10/00853/F VALID: 26 July 2010 APPLICANT: Esso Petroleum Co
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Planning Committee Agenda Item 13 1 September 2010 10/00853/F TO: PLANNING COMMITTEE DATE: 1 September 2010 REPORT OF: HEAD OF BUILDING & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AUTHOR: Drew Blackman TELEPHONE: 01737 276180 EMAIL: [email protected] AGENDA ITEM: 13 WARD: Chipstead, Hooley and Woodmansterne APPLICATION NUMBER: 10/00853/F VALID: 26 July 2010 APPLICANT: Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd. AGENT: Allan B Matthews LOCATION: ESSO SERVICE STATION, 75 BRIGHTON ROAD, HOOLEY DESCRIPTION: Demolition of existing buildings and forecourt, erection of new sales building, forecourt canopy, garage box, (store), fencing to form waste area and condenser compound, external plant, external ATM, satellite dishes, replacement of underground fuel tanks DRAWING NUMBERS: 020/P Rev A, 030/P Rev A, UKF20C, 011/P, 020/P Rev B, 030/P Rev B SUMMARY Planning permission is sought for the redevelopment of an existing petrol station at Brighton Road, Hooley. Principally, the proposal would involve the replacement of the existing buildings, forecourt canopy with new, as well as the removal and replacement of the underground fuel tanks. The existing car wash would be removed permanently. The size of the retail area is consistent with others permitted in recent years. For this reason and given the high turnover of petrol sales at the site, the proposed shop is considered to be ancillary to the petrol station and to accord with both national and Local Plan retail policy in this regard. The extent of the redevelopment would involve a larger sales building sited at the southern end, wider and deeper than existing and brought closer to the edge of the highway, but similarly located to the existing sales building. The pumps and canopy would be updated and sited further northwards allowing designated parking to be provided to the front of the sales building. Issues such as land contamination and noise are considered to have been dealt with acceptably, subject to conditions controlling them. Overall it is considered that the proposals provide for a rationalisation and update of facilities on site which will enhance the site’s M:\Corporate Development Unit\Democratic Services\Donna Docs\Planning\agenda in progress\10.00853.F - Esso Service Station, Hooley.docx Planning Committee Agenda Item 13 1 September 2010 10/00853/F visual appearance. The proposal is therefore considered acceptable and recommended for permission. RECOMMENDATION Planning permission is GRANTED subject to conditions. M:\Corporate Development Unit\Democratic Services\Donna Docs\Planning\agenda in progress\10.00853.F - Esso Service Station, Hooley.docx Planning Committee Agenda Item 13 1 September 2010 10/00853/F Consultations: Surrey County Council Trading Standards: no objection but comment that their approval would be given on receipt of a full suite of construction drawings. Highways Agency: no objection subject to conditions. Highway Authority: no objection subject to conditions. Head of Community Safety and Environmental Health: no objection subject to conditions to deal with any contamination. Representations: Letters were sent to neighbouring properties on 29 July 2010. One letter has been received supporting the proposal. 1.0 Site and Character Appraisal 1.1 The site comprises a petrol filling station with forecourt pumps, retail shop and car wash. It was constructed in the 1980’s and is close to the Hooley parade of shops and BP filling station, to the north. The immediate surroundings are characterised by mainly residential properties on both sides of the A23 with the railway situated to the east of the site. Immediately north of the site is a small car sales showroom. The location, immediately on the A23 Brighton Road, is one that is particularly busy in terms of vehicular traffic throughout the day and the petrol station is a consistent feature with this location. 2.0 Added Value 2.1 Improvements could not be sought prior to submission of the application as the applicant did not approach the Authority. 2.2 Further improvements could be sought from the imposition of conditions to secure materials, boundary treatment, acoustic assessment and/or controls. 3.0 Relevant Planning and Enforcement History 3.1 10/00855/ADV Various advertisements Pending consideration 3.2 07/02597/ADV Non-illuminated ATM top box sign. Granted 20 February 2008 M:\Corporate Development Unit\Democratic Services\Donna Docs\Planning\agenda in progress\10.00853.F - Esso Service Station, Hooley.docx Planning Committee Agenda Item 13 1 September 2010 10/00853/F 3.3 07/00864/F Installation of free standing cash Approved machine and anti-ram bollards. 