Planning Services COMMITTEE REPORT APPLICATION DETAILS APPLICATION NO: DM/18/02665/FPA FULL APPLICATION DESCRIPTION: Reinstatement and repair of former cricket club building and extension to convert to 2 bed disabled self-catering holiday accommodation with vehicular access. NAME OF APPLICANT: Leslie Thompson ADDRESS: Miners Meadow Wheatley Hill Durham DH6 3AW ELECTORAL DIVISION: Trimdon and Thornley CASE OFFICER: Jennifer Jennings DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND PROPOSALS Site 1. The application site consists of the remains of the former cricket pavilion located to the north east of the settlement of Wheatley Hill. When in use, the former buildings would have overlooked the cricket grounds which would have been located to the south east of the building. The remains consist of two separate rectangular buildings, located with the short ends side by side, with one building showing the remains of a double height tower overlooking the grounds. 2. The site is accessed by an existing long gravelled access track, for which there is no record of any planning application. Access to the track would be taken from Patton Walk to the north east, using the same access as that used by the bungalow where the applicant currently resides. The site is surrounded by agricultural fields to the west and north west, the former cricket grounds, currently laid to grass, to the south and east and a former allotment site to the north east. Proposal 3. The application is a resubmission following refusal in January 2018 for the refurbishment of the former cricket pavilion building and for its conversion to a holiday let. The current scheme is almost identical to the refused scheme apart from a new emphasis on providing disabled accommodation. 4. The building works would involve rebuilding the two rectangular sections and building a glazed link corridor between the two buildings. One of the buildings would contain the main living area, with kitchen and living room, contained within the existing footprint with small external lean to for cycle storage on the north west elevation. The other building would provide the sleeping area, with bedroom and accessible bathroom within the existing footprint of the building and an extension added on the west elevation to allow a double bedroom and bathroom to be accommodated. 5. Externally one of the buildings would be finished in matching brick, whilst the other would be finished in a render finish. Both buildings are proposed to be finished in reconstituted slate on the roofs, with timber windows and doors. A patio area is proposed adjacent to the main living area of the building, with a reinstated dwarf stone wall with timber posts and rope over around the perimeter. 6. No permission was previously sought for the existing track that leads from the rear of the bungalow to the former pavilion site but as it was included within the red line boundary as part of the original refused application, it formed part of the consideration of the proposals on a retrospective basis. The same will apply with the current submission. 7. This application is being reported to Committee at the request of Divisional Councillor Grant in order to consider the tourism benefits of the scheme. PLANNING HISTORY 8. Planning permission refused on 4 January 2018 for the change of use and refurbishment of former cricket club pavilion and changing room building to provide holiday letting accommodation with vehicular access from the B1279 classified road. PLANNING POLICY NATIONAL POLICY 9. A revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published in July 2018. The overriding message continues to be that new development that is sustainable should go ahead without delay. It defines the role of planning in achieving sustainable development under three overarching objectives – economic, social and environmental, which are interdependent and need to be pursued in mutually supportive ways. 10.In accordance with Paragraph 213 of the National Planning Policy Framework, existing policies should not be considered out-of-date simply because they were adopted or made prior to the publication of this Framework. Due weight should be given to them, according to their degree of consistency with this Framework (the closer the policies in the plan to the policies in the Framework, the greater the weight that may be given). The relevance of this issue is discussed, where appropriate, in the assessment section of the report. The following elements of the NPPF are considered relevant to this proposal. 11.NPPF Part 2 Achieving Sustainable Development - The purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and therefore at the heart of the NPPF is a presumption in favour of sustainable development. It defines the role of planning in achieving sustainable development under three overarching objectives - economic, social and environmental, which are interdependent and need to be pursued in mutually supportive ways. The application of the presumption in favour of sustainable development for plan-making and decision-taking is outlined. 12.NPPF Part 6 Building a Strong, Competitive Economy - The Government is committed to securing economic growth in order to create jobs and prosperity, building on the country's inherent strengths, and to meeting the twin challenges of global competition and a low carbon future. 13.NPPF Part 11 Making Effective Use of Land - Planning policies and decisions should promote an effective use of land in meeting the need for homes and other uses, while safeguarding and improving the environment and ensuring safe and healthy living conditions. Strategic policies should set out a clear strategy for accommodating objectively assessed needs, in a way that makes as much use as possible of previously-developed or 'brownfield' land. 14.NPPF Part 12 Achieving Well-Designed Places - The Government attaches great importance to the design of the built environment, with good design a key aspect of sustainable development, indivisible from good planning. 15.NPPF Part 15 Conserving and Enhancing the Natural Environment - Conserving and enhancing the natural environment. The Planning System should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by protecting and enhancing valued landscapes, geological conservation interests, recognising the wider benefits of ecosystems, minimising the impacts on biodiversity, preventing both new and existing development from contributing to or being put at unacceptable risk from pollution and land stability and remediating contaminated or other degraded land where appropriate. Emerging Local Plan Policy 16.Paragraph 48 of the NPPF says that decision-takers may give weight to relevant policies in emerging plans according to: the stage of the emerging plan; the extent to which there are unresolved objections to relevant policies; and, the degree of consistency of the policies in the emerging plan to the policies in the NPPF. An ‘Issues & Options’ consultation was completed in 2016 on the emerging the County Durham Plan (CDP) and the ‘Preferred Options’ was approved for consultation at Cabinet in June 2018. However, the CDP is not sufficiently advanced to be afforded any weight in the decision making process at the present time. LOCAL PLAN POLICY: District of Easington Local Plan 17.Policy 1 - Due regard will be had to the development plan when determining planning applications. Account will be taken as to whether the proposed development accords with sustainable development principles while benefiting the community and local economy. The location, design and layout will also need to accord with saved policies 3, 7, 14-18, 22 and 35-38. 18.Policy 3 - Development limits are defined on the proposal and the inset maps. Development outside 'settlement limits' will be regarded as development within the countryside. Such development will therefore not be approved unless allowed by other polices. 19.Policy 7 – Protection of Areas of High Landscape Value - Within the AHLV development likely to adversely affect character, quality or appearance will only be permitted if it meets a need that outweighs value of landscape and no alt sites. Minimisation and compensation will be required. 20.Policy 18 - Development which adversely affects a protected species or its habitat will only be approved where the reasons for development outweigh the value of the species or its habitat. 21.Policy 35 - The design and layout of development should consider energy conservation and efficient use of energy, reflect the scale and character of adjacent buildings, provide adequate open space and have no serious adverse effect on the amenity of neighbouring residents or occupiers. 22.Policy 36 - The design and layout of development should ensure good access and encourage alternative means of travel to the private car. 23.Policy 37 - The design and layout of development should seek to minimise the level of parking provision (other than for cyclists and disabled people). The above represents a summary of those policies considered most relevant in the Development Plan the full text, criteria, and justifications of each may be accessed at http://www.cartoplus.co.uk/durham/text/00cont.htm. CONSULTATION AND PUBLICITY RESPONSES STATUTORY RESPONSES: 24.Highway Authority raises no objections to the proposals. INTERNAL CONSULTEE RESPONSES: 25.Spatial Policy states that the proposal would need to be considered against Paragraph 11 of the NPPF as the two most relevant policies within the local plan for determining