Planning Applications Report Planning and Highways Committee 30 November 2006 Bolton Council has approved a Guide to Good Practice for Members and Officers Involved in the Planning Process. Appendix 1 of the Guide sets down guidance on what should be included in Officer Reports to Committee on planning applications. This Report is written in accordance with that guidance. Copies of the Guide to Good Practice are available from the Development and Regeneration Department, Town Hall, Bolton. Bolton Council also has a Code of Practice for publicising planning applications and other submissions for approval. As part of this Code, neighbour notification letters will have been sent to all owners and occupiers whose premises adjoin the site of these applications. In residential areas, or in areas where there are dwellings in the vicinity of these sites, letters will also have been sent to all owners and occupiers of residential land or premises, which directly overlook a proposed development. The plans in this report have been annotated with the symbol ● to show where a letter of objection has been received from an owner or occupier of a property shown on the Report Plan. The plans in this report have been annotated with the symbol % to show where a letter of support has been received from an owner or occupier of a property shown on the Report Plan. The plans in the report are for location only and are not to scale. The application site will generally be in the centre of the plan edged with a bold line. The following abbreviations are used within this report: - UDP The adopted Unitary Development Plan 2005 RSS Regional Spatial Strategy for the North West of England PCPN A Bolton Council Planning Control Policy Note PPG Department of Communities and Local Government Planning Policy Guidance Note MPG Department of Communities and Local Government Minerals Planning Guidance Note SPG Bolton Council Supplementary Planning Guidance PPS Department of Communities and Local Government Planning Policy Statement TPO Tree Preservation Order EA Environment Agency SBI Site of Biological Importance SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest GMEU The Greater Manchester Ecology Unit The background documents for this Report are the respective Planning Application Folders. These can be inspected by initially contacting Valerie Walsh:- Telephone (01204) 336065 or [email protected] 2 INDEX Ref. No Page Item Ward Location 73099/06 5 1 BRCR FORMER INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITAL ROAD, BROMLEY CROSS 74724/06 39 2 FARN BOLTON COUNCIL STORAGE DEPOT, GLADSTONE ROAD, FARNWORTH 75644/06 61 3 GRLE SWAN LANE MILL, HIGHER SWAN LANE, BOLTON, BL3 3BJ 75643/06 73 4 GRLE SWAN LANE MILL, HIGHER SWAN LANE, BOLTON, BL3 3BJ 75702/06 83 5 HARP 7 WATERS EDGE, FARNWORTH, BOLTON, BL4 0NL 75492/06 89 6 HOBL ACRESFIELD HOUSE, 30 CHORLEY ROAD, BLACKROD, BOLTON, BL6 5JS 75325/06 101 7 HONE WOODFORD, MILL LANE, HORWICH, BOLTON, BL6 6AQ 75620/06 109 8 KEAR ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST CHURCH, CHURCH STREET, FARNWORTH 75549/06 117 9 LLDL WELLFIELD HOUSE, BOSCOW ROAD, LITTLE LEVER, BOLTON, BL3 1AB 75591/06 133 10 RUMW 81 AUBURN STREET, BOLTON, BL3 6UE 75546/06 139 11 SMIT 1 WYTHBURN AVENUE, BOLTON, BL1 6BG 75637/06 145 12 SMIT BRYNMOOR, HARPERS LANE, BOLTON, BL1 6HR 75525/06 165 13 WESO 80 DOBB BROW ROAD, WESTHOUGHTON, BOLTON, BL5 2BB 75589/06 175 14 WESO 75-77 MARKET STREET, WESTHOUGHTON, BOLTON, BL5 3AA 75588/06 185 15 WNCM THE BAKEHOUSE, 2 MARSHBANK, WESTHOUGHTON, BOLTON, BL5 3SR 48800/96 191 16 HULT CUTACRE TIP RECLAMATION AND OPENCAST COAL SITE, OFF SALFORD ROAD, BOLTON 3 4 Date of Meeting: 30 November 2006 Item Number: 1 Application Reference: 73099/06 Type of Application: Full Planning Application Registration Date: 03/02/2006 Decision Due By: 31/03/2006 Responsible Phil Green Officer: Location: FORMER INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITAL ROAD, BROMLEY CROSS Proposal: ERECTION OF 86 DWELLINGS, COMPRISING 16 NO FOUR AND FIVE BEDROOMED DETACHED HOUSES AND 70 NO ONE AND TWO BEDROOMED APARTMENTS TOGETHER WITH ASSOCIATED GARAGES, ACCESS ROADS, FOOTWAYS, PARKING AREAS, ENGINEERING OPERATIONS, RETAINING WALLS AND LANDSCAPING Ward: Bromley Cross Applicant: Barratt Manchester Agent : Officers Report Background The application has been subject to an advance site visit by Members. The Council has provided a screening opinion in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulation 1999 and the Council confirmed that in exercise of the powers conferred by regulations 5(1) and 5(4) of the 1999 Regulations, it is considered that the development for which planning permission is to be sought as described above is not EIA development. Proposal The Applicant originally submitted a Reserved Matters application in January 2006 in accordance with the outline planning permission granted previously, however due to the need to make changes to the layout as a result of