Planning Committee Wednesday 8 August 2012 at 7.00 pm Council Chamber, Swanspool House, Doddington Road, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire NN8 1BP 1. Apologies for absence. Ι 2. Declarations of Interest. Ι 3. Confirmation of the minutes of the meeting held on 04/07/2012. Ι 4. Applications for planning permission, listed building consent, building regulation approval and appeals information. 5. Any other items that the Chairman decides are urgent. Ι Enclosed Site Viewing Group for Tuesday 7 August 2012 will be Councillors Ward, Griffiths, Waters, Morrall and Scarborough. John T Campbell Chief Executive Date issued: 31 July 2012. For further information contact Fiona Marshall on 01933 231519; fax 01933 231543; [email protected] If you wish to address the Committee on an agenda item you can register by: • going on-line to ‘on-line forms’ then ‘addressing Council meetings’; or • completing the appropriate form which is available at reception desks; or • contacting Fiona Marshall Membership: Councillor Ward (Chairman), Councillor Griffiths (Vice Chairman), Councillors Beirne, Bell, Dholakia, Maguire, Morrall, B Patel, Scarborough, Timms and Waters. Swanspool House, Doddington Road, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire NN8 1BP Tel: 01933 229777 Fax: 01933 231684 www.wellingborough.gov.uk Agenda item 4 Borough Council of Wellingborough Planning Committee Wednesday 8th August 2012 at 7.00 pm Council Chamber, Swanspool House INDEX Page No. SITE VIEWING GROUP WP/2012/0250/FM 42 Prince of Wales, Croyland Road, Wellingborough. 1 WP/2012/0286/F - 23 Wilson Way, Earls Barton. 7 DISTRICT WP/2012/0116/RMM - Land associated with and Railway Station, Midland Road, Wellingborough. 15 WP/2012/0181/F - 59 Sunnyside, Earls Barton. 20 WP/2012/0223/F - The Ten O’clock, 42 Main Street, Little Harrowden. 27 WP/2012/0255/F - 188 Station Road, Irchester 38 WP/2012/0269/F - 10 Fellows Close, Wollaston. 51 WP/2012/0300/TX - Land between 12 and 18 Bull Close, Bozeat. 58 OTHER BOROUGH WP/2012/0298/OB - Aspenfield, Main Street, Orton, Northamptonshire. NN14 1LJ 68 FOR INFORMATION WP/2011/0442/C - Land to the West of the Village of Isham, A509, Isham. 72 WP/2012/0270/C - Land west of Earls Barton Quarry, Grendon Road, Earls Barton. 79 - 1 - BOROUGH COUNCIL OF WELLINGBOROUGH SITE VIEWING (Date of visit Tuesday 7th August 2012 at 10.15 a.m.) Planning Committee 08/08/2012 Report of the Head of Planning and Local Development APPLICATION REF: WP/2012/0250/FM PROPOSAL: Demolition of the existing public house and erection of a part 2 storey and part 3 storey building for a supported residential care scheme for disabled adults together with parking provision and vehicular access from Monks Way - changes to design and reduction in height of building. LOCATION: 42 Prince of Wales, Croyland Road, Wellingborough. APPLICANT: Seagrave Developments Limited Councillor Robert Hawkes has requested Committee consideration and Members Site Visit. SITE DESCRIPTION AND PROPOSAL The site is located at the junction of Croyland Road and Monks Way, in close proximity to the centre of Wellingborough. The site was occupied on the Croyland Road frontage by a Public House. To the rear of the building is a large tarmac surfaced car park, with access via Monks Way. The Public House is currently boarded up and was sold by the brewery as it was no longer a viable business. At the time of drafting this report, there are plans to demolish the building. The site abuts Croyland Park to the west and on its immediate west is an existing bakery with retail/shop and sales outlet. The proposal is to demolish the existing public house and construct a part 2 and part 3 storey building to accommodate a supported housing scheme for disabled adults wishing to live an independent lifestyle. The proposed development consists of 25 self contained flats (23 x 1 beds and 2 x 2 beds) with ancillary concierge/warden’s office on the ground floor and a social/meeting room on the first floor. The 3-storey element of the proposed building is towards the Croyland Road frontage and dropping down to 2 storeys along the Monks Way frontage. There is an under-croft access on Monks Way frontage, leading to a courtyard area that includes disable parking bays, ambulance parking, cycle parking and a parking and charging area for mobility scooters. It is understood that the facility will be taken over by Wellingborough Homes once completed. RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY: In May 2008, the Committee considered and resolved to grant consent for ‘Demolition of existing public house and construction of 21 new flats over 2/3 storeys. Car WP/2012/0250/FM44 17 ABBOTS WAY 32 18 G 28 ABBOTS WAY Drain 5 1 8 CLOSE MONKS WAY 3 ARS FRI 1 4 11 9 2 The Prince 46 of Wales 44 (PH) CR 36 53.3m A 2 24 55.5m 41 39 1 37b 37a 37 33 35 29 59.1m CROYLAND ROAD 15 12 2a 13 1 2 26 Chimney 57.6m 27 12 13 