Planning Committee 14 February 2017 REPORT SUMMARY
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Planning Committee 14 February 2017 REPORT SUMMARY £$REFERENCE NO. 3/16/1298/FUL Construct new junction with Ringwood Road and estate £$APPLICATION PROPOSAL road to serve the Woolsbridge Industrial Estate Ringwood Road, Three Legged Cross, Wimborne, £$ADDRESS Dorset, BH21 6RA £$RECOMMENDATION - Grant, subject to conditions: (see Section 9 of the report for the full recommendation) REASON FOR REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE The application is directly related to the delivery of a Major Core Strategy Site – Woolsbridge Industrial Estate – Employment Allocation VTSW6. SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION The proposal provides an enhanced vehicular access and will increase junction capacity to serve Woolsbridge Industrial Estate. The new junction can be accommodated without detriment to highway safety, and suitable measures (secured by condition) have been proposed to address the highway impact of the proposals. The proposal will allow protected trees to be retained off site. Subject to appropriate mitigation – there will be no harm to biodiversity. Subject to appropriate mitigation – the site can be properly drained. There is not considered to be any significant harm to neighbouring residential amenity. There are no material circumstances which would warrant refusal of this application. INFORMATION ABOUT FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF PROPOSAL The following are considered to be material to the application: Contributions to be secured through Section 106 legal agreement: N/A Contributions to be secured through CIL: N/A Net increase in numbers of jobs: The proposal assists in the delivery of Woolsbridge Industrial Estate - Employment Allocation VTSW6. Ankers & Rawlings APPLICANT AGENT Boyle and Summers Ltd Developments Ltd PARISH/ WARD St Leonards TOWN Verwood COUNCIL PUBLICITY OFFICER EXPIRY 27 January 2017 SITE VISIT 09 September 2016 DATE DATE Planning Committee 14 February 2017 DECISION EXT. OF 28 September 2016 24 March 2017 Requested DUE DATE TIME RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY App No Proposal Decision Date 3/15/0556/OUT ‘Outline application for the construction Planning 08 March of a mixed employment development Committee 2016 with a maximum floor space of Resolved to 33,400msq for Office, Research & Approve. Development, Light Industrial, General Industrial or Storage & Distribution use (including trade counter)(use classes B1a, B1b, B1c, B2 & B8) and a small element of floor space under use classes A1, A3, A5, D1 & D2. Engineering operations to form new access junctions from Old Barn Farm Road and new internal roads (Outline application with access and scale parameters to be determined at outline stage and layout, appearance and landscaping to be reserved for subsequent approval) Addendum to Transport Assessment Received 23/10/2015.’ App No Proposal Decision Date 3/12/0085/FUL Improvements to the junction of Refused 04 March Ringwood Road and Old Barn Farm 2014 Road serving Woolsbridge Industrial Estate. Works to include a widened and improved signalised junction, associated landscaping and replacement estate signage panels (as amended by plans received 1 June 2012) Reasons for refusal: Prematurity and loss of mature oak trees subject to Tree Preservation Order. Appeal decision details: Allowed by Inspector 09 February 2015 MAIN REPORT 1.0 DESCRIPTION OF SITE AND SURROUNDINGS 1.01 Woolsbridge Industrial Estate is situated to the south of Ringwood Road between Three Legged Cross and Ashley Heath. At just over 15 hectares this is the second largest industrial estate in East Dorset. 1.02 The industrial estate is situated within the Green Belt, close to a number of nationally designated sites of nature conservation. To the south-east of the site is the Moors Planning Committee 14 February 2017 Rivers Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), to the immediate west is the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) Petroleum Centre which is within the Holt and West Moors (SSSI); to the south is Lions Hill (SSSI). A number of Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) are situated close by, including Woolsbridge Farm Carr SNCI. 1.03 The current access to Woolsbridge Industrial Estate is via the Ringwood Road and a priority ‘T’ junction known as Old Barn Farm Junction. Close to this access are a number of large oak trees subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). 1.04 The application site comprises an area of land to the south side of Ringwood Road known as Oakfield Farm, this adjoins land known as ‘Site A’, which sits to the east of the existing Woolsbridge Industrial estate. 1.05 Oakfield Farm comprises 1.63ha of farmland, this is accessed by a small pull in and gate on the southern side of Ringwood Road. The roadside boundary is formed by a small ditch behind which are number of oak trees with holly and brambles beneath. The carriageway at this point is 6.4m wide with a 1.8m wide footway. The land itself is relatively flat and split into series of paddocks which are currently grazed by horses; the southern boundary of the site adjoins ‘Site A’ and is formed by a low hedge with further trees. 