19 October 2010 Report Item 1
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Planning Development Control Committee - 19 October 2010 Report Item 1 Application No: 09/94803/FULL Full Application Site: Land At Ogdens (opposite The Acorns), Fordingbridge SP6 2PY Proposal: Storage building; improvements to track (AMENDED PLANS) Applicant: Haywards Thatchers Case Officer: Liz Young Parish: HYDE 1. DISTRICT/BOROUGH: New Forest District Council 2. REASON FOR COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION Previous Committee consideration. 3. DEVELOPMENT PLAN DESIGNATION Conservation Area Flood Zone 4. PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES DW-E1 General development criteria (page 57) DW-E8 Trees (page 60) DW-E23 New development in Conservation Areas (page 70) DW-E49 River and coastal flooding (page 89) NF-E1 Control of development (in the New Forest) (page 135) NF-E4 Landscape character of the New Forest (page 139) NF-B2 New employment uses in the New Forest (including farm diversification) (page 152) 5. MEMBER COMMENTS None received 6. PARISH COUNCIL COMMENTS Hyde Parish Council: Comments on original scheme: Recommends permission; the family concerned has been thatching in the area for hundreds of years and the next generation will be following on; the proposal accords with the Authority's aim of encouraging local businesses and supporting local heritage; the proposal would be screened from the road by hedging; neighbours have no objections. Comments on the amended scheme are awaited. 1 7. CONSULTEES 7.1 Tree Officer: Comments on original scheme: Recommends refusal because there is insufficient information to demonstrate that the proposed access track would not lead to unacceptable damage to adjacent Oak trees. Comments on amended scheme: No objection raised on the understanding that no track is proposed and that the proposed hard surface would be located 10 metres from the boundary. The proposed hardsurfacing should be designed so as to minimise excavation and compaction. 7.2 Highway Authority (HCC): Comments on amended scheme: No objections subject to provision of parking within the site. 7.3 Environment Agency: Comments on original scheme: No objection subject to conditions relating to the following: . No part of the proposed building should be within 9 metres of the top of the river bank (as shown on proposed plans). No storage or ground raising should occur within flood zones 2 or 3. Finished floor levels within the building should be no higher than existing ground levels. The building should be constructed to allow flood water to permeate into the building. Comments on the amended scheme: . The amended layout is considered to be acceptable in flood risk terms. Recommend that any gate / fence proposed adjacent to the watercourse (as shown on the plan) is of an open style to allow floodwater to freely pass through. Any works proposed (permanent or temporary) that could affect the flow of the ordinary watercourse would require Flood Defence Consent. 7.4 Natural England: Make the following comments: . Proposal could lead to further degradation of the SSSI which is currently used as access the application site. Natural England are of the understanding that the development does not constitute a material change of use and that none of the development proposals would occur within the New Forest SSSI (otherwise further consultation will be required). Based upon this understanding Natural England consider that the proposal is unlikely to adversely affect the New Forest 2 SSSI subject to conditions relating to construction methods. The proposals would have the potential to impact upon protected species. Further comments are awaited on the amended scheme. 7.5 Landscape Officer: Comments on amended scheme: . Re-positioning of building and removal of track is welcomed. Extent of hardstanding requires clarification along with details of edging and fencing. 7.6 Ecologist: No objections based upon amended plans but makes the following recommendations: . Advisory note should be applied to any consent in relation to protected species. Conditions to secure conservation enhancement should also be imposed in the event that consent is granted. 7.7 Environmental Services - Conservation Area: No objections to the amended siting of the building on the understanding that sympathetic materials would be used; Recommend conditions relating to samples of external facing materials. 8. REPRESENTATIONS 8.1 Applicant's agent: The new siting of the building aims to keep clear of trees and be out of the sightline of the house opposite. There would be a hoggin apron in front of the building where machinery would be used mainly for loading and unloading. The rest of the site would be available to continue with some of the open storage although this would be less as a result of having much of the new material and equipment being able to be kept within the building. It is not envisaged that there would need to be any storage of material connected with the thatching business westwards of the line shown for a possible new fence. The open storage would include items which are part of the business but cannot be stored in the building. Some of this would be anything recyclable from the roofs being re-thatched, other material which is waiting for disposal by way of skips (not kept on site), occasionally new reed which has been purchased at a time when there is a bulk purchase..., the work's vehicles when necessary and small loads which can be handled readily and quickly. 8.2 Representation on original proposal from occupants of Hollybank (a residential property immediately north west of the site): No objections in principle but raises some concerns relating to the potential operation of machinery within the building which could lead to increased noise levels. 3 8.3 Any further responses received to the amended scheme will be reported to Members at the Committee meeting. 9. RELEVANT HISTORY: None. 10. ASSESSMENT Introduction 10.1 Members will recall that this proposal was deferred at the Planning Development Control Committee in April 2010 in order to achieve a scheme which addressed concerns raised at the meeting. From the end of April through to June 2010 extensive discussion and negotiation took place between the applicant/agent and planning officers, with a subsequent delay whilst the applicants obtained a more detailed site survey. The site survey enabled the applicants to reconsider the concerns raised and has resulted in the amended scheme now being referred back to members for resolution. 10.2 For information, the minutes recorded from the Committee meeting in April 2010 read as follows: "Members were supportive of the development in principle but were concerned that the photographs of the site showed that there was a significant amount of materials and other items currently in open storage within the site. They acknowledged that there remained a number of concerns and therefore agreed to defer the application to enable the planning officer and applicant to consider alternative locations for the building, and to review the impact of the access track, the impact on trees, and the boundary treatment to be used. Furthermore they felt consideration should be given as to whether open storage should be limited by way of a condition". The site 10.3 This application relates to a rectangular parcel of agricultural land amounting to 2.3 acres within the Western Escarpment Conservation Area. A small stream runs south through the centre of the site and much of the land lies within a designated flood zone. Boundary treatments comprise tall fencing and Cypress and Oak trees, and the land is surrounded by small paddocks. The Acorns, a modest residential property, lies across the road and this property is also surrounded by small fields and the land rises gradually in an easterly direction. A public footpath lies approximately 160 metres to the south of the site. The roadside 4 verges (including the field access) which adjoin the eastern boundary lie within the designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). 10.4 The site is currently used for the storage of thatching materials and other unrelated items. Much of this storage is focused centrally within the site and is enclosed on all sides by temporary corrugated sheets. There is also a large amount of storage along the eastern boundary with the highway. This use has not been subject to planning permission or a certificate of lawfulness, and the items currently on site are considered to detract from the visual amenities of the National Park. Proposal 10.5 In the planning application as originally submitted, consent was sought to construct a storage building in the south east corner of the site, positioned end on to the highway, and to introduce a track extending from the existing access along the entire length of the site up to (and partly surrounding) the proposed building. 10.6 The applicants have amended the proposal following the comments made by Members at the Committee meeting and subsequent discussions with planning officers. In the amended scheme the size of the building (150 square metres and 5.5 metres in height) and its design, materials (green profile sheeting and green eternit roofing) and orientation remain unchanged, but the building would now be located towards the north of the site and the plans no longer include the provision of a track. An area of hardsurfacing (hoggin) measuring 180 square metres is proposed to the front of the building. The agent states that there would be no new access track between the entrance and the hoggin (some 30 metres distance), although in practice some additional surfacing may be required. Main issues 10.7 The previous officer report identified the main issues to consider as: . The principle of the proposed development in this location, including planning policy considerations and the justification being put forward on behalf of the applicant. Impacts on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and the New Forest landscape.