Planning Statement Bear Ash, Bear Lane, Hare Hatch, Reading, RG10 9XR
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Planning Statement Bear Ash, Bear Lane, Hare Hatch, Reading, RG10 9XR Prepared For Mr P. Harris 8801 September 2018 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Proposal 1 2 PLANNING POLICY 2 Principle of Development 2 Site Specifics 5 3 CONCLUSION 7 Planning Statement Bear Ash, Bear Lane, Hare Hatch, Reading, RG10 9XR 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This planning statement is submitted in support of the application for a telescopic swimming pool cover at Bear Ash, Bear Lane, Hare Hatch, Reading, RG10 9XR. 1.2 The application comprises the erection of a retractable transparent swimming pool enclosure on the existing swimming pool at Bear Ash. Currently the outdoor swimming pool has no formal enclosure with the its only protection being a flat swimming pool cover. 1.3 The site is located within the Metropolitan Green Belt. It is located approximately 1km east of Wargrave and 1.2km north-east of Hare Hatch. It lies outside any defined development limits and is within the Wokingham countryside. The site comprises a large detached property set within its own grounds, all neighbouring properties are a reasonable distance from the site and would not be affected by the development. 1.4 The property at Bear Ash is a replacement 5-bedroom dwelling granted consent in 2009 under application F/2009/1928. The swimming pool has been a feature at Bear Ash for many years, even before the replacement dwelling was constructed. PROPOSAL 1.5 The proposal is for a telescopic swimming pool enclosure. The structure would be almost completely glazed and would be fully retractable to one end of the swimming pool. The glazing used would be toughened safety glass, which does not deteriorate, discolour or scratch. The structure would work on tracks and rollers and the structure would have to be manually moved. 1.6 The structure is semi-permanent in that it is retractable and that limited assembly is required on site. The enclosure will offer some protection to the swimming pool from cold weather and allow users to use the pool for an extended time. The English climate does not lend itself to extended periods of sunshine, even throughout the summer, an enclosure such as this would increase the usage of the pool. Planning Statement 1 Bear Ash, Bear Lane, Hare Hatch, Reading, RG10 9XR 2 PLANNING POLICY 2.1 Section 70 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that planning applications should be determined in accordance with the development plan unless other material considerations indicate otherwise. The main development plan documents of relevance are the Adopted Core Strategy Development Plan Document (January 2010) and the Adopted Managing Development Delivery Local Plan (February 2014). The main material consideration is the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which sets out the Government’s up to date strategy and guidance for plan making and decision taking. PRINCIPLE OF DEVELOPMENT 2.2 The site is located within the Metropolitan Green Belt. Policy CP12 of the Core Strategy set out that planning permission will not be granted for inappropriate development within the Green Belt. This policy pre-dates the NPPF however the Managing Development Delivery Document (MDD) further reinforces through policy TB01, that in line with the NPPF that only development for the purposes set out in paragraph 89 and 90 of the NPPF and as set out in point 3 of the policy will be permitted where they maintain the openness of, and do not conflict with the purpose of including land in the Green Belt. Point 3 of the policy sets out that alterations and/or extension of a dwelling and the construction, alteration or extension of buildings ancillary to a dwelling in the Green Belt over and above the size of the original building(s) shall be limited in scale. However, in July 2018 a revised NPPF was adopted, superseding the 2012 NPPF and making the reference to paragraphs 89 and 90 irrelevant in this context. However, there are minimal changes effecting the NPPF and the Green Belt section with the exceptions that were in paragraphs 89 and 90, now in paragraph 145 and 146. The exceptions listed are the same as those that were in the 2012 NPPF. 2.3 The Development Plan policy allows for the construction of outbuildings in the Green Belt provided they are limited in scale. The supportive text to the policy, paragraph 3.4 states that “’Limited’ means a cumulative increase of generally no more than a 35% increase in volume over and above the original dwelling’. The MDD does not provide a definition for what constitutes the ‘original dwelling’. Therefore, the original dwelling can be assumed to be that which exists on site now as a replacement dwelling becomes the original dwelling. Since the construction of the original replacement dwelling there have been no extensions or other Planning Statement 2 Bear Ash, Bear Lane, Hare Hatch, Reading, RG10 9XR ancillary outbuildings permitted which would increase the overall volume of the original dwelling. In accordance with this policy the pool enclosure can be provided under point 3 of TB01. When fully extended the pool building will have an area of 282m2 and a volume of circa 900m3. The house has a volume of 2,737.59m3, this equates to a 33% increase. 2.4 A material consideration is paragraph 145 of the NPPF, which identifies exceptions to inappropriate development in the Green Belt. One of these exceptions is ‘provision of appropriate facilities (in connection with the existing use of land or a change of use) for outdoor sport, outdoor recreation, cemeteries and burial grounds and allotments, as long as it preserves the openness of the Green belt and does not conflict with the purposes of including land within it’. This application relates to the erection of retractable swimming pool enclosure, thereby fulfilling the criteria of facilities for outdoor sport and recreation. The NPPF does not specify whether this needs to be for public or personal use, therefore it can be assumed that it can apply to both personal and public use. The enclosure is retractable which allows for continued outdoor use of the swimming pool and therefore doesn’t always have a physical presence. Openness and Purposes of the Green Belt 2.5 As set out in the NPPF and in the policy TB01, development will be permitted as long as it preserves the openness of the Green Belt and does not conflict with the purposes of including land within the Green Belt. 2.6 The enclosure will act as a shell, providing protection for the swimming pool and allowing the structure to be retracted in the summer months for outdoor use. The swimming pool and hardstanding around the pool already exists and will not change as a result of this application. Openness is defined as the absence of development, in this case there is already development on the site. The structure will be a frame-like unit with toughened glass being the dominant material. The enclosure, because it is made of glass, will be transparent, reducing its impact on the openness of the Green Belt. Additionally because the structure can be retracted there will be times when the enclosure is reduced to one end of the pool and is not enclosing the pool. In its retracted position the overall appearance and bulk of the pool enclosure will be significantly reduced. The fact that the structure is largely made of glass and that it can be retracted significantly reduces its impact on the openness of the Green Belt. Planning Statement 3 Bear Ash, Bear Lane, Hare Hatch, Reading, RG10 9XR 2.7 In terms of the associated paraphernalia with the development this is unlikely to be different from the situation now. There is no change of use occurring as a result of this application and apart from an intensification of use during the cooler months, the type and manner of usage is unlikely to change. 2.8 Paragraph 134 of the NPPF sets out the five purposes of the Green Belt, our responses follow each purpose in italic below: - To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas: The application site is located within the countryside, outside any defined settlement or development limits. The property of Bear Ash, as already established, is a large property set within its own grounds, it does not contribute to any large built-up area. The property does not have any direct neighbours, with the nearest being approximately 25m away. The wider area is characterised by the countryside setting with sporadic detached properties set within their own gardens. The nearest villages are Hare Hatch, Kiln Green and Wargrave, all of them over 1km from the property at Bear Ash. The provision of a transparent, retractable swimming pool enclosure is not going to contribute to the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas. - To prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another; As mentioned above the nearest villages are Wargrave, Hare Hatch and Kiln Green, all of which are over 1km away. However, these are not towns, the nearest towns are Henley-on-Thames and Maidenhead. Henley-on-Thames is approximately 5km north-west and Maidenhead is approximately 5km east. The provision of a swimming pool enclosure is not going to merge neighbouring towns together. - To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; The swimming pool already exists, with landscaping and hardstanding provided around it in accordance with previously approved plans. There will be no change of use as a result of this application, just the erection of a telescopic swimming pool enclosure.