PLANNING APPLICATIONS BOARD: 09 NOVEMBER 2017 17/00279/PPD – APPLICATION FOR THE ERECTION OF A HOUSE AND INSTALLATION OF AN AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP AT 18A LOWER SANDWICK, ISLE OF LEWIS Report by Director of Development PURPOSE OF REPORT Since the planning application is considered by the Appointed Officer to be sensitive, the application is presented for decision. COMPETENCE 1.1 There are no legal, financial or other constraints to the recommendation being implemented. SUMMARY 2.1 This is an application for planning permission to erect a dwelling house, included associated external spaces, car parking, installation of an air source heat pump and a private waste water treatment system, at 18A Lower Sandwick, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. The application site is located within but on the edge of the main settlement of Stornoway according to the Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan – Development Strategy Map. 2.2 Planning Permission in Principle has previously been granted on the site for the erection of a house, predicated on a connection being made to the public sewer. 2.3 The Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan (the Plan) Policy 6: Water and Waste Water requires that new buildings in areas with public sewerage systems are required to connect to the public sewer unless the developer can demonstrate that there are specific technical reasons as to why the development cannot reasonably be connected to a public sewer. SEPA policy position is stronger, in that it objects outright to private systems in settlements with a population greater than 2000 population equivalent. 2.4 The underlying reason for these policy positions is that the perpetuation of private waste water systems has public health and environmental implications and risks establishing an undesirable precedent in areas which by virtue of their population/density have been subject to public investment in developing and subsequently maintaining a public sewerage system. 2.5 In response to Policy 6 the developer submitted an engineer’s drawing identifying a possible pipework route, with two manholes and a pumping chamber, accompanied by a cost estimate and an engineer’s statement that he should apply for a private system. Other than cost, no technical reasons are articulated. Policy 6 is therefore not complied with and nor is SEPA’s objection addressed. The proposed house complies with Development Plan Policy in all other respects. 2.6 Material considerations include the advice of SEPA as a statutory consultee, lending significant weight to a refusal. Consideration is also given to the site specific circumstances with the site at the far end of the township road with no potential for future housing development beyond the proposed site due to the topography and therefore minimising the risks of negative impact on neighbour amenity and some weight is given to this. 2.7 Having assessed the proposal against the provisions of the Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan (the Plan), it has been concluded that the proposal would be contrary to Policy 6 of the Plan by virtue of no technical reasons being submitted to support the applicant’s position. SEPA’s fundamental objection carries significant weight. While there are mitigating site specific purposes they could set an undesirable precedent and do not outweigh the policy position. The application is therefore recommended for refusal for the reasons appended to this Report. RECOMMENDATION 3.1 It is recommended that the application be REFUSED for the reasons set out in Appendix 1 to the Report. Contact Officer: Helen MacDonald Planning Officer Tel: 01851 822 690 Email: [email protected] Appendices: 1 Reasons for Refusal 2 Location and Site Plans Background Papers: None DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSAL 4.1 This is a planning application by Mr and Mrs A Smith, 18B Aignish, Point, Isle of Lewis. The proposal is for planning permission to erect a dwelling house, included associated external spaces, including car parking, the installation of an air source heat pump and private waste water treatment system. 4.2 The application site is located within but on the edge of the main settlement of Stornoway according to the Outer Hebrides Local Development Plan – Development Strategy Map. It is sited at the seaward end of the Lower Sandwick road. The application site is a regular rectangular shape and has a significant slope across the site. It is accessed from the Lower Sandwick road. 4.3 The application site is approximately 0.08ha in size. 4.4 The submitted site plan details the layout of all aspects of the development, including house footprint; parking and turning areas; access road (which is existing); proposed private waste water treatment system; and garden areas. Fresh water connections are shown and provision for the management of surface water is also proposed. The site has a significant degree of fall from the west to the east, and section details have been provided to demonstrate proposed finished levels to allow for suitable development of the site. 4.5 The site is not within an area designated for natural or built heritage. The site is within an aviation safeguarding zone but below the consultation height. 4.6 The application site is within the Main Settlement of Stornoway. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES 5.1 The planning application by Mr and Mrs A Smith, 18B Aignish, Point, Isle of Lewis, was registered as valid on 06 June 2017. 5.2 The planning application was advertised for public comment in the public notices section of the Stornoway Gazette in the publication dated 15 June 2017, as required by regulations. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2011 6.1 The nature and scale of the proposal on a vacant brownfield site is such that the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 are not applicable. PREVIOUS PLANNING DECISIONS RELATING TO THE SITE 7.1 The following planning history relates to the site: Ref No Description Decision Date 11/00374/PPP Erect dwelling house Application Permitted with 10 October 2011 Conditions RESPONSES TO CONSULTATION 8.1 The full terms of the responses to statutory and other consultations by the Planning Authority can be read on file at the Development Department. The following is a summary of those relevant to the determination of the application. COMHAIRLE TECHNICAL SERVICES (ROADS) 8.2 ‘Provide off road" parking and turning for 2 cars within the site boundary. It is the responsibility of the developer to prevent surface water flowing from the main road on to the property’ SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (SEPA) 8.3 ‘…1.5 We note it is proposed to locate a garage at basement level with the living area elevated above. Several different drawings have been provided in support of this application which indicates ground levels across the site and proposed levels for the house. The present ground levels were derived to a local datum and it is only on the “Longitudinal Section A-A” drawing 05A (31.5.17) that it is indicated that a level of 10.995 is approximately equal to 4.4mAOD. Therefore using this relationship, a conversion factor was derived. Applying this to the levels for the site as illustrated on the “Location Plan & Existing Levels” drawing 01A (31.5.17) they vary from 3.7mAOD and 3.99mAOD along the south-east site boundary to 5.8mAOD to 5.9mAOD along the north-west boundary line. It is proposed to locate the house towards the north-west end of the site with the lowest ground levels in this vicinity, in the order of 4.5mAOD. 1.6 As the ground levels for this proposed development lie approximately 1m above the estimated 1 in 200 year water level for the area of 3.4mAOD (based on extreme still water level calculations), there is an adequate freeboard at this development site. Therefore we have no objection to this development on flood risk grounds. 1.7 On the “Longitudinal Section A-A” drawing 05A (31.5.17) it is indicated that there is a proposal to build up the ground levels in the garden area close to the south-east site boundary line. It is planned to increase the present ground level of 3.77mAOD to approximately 4.401mAOD. As the existing ground level lies outwith the approximate 1 in 200 year floodplain, we would have no objection to this proposed change in ground levels. … We object to this application unless it is modified to connection to public sewage system. 1. Foul drainage 1.1 The development is located within the settlement boundary of Stornoway, a town with a population of greater than 2000 population equivalent. 1.2 Our Policy and Supporting Guidance on Provision of Waste Water Drainage in Settlements …states: “In settlements with a population greater than 2000 population equivalent, SEPA will expect new developments within or close to the settlement boundary identified in the local plan to connect to the public sewerage system and will object to the development of private sewerage systems within these areas.” In line with this policy we therefore object to this development unless it is modified to include connection to public sewage system. We do note the information submitted to support the proposal for a private system, however, our policy only considers such site specific issues in smaller settlements.’ REPRESENTATIONS 9.1 No representations against the proposal have been received from third parties. VIEWS OF THE APPLICANT 10.1 Having consulted with “Scottish Water” as to why the main sewer connection did not go further down the road for the remaining 7 houses on the street, their answer was, probably that if they had trenched any further they would be going through rock and therefore not viable from a cost perspective to them.