Item 5 East Northamptonshire Council Cedar Drive THRAPSTON Northamptonshire NN14 4LZ APPLICATIONS FOR DETERMINATION DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE - 10 October 2012 INDEX OF APPLICATIONS FOR CONSIDERATION Application Location Recom. Page No. 12/00010/FUL Land Adjacent Skew Bridge Ski Slope Grant Northampton Road Rushden Northamptonshire NN10 6AP Development Control Committee 1 of 75 Date printed 10 October 2012 Committee Report 10 October 2012 Printed: 27 September 2012 Case Officer Mr James Wilson 12/00010/FUL Date received Date valid Overall Expiry Ward Parish 23 December 2011 19 January 2012 19 April 2012 Rushden Spencer Rushden Applicant LXB RP (Rushden) Limited Agent JR Consulting - Mr John Rose Location Land Adjacent Skew Bridge Ski Slope, Northampton Road, Rushden Northamptonshire NN10 6AP Proposal Hybrid Planning Application comprising: Full application for the erection of a home and garden centre, retail units, drive-thru restaurant, gatehouse, lakeside visitor centre, restaurants and boat house, together with proposals for access. Outline: application for the erection of a hotel, crèche and leisure cub with some matters reserved (appearance). Plus removal of ski slope and associated site levelling, landscaping, habitat management and improvement works, vehicular access and servicing proposals together with the provision of car and cycle parking and a bus stop This report comes to Development Control Committee as the application is a major application and is a departure from the development plan. 1.0 Summary of recommendation. 1.1 That Members resolve to grant planning permission subject to; the completion of a S106 agreement in respect of developer contributions, conditions (the final detailed wording to be delegated to the Head of Planning Services in conjunction with the chair and ward members) and, the referral of the application to the Secretary of State as the application is for more than 5,000 sq m of floorspace, includes town centre uses and is not in accordance with all provisions of the development plan. 1.2 On referral to the Secretary of State an assessment will be made as to whether the application will be ‘called in’ for his determination. He will have a 21 day period to inform the Council if this is the case; otherwise, the Council will be allowed to determine the application in accordance with its normal procedures. 1.3 Executive Summary 1.3.1 The application is for a retail and leisure development on the site of the former Skew Bridge Country Club and dry ski slope which is adjacent to a Special Protection Area (SPA)/SSSI/Ramsar site and now also falls within the Nene Valley Improvement Area. There is considerable local public support for the proposals. 1.3.2 The proposals, as submitted by the applicant, are contrary to the local Development Plan policy. Principally, the scale and format of the development does not accord with Policy Development Control Committee 2 of 75 Date printed 10 October 2012 12 of the North Northamptonshire Core Spatial Strategy. The level of retail floorspace in this out-of-centre location is not what was envisaged by the local Development Plan policy. 1.3.3 The application does sit more comfortably with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which is more current, which sets out a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ and requires ‘that needs for retail, leisure, commercial, office and other main town centre uses are met in full and are not compromised by limited site availability.’ The emerging review of the Core Spatial Strategy also identifies a greater role for Rushden in the settlement hierarchy. 1.3.4 As such, although not in complete accordance with development plan policy, it is necessary for members to consider all material considerations, weighing the impacts of the scheme and potential benefits, to consider whether planning consent should be granted even if contrary to policy guidance. These benefits are considered to be substantial and include; The regenerative effects of the scheme for the site and the town as a whole, The employment opportunities generated by the development, The enhancements to the environment and additional habitat management activities and access provided to the SPA/SSSI/Ramsar site, The provision of recreation and leisure facilities to be accessible to the whole community, including a visitor centre for the Rushden Lakes development and wider Nene Valley and a boathouse, Enhanced tourist facilities helping to support existing visitor attractions and local businesses, The provision and connectivity of considerable elements of the Greenway and Blueway project, with provision of a pedestrian/cycleway across the A45 to connect the town better with the Nene Valley. 