Mr & Mrs Ewen Kylemore House the Causeway Brinkworth Chippenham
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Mr & Mrs Ewen Planning Application Supporting Statement PV.1195 Kylemore House December 2018 The Causeway Brinkworth Chippenham SN15 5DL CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 The application proposal 2 1.2 Application contents 2 1.3 Stakeholder consultation 2 2. SITE CONTEXT 3 2.1 Site location 3 2.2 Site description 3 3. PLANNING HISTORY 4 3.1 Planning history 4 3.2 Relevant planning history for neighbouring sites 4 4. PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT 5 4.1 Policy background 5 4.2 The statutory Local Plan 5 4.3 National planning policy 5 4.4 Designations 5 5. KEY PLANNING ISSUES 6 5.1 The principal of the change of use 6 5.2 The impact on the character and appearance of the area and proposed landscape treatment 7 5.3 Impact on neighbour amenity and privacy 8 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 9 1 1. INTRODUCTION This planning statement has been produced on behalf of Mr & Mrs Ewen to support a planning application for the change of use of agricultural grazing land to a residential garden at land within part of the demise of Kylemore House, Brinkworth. 1.1 THE APPLICATION PROPOSAL The description of development comprises: The change of use of agricultural land to a residential garden and associated works. The constituent elements of the scheme comprise the following: ● The change of use of 2736 sq.m / 0.27 hectares of agricultural grazing land to a domestic garden; ● The removal of timber stock-fencing around a small group of fruit trees in the north-eastern corner of the site; ● The retention of the existing eastern boundary treatment between the application site and Watson Fuels; ● The installation of a boundary treatment along the southern and western boundaries comprising timber stock-fencing and the planting of a native hedgerow and trees to match the eastern boundary with Watson Fuels; and ● The creation of an access(es) through the existing southern stone boundary wall. 1.2 APPLICATION CONTENTS This statement provides detailed consideration of the planning merits of the proposal, its impact on the character and appearance of the area and neighbour amenity and an analysis of relevant Local Plan and National Planning Policy guidance. The application is supported by the following information: ● A documents and plans schedule; ● Completed application forms and ownership certificates; ● Supporting planning application statement, produced by Planning Ventures; ● Landscape Appraisal, with landscape and planting plan, produced by Susanne Blair, Landscape and Garden Designer; ● Red and blue site location plan, produced by Verity & Beverley Architects & Designers; and ● Existing and proposed layout plans, produced by Verity & Beverley Architects & Designers. 1.3 STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION As this is a minor planning application due to the size and scale of the proposal it was not considered necessary to undertake any formal stakeholder or public consultation. It is considered that in this instance the Council’s formal neighbour notification and statutory consultation process will be sufficient. 2 2. SITE CONTEXT 2.1 SITE LOCATION Kylemore House is located on the western outskirts of the village of Brinkworth. Accessed directly off The Causeway (B4042), the property sits in open countryside between the towns of Malmesbury (to the north-west) and Royal Wooton Bassett (to the south-east). 2.2 SITE DESCRIPTION Kylemore House comprises a brick-built two-storey, detached house. Set back from the road within a large level garden, the residential curtilage of the property is well defined by stone walling and mature planting/hedges. The wider demise of Kylemore House also extends to include a further parcel of agricultural grazing land to the south (part of which is the subject of this application). This is crossed at the south-west corner by a public right of way (Ref. BRIN28) and contains a small enclosure of fruit trees in the north-east corner. Immediately to the east Kylemore House is bounded by Watson Fuels and to the west by the rear garden to Ivy House along with a wooded pond area. There are historic accesses into these adjacent properties from Kylemore House that demonstrate the historic extent of ownership. To the east of the application site lies Watson’s car park, which is bounded by a 1.5m high timber stock-fence and native hedgerows and trees. To the west of the wider edge of the land within the applicant’s ownership, but outside the application red line, the site is bounded by a 1.4m high timber stock-fence that runs the length of the public footpath. The northern boundary between Ivy Cottage and the wider site (outside the red line boundary) is again defined by a 1.4m high timber stock-fence. The principal characteristics of the area are rolling, undulating hills, irregular small/medium fields mainly in pastoral use and continuous hedges with mature oak trees and some copses. Kylemore House can be seen from the public footpaths that surround the site and from various locations along the Brinkworth to Dauntsey Road. These views are interrupted by higher sections of the roadside hedge or other foreground vegetation. 