Planning Statement
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PLANNING STATEMENT Site and retained buildings comprising of the former St. Andrew’s Hospital (North Site), Thorpe St. Andrew, Norwich – Proposed part conversion and redevelopment to provide 12,750 sq. m. of B1 office space and ancillary accommodation Les Brown Associates The Lind Trust Church Field Drayton Hall Attlebridge Hall Lane Norwich Drayton NR9 5TH NR8 6DP PLANNING STATEMENT APRIL 2013 _________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2 2.0 SITE HISTORY AND CONTEXT 3 3.0 THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 4 4.0 PLANNING LAW / POLICY 5 - 8 NATIONAL POLICY THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 5.0 ASSESSMENT 9 - 11 6.0 CONCLUSIONS 12 ______________________________________________________________________________________ Proposed Development at the former St. Andrew’s Hospital Les Brown Associates for the Lind Trust 1 PLANNING STATEMENT APRIL 2013 _________________________________________________________________________ 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This Statement is submitted in respect of the application by the Lind Trust for outline planning permission for part conversion of existing buildings and part redevelopment of the site of the former hospital to provide a B1 Business Park. This proposed development is within the Thorpe St. Andrew Strategic Employment Site allocation. The proposal involves the creation of 12,750 sq. m. of prestige B1 employment space within a park land setting on a site of some 5.10 hectares. It is an application to seek a new consent following the previous grant of permission under ref. 20130486. 1.2 This Planning Statement reviews planning policy issues and is submitted together with the Design and Access Statement and addendums to the previously submitted Flood Risk Assessment, Transport Statement, Desk Top Contamination Report, Tree Survey which includes a Desk Top Ecology Overview. This report considers relevant site history, planning policy and other material considerations and concludes that the proposal is in accordance with National Planning Policy and the Development Plan. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Proposed Development at the former St. Andrew’s Hospital Les Brown Associates for the Lind Trust 2 PLANNING STATEMENT APRIL 2013 _________________________________________________________________________ 2.0 THE SITE, HISTORY AND CONTEXT 2.1 The site extends to some 5.10 hectares and is located to the north of the Yarmouth Road in Thorpe St. Andrew. It is accessed from the main spine road “North Side” which serves this part of the Thorpe St. Andrew employment area. 2.2 The site contains the former hospital buildings, the majority of which have been demolished. These buildings were originally constructed during the late 1800’s and extended in the early 1900’s and remaining largely unchanged up to present time apart from periodic minor alterations and extensions. Part of the grounds include a former cricket pitch associated with the hospital which we understand was last used during the mid 1980’s. The remainder of the site is characterised by a large number of trees which are the subject of a Tree Preservation Order. 2.3 Immediately surrounding the site local uses comprise predominately commercial or institutional buildings. 2.4 To the north is the Norvic Clinic which is part of the Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health Foundation Trust, to the west is the Archant printing works extending up to the railway which separates the then predominately residential development further to the north & west. To the south is the St. Andrew’s Business Park and to the east the Broadland Business Park which together (including the application site) make up the Thorpe St. Andrew Strategic Employment allocation. 2.5 Relevant planning history comprises the Tree Preservation Order of 2011 (no.59) and the grant of consent to demolish the majority of the buildings and subsequent approval of reserved matters LPA. Ref. 20120842. The buildings, which have been demolished, were likely to have had a lawful use split between B1 offices and C2 residential institution. Planning permission to redevelop the site was granted under LPA ref. 20130486 with a variation consent granted under LPA ref. 20151977. 2.6 The Design and Access Statement which forms part of the application contains more detailed information and analysis of the site and its context. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Proposed Development at the former St. Andrew’s Hospital Les Brown Associates for the Lind Trust 3 PLANNING STATEMENT APRIL 2013 _________________________________________________________________________ 3.0 THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 3.1 The proposed development comprises 12,750 sq. m. of B1 office space on a site of 5.10 Ha. This equates to a site density of some 2,500 sq. m. per Ha. which is extremely low compared with the average in the U.K. of between 4100 to 6800 sq. m. per Ha. This low density underpins the principle of achieving a highly sustainable development in an extremely attractive parkland setting and will place this development in the category of amongst some of the premier office parks in the country. 3.2 The Masterplan Proposal involves the development of 6 main buildings with a range of floor spaces. The main building (Building A) includes the retained Water Tower and Central Wing of the former hospital. It is envisaged that the refurbished front section of the building, unsuitable for modern large scale office use will be used for complementary support uses or small start up businesses with the focus on youth enterprises. 3.3 All units will be low rise ranging from 2 to 3 storeys but with the possibility of 4 storeys where the change in site levels occurs. 3.4 The former cricket pitch is to be used primarily for parking purposes with the buildings on its northern perimeter in the locality of the former pavilion. This area will be extensively landscaped in particular the southern boundary to create a “green corridor” along the line of the existing cycleway. 3.5 The only parking outside the main car park area is located to the north of the proposed buildings ensuring the central landscape and parkland can be maintained. All existing trees are to be retained in accordance with the submitted tree survey with the layout creating the opportunity for these areas to be preserved, protected, enlarged and enhanced in order to complement the “central park” vision for the site. 3.6 One further feature of the proposed development is to create hard and soft landscape areas on proposed pedestrian routes between the buildings to provide quiet but sheltered areas for enjoyment and relaxation. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Proposed Development at the former St. Andrew’s Hospital Les Brown Associates for the Lind Trust 4 PLANNING STATEMENT APRIL 2013 _________________________________________________________________________ 4.0 PLANNING LAW AND POLICY NATIONAL POLICY 4.1 Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires decisions on applications for planning permission to accord with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 4.2 National Planning Policy is contained within the National Planning Policy Framework. Paragraph 14 is at the heart of this policy framework and advises that it is the purpose of the planning system to support sustainable development and Local Plans should be prepared to meet these objectives. THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 4.3 The Development Plan comprises of the Broadland Local Plan, Development Management Policies DPD 2015 and the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) of Broadland, Norwich and South Norfolk adopted March 2011 as amended in 2014.. THE JOINT CORE STRATEGY, BROADLAND, NORWICH AND SOUTH NORFOLK 4.4 The following JCS objectives (O) and policies (P) are relevant to the application under consideration. O.1: To minimise the contributors to climate change and address its impact O.3: To promote economic growth and diversity and provide a range of jobs O.4: To promote regeneration and reduce deprivation O.7: To enhance transport provision to meet the needs of existing and future populations while reducing travel need and impact P.1: Addressing climate change and protecting environmental assets P.2: Promoting good design P.5: The economy P.6: Access and transportation P.7: Supporting communities ______________________________________________________________________________________ Proposed Development at the former St. Andrew’s Hospital Les Brown Associates for the Lind Trust 5 PLANNING STATEMENT APRIL 2013 _________________________________________________________________________ P.12: The remainder of the Norwich urban area including parishes P.19: The hierarchy of centres 4.5 JCS O.1 seeks to promote high standards of design and sustainable access, guiding development away from areas of high risk of flooding. 4.6 JCS O.3 seeks to ensure there is enough land for investment and new businesses. It acknowledges the employment needs of an area are diverse and it is essential that jobs for all in the community are provided. 4.7 JCS O.4 supports the redevelopment of under-used brownfield land to support growth that can bring benefits to local people and reduce deprivation. 4.8 JCS O.7 offers support and encourages developments which would reduce the need to travel. 4.9 JCS P.1 supports development that uses resources efficiently, provides for recycling of materials, making the most efficient and