SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL PLACE REPORT TO CITY CENTRE SOUTH AND EAST PLANNING DATE 03/05/2011 AND HIGHWAYS COMMITTEE REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ITEM SUBJECT APPLICATIONS UNDER VARIOUS ACTS/REGULATIONS SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS SEE RECOMMENDATIONS HEREIN THE BACKGROUND PAPERS ARE IN THE FILES IN RESPECT OF THE PLANNING APPLICATIONS NUMBERED. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS N/A PARAGRAPHS CLEARED BY BACKGROUND PAPERS CONTACT POINT FOR Chris Heeley TEL 0114 2736329 ACCESS Lucy Bond NO: 0114 2734556 AREA(S) AFFECTED CATEGORY OF REPORT OPEN 2 Application No. Location Page No. 11/00821/FUL 271 Chesterfield Road Sheffield 6 S8 0RT 11/00812/CHU Players Sports Bar 125 West Street 12 City Centre Sheffield S1 4ER 11/00696/RG3 Land At South Side Of Road Between Train Tracks And River Rother 26 Station Road Halfway Sheffield 11/00596/FUL Curtilage Of 36 High Street Beighton 36 Sheffield S20 1EA 11/00588/CHU 26 - 30 Division Street Sheffield 47 S1 4GF 11/00557/FUL Wellington House 39 Wellington Street 57 Sheffield S1 4HF 11/00503/FUL 7 Rockingham Street Sheffield 73 S1 4EA 11/00427/FUL 30 Bellhouse Road Sheffield 87 S5 6HL 3 11/00394/FUL Plot V Europa View 95 Sheffield Business Park Phase I Sheffield 11/00389/FUL Prego Unit 7 103 The Plaza 8 Fitzwilliam Street Sheffield S1 4JB 11/00246/REM Land Between Lock Lane And 303 Sheffield Road 114 Tinsley Sheffield S9 2FY 11/00223/FUL Kelham Island Museum To Brooklyn Works Green Lane 124 Sheffield S3 8RY 10/04045/FUL Site Of 159 To 165 West Street 138 City Centre Sheffield S1 4EW 10/03699/RG3 Land Off Meadowhall Way And Sheffield Road, Tinsley 159 Sheffield S9 1EA 08/01851/LBC Portland Works Randall Street 190 Sheffield S2 4SJ 08/01850/FUL Portland Works Randall Street 192 Sheffield S2 4SJ 4 5 SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL Report Of The Head Of Planning To The SOUTH Planning And Highways Committee Date Of Meeting: 03/05/2011 LIST OF PLANNING APPLICATIONS FOR DECISION OR INFORMATION *NOTE* Under the heading “Representations” a Brief Summary of Representations received up to a week before the Committee date is given (later representations will be reported verbally). The main points only are given for ease of reference. The full letters are on the application file, which is available to members and the public and will be at the meeting. Case Number 11/00821/FUL Application Type A Full Planning Application Proposal Application to allow extension of opening hours to 1100 hours - 2200 hours Monday-Saturday and 1100 hours - 1800 hours Sunday (Application under Section 73 to vary condition 1 of planning permission 95/00801/FUL) Location 271 Chesterfield Road Sheffield S8 0RT Date Received 08/03/2011 Team SOUTH Applicant/Agent Mr D Bunker Recommendation Refuse For the following reason(s): 1 The Local Planning Authority consider that the proposed development would be detrimental to the amenities of the locality and occupiers of adjoining property owing to the noise and general disturbance which would result from the premises itself, from customer movements to and from the premises and from cars (car doors slamming and engines being started and revved). As such, the proposal would be contrary to Policy H14 of the Sheffield Unitary Development Plan. Site Location © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. 10018816. 2005 7 PROPOSAL & SITE LOCATION This is a Section 73 application to vary the opening hours of an existing massage parlour in a Housing Policy Area within the Meersbrook district of Sheffield. The application site is an existing 2-storey property located at 271 Chesterfield Road. The property is positioned between an existing driving lessons office and a hairdressing salon (both of which have separate residential flats above). The driving lessons office (number 269 Chesterfield Road) occupies a corner position (between Chesterfield Road and Millmount Road), the hairdressing salon (273 to 275) is a double-fronted property. Although there are some commercial properties within the parade, the whole parade is in fact within a Housing Policy Area (as defined by the Sheffield Unitary Development Plan), indeed beyond the hairdressing salon there are two residential properties at ground floor level. The shop frontage of the application site is currently blanked-out (with only the fascia sign on display). Access to the neighbouring residential flats (above the driving school office and above the hairdressing salon) is taken via the rear yards/gardens off Millmount Road. With the exceptions of the two commercial properties on the corners of Millmount Road and Chesterfield Road, Millmount Road is almost entirely residential in nature. The authorised hours of operation for the massage parlour are:- 11am to 7pm Mondays to Saturdays with no opening on Sundays or Bank Holidays. The variations to the operating hours that the applicant is seeking are:- 11am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays and 11am to 6pm on Sundays with no opening on Bank Holidays. RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY The relevant planning history relating to this property includes:- 95/00801/FUL – this was an application for use of the whole building as an aromatherapy massage centre (massage parlour). This application was conditionally approved on the 21st of September 1995. Two planning conditions were imposed; the first related to the opening times (as stipulated above – 11am to 7pm Mondays to Saturdays with no opening on Sundays or Bank Holidays) and, the second condition, which stipulated that all customers must only use the front entrance (fronting Chesterfield Road) and not the rear entrance of the property. 