Development Management Report

Development Management Report

Committee and date Item North Planning Committee 12 11 th December 2012 Public Development Management Report Responsible Officer: Stuart Thomas email: [email protected] Tel: 01743 252665 Fax: 01743 252619 Summary of Application Application Number: 12/04031/OUT Parish : Weston Rhyn Proposal : Outline application for the erection of 7No dwellings (all matters reserved) Site Address : Land At Upper Chirk Bank Chirk Bank Shropshire Applicant : Mr P.L. Speake Case Officer : Mark Perry email : [email protected] Grid Ref: 329162 - 336869 © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Shropshire Council 100049049. 2011 For reference purposes only. No further copies may be made. North Planning Committee – 11 th December 2012 – Chirk Bank 12-04031-OUT Recommendation:- Refuse subject to the following reason: Recommended Reason for refusal 1. The proposed development is located within an area of defined as open countryside for planning policy purposes and accordingly would lead to sporadic and unsustainable development that would undermine the "rural rebalance" approach to development. Accordingly the proposal is considered contrary to adopted Polices CS1, CS4, CS5 and CS6 of the Shropshire Core Strategy, and to Government advice contained in the National Planning Policy Framework (in particular paragraph 55) REPORT 1.0 THE PROPOSAL 1.1 The submitted application seeks planning permission for a proposed residential development. At this stage the application is for outline planning permission with access, appearance, landscaping, layout, scale all reserved for later approval. As such, at this stage the applicant only wants to establish the principle of the development on the site. 2.0 SITE LOCATION/DESCRIPTION 2.1 The application site is a rectangular parcel of land measuring 0.43 hectares is size. The land is currently rough grassland and is not used. The parcel of land is the southern end of a larger field which wraps around a large detached property to the north named Bryn Derw; this property is not owned by the applicant. Access into the site is currently through a metal farm gate. 2.2 The edges of the site are defined by a mature hedgerow along the road frontage and a mix of trees and hedgerows along its eastern and southern boundaries. Beyond the northern edge of the application site the land climbs steeply towards Bryn Derw. 2.3 Existing development in Chirk Bank can be clearly defined into two distinct areas. Firstly there is the liner development along the northern side of Oaklands Road and secondly there is a denser from of development to the western side of Upper Chirk Bank where there is a 1970/80’s housing estate of primarily bungalows and chalet style dwellings. To date the eastern side of Upper Chirk Bank and the southern side of Oaklands Road has remained largely undeveloped as the land has not been included within the development boundary. 2.3 The village of Chirk Bank falls within the ‘buffer zone’ for the Pontcysyllte World heritage site. 3.0 REASON FOR COMMITTEEDETERMINATION OF APPLICATION 3.1 The Parish Council have supported the application which is a view contrary to officers. The local member has also requested that the application be referred to the Planning Committee. Contact Stuart Thomas on 01743 252665 North Planning Committee – 11 th December 2012 – Chirk Bank 12-04031-OUT 4.0 Community Representations - Consultee Comments Parish Council- support the application as they consider it a suitable location for infill development. Tree Officer- There are a number of significant, mature trees on the boundary of the site. These are important in the landscape and amenity of the area and every effort should be made to ensure their long term retention. The trees would not prevent the land from being developed to some extent and would therefore raise no objection in principal to this outline application. Any application for full planning permission and or where size, scale, housing density and access routes are to be consider, this must be supported by a full arboricultural implication assessment and tree protection plan. Affordable Housing- It is proposed that 3 of the dwellings (43%) will be transferred to a housing association for occupation by people on an affordable, 'Shared Ownership' basis. This arrangement exceeds the current planning policy requirement for developer sites to deliver 13% affordable housing in accordance with the provisions of the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on the Type and Affordability of Housing. Drainage- Percolation tests and the sizing of the soakaways should be designed in accordance with BRE Digest 365 to cater for a 1 in 100 year return storm event plus an allowance of 30% for climate change. Or, soakaways should be designed for the 1 in 10 year storm event provided the applicant should submit details of flood routing to show what would happen in an 'exceedance event' above the 1 in 10 year storm event. Flood water should not be affecting other buildings or infrastructure. Full details, calculations