Parish: Ward: Southbourne Southbourne

SB/16/00322/FUL

Proposal Erection of a replacement fence.

Site 231 Main Road Southbourne PO10 8JD

Map Ref (E) 476646 (N) 105681

Applicant Mr Harry Lawson

RECOMMENDATION TO PERMIT

Note: Do not scale from map. For information only. Reproduced NOT TO from the Ordnance Survey Mapping with the permission of the SCALE controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Crown Copyright. License No. 100018803

1.0 Reason for Committee Referral

Parish Objection - Officer recommends Permit

2.0 The Site and Surroundings

2.1 The site is located on the north side of Main Road (A259) in Southbourne village. This is within the settlement boundary area and adjacent to the boundary of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is formed by the Southern side of Main Road. The area is characterised by a mixture of residential and commercial businesses in detached plots and an area of residential estates to the north (rear) of the site, including the recently built Trafalgar Close immediately to the north of the site.

2.2 The site currently operates as a children's nursery. The main building is located to the centre of the plot, with a large car park to the front and a rear play area. The rear and side boundaries feature timber close-boarded fencing approximately 1.8 m high.

2.3 Beyond the north boundary fence is a car parking area and the side elevation and rear garden of 5 Trafalgar Close. This dwelling has a side-access approximately 1 m wide with 1 no. window at ground floor level serving the dining area of the open plan front room. There are four other dwellings off Trafalgar Close, set around the car park.

3.0 The Proposal

3.1 The proposal seeks to erect a specialist noise-reducing fence along the Northern boundary in place of the current close-boarded timber fence. This follows negotiation between the applicant, some of the neighbouring properties on Trafalgar Close, and the Council's Environmental Health Office with the aim of reducing noise of the nursery children playing outside in the interest of protecting the amenity of occupiers of neighbouring properties.

3.2 The fence would be 2.5 m high adjacent to the car park on Trafalgar Close, an increase of approximately 0.7 m on the height of the existing fence. Following discussion regarding the outlook and light for the dwelling at 5 Trafalgar Close, the applicant has revised the scheme so that the new acoustic fencing would remain 1.8 m high adjacent to this dwelling, rather than 2 m high as originally proposed.

4.0 History

86/00106/SB PER Erection of doctors surgery with staff accommodation, parking etc.

89/00014/SB PER Change of use of residential accommodation into Sports Injury Clinic and revised car parking layout.

96/01846/COU PER Change of use of property to allow entire building to be utilised for use as a sports injury clinic or reflexology; Chelation Therapy Chiropody, Osteopathy and childrens day care centre.

96/02422/COU PER Change of Use to B1 office development.

99/00153/FUL REF Wooden building 3.2m x 3.2m on a concrete base.

03/00510/FUL PER 3 no. 5 person 3 bedroom houses, 1 no. 4 person 2 bedroom house, 1 no. 4 person 2 bedroom bungalow and associated external works. (Trafalgar Close)

14/03193/FUL PER Covered area over back of building, decking and play equipment.

15/01449/FUL PER Extension to decking and canopy and erection of fence (alterations to planning permission 14/03193/FUL).

15/02399/FUL PER Variation of condition 3 to planning permission SB/96/01846/COU (Hours of operation).

5.0 Constraints

Listed Building NO Conservation Area NO Rural Area NO AONB NO Strategic Gap NO Tree Preservation Order YES (1no individual tree, not affected) South Downs National Park NO EA Flood Zone NO - Flood Zone 2 NO - Flood Zone 3 NO Historic Parks and Gardens NO

6.0 Representations and Consultations

Parish Council:

Original consultation response:

Objection - “the proposal is an unneighbourly development.”

Second consultation response following submission of revised proposal to reduce height of the fence adjacent to 5 Trafalgar Close:

Objection sustained - “The Committee agreed that the fence adjacent to Trafalgar Close should be 1.8m high as the existing fence but also were agreed that the fence adjacent to the car park should be no higher than 2m rather than the proposed 2.5m.”

Natural : No comment

WSCC Highways: No comment- Trafalgar Close is a Private Road and as such the proposal does not abut or encroach on the public highway.

1no. Third Party Objection received from neighbour to South West of the site regarding a boundary dispute and that no prior discussion has taken place to confirm whether works would require access to neighbouring land.

Applicant/Agent's Supporting Information:

“This planning application has followed pre-application discussions with neighbouring residents and the Environmental Health Officer at District Council. The resultant proposal has sought to provide a more neighbourly relationship with properties to the rear of the application site through the construction of a high specification acoustic fence to replace the existing traditional close-board fence on the northern boundary. The proposed fence will help to contain noise generated by children using the play area associated with the nursery and in doing so improve the amenity of these neighbouring properties. Originally the proposed fence varied in height between 2.0m (adjacent to residential properties) and 2.5m (adjacent to the car parking court serving Trafalgar Close).

However, following concerns expressed by Southbourne Parish Council regarding the relationship with No.5 Trafalgar close specifically, the applicant has agreed to reduce the height of the fence on this boundary to its existing level of 1.8m. Consequently, this section of replacement fence is Permitted Development under Part 2 of the Town and Country Planning Act General Permitted Development Order but it would deliver improved acoustic qualities. The remaining section of fence adjacent to the car parking court serving Trafalgar Close is at a height of 2.5m as 1) this boundary is not shared by a residential dwelling where it would be overbearing in any way; and 2) the absence of any intervening buildings/vegetation and predominance of open hard surfacing in the car parking area results in a significantly higher propensity for sound reflection whereby additional containment is required.”

