10/00010/Ful Change of Use of Land to Use As a Residential
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Application Number: 10/00010/FUL CHANGE OF USE OF LAND TO USE AS A RESIDENTIAL CARAVAN SITE FOR 3 ROMANY GYPSY FAMILIES EACH WITH TWO CARAVANS AND A WASHROOM, INCLUDING TWO NEW VEHICULAR ACCESSES, PROVISION OF CAR PARKING AND LAYING OF HARD STANDINGS (RESUBMISSION OF 08/01870/FUL) AT Land Opposite Cemetery, Bedford Road, Lavendon FOR Mr Thomas Brown Target: 10th March 2010 Ward: Olney Parish: Lavendon Parish Council Report Author/Case Officer: Richard Sakyi Contact Details: 01908 252509 [email protected] Team Leader: Mike Bowley Contact Details: 01908 252610 [email protected] 1.0 SUMMARY (A brief explanation of what the application is about, what the main issues are and the officer's Recommendation to the Committee) 1.1 The proposal is for the change of use of land to use as residential caravan site for three Romany Gypsy families each with two caravans and washroom, including the formation of two new vehicular accesses, provision of car parking and formation of hard standing areas. The site is outside the settlement limits of the village but within the open countryside and an Area of Attractive Landscape as identified in the Proposals Map of the Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001 – 2011. 1.2 The key issues in determining this application are whether the proposal would overcome the previous reasons for refusal related to highway safety and provided at section 5.1 of the report and whether there are any non-highway grounds for refusal that could be sustained in the light of the advice in Circular 1/06 and the supporting information accompanying the application which includes reference to a number of relevant appeal decisions. If there are clearly identifiable planning objections to the application then there is a need to consider whether any need for such accommodation on this site, whether general or personal to the applicant, outweighs such objections or justifies a temporary permission. 1.3 This application is a re-submission, see Section 5.0. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that planning permission be refused for the reasons set out at the end of this report. (39) 2.0 REASON FOR REPORTING APPLICATION TO COMMITTEE (Most planning applications are dealt with by the Chief Planning Officer under powers delegated by the Development Control Committee) 2.1 The application is reported to Committee due to its controversial nature and the level of public interest. 3.0 INTRODUCTION (A brief description of the site and its surroundings) 3.1 The application site lies to the east of Lavendon on the A428 (Bedford Road) approach from Cold Brayfield to the village. The site is outside the settlement limits of the village, and thus, in policy terms termed as Open Countryside, and an Area of Attractive Landscape as identified in the Proposals Map of the Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001 - 2011. The site is directly opposite the Lavendon Cemetery and bounded by agricultural land to the south, north and west. 3.2 Measuring approximately 0.55 hectares, the application site is roughly rectangular with a frontage width of approximately 45m and average depth of 117m with direct access from the A428. The site has a tree belt along the south, west and northern boundaries, which provides screening of the site. The site is currently accessed from the A428 via a concrete hard standing driveway. Part of the site contains pallets of concrete slabs and bricks (building materials) and appears to have been used previously for low-key storage of reclaimed building materials, for which there is no planning permission. 4.0 RELEVANT POLICIES (The most important policy considerations relating to this application) 4.1 The Council is required to determine every planning application in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. In this case the development plan is the Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001 – 2011 (adopted in December 2005), Regional Spatial Strategy (South East Plan) and Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy. A highly material consideration is Government Circular 01/2006 entitled “Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites” published in February 2006. 4.2 The Milton Keynes Core Strategy is a key document in the emerging Local Development Framework which will eventually replace some of the existing saved policies of the Milton Keynes Local Plan. On 12th January 2010 the Core Strategy was approved by Full Council for consultation under a Local Development Scheme. Now that the Core Strategy is adopted by the Council for consultation under a Local Development Scheme it becomes an ‘emerging policy’ that needs to be taken into account in development control decision making. It will not supersede the Saved Policies from Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001-2011 until it is formally adopted after the Council has considered the Inspector’s Report following an Examination in Public (EIP) the date for which is yet to be confirmed. (40) 4.3 Local Policy Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001 - 2011 Policy S1- General Principles Policy S10 – Open Countryside Policy S11 – Areas of Attractive Landscape Policy D1 – Impact of Development Proposals on Locality Policy D2 – Design of Buildings Policy H12 – Sites for Travellers Policy T9 – Road Hierarchy Policy T10 - Traffic Policy T15 – Parking 4.4 Local Development Framework Core Strategy 4.5 National Policy Circular 01/06: Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas South East Plan published 6 May 2009 Partial Review of the Draft South East Plan: Somewhere to Live, Planning for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Show-people in the South East. 5.0 RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY (A brief outline of previous planning decisions affecting the site – this may not include every planning application relating to this site, only those that have a bearing on this particular case) 5.1 08/01870/FUL Permission refused by the Development Control Committee following a Members Site Inspection for erection of Romany Gypsy caravan site providing three mobile home sites each with associated caravan pitch and washroom on 03.03.2009 for the following reasons: - 1. The development if permitted would lead to the creation of a new access on a section of classified highway/primary distributor road. The slowing and turning of vehicles associated with the use of the access would lead to conflict and interference of flow of traffic on the highway and be detrimental to highway safety, contrary to Policy T9 of The Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001 - 2011. 2. As far as can be determined from the submitted plans, the applicant does not appear to control sufficient land to provide adequate visibility. The proposed development would, therefore be detrimental to highway safety contrary to Policies D1 and T10 and criteria (v) of policy H12 of the Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001 - 2011. (41) 3. To permit the proposed development on this site and on the limited evidence submitted would establish a precedent whereby it would be difficult for the Local Planning Authority to resist other similar proposals in its area. 6.0 APPLICATION AS ORIGINALLY SUBMITTED (Details of the proposal as originally submitted) 6.1 Permission is sought for change of use of land to use as residential caravan site for three Romany Gypsy families each with two caravans and washroom, including the formation of two new vehicular accesses, provision of car parking and formation of hard standing areas. The application is a resubmission of previous application reference 08/01870/FUL refused permission by the Development Control Committee on 12.02.2009. The submitted site layout plan illustrates that each family would have one static caravan measuring 12m x 4m wide, a touring caravan of 7m long x 2.5m wide and brick-built washroom facility of 5m long x 5m wide. 6.2 It is proposed to create a one-way access arrangement whereby vehicles will enter via an access at the eastern end of the site frontage, and exit via an access at the western end of the site frontage. The proposal includes the provision of 14 car parking spaces comprising two spaces per pitch, a total of 6 for the three families. Eight car parking spaces are proposed, which would be arranged 4 either side of an internal road linking together the entrance and exit. The applicant has stated that this internal roadway and parking spaces would be kept available for use by the visitors to the cemetery. The provision of these car parking and turning facilities within the application site would remove the necessity for visitors to the cemetery to park on the highway verge, or turn around within the A428 carriageway. The applicant has indicated that the provision of this facility and maintenance of same could be secured by means of a unilateral undertaking, which would be submitted to the Council for consideration. At the time of writing the report, no such undertaking has been submitted to the Council for consideration. 6.3 The applicant has provided further information by telephone on 4 March 2010 in respect of the following: - The Brown Family consist of 11 persons of which there are two elderly people, four adults of 2 couples and five children between the ages of 6 – 9. Currently, the family have been living in a caravan, which is being moved around daily in Bletchley and Milton Keynes. The children do not attend any school and are not in a position to be educated due to the fact of not having a permanent residential address. It is imperative that the children receive a proper education, which cannot be achieved by moving around from site to site.