Agenda Item No. 4 Report To
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AGENDA ITEM NO. 4 REPORT TO: Planning Committee REPORT NO. HCWD/05/14 DATE: 3 February 2014 REPORTING OFFICER: Head of Community Wellbeing & Development CONTACT OFFICER: David Williams (Ext 8775) SUBJECT: Development Control Applications WARD: N/A PURPOSE OF THE REPORT To determine the listed planning applications. INFORMATION Detailed reports on each application together with the recommendations are attached. RECOMMENDATION See attached reports. BACKGROUND PAPERS None. Page No 1 REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT – 3 February 2014 Community Code No Applicant Recommendation Page No PEN P/ 2013/0614 WREXHAM COUNTY GRANT 2 - 14 BOROUGH COUNCIL WRO P/ 2013/0663 MS BELINDA BIRCH- GRANT 15 -20 GILLHAM MIN P/ 2013/0748 MR & MRS R DAVIES GRANT 21 - 25 RUA P/ 2013/0753 MRS E CLUTTON GRANT 26 - 31 BRN P/ 2013/0756 MR & MRS MULLOCK GRANT 32 - 37 BRO P/ 2013/0777 C/O BOB DEWEY REFUSE 38 - 45 PLANNING M L & A DAVIES RHO P/ 2013/0790 MR GETHIN JONES GRANT 46 - 53 WRO P/ 2013/0793 A & K PROPERTIES GRANT 54 - 58 MRS KATIE SHIELD RUA P/ 2013/0797 WALES AND WEST GRANT 59 – 74 HOUSING ASSOCIATION LTD MR GARETH JARVIS OVE P/ 2013/0800 MR LEAR GRANT 75 – 77 GRE P/ 2013/0806 REIT HEALTHCARE UK GRANT 78 – 84 LTD MR ANDREAS HOHMANN CEF P/ 2013/0821 MR JAMIE ASHWORTH GRANT 85 – 88 CHI P/ 2013/0824 KRONOSPAN LTD GRANT 89 – 103 GRE P/ 2013/0831 MR GARY JAMES GRANT 104 – 107 WRO P/ 2013/0842 MR LEE GARRETT GRANT 108 – 111 WRO P/ 2013/0843 SCREWFIX DIRECT LTD GRANT 112 – 115 Total Number of Applications Included in Report: 16 All plans included in this report are re-produced from Ordnance Survey Mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. WCBC Licence No. LA0902IL All plans are intended to be illustrative only and should be used only to identify the location of the proposal and the surrounding features. The scale of the plans will vary. Full details may be viewed on the case files. Page No 2 REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT – 3 February 2014 APPLICATION NO: LOCATION: DATE RECEIVED: P/2013 /0614 PENYCAE INFANTS SCHOOL 03/09/2013 COPPERAS HILL PENYCAE WREXHAM COMMUNITY: LL14 2SD CASE OFFICER: Penycae PF DESCRIPTION: RE-DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE TO WARD: COMBINE INFANTS AND JUNIORS AGENT NAME: Penycae & Ruabon SCHOOLS INCLUDING NEW WREXHAM COUNTY South VEHICULAR ACCESS, PARKING BOROUGH COUNCIL AND PLAYING FIELDS MR N BATEMAN APPLICANT(S) NAME: WREXHAM COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL _____________________________________________________________________ THE SITE Position of Existing school extension building Dashed line – Settlement limit Position of proposed access Shaded land – area subject to change of use PROPOSAL Planning permission is sought to extend the existing school building to provide additional classroom accommodation, Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), Page No 3 REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT – 3 February 2014 change the use of adjoining agricultural land to form part of the school grounds to form car parking and playing field and also the provision of a new vehicle and pedestrian access onto Copperas Hill. The proposal is required in order to relocate the existing Penycae Junior School to the site and to provide shared outdoor facilities and improved car parking provision. HISTORY 19180 Alterations and extensions to existing Allowed 23/7/1991 buildings to provide 150 infants and 25 nursery pupils 20025 Siting of 1 no. double and 3 no. single Granted 1/2/1992 mobile classrooms, 1 no. mobile toilet block and 1 no. office block for teaching accommodation 21035 Change of use from nursery unit to Granted 8/3/1993 single dwelling (bungalow) and construction of new vehicular and pedestrian access DEVELOPMENT PLAN The application site is partially located outside the defined Penycae settlement limit and with Green Barrier. Policies PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, GDP1, EC1, EC2, EC4, EC11, EC13 and T8 are applicable. National Planning Policy is contained in Planning Policy Wales (Edition 5). National Planning Guidance is contained within TANs 5 – Nature Conservation and Planning, 12 – Design, 18 – Transport. CONSULTATIONS A period of reconsultation was carried out on 20.1.2014 following the receipt of amended plans. Where comments were received following this exercise, those responses are shown in italics. Community Council: No observations. Local Member: Notified Site notices: Expired 08.10.2013 Press Notice: Expired 11.10.2013 Highways: No objections. The proposal provides for adequate parking provision for members f staff and also additional parking provision for parent parking. Conditions will be required to ensure suitable visibility splays at the junction and the implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to prevent parking across the frontage of the site which could result in increase highway congestion. Page No 4 REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT – 3 February 