7.0 Planning Policy

The Development Plan

7.1 The Development Plan for comprises the Chichester District Local Plan Key Policies 2014-2029 and all adopted neighbourhood plans. The Southbourne Neighbourhood Plan was adopted on the 15th December 2015 and forms part of the Development Plan against which applications must be considered.

7.2 The Chichester Local Plan: Key Policies and modifications has now been submitted to the Secretary of State for Examination. The emerging Local Plan is a material consideration and following Submission it gains increasing weight for decision making purposes. As it progresses through the Local Plan process to adoption it will gain more weight, paragraph 216 of the NPPF is therefore relevant.

Chichester Local Plan

Policy 1: Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development Policy 2: Development Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy

Southbourne Neighbourhood Plan 2015

Policy 5: Employment

National Policy and Guidance

7.3 Government planning policy now comprises the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), paragraph 14 of which states:

At the heart of the NPPF is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan-making and decision-taking:

For decision-taking this means unless material considerations indicate otherwise: - Approving development proposals that accord with the development plan without delay; and - Where the development plan is absent, silent or relevant policies are out-of-date, granting planning permission unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly or demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole; or specific policies in (the) Framework indicate development should be restricted.

7.4 Consideration should also be given to paragraph 17 (Core Planning Principles), and section 7 generally (Requiring good design).

Other Local Policy and Guidance

7.5 The aims and objectives of the Council's Sustainable Community Strategy are material to the determination of this planning application. These are:

B1 - Managing a changing environment

D2 - Vibrant, safe and clean neighbourhoods

8.0 Planning Comments

8.1 The main issues arising from this proposal are potential:

i) impact upon the amenity of neighbouring properties; ii) impact upon the visual amenity; iii) Other Matters.

Assessment

i) Impact upon the amenity of neighbouring properties

8.2 The core principles of the NPPF, require development to achieve a good standard of amenity for all existing and future occupants of land and buildings. Under the Southbourne Neighbourhood Plan 2014-29 (Policy 5), business sites are required to demonstrate that they would not adversely impact neighbouring residential properties. The proposed fence would be increased in height adjacent to the car park of Trafalgar Close. The proposed fence would be a significant distance from the front elevations of 1-4 Trafalgar Close and is not considered to affect the amenity of these dwellings. The proposed acoustic fence would be adjacent to 5 Trafalgar Close.

8.3 The area to the front of this dwelling is utilised for shared car parking and is considered to be of low amenity value to the dwelling, so it is not considered that a fence of 2.5 meters in height would be unduly overbearing upon the amenity of the dwelling at this location. There are a number of trees at the front of the dwelling on both sides of the fence which give some screening from any perceived bulk, and the site is surrounded by tall trees and other development, particularly to the West, against which the higher fence would be viewed. For these reasons the proposal for a 2.5 m high fence at the front of No. 5 Trafalgar Close would not be considered to detract unduly from the amenity of this property.

8.4 The application follows noise complaints from neighbours received by the Council, and extensive discussion with the Council's Environmental Health Office. The proposal would utilise a fencing material specifically designed to absorb noise. According to specifications submitted, the fencing material and interlocking design can achieve up to 16.5 dB reduction in noise at a height of 2.5 m. On advice of the Environmental Health Officer it is considered that the height of the fence adjacent to the car park is imperative to the function of the fence in reducing noise emitted by outdoor activity at the nursery. As such there would be significant benefits to the amenities of the properties in the surrounding area from a 2.5 m high fence adjacent to the open space at the front of the neighbouring dwellings.

8.5 The original proposal sought a fence 2 m high facing to the neighbouring dwelling at No 5. Whist this aspect of the scheme is considered to be permitted development under the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (as amended) Schedule 2 Part 2 Class A, the applicant has agreed to retain the fence height at 1.8 m, which is the approximate height of the existing fence, for this section. This is to prevent additional loss of light to the window in the south elevation which serves an amenity room.

8.6 For the reasons given above, the potential feeling of overbearing from the height of the fence is not considered to unduly detract from the standard of amenity of the neighbouring properties, and any harm would not outweigh the benefits to neighbouring amenity by reduction of noise emission caused by activities in the site. As such the proposal is considered acceptable in regard to neighbouring properties amenity.

ii) impact upon the visual amenity

8.7 The design of the acoustic fence is considered to be similar to the existing fence and of a suitable character in keeping with the residential area. The scale and bulk, whilst unusual for a domestic setting would not be considered out of keeping, due to the enclosed nature of the car parking area of the Close and the nature of the Nursery business. As such, and on balance, the proposal would be considered to be acceptable with regard to the visual amenity of the site and surrounding area.

iii) Other Matters

8.8 An objection was received from the neighbouring dwelling to the South East at 235 Main Road which, in addition to background information about the site, objected to the fencing as it would enclose an area of land which is in dispute following the development of Trafalgar Close (a former West Sussex car park). This is not considered to be material to this planning application.

Significant Conditions

A condition would be considered appropriate to ensure that the fence would be constructed of the Acoustic Fencing material as shown in the submitted catalogue, and maintained to manufacturers standards in order to preserve the benefits to the amenity for occupiers of the neighbouring properties.

Conclusion

Based on the above reasoning it is considered that on balance the proposal complies with the development plan policies and therefore the application is recommended for approval.

Human Rights

In reaching this conclusion the Human Rights of the applicants and nearby occupiers have been taken into account when reaching this recommendation and it is concluded that the recommendation to permit is justified and proportionate.

RECOMMENDATION PERMIT

1 A01F Time Limit - Full 2 B01G No Departure from Plans from Plans 3 U01551 – Construction in accordance with submitted details

INFORMATIVES

1 W01F Disclaimer - Other Consents 2 W45F Application Approved Following Revisions

For further information on this application please contact Paul Hunt on 01243 534734