96/01680/FUL – this was a subsequent application to vary the opening times of the massage parlour to the hours of:- 11am to 9pm Mondays to Saturdays with no opening on Sundays or Bank Holidays. This application was refused on the 10th of April 1997. The Local Planning Authority also took enforcement action to stop customers from entering and exiting the premises from the rear access door. REPRESENTATIONS 8 The proposal has resulted in 11 letters of representation being received and a separate petition with 76 names listed. Included in the 11 letters are representations from Councillors Peter Moore, Cate McDonald and Sylvia Anginotti. The representations received are all in objection to the proposal. The objections have been summarised and are listed below:- - There is already a lack of parking provision for existing local residents, the situation would be made worse if the business is allowed to operate later into the evening and on Sundays because customers to the business (to be discreet) would park on neighbouring residential roads. - Despite the restrictions on the use of the rear access door, customers would still end up using the rear access door (because of the sensitive nature of the business). This would lead to conflict and problems with existing neighbouring residents. - The business is being used for immoral purposes and is attracting trouble and nuisance by its very nature, any increase in late night hours would exacerbate unsocial behaviour in the evenings. - The proposal would lead to noise nuisance from late evening customers and their cars (i.e. engines being revved up and car doors being banged closed). - The only other business in the area that operates late into the evening is an off-licence/convenience store which serves the local community, this massage parlour has a very specific clientele and does not readily serve for the benefit of local residents. - The website advertised on the signage board on the front of the massage parlour makes it obvious and clear (when viewed) that the activities taking place at the business are related to the adult sex industry. Given that the area is residential in character (with a school in close proximity) local residents are of the opinion that the use is not appropriate in this residential area. - A similar proposal to extend the opening hours of the massage parlour business was previously refused. There are no new circumstances to justify a change in opinion to that which had previously been adopted. PLANNING ASSESSMENT The principle of the use (whether it be moral or not) has already previously been established and therefore, the main issue with regard to this application is whether or not the proposal would result in any detrimental impact on the amenities of neighbouring residents through noise, disturbance and traffic associated nuisance. The site fronts onto Chesterfield Road which is a main arterial route into and out of Sheffield. However, the volume of vehicular traffic does tend to reduce significantly 9 after the evening rush hour and with this, there is a reduction in the ambient noise levels. It is important to bear this in mind when considering the impact of the proposal on the adjoining residential uses at first floor level. From the nature and level of local opposition to the proposal, it would seem that there is some disturbance already caused to residents living immediately adjacent to and also at the rear of the application site (caused primarily from car doors slamming shut and people leaving the premises in the early evening). Access to the residential flats above 269 and 273 Chesterfield Road are taken from the rear yard areas at the rear of the shops (off Millmount Road), despite there being a prohibitive condition in place preventing customers from accessing or exiting the massage parlour from the rear entrance door, there have been instances where the planning condition has been flouted, clearly this situation will still leave a sense of unease for adjacent residents knowing that they might still bump into customers of the massage parlour. Also worth considering is that the massage parlour business occupies the ground floor up to the second floor (where there is a large rear facing dormer window), there is therefore a notion that whilst customers (in theory) might not use the rear access door, they would still be able to look out of some of the rear facing windows (particularly the large rear facing dormer window).