1.06 ‘Site A’ lies to the east of the existing industrial estate and is 4.3ha in size. This is triangular in shape and is constrained by a high voltage overhead power cable which crosses the site from west to east. The north east boundary of this site adjoin Oakfield Farm is formed by a tree lined field boundary; a second field boundary runs through the centre of this site. The site is accessed in the south west corner from Old Barn Farm Road. 2.0 PROPOSAL 2.01 A full planning application has been made to form a new junction onto Ringwood Road, and to provide a new estate road to serve Woolsbridge Industrial Estate. 2.02 The new access will provide additional capacity to serve the Industrial Estate and is in lieu of undertaking major junction improvements at the Old Barn Farm ‘T’ junction, which was approved at Appeal in 2014. These included a signalised junction and the removal of TPO trees. 2.03 The new junction will be a priority ‘T’ junction sited at an established access point opposite Oakley Farm, Ringwood Road. The junction will be provided with 120m visibility splays in each direction and a central pedestrian island. Ringwood Road will be widened to a 7.3m carriageway with improved 3m wide footway which may be used to create an off road cycle route to Woolsbridge Industrial Estate. 2.04 The new estate road will be swept south through the Oakfield Farm site, and then through ‘Site A’ joining onto Old Barn Farm Road – the principal distributor road serving the industrial estate. The proposed access road indicates three ‘stubs’ for future estate road development, and a layby for use as a future bus stop. A number of trees on the field boundaries within the site will be felled. 2.05 The application includes a tree survey and protection plan, biodiversity survey and mitigation plan, along with drainage details. 2.06 The land at Oakfield Farm is allocated in the Core Strategy as an area for the expansion of Woolsbridge Industrial Estate; this application pertains solely to the Planning Committee 14 February 2017 junction and access road; but is linked to outline Planning Application 3/15/0556/OUT. 2.07 The land at ‘Site A’ is currently subject to outline Planning Application 3/15/0556/OUT for: ‘Outline application for the construction of a mixed employment development with a maximum floor space of 33,400msq for Office, Research & Development, Light Industrial, General Industrial or Storage & Distribution use (including trade counter)(use classes B1a, B1b, B1c, B2 & B8) and a small element of floor space under use classes A1, A3, A5, D1 & D2. Engineering operations to form new access junctions from Old Barn Farm Road and new internal roads (Outline application with access and scale parameters to be determined at outline stage and layout, appearance and landscaping to be reserved for subsequent approval) Addendum to Transport Assessment Received 23/10/2015.’ 2.08 This application was considered at the Council’s Planning Committee 08 March 2016 where Members resolved to approve the planning application subject to (i) conditions, and the (ii) signing of a Section 106 Agreement to provide a cycle link to the Castleman Trailway to the south. 2.09 The resolution to grant outline planning permission included a planning condition that required the new signalised junction at the Junction or Ringwood Road, and Old Barn Farm Road as approved by the Planning Inspectorate under application 3/12/0085/FUL to be implemented before occupation of the new industrial buildings. This signalised junction required the loss of a number of large oaks, subject to a Tree Protection Order (TPO) to be removed. 2.10 Application 3/15/0556/OUT for the wider expansion of the Woolsbridge Industrial Estate remains undetermined pending resolution of the delivery of the cycle link to the south, and to allow the secondary access to be provided which would in effect negate the need for a signalised junction to be constructed, and in turn allow the oak trees subject to the TPO to be retained. 3.0 SUMMARY OF INFORMATION Existing Proposed Change/ net gain: From existing Total Site Area 5.93 5.93 No Change (ha) Use Agricultural Land Agricultural Land with Estate Road Access 4.0 RELEVANT PLANNING CONSTRAINTS South East Dorset Green Belt Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Sites of Nature Conservation Interest (SNC) and located nearby. Planning Committee 14 February 2017 5.0 POLICY AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) Development Plan: Christchurch and East Dorset Core Strategy – Part 1- 2014 Policy VTSW6: Woolsbridge Employment Allocation, Three Legged Cross Policy KS1: Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development. Policy KS5: Provision of Employment Land Policy KS11: Transport and Development Policy ME1: Safeguarding Biodiversity and Geodiversity: Policy HE2: Design of New Development Policy HE3: Landscape Quality Policy ME6: Flood Management, Mitigation and Defence.