Land at Spout Lane, Shildon, County Durham
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Planning Services COMMITTEE REPORT APPLICATION DETAILS APPLICATION NO: 7/2011/0447/DM FULL APPLICATION DESCRIPTION : Substitution of house types on 228 plots NAME OF APPLICANT : Persimmon Homes ADDRESS : Land at Spout Lane, Shildon, County Durham ELECTORAL DIVISION : Shildon East David Walker, Senior Planning Officer CASE OFFICER : 03000 261054, [email protected] CONTEXT 1. Outline planning permission was first granted to develop the application site for residential development in 2006. At this time Theakston Estates Limited submitted three planning applications, which together were aimed at promoting a ‘comprehensive regeneration and development package for Shildon.’ 2. The first application (2004/0468) related to the erection of 270 dwellings and the change of use of land to form 60 hectares of community land including play space, leisure trails, public art work and associated infrastructure improvements including improving the visibility at the Spout Lane/Middridge Lane, the partial widening of Spout Lane and the provision of a roundabout and a new T-junction on Spout Lane to service the residential development. 3. A second application (2004/0469) provided for the partial demolition of an Industrial Estate and formation of landscaped buffer zone at the former Direct Worktops factory, George Reynolds Industrial Estate, Shildon, while a third related application (2004/0470) sought permission for the provision of parking area and associated access at Locomotion the National Railway Museum at Shildon. 4. At the time of the decision in 2006 Members were of the opinion that the cumulative benefits arising from the three planning applications including the planting of the community woodland, the improvements to the appearance of the neighbouring industrial area, the highway improvements to Locomotion, National Railway Museum and the diversification of the housing stock were sufficient to outweigh the normal presumption against the development of this site which was outwith the defined settlement boundary of Shildon. 5. Conditional planning permission was therefore granted for the above applications subject to the completion of a legal agreement to ensure that works were carried out in an appropriate and timely manner. 6. The site was subsequently sub-divided with the North East Community Forest (NECF) taking on the responsibility for the community woodland elements of the scheme which included laying out and maintaining the open space and leisure facilities to service both the new housing and the wider community. 7. Persimmon Homes purchased the part of the site that had been allocated for residential development. Part of the legal agreement required the payment of a commuted sum, or housing levy, from each new household towards to maintenance costs of the neighbouring woodland planted in the community forest. 8. Substantial tree planting works have been carried out on site to form a community woodland, however, NECF which initially carried out these works has subsequently gone into receivership and the woodland area has been acquired by a third party London and Economic Properties (LEP). This change in ownership has led to significant uncertainty regarding the long-term maintenance of the woodland area. With this in mind it has been recommended that were this substitution of house types to be approved that the applicant enter into a new legal agreement, in order to ensure that either the long term maintenance of the community woodland can be secured in perpetuity, or alternatively, funding is secured to upgrade and improve alternative areas of open space elsewhere within Shildon, so as to ensure that the leisure and recreational needs of future residents are suitably provided for and to ensure that the wider recreational benefits for the local community promoted at the time of the original outline planning application are met by an alternative provision. DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND PROPOSALS 9. The application site, which is broadly rectangular in shape and measures approximately 5.9ha, is located at the north eastern edge of Shildon. This parcel of land is located immediately to the east of Spout Lane, the area to the west of Spout Lane is made up of residential development. 10. East Thickley Farm Cottages and East Thickly Grange and the disused Thickley Quarry are located to the east of the proposed housing site. The existing railway line is situated to the south whilst the recently planted community woodland area is located to the north/north east. The application site was originally in agricultural use; however, significant works have taken place on site to reshape the existing hillside to facilitate development and to allow the estate road to be laid out. 11. Vehicular access to the proposed housing site would be taken from two points off Spout Lane. A new roundabout is to be laid out opposite the entrance to Hilsden Drive and a new T-junction is also proposed opposite Teesdale Walk. The existing bridle path serving East Thickley Farm Cottages and East Thickley Grange which bi- sects the site in an east-west direction would be retained within the proposed layout. 12. Planning permission is now being sought by Persimmon Homes to substitute the house types previously approved on 228 of the 270 plots within this scheme. The proposed alterations have resulted in part, from changes to the company’s generic house types and in response to demand from potential purchasers on other development sites. The layout has also been amended as to allow parking courts to be formed at the northern edge of the site thereby reducing the dominance of the car as viewed from the primary estate road and to provide a more rural inter face alongside the bridle path. 13. The area to be developed and the total number of houses within the development would remain unchanged at 270. It is proposed to erect some 24 house types within the estate. The proposed housing includes a mix of detached, semi-detached and rows of terraced housing including a mix of 2 and 3 storey housing and some split level properties to take into account the steep topography of the site. 14. A Design and Access Statement, Extended Phase 1 and Protected Species assessment and Draft Section 106 Agreement have been submitted in support of this planning application. 15. The application has been referred to the County Planning Committee because of the large scale of the proposed development. PLANNING HISTORY 16. As highlighted above, the site has been the subject of several earlier planning applications which are of relevance to the current proposal. 17. Outline planning permission (2004/0468) was granted in September 2006 for 270 houses and the change of use of land to form 60 hectares of community land including play space, leisure trails, public art work, and associated infrastructure improvements. 18. Planning permission (2004/0469) was granted in August 2006 for the partial demolition of Industrial Estate and formation of landscaped buffer zone at the former Direct Worktops factory, George Reynolds Industrial Estate, Shildon. 19. Planning permission (2004/0470) was granted in August 2006 for the provision of a parking area and associated access at Locomotion at the National Railway Museum in Shildon. 20. Pursuant to the outline planning permission above, a reserved matters application (2008/0642) for the proposed 270 dwellings with details of appearance, landscaping, layout and scale was approved in October 2009. PLANNING POLICY NATIONAL POLICY 21. The Government has consolidated all planning policy statements, guidance notes and many circulars into a single policy statement, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), although the majority of supporting annexes to the planning policy statements are retained. The overriding message is that new development that is sustainable should go ahead without delay. It defines the role of planning in achieving sustainable development via three topic headings – economic, social and environmental, each mutually dependant. 22. The presumption in favour of sustainable development set out in the NPPF requires local planning authorities to approach development management decisions positively, utilising twelve ‘core planning principles’. 23. The following elements are considered relevant to this proposal; • An economic role seeks to contribute to building a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right type is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth and innovation; and by identifying and coordinating development requirements, including the provision of infrastructure; and • A social role seeks support strong vibrant and healthy communities, by providing the supply of housing required to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by creating a high quality built environment, with its accessible local services that reflect the community’s needs and support its health, social and cultural well-being; and • An environmental role seeks to contribute to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment; and, as part of this helping to improve biodiversity, use natural resources prudently, minimise waste and pollution, and mitigate and adapt to climate change including moving to a low carbon economy. 24. Paragraph 14 of the NPPF sets out the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Paragraph 17 contains the 12 core land-use principles that planning should underpin decision taking. These include: • proactively drive and support