Planning Statement
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Planning Statement Former coal yard adjacent the Poplars, Thetford Road, Northwold IP26 5LW Outline application for residential development 2 Site Location and Characteristics The application seeks outline permission with only the principle and access for consideration at this stage for the proposed use of a former coal yard, now primarily used as a site for the sale and distribution of salvaged stonework and associated materials for use in landscaping projects. The stone business has now relocated to Stoke Ferry Timber, back in September. The site is almost completely cleared now although the main storage building remains in situ. The new owner has authorised the previous coal merchant to use the site for coal sales for the next few weeks while we are in full lock down again as it is considered essential. For the purposes of planning the site is now mainly vacant; the former storage building remains, but staff have been redeployed and the coal hoppers etc have been removed. The site covers an area of 0.88 hectares and is situated on land immediately north and west of Methwold Road, but served from the A134 Thetford Road. Residential properties fronting Methwold Road are located to the south eastern side of the site. Land to the north and west of the site is undeveloped, apart from a single property and residential annex at The Poplars, with a strip of former allotment land adjacent. Land opposite, on the south-western side of the Thetford Road, is farmland. The site includes a detached two storey dwelling at 1, The Poplars, the owner of which has been involved with the former coal yard and salvaged stone business since the coalyard initially ceased trading. An illustrative plan accompanies this outline application and which seeks to formally test the whether the principle of development is deemed to be acceptable, subject to other material considerations. The location and extent of the site are as shown on the accompanying block and location plans. Boundaries to the site comprise tall leylandii to the northern side of the site, and poplars and conifer trees along the south eastern side. There is general low-level domestic planting and post and rail fencing along the road frontage. The site is surfaced in the main with tarmac to the access and tarmac shingle and concrete surfacing further into the site. There is an existing steel clad building in the north western part of the site, used for dry storage and machinery, and associated work vehicles. There is also a small office/administration building adjacent. There were previously two coal hoppers remaining in the centre of the site, associated with the former use, but have which since been removed. The remainder of the site is divided into concrete bunds across approximately two-thirds of the site, surfaced with concrete and which provided bunded storage areas for coal bagging and distribution. A smaller area of the site to the north east contains wooden crates for stone storage and associated materials in connection with the landscape business. In the south western corner of the site is an area of grassland and trees, predominantly comprising conifers and fruit trees, but including a few mature trees of some merit, most to be JCJ Planning ~January 2021 3 retained where practical (walnut , lime and beech) and the area is proposed to be incorporated within the scheme as public open space in association with the proposed development. Photographs of the site are shown under Appendix A and are annotated accordingly Background to the Business Use of the Site The coal yard has been a family-run business established in 1969 by Mr Cater Snr with his two sons assisting, and then continuing the family firm. The yard was used for importing, sorting, storing, bagging and distributing coal in addition to wholesale/retail and distribution as a natural stone merchants. At its capacity, the site stored 2000 tonnes of fuel on the site. The business included a commercial haulier aspect to the use of the site, with 7 HGVs belonging to the business in addition to sub-contractors delivering to and re-stocking coal at the site in their own 4 tonne lorries and re-loading and delivering fuel from the yard. At its peak the business had 7 full-time members of staff. At the same time deliveries and collections for the natural stone aspect of the business were ongoing, running in parallel to the coal yard. Individual retail customers could collect their own fuel and or salvaged landsaping materials on request. Over a number of years, as a result of reduced demand due to milder winters and as a result of the Clean Air Acts and environmental protection legislation, the coal yard business diminished significantly and the natural stone part of the enterprise became the more dominant use of the site. The yard was becoming too large for this sole element of the business, and to make the operation more viable the owners had been seeking an improved location where they could benefit from and add to an existing business. That made the move to Stoke Ferry Timber the perfect option for the continued success and viability of both businesses. The business previously specialised in natural stone, imported from numerous sources around the country and selling stone such as York and Derbyshire Gritstone, amongst others. Including the owners, there are presently four full-time and 2 part-time employees. However the site was not fully utilised and the owners intended to re-locate to a more central retail outlet at the Stoke Ferry timber site which specialises in timber and ancillary products, generally in relation to home improvements, more specifically in relation to domestic garden works and landscaping. On this basis, current employees have recently been redeployed to that site. Of course, lockdown due to Covid-19 has affected staffing arrangements, albeit on a temporary basis. Proposed development of the site The proposal seeks to redevelop the redundant commercial site for residential purposes, incorporating mixed units, detached, semi-detached and modest terraced housing. Some of the units would comprise affordable residential development in accordance with the provisions of the development plan and open space would be incorporated within the scheme. Informal discussions with the Local Planning Authority in September 2020 (ref: 20/00094/PREAPP) indicated certain elements of the original scheme that the planning officer JCJ Planning ~January 2021 4 was concerned with. The current scheme has since been redesigned with a reduction in the number of new residential units to 14 (from a total number of 23 previously), a redesign of the house types to represent a more ‘farmstead’ nature to the design and which would sit more comfortably, and be more in keeping with, this edge of settlement location; workers’ cottages, converted barn style dwellings and a main farmhouse. The plans of the development are of course illustrative at this stage, but are useful to indicate that such elements are feasible under any reserved matters scheme. The former use of the site as a commercial coal yard resulted in the site falling within the definition of previously developed land under the terms of the National Planning Policy Framework. Its redevelopment for residential use would require decontamination of the site which inevitably would involve site investigation and remediation measures to clear the site of any ground contaminants and hydrocarbons. Northwold, together with Methwold, is designated as a Key Rural Service Centre in the adopted Core Strategy 2011, in which local scale devepment will be concentrated, such as housing, employment and retail development. CS02 states that sustainable growth will be supported within the ‘Development Limits’ of the KRSCs. The current Local Plan states that development will be permitted within the development boundaries of settlements (Policy DM2). Areas outside development boundaries will be treated as countryside where new development will be more restricted and limited to specific forms of development. However, the National Planning Policy Framework’s core theme of achieving sustainable forms of development appears to be more flexible in terms of achieving appropriate development in or adjacent to settlements, where the scale and form of proposed development is commensurate with the scale and services available within that settlement. This applies particularly to the re-use of previously developed land. Similarly, the emerging Local Plan (Local Plan Review 2019) incorporates, specifically LP26, which allows for suitable limited scales of development adjacent to existing settlements where appropriate, and reflects the flexibility now embodied in the NPPF. Policy Considerations Adopted Core Strategy 2011 • CS01 Spatial Strategy – Sustainable communities, brownfield development, locally appropriate levels of development, promote sustainable communities and sustainable patterns of development • CS02 Settlement Hierarchy – Northwold (Key Rural Service Centre together with Methwold) – Help to sustain the wider rural community, providing a range of services that can meet day to day needs. The Borough Council will seek to maintain and enhance facilities to support its function. Local scale development will seek to maintain and enhance facilities to support this function in identified KRSC including new housing, employment and retail development. (Cross-reference to Policy CS06, see below) JCJ Planning ~January 2021 5 • CS06 Development in rural areas. Most new housing provision in Key Rural Service Centres: Promote sustainable communities and sustainable patterns of development; maintain local character and a high quality environment; Ensure employment, housing and local services located in close proximity to the settlement. Loss of employment sites to be justified on viability or environmental grounds and mixed use is not appropriate. There will be a focus on improving accessibility between settlements (Cross-ref Policy CS11). The development of greenfield sites will be resisted unless essential to agricultural or forestry needs.