haul road is proposed from the A866 to serve the development during the construction period. A pedestrian route will be provided linking the development site with the Branahuie road and footpath to the east, and with the footpath to the south of the site, which runs to Stornoway. A bus layby is also being provided to the north of the access to the village road, which will allow for passengers to be dropped off or collected on the bus route through the village. Two small informal footpaths run through the southern recreational space to link in with the footpath which runs from the south of the development site back towards Stornoway, and to the towards the beginning of the Braighe road. 5.6 The 34 houses will comprise of 17 semi-detached blocks, with a number of house designs, all single storey in height, varying in size from one to four bedrooms. Twelve of the houses are adapted in design to ensure they meet enhanced accessibility requirements. The houses will have a mixture of the walling materials: with 3no. drydash renders to the main walls and composite weatherboard cladding to porches. The roof material will be flat profile grey tiles with matching-coloured ridges. The composite weatherboard cladding used across the range of housing units will be burnt-red; white; blue-grey; and slate-grey. Windows, doors, fascias and soffits are uniform to each unit and are either dark grey or white. 5.7 The surface water generated from the site will be treated by a SuDS system in the south-west portion of the site. The SuDS basin is integrated within the proposed informal public open space and recreation area, which includes footpaths and planting. LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT 6.1 Sections 25 and 37(2) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (the Act) require that planning decisions be made in accordance with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES 7.1 The application was registered as valid on 21 October 2020. 7.2 The development is classed as a Local Development under The Town and Country Planning (Hierarchy of Development) (Scotland) Regulations 2009. Circular 5: 2009 relating to the Regulations details that residential development consisting of 50 or more dwellings, or where the area of the site exceeds 2 hectares, is to be classed as a Major Development where the 2ha comprises land which is subject to the construction of buildings, structures or erections. This therefore excludes garden ground, landscaping and other green infrastructure from the calculation. The physical development site for this proposal – consisting of the development of housing, roads and hardstanding – sits at under 1.8ha. 7.3 An Environmental Screening Opinion for the current proposal plus an additional area of land with total capacity of up to 94 houses concluded that the development was not EIA development and therefore an Environmental Impact Assessment Report is not required. 7.4 The planning application was advertised for public comment in the public notices section of the Stornoway Gazette in the publications dated 29 October 2020, as required by regulations. 7.5 Notifiable neighbours were sent notice of the development on 22 October 2020. These neighbours and persons who had made representations were re-notified on 03 December 2020, subsequent to the submission of additional plans. Amended plans relating to house design improvements and the addition of a bus layby were submitted in February 2021, but no renotification was conducted as the changes did not relate to matters raised in representation. PLANNING HISTORY 8.1 An in-principle planning application for a mixture of residential accommodation and serviced plots for housing was approved in October 2008 (application ref. 07/00669/OUT). This proposal covered a similar area of ground, with an indicative number of around 50 housing units. 8.2 A negative EIA screening opinion was issued on 22 December 2020. 8.3 The site is not currently safeguarded for housing in the current LDP (adopted 2018). Part of the site was previously included as a proposal site (Prop H1e) in the LDP (adopted 2012) and as a potential site in the Comhairle’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP). While included in the Comhairle Outer Hebrides Housing Land Audit (HLA) (April 2018), it no longer identified on the SHIP. RESPONSES TO CONSULTATION 9.1 The full terms of the responses to statutory and other consultations by the Planning Authority are set out in Appendix 3.