1.3.5 In order to assess out-of-centre applications which have town centre uses the NPPF requires that local planning authorities apply a sequential test and an impact test to determine whether the proposals are acceptable. Objections have been raised by a number of neighbouring shopping centres and Local Authorities and an independent report regarding the applicant’s retail impact assessment was commissioned by the Joint Planning Unit. In order to obtain its own independent advice the Council appointed consultants White Young Green (WYG) to review the applicant’s and objectors’ submissions regarding the retail impact of the scheme. 1.3.6 On balance, WYG consider that the retail catchment area and turnover of the proposed development, as set out by the applicant, are reasonable, although they believe that the true draw of the scheme will extend to Zones 9 and 11 of the North Northamptonshire Retail Capacity Study as well as Zone 10. While this is a slightly expanded catchment area and zone of influence, which includes Wellingborough Town Centre, they do not consider that there are any suitable and available alternative sites for the proposals and therefore the application meets the sequential test as no sequentially superior sites are available. 1.3.7 In terms of the impact test WYG do not believe that the proposed development would result in any impacts that could be considered to be significantly adverse. The anticipated trade draw from Rushden, Kettering and Corby will not be of a level that will undermine their future vitality and viability. This also applies to the higher order centres such as Northampton and Milton Keynes which WYG consider to be extremely strong centres with a diverse retail offer and a significant sphere of influence. WYG state that the one area of concern where the conclusions on impact are more finely balanced relate to Wellingborough. However, WYG do not believe that there is any clear evidence that future investment will be prejudiced in Wellingborough in the short to medium term due to the complex and difficult nature of any potential expansion proposals for the Swansgate Centre which would be the only alternative site. WYG and your officers therefore believe that the impact test has been met. Development Control Committee 3 of 75 Date printed 10 October 2012 1.3.8 In relation to other issues relevant to the development the applicant has satisfactorily demonstrated, to your officers and other statutory agencies, that there are no impacts in respect of the SPA/SSSI/Ramsar site, transport and access considerations or flood risk and drainage concerns. 1.3.9 Your officers consider that the material considerations listed above, which include the creation of 1,340 full time permanent jobs and the delivery of a construction apprentice and training scheme together with linkages of the Greenway via a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the A45, offer considerable benefits. These benefits deserve to be afforded significant weight and, on balance, officers do not believe that the policy imperatives or any other material considerations which weigh against the application are such that they outweigh these significant benefits. Therefore the view of officers is that planning permission should be granted for this application. 2.0 The Proposal 2.1 This application is a hybrid application for a mixed use retail and leisure scheme at Rushden Lakes (formerly known as Skew Bridge), comprising a detailed scheme for a 6,886sqm Home and Garden Centre (with 1,716sqm covered heated planting area and 3,185sqm uncovered planting area), 31,502sqm of retail units in 3 retail "terraces", drive-thru restaurant, gatehouse, lakeside visitor centre, restaurants and boat house, together with proposals for access. The outline proposal is for a hotel, crèche, leisure club with some matters reserved. The proposal also includes removal of ski slope and associated site levelling, landscaping, habitat management and improvement works, vehicular access and servicing proposals together with the provision of car and cycle parking and a bus stop. 2.2 The 3 retail terraces comprise a 4,546sqm garden centre related terrace, a 13,935sqm terrace for national multiple/lifestyle/home/sports/clothing stores, and a 13,021sqm terrace for national multiple clothing/general merchandise. 2.3 There are two lakeside restaurants of 464sqm each, a visitor centre of 289sqm, a boathouse of 289sqm, a drive-thru restaurant of 186sqm, a 112 bed hotel (4,987sqm), a 1,465sqm leisure/health club and a 181sqm crèche. 2.4 The Design and Access Statement accompanying the application contains a thorough analysis of the site and the access arrangements together with the layout of the development. The supporting Architect’s Design Statement outlines the alternative options which have been considered