more accurate tree surveys, the proposal is now a full application. The proposal has been subject to a number of significant changes at the request of Council Officers. The application details the creation of a new central point of vehicular access serving a new residential development and now comprises the following: 16 detached dwellings (five separate house types): • 9, two storey, four-bedroomed dwellings; • 4, two-and-a-half storey (accommodation in the roofspace with dormers to the front and velux lights to the rear), five-bedroomed dwellings; • 3, part two/part three storey, four-bedroomed dwellings; • Each property with off-street parking for minimum two vehicles and up to four spaces including double garages 5 70 apartments within 6 buildings: • 38 one-bedroomed apartments; 32 two-bedroomed apartments; • 70 resident parking spaces and 8 visitor parking spaces; • Block 1 and 6 – part two, part three storeys; • Block 2 – three storeys; • Block 3 – three storeys; • Block 4 – two storeys; • Block 5 – part two, part three storeys Materials: • Red facing bricks; • Marley smooth grey roof tiles; • Artstone heads, cills and quoins; • White render to part of apartment buildings; • Stained softwood windows and doors; • Tarmac roads with block paved parking courts and courtyard to apartments; Access The Applicant proposes a distinctive character and identity to the development influenced by the significant number of protected trees. The proposed internal roads are not therefore to adoptable standards with regard to their dimensions and provision of footways, although the Applicant has ensured that the development is serviceable by emergency and refuse vehicles, including the provision of timber bin stores and hard surfaced bin collection points for the apartments. The Applicant has sought to provide off-road pedestrian footways where possible and at the request of Council Officers, has agreed to provide a footpath strategy for the site to ensure the safety of pedestrians. In accordance with the previous outline planning permissions on the site, the Applicant will be required to provide appropriate engineered access to the site including visibility, a footway across the Hospital Road site frontage and closure/making good of existing access points. Landscaping and Layout The Applicant’s proposed layout has been primarily influenced by protected trees, the majority of which, particularly to the boundaries of the site, are being retained in accordance with detailed Tree Assessment Reports. The majority of protected trees being removed are within the vicinity of Plots 1-3, 11, 14-16 and the southern part of Apartment Building No.1. Some of the trees being removed are not protected. The Applicant has also agreed to retain the boundary wall and repair it where required, including reusing the stone piers. A hard and soft landscaping scheme including planting plan, will be secured by planning condition. The detached properties will be open plan to the front with 1.8 metres high fencing between. Levels The proposal seeks to sensitively arrange residential units and roads around protected trees with minimum disturbance to levels where trees are to be retained. A number of retaining walls are required to achieve this ranging in height from 0.45 metres to 3.0 6 metres in height. Those parts of the site around the existing access road and plateau where the former main building was sited remain largely unchanged. To the south east corner of the site a minor ‘cut’ operation is required to accommodate Plots 13-16. The largest change in levels takes place to the west and northwest corner of the site where existing levels fall from the main plateau, 7 metres initially and then a further 5 metres to a low point on the site adjacent to the Conningsby Close public open space, beyond which the levels rise again to Conningsby Close itself. This area is known to collect water and the Applicant proposes a Land Drainage System, the details of which will be secured by planning condition. The proposed layout includes a ‘fill’ operation here to accommodate Plots 5-9 and the Apartment Building No.6 in the northwest corner. Whilst levels on the boundary will remain unchanged due to the need to retain protected trees, internally levels will be raised by up to 4 metres where the southern part of Apartment Building No.6 is proposed and up to 2.75 metres where Plot 9 is proposed. This will also be the location of a number of retaining walls between 2.7 and 3 metres in height. The remaining Plots and Apartments will be sited on existing levels. Wildlife The Applicant has almost completed demolition of the former main building ‘by hand’ in order to minimise any disturbance to bats. Bat surveys in March and November revealed no evidence of roosting bats although it is acknowledged that the site, including Gatehouse building and certain trees, have some roosting and hibernation potential and provide good foraging for Common Pipestrelle.