and location of the percolation tests and the proposed soakaways should be submitted for approval along with details of the proposed surface water drainage system for the estate road should also be submitted for approval. Highways- No objection in principle to the development proposals subject to conditions and informatives. In order to improve pedestrian safety within the vicinity of the site it is recommended that the existing footway link that currently terminates outside Mount House is extended to provide a link between the proposed development site and the junction with Telford Avenue. It is also noted that a bus stop is located in close proximity to the access to the site and will need to be relocated. Ecology- Additional information is required relating to potential additional ponds not identified in the submitted Preliminary Ecological Appraisal with regards to Great Crested Newts and Grass snakes. 81 letters of objection have been received commenting on the following issues: Site is not within the village boundary Impact on drainage system Increase traffic Chirk Bank has limited local amenities Impact on the landscape Contact Stuart Thomas on 01743 252665 North Planning Committee – 11 th December 2012 – Chirk Bank 12-04031-OUT Site is within the buffer zone of the Pontcysyllte World heritage Site The application is premature Limited bus service 5.0 THE MAIN ISSUES Principle of development Siting, scale and design of structure Visual impact and landscaping Impact on Neighbours 6.0 OFFICER APPRAISAL 6.1 Principle of development 6.1.1 Chirk Bank is identified by saved policy H6 of the Oswestry Local Plan as being a ‘Smaller Settlement’. Such settlements are deemed to be suitable for “limited scale of housing development” and that, “within these settlements, housing development will be limited on allocated sites and on suitable infill sites within the development boundaries”. However, the application site itself falls just outside of the development boundary. The development boundary runs along the northern, western and southern boundaries of the application site. Accordingly the location of the application site is considered to be in the countryside for planning policy purposes. 6.1.2 The prevailing policy for proposals in countryside locations currently applicable to settlements such as Chirk Bank is Core Strategy Policy CS5 Countryside and Green Belt. Policy CS5 prevents residential development outside identified settlements (including hubs and clusters) other than to meet specific needs such as affordable dwellings or agricultural workers dwellings. 6.1.3 At this present time the village of Chirk Bank has not yet been formally designated as a Hub or a Cluster. The SAMDev Preferred Options document produced in March 2012 did not include any reference to how or if Chirk Bank would be designated. Since that date the Parish Council have stated that they wish Chirk Bank to be considered as a ‘cluster’ although no details have yet been formulated on where housing development would be located or where any development boundaries would be positioned. 6.1.4 The SAMDev Plan preparation process is on-going. In situations where there is a consensus of opinion regarding the emerging policies for a settlement and development proposals are supported by the community within which they are being proposed, some weight can be given to the emerging SAMDev Plan policies. In settlements where policy issues remain unresolved and development proposals come up against objections from the local community, or mixed views, then existing policy must prevail. In this particular instance the Parish Council have supported the application as they consider it to be a ‘suitable location for infill development’. Despite the support of the Parish Council the scheme has attracted 81 letters of objection from residents; although it is recognised that a significant proportion of these are identical letters from differing addresses. Due to the conflict of local opinion, significant weight must continue to be awarded to the current adopted planning policies which are to restrict new residential development in those Contact Stuart Thomas on 01743 252665 North Planning Committee – 11 th December 2012 – Chirk Bank 12-04031-OUT locations that are outside the defined development boundaries. 6.1.5 In this instance it is considered that the proposed scheme is premature pending the outcome of the SAMDev process. Accordingly it fails to comply with the adopted planning policies which aim to restrict residential development in countryside locations. As such, the principle of the development is not considered acceptable as the location of future housing development should be considered through the SAMDev process rather than through the submission of a planning application. There are however other material planning considerations which must be considered and awarded weight accordingly, in particular the provision of affordable housing that is being suggested by the applicant. This is referred to later in this report.

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