PLANNING APPLICATION REPORT

Case Officer: Mr Nils White Parish:

Application No: 37/2770/13/F

Agent/Applicant: Applicant: Ian Farnfield Mrs B Cooper Old Quay 107 Yealm Road PL8 1BN

Site Address: Old Quay, 107 Yealm Road, Newton Ferrers, Plymouth, PL8 1BN

Development: Demolition and replacement of existing dwelling

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Reason item is being put before Committee: The Ward Member has asked that the application be decided by the committee due to local opposition from residents, the Parish Council and River Yealm and District Association.

Recommendation: Conditional approval

Conditions: Standard time limit; accord with plans; unsuspected contaminated land; details of ducts flues and vents; stonework sample panel; details of timber boarding; details of zinc cladding; removal of permitted development rights; restriction of external lighting; Code level 4.

Key issues for consideration: The main issues are the scale of the new building, being larger than the existing house, its design and whether its impact is acceptable in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site falls inside Policy Area 1 in the South Hams Local Plan (1996). Policy MP12 states that ’development which would significantly alter the density of buildings of damage the landscape and character of Policy Areas 1 and 2 on the Proposals Map will not normally be permitted’.

Site Description: Old Quay is located on the east bank of the river Yealm, north of the entrance to Newton Creek. It lies within the South Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Access to the site is gained from Yealm Road immediately above it.

The Proposal: It is proposed to demolish the existing, 1930s house on the site due to the difficulty in up-grading its flood resilience and energy efficiency. It would be replaced with a new house in a modern architectural style. Planning permission was granted in 2012 to replace the dilapidated garage and summerhouse.

Consultations:

 County Highways Authority Standing advice applies.

 Environmental Health Section Unsuspected contamination condition

 Town/Parish Council: Objection:  inappropriate appearance in context;  design;  impact on AONB;  visual impact;  overdevelopment of site;  overfenestration;  light pollution.

 Environment Agency: No objection

 Natural Environment & Recreation: No objection

Representations:

Fourteen letters of objection have been received, including one from the River Yealm and District Association. The relevant planning issues raised are as follows:

1. Overdevelopment of site 2. Visual impact and effect on character of AONB 3. Inappropriateness of Design in this context 4. Massing of proposed building 5. Development would cause light pollution 6. Parking provision

Three letters in favour of the application have also been received, supporting the design approach.

Relevant Planning History

37/0282/75/3 Rebuilding part of existing quay and jetty with alterations APC

37/1642/12/F Householder application for demolition of existing garage and summerhouse with replacement garage and parking, new lift enclosure and replacement summerhouse. APC

ANALYSIS

Principle of Demolition of Existing Building The existing house dates from the 1930s. With its applied ‘half- timbering’ and prominent slate roof slopes, it has a picturesque quality, but appears to have been designed with little thought to its setting and seems to perch rather awkwardly on the river bank at the north end of this long, narrow site. Rising sea levels have left the building vulnerable to flooding and, rather than trying to upgrade its resilience to this and improve its energy efficiency, the owners have decided they would prefer to replace it.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides for planning permission to be refused where demolition of a ‘heritage asset’, whether designated or not, is proposed. In this case, the house is not considered to be of sufficient heritage interest for this to apply. The principle of demolition is therefore accepted subject to the quality of the replacement house.

Pre-application Discussions and Design Panel presentation An earlier, very different scheme for this site was presented to the South Hams Conservation and Design Review Panel. This was rejected due to the impact it would have had on the setting. Following this, the current scheme was submitted for consideration as part of the same pre-application process and officers felt that the issues raised by the Design Review Panel response had been addressed. Subsequently, a meeting was held on site between officers and members of the Newton and Noss Parish Council who were shown details of the current scheme.

Character of Setting The setting comprises a wooded hillside, scattered with houses, rising from the east banks of the River Yealm. The existing development pattern is undisciplined, with clusters of 20th century buildings, often much-extended bungalows built along Yealm Road, Lower Court Road and Court Road. The principal views of the site are from the Yealm itself, (although it is also visible from the footpath on the west bank of the Yealm and can be glimpsed from Passage Road on the south side of Newton Creek).

Design of proposed building The design of the proposed new house is uncompromisingly modern, with a continuous, zinc fascia defining its flat roofs, which overhang a continuous ‘veranda’ and 2 recessed terrace areas one above the other. The latter create a vertical break between the twin and single storey elements of the building. The walls of the living spaces are set well back and composed of alternating timber and glass panels.

The second storey occupies less than half of the first floor, the remainder forming an uncovered terrace. The entire building would sit on a plinth of dry-stacked stonework, which would raise the ground floor level by 1.8m. The proposed materials are intended to be muted in character to soften the overall impact of the building.