Wrenn School 41 24 Planning & Local Development © Crown Copyright and database right 2012. Scale: Ordnance Survey 100018694. Legend This map is accurate 1:1,250 Cities Revealed to the scale specified Aerial Photography copyright: when reproduced at A4 WP/2012/0250/FM - Prince of Wales, 42 Croyland Road, Wellingborough ± GetMapping PLC 1999 - 2 - parking provision 30 spaces, altered access and landscaping’ (Council Ref: WP/2008/0082). The previous owners claimed that the development was not built due to lack of demand and over-supply of flats in Wellingborough Town. They subsequently submitted another proposal for the following proposal which was also consented: Proposed alterations to, extension and conversion of the existing public house to provide six (6) self contained flats and erection of eight (8) dwelling houses at the rear and side of the site together with car parking and landscaping (Council Ref: WP/2010/0193). NATIONAL AND LOCAL PLANNING POLICY: National Planning Policy Framework North Northamptonshire Core Spatial Strategy Policy 1 – Strengthening The Network of Settlements Policy 9 – Distribution and Location of Development Policy 13 – General Sustainable Development Principles Policy 14 – Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Wellingborough Local Plan Policy H8 – Affordable Housing SUMMARY OF REPLIES TO CONSULTATIONS/REPRESENTATIONS RECEIVED: 1. NCC Highways – no objection subject to the imposition of the following conditions: The vehicular crossing is to be constructed, the existing crossing closed and all highway surfaces where affected by the proposals reinstated in accordance with the specification of Northamptonshire County Council and subject to an appropriate licence/agreement under the Highways Act 1980; To assist the movement of prams and wheelchairs the vehicular crossing should be constructed using taper and half section kerbs in lieu of the radius form indicated on the plan; Vehicle to vehicle visibility of 2m x 43m and pedestrian to vehicle visibility of 2.4m x 2.4m (2m x 2m where turning facilities are available within the site) above a height of 0.6m must be provided and maintained on both sides of the point of access; and To prevent loose material being carried onto the highway at least the first 5m of the driveway in rear of the highway boundary must be paved with hard bound materials. 2. BCW Design Officer – scheme is now acceptable. Changes have been made to address previous concerns. 3. The occupier of no. 29 Croyland Road - I have inspected the revised proposal for the Price of Wales site and I see that the roof line has been lowered significantly. I acknowledge that this will make the building less dominant than before, and to that extent it represents an improvement. However, there are still serious outstanding issues: It is still a predominantly three storey building in an otherwise two storey neighbourhood, and even with the marginal reduction in height of the second floor windows, it will still seriously compromise the privacy of surrounding properties in both Croyland Road and Monks Way. - 3 - Both Croyland Rd. and Monks way have an established building line; this proposal maintains that building line in Croyland Road but not in Monks Way. As designed, the east elevation comes to within a foot or so of the pavement, leaving the lounge-diner windows of flats 3, 5, 8 & 9 with virtually no privacy from passers-by. If the building line established by Nos. 1 & 3 Monks Way (and by the old Prince of Wales pub – more or less) were adhered to, it would leave space for a screen of trees. This would eliminate the privacy problem, both for the residents of the flats and of the surrounding properties; it would also make the whole development more visually acceptable. This has been done – fairly successfully – with an equally out of place block of flats on the corner of Doddington Rd. and Butterfields. Basically, all these problems stem from the developers’ desire to squeeze in more accommodation than the plot will bear. ASSESSMENT: Principle of Residential Development The merits of the proposed development have been established following the Committee approval in 2008 for a similar development comprising 21 new flats over 2/3 storeys, car parking provision altered access and landscaping’ (Council Ref: WP/2008/0082). Nonetheless, the proposed development is consistent with the provisions in the new NPPF and the main thrust of the Core Strategy which seeks to direct new development to urban areas and utilise brownfield sites for further housing provisions. In the circumstances, the proposed development on this site is acceptable in principle. Design, Layout, Character and Appearance There is no prevalent common architectural theme in the area, although most buildings are 2-storeys in height. The secondary building within the development that has a frontage to Monks Road is acceptable in this regard.