2014 Public Protection: Given the previous industrial uses on and adjacent to the site and the level of made up ground, a ground contamination survey, remediation and validation methodology condition will be required. Welsh Water: Require standard drainage conditions, including a comprehensive drainage scheme to be submitted prior to the commencement of development. Natural Resources Wales: Consulted 05.09.2013 Ramblers Association: Consulted 11.09.2013 PRoW: No objection but raises concerns regarding school security if the existing footpath (No. 8) were to be enclosed in the site. CPAT: The site may contain remnants of previous colliery workings which are not recorded. Pre commencement survey and mitigation methodology will be required in order to record these features. CPRW: Consulted 11.09.2013 Other Representations: 39 neighbouring occupiers notified. 3 representations received raising the following points: • Concerned about the impact upon highway congestion and where the car park will be sited. Copperas Hill is very narrow and most residents park on the road; • If the school is to be doubled in size, this will presumably double the number of parents attempting to park; • The proposed entrance to the new car park is almost opposite the car park of the Cross Foxes public house, and might be a potential cause of accidents. • Concerned about the security of the site when the school is closed in that the playing fields may attract youths who have nowhere else to go; • The existing field is quiet with ecological value and the farmer uses the field for grazing. The playing field will become noisy with lots of litter. • There may be a demand for additional housing on the surrounding land to sustain pupil numbers at the school. • The old spoil heap is frequently used for recreation by local people, during Page No 5 REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT – 3 February 2014 periods when it is not used as pasture for cows. • Concern about the nature of the boundary treatment. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS Policy: The application site consists of the existing school site, the boundary of which forms the settlement limit of Penycae. In order to carry out the works to amalgamate the infants and junior school, an extension to the school building is required on the existing play ground and playing field, resulting in the need to extend the boundary of the school grounds to facilitate additional outdoor education facilities and an increased parking area outside the existing settlement limit on to agricultural land. This land is also designated as Green Barrier (EC1) and a Sand and Gravel Mineral Protection Zone (MW9). Policy PS1 of the UDP requires that all development for such community facilities be directed to within defined settlement limits in order to protect the openness of the countryside. Policy EC1 states that development in Green Barriers will only be permitted if it would maintain the openness of the Green Barrier and would not conflict with the purpose of including land within it i.e. to prevent the coalescence of urban areas, to assist against encroachment within the open countryside, to protect the setting of urban areas and to assist in urban regeneration. This policy specifically states that essential facilities for outdoor sport and recreation may be acceptable. The elements of this proposal outside the existing school boundary (outside settlement) relate to the playing fields, a proportion of the school yard and MUGA, the car parking area, new vehicular access and sprinkler equipment housing. These works relate purely to landscaping and sport/recreation facilities and areas of hard standing which are reversible. The provision of the built development within the existing school boundary (apart from the small sprinkler housing) accords with policy PS1 and I am satisfied that the principles behind maintaining the land subject to the change of use and associated landscaping as Green Barrier will not be undermined. Highways: The school site is located on Copperas Hill which is known to suffer from highway congestion during school hours. This proposal to amalgamate the existing junior school to this site will result in increased vehicular and pedestrian visits to the site. The proposal seeks to provide a new vehicular access to the east of the existing school frontage, retaining the current access for delivery vehicles and mobility spaces. The proposed parking provision is considered adequate to cater for the proposed number of staff with spaces available for parental parking. This represents a significant improvement and should help resolve some of the on street parking issues. The relocation of the junior school from Afoneitha Road will result in parents and children living on the Afoneitha estate having to walk further to school. A Page No 6 REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY WELLBEING AND DEVELOPMENT – 3 February 2014 safe route to the new school is provided along the residential cul de sac known as Coed y Nant and has been assessed using the Safe Routes to School criteria.