Scale of proposed building At 318m2, the internal floor area of the proposed house would be about 13% larger than that of the existing building (280m2). However, the former figure does not include significant areas of covered terrace beneath the deep roof overhang, which account for more than 100 square metres of additional area and result in a building that is nearly twice as long as the existing house.

The impact of the two buildings is therefore quite different; while the current structure is compact and conventional and stands at one end of the garden, the lower, more recumbent form of the new one would occupy more than half the length of this narrow site. In elevation, the proposed design does appear long; however, in practice, front-on views are limited and its appearance would therefore be foreshortened from the most significant viewpoints.

Impact on AONB The natural character of this area consists of the estuary itself and the wooded hillsides rising from it. However, this site and the area around it are developed and fall within the Development Boundary of Newton Ferrers. Therefore, although the proposed house is larger than the existing one, it would not result in a significant increase in urbanisation or density of the area and its impact on the natural character of the AONB is considered to be neutral. The proposal is therefore considered to comply with Policy MP12 of the South Hams Local Plan 1996.

The issue of light pollution has been raised and it is true that the new house would have significant glazed areas. The impact would be reduced somewhat by the overhangs and, given the amount of development already in the area, the impact of light pollution is considered to be acceptable. A condition restricting external lighting would be placed on any consent.

The development would result in the loss of a mature beech tree on the site. While this is regrettable, a replacement tree would be planted as mitigation. The Natural Environment and Recreation team have advised that the loss of this tree would not result in unacceptable harm due to the wooded character of the area.

Impact on Listed Buildings The site is almost opposite the Grade II listed Coastguard Cottages, a white-painted, slate- hung row on the opposite bank of the Yealm in the parish of . Although the appearance of the new building at Old Quay would be quite different from the existing house, neither design is representative of the local vernacular and the impact on the setting of the listed cottages is considered to be neutral.

Neighbour Amenity The new development would not have a significant impact on the amenity of any neighbouring properties.

Energy Efficiency The existing house is built of brick and blockwork with cavity walls and suspended floors. A study has concluded that it would be very difficult to retrofIt effectively due to its form and construction. It is intended that the new building would have high levels of insulation and air- tightness and would incorporate technical solutions such as heat recovery and renewable energy sources in order to reduce its carbon footprint in use. The building is therefore likely to be more efficient to live in than the current one. However, demolition and rebuilding nearly always involve the disposal of materials with a high embodied energy and the use of new ones – there would therefore be a significant payback period to consider before the development could truly be said to reduce energy consumption.

Flood Risk Part of the reason for redeveloping this site is the vulnerability of the existing house to flooding. The flood Risk Assessment concluded that habitable rooms should be built at a minimum of 1.8m higher than the existing ground level and this accounts for the stone plinth on which the new house would be built. The Environment Agency has stated that it accepts the findings of the submitted Flood Risk Assessment and has no objection to the proposal.

Ecology The Bat and Bird Nesting report found no evidence of use by bats or occupancy by nesting birds.

Discussion The acceptability of this application hinges on the visual impact of the proposal and whether its design and scale are appropriate for this sensitive and fairly prominent location. Most objectors have argued that the new house would be too large. However, due to the long, narrow shape of the site, the quay wall and the river below it, officers consider that the proposed building’s horizontal massing would actually be more appropriate for this location and tend to mitigate its impact. Although the footprint of the new house would cover more than half the site, this would still leave sufficient amenity space, especially when taking into account the roof terrace.

The question of whether a modern design such as this should be introduced into a context made up of conventional house types is often controversial. In this case, however, the surrounding development is not considered to possess any visual characteristic that it is essential or desirable to imitate. Nevertheless, the scheme has been designed to complement the form of surrounding houses rather than being at odds with them. The Design and Access Statement shows how the overall context was considered when developing this design and, far from harming this, it is considered that the development would enhance the wider setting.

The architects have clearly taken into account the advice given following their presentation of an earlier scheme to the Design Panel and this is articulated in the Design and Access Statement. While the earlier scheme would clearly have been an excessively bold statement for this context, the new one acknowledges it and would have a much softer impact. This is reflected in its overall form, articulation, fenestration and building materials.

Overall this development is considered to be an appropriate response to this site and it is recommended that it be approved.

This application has been considered in accordance with Section 38 of the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Planning Policy

South Hams LDF Core Strategy CS1 Location of Development CS7 Design CS9 Landscape and Historic Environment CS10 Nature Conservation CS11 Climate Change

Development Policies DPD DP1 High Quality Design DP2 Landscape Character DP3 Residential Amenity DP4 Sustainable Construction DP5 Conservation and Wildlife DP6 Historic Environment

South Hams Local Plan (1996) Preserved policy MP12

Considerations under Human Rights Act 1998 and Equalities Act 2010 The provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 and Equalities Act 2010 have been taken into account in reaching the recommendation contained in this report.