12 June 2007 3.4 01/00303/F Installation of an ATM Approved 10 April 2001 3.5 In addition, there have been recent applications for similar developments on other sites, as follows: Shell Service Station, Brighton Road, Horley 3.6 00/0906/F - Extension to existing sales building to create A1 and office accommodation. Removal of carwash and provision of new parking. Granted 19 July 2000. Hillside Service Station, Brighton Road, Redhill 3.7 02/02239/F - Demolition of existing structures and redevelopment to provide new forecourt, shop, Car care facilities & parking. Granted 26 March 2003. Chequers Service Station, 21 Bonehurst Road, Horley 3.8 04/00092/F - Redevelopment of existing site including demolition of existing structures, new shop building, new washes, new forecourt and canopy over replacement storage tanks. Granted 8 April 2004. Star Horley Service Station, 2 Brighton Road, Horley 3.9 06/01752/F - Redevelopment of petrol filling station comprising demolition of shop and car wash, removal of 3 no. pump islands, canopy modifications and erection of new shop (class A1), new ATM, car wash, relocated air/water facilities, new car parking, landscaping and associated works. Refused; appeal allowed 5 July 2007. 4.0 Proposal and Design Approach 4.1 Full planning permission is sought for the redevelopment of the existing Esso petrol station, with new underground tanks, new sales building, parking area and re-sited canopy and pumps. The retail area of the sales building to be replaced would approximately double from around 65 square metres presently to 123 square metres (gross). The development would also include condenser units to the southern side of the building, with ancillary store buildings and the creation of eight formalised parking spaces to the front of the sales building. The number of pumps would remain unchanged with six islands but they would be repositioned and updated. Access by way of M:\Corporate Development Unit\Democratic Services\Donna Docs\Planning\agenda in progress\10.00853.F - Esso Service Station, Hooley.docx Planning Committee Agenda Item 13 1 September 2010 10/00853/F ingress/egress would remain similarly located to the existing, but repositioned slightly to accommodate the development. 4.2 The Design and Access Statement submitted with the application outlines the following points: That the design and layout of the existing facility and its infrastructure (notably the tanks and pumps) is outdated and in need of updating; The station sells a significant volume of petrol by virtue of its location; The established nature of the site offers an opportunity for a sustainable service for the years ahead and that the site should be considered as developable and for maintaining continuity of service to the locality; That the proposed segregation of canopy and sales building opens up the site visually and; The overall contemporary design of the building would be a visual improvement upon the existing. 5.0 Policy Context 5.1 Designation Urban Area 5.2 Reigate & Banstead Borough Local Plan 2005 Shopping Sh2, Sh12, Sh14 Employment Em2 Movement Mo4, Mo5, Mo6, Mo7 5.3 Other Material Considerations Planning Policy Statements/Guidance PPS1, PPS4, PPG13, PPS23 Supplementary Planning Guidance A Parking Strategy for Surrey Parking Standards for Development Other Human Rights Act 1998 6.0 Assessment 6.1 The issues to consider are: Principle of development and retail impact Design Contamination M:\Corporate Development Unit\Democratic Services\Donna Docs\Planning\agenda in progress\10.00853.F - Esso Service Station, Hooley.docx Planning Committee Agenda Item 13 1 September 2010 10/00853/F Noise Access and parking Principle of development and retail impact 6.2 Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 4 “Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth” adopts a sequential approach to the creation of new retail floor space, in the order of (1) town centre; (2) edge-of-centre; and (3) out of centre locations. Preference is given to sites with good connections to the centre; and out-of-centre sites, as well as to sites well served by a choice of transport and which are close to and have potential links with the centre. However, in the case of extensions to existing development, PPS4 advises that the sequential approach is only a relevant consideration where the gross floor space of the proposed extension exceeds 200 square metres. In the case of the present application, the proposed total increase in floor space of the building would be around 133 square metres and the increase in retail area approximately 60 square metres. As the proposal does not involve an increase in retail area of over 200 square metres the sequential test need not be applied. PPS4 further calls upon Local Planning Authorities to ensure that in the case of petrol filling stations, the retail element is limited in scale and genuinely ancillary to the main development, controllable through conditions. As to what is ancillary is a matter of judgment, but would depend on factors such as scale of development involved, range of goods sold and proportion of turnover from goods sold which are not directly related to the main use. 6.3 The existing use of the site is considered to be sui generis and the proposed redevelopment of the site would not change this, with the main income derived from petrol sales.