3 3. PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 PLANNING HISTORY The Wiltshire Council on-line planning history shows only one entry for Kylemore House, which confirms that full planning permission (Ref. N/89/02187/F) was granted on the 4 September 1989 for an extension to the property. 3.2 RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY FOR NEIGHBOURING SITES The following applications for neighbouring/nearby properties are of relevance: Watson Fuels, Causeway End: full planning permission, reference (Ref. N/10/04423/FUL) was granted on 14 January 2011 for an extension to the existing office premises and adjacent car park and change of use of land from agriculture. The approved site plan shows the southern extent of the new car park (occupying the land identified as WT294696 on the HMLR Title Plan), tying in with the southern extent of the paddock. Causeway Cottage: various extensions and alterations to the property were permitted in 1991, 2000, 2004 and 2005. Full planning permission (Ref. N08/00568/S73A) consent was granted on 6 May 2008 for the change of use of agricultural land to a residential garden. The Gables: a current application (Ref. 18/09325/FUL) for the change of use of grazing land to domestic garden with fencing is pending a decision by Wiltshire Council. These planning permissions and current application have confirmed acceptability of the change of use of agricultural land to domestic gardens within Brinkworth. These are therefore considered to be strong material considerations that support the principle of development. 4 4. PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT 4.1 POLICY BACKGROUND In accordance with Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 planning applications must be determined in accordance with the statutory Development Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework (2018) has established a presumption in favour of sustainable development. It requires Local Planning Authorities to determine planning applications that accord with the Development Plan without delay. Where a Development Plan is absent or silent or relevant policies are out of date planning permission should be assessed against the policies of the National Planning Policy Framework and granted where adverse impacts don’t significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits. 4.2 THE STATUTORY LOCAL PLAN The application site falls within the jurisdiction of Wiltshire Council, and is governed by the policy context of the National Planning Policy Framework, National Planning Practice Guidance and the Wiltshire Local Plan (the relevant Development Plan). This comprises the Wiltshire Core Strategy, adopted January 2015 and the ‘saved’ policies of the North Wiltshire Local Plan. This provides the current development strategy to deliver sustainable growth for the Unitary Authority of Wiltshire up until 2026. It sets out how much development is needed in the area and identifies where, when, and how this will take place. It also includes a set of more detailed development management policies used to assess planning applications in the area. Other relevant guidance includes the Wiltshire Council Householder Design Guide. Although it is not clear if this is an adopted supplementary planning document and used for development control purposes. 4.3 NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY In addition to the adopted Local Plan, the content of the NPPF (2018) and NPPG are strong material considerations in planning decisions. The NPPF sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. 4.4 DESIGNATIONS The Core Strategy Policies Map locates Brinkworth within the Community Area of Malmesbury and within open countryside outside the defined settlement boundary of the town. It lies within Grade 3 agricultural land and flood zone 1. 5 5. KEY PLANNING ISSUES The key planning issues to be assessed are: 1. The principle of the change of use; 2. The impact on the character and appearance of the area and proposed landscape treatment; and 3. The impact on neighbour amenity and privacy. These issues are assessed against the relevant policy tests below. 5.1. THE PRINCIPLE OF THE CHANGE OF USE This key planning issue looks at the principle of the change of use of agricultural grazing land to a domestic garden. This takes account of the approach that the Council has taken to this form of development within the vicinity of Kylemore House and any relevant policy tests. 5.1.1 Relevant Policies There are no specific policies contained within the adopted Local Plan that deal with the change of use of agricultural land to domestic gardens or extensions of domestic gardens into open countryside. As such para 11, part D of the NPPF is of primary relevance. This states that where there are no relevant development plan policies planning permission should be granted unless there are policies within the NPPF that provide a clear reason for refusing applications or any adverse impacts of an application proposal would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the application when assessed against the NPPF as whole.