Planning Committee – 04/02/15 PLANNING COMMITTEE Wednesday 4 February 2015 at 7.00 p.m. PRESENT: Councillors Karam Mohan, Patrick Cogan, Paul Conlan, Abdullah Gulaid, Kamaljit Kaur Nagpal, Shital Manro, Swaran Singh Padda, Tariq Mahmood, Aysha Raza, Simon Woodroofe, David Millican, Nigel Sumner and Gary Busttil. 1. Apologies for Absence There were none. 2. Urgent Matters There were none. 3. Matters to be Considered in Private There were none. 4. Declarations of Interest With regard to Item 02, Land at junction of Leamington Park and Western Avenue, Councillor Shital Manro said that although not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, for the reasons of openness and transparency, he reported that the applicant, Atul Pathak was known to him, but he had not discussed the planning application with him. 5. Minutes Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2015, be agreed as a true and correct record of the meeting. 6. Site Visit Attendance The Chair confirmed that he and Councillors Patrick Cogan, Paul Conlan, Abdullah Gulaid, Shital Manro, Swaran Singh Padda, Tariq Mahmood, Aysha Raza, Simon Woodroofe, Nigel Sumner and Gary Busttil attended the site visits. Councillor Kamaljit Kaur Nagpal had attended all the site visits, with the exception of Item 4 – Smith Farm Estate. Councillor David Millican had sent his apologies. 7. Planning Applications and Enforcement Reports The Head of Planning Services submitted reports in relation to the following planning applications for determination by the Committee. Application 01 in respect of Phase 4 of the Acton Gardens Masterplan Site comprising Chesterton Court, Grahame Tower and associated garages, Hanbury Road, South Acton Estate Acton, W3 8RH (Agent: Terence O’Rourke) (Ward: South Acton) Reserved matters application for Phase 4 of the Acton Gardens Masterplan The minutes should be read in conjunction with the agenda for the meeting. They are subject to approval and signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 1 Planning Committee – 04/02/15 detailing Landscaping, Appearance, Scale, Access and Layout in relation to the construction of a part seven to nine storey high apartment building containing 107 units (33 no. 1-bedroom, 46 no. 2-bedroom, 25 no. 3-bedroom, and 3 no. 4-bedroom flats); associated private and semi-private amenity space, refuse / recycling and bicycle stores; a single-storey substation; 18 off-street car parking spaces and 19 on-street car parking spaces; provision of a public open space of approximately 4,900 sq.m; the closure of Hanbury Road and reconfiguration of the public highway to the east of its current position and the construction of a new north-south street between Bollo Bridge Road and Osborne Road; application made part pursuant to conditions 2 (Reserved Matters), 4 (Reserved Matters Details), 5 (Details of Public Realm Landscaping), 6 (Energy Strategy), 11 (Noise Mitigation Measures), 16 (Flood Risk Assessment), 18 (Tree Protection), 19 (Refuse and Recycling Enclosures), 20 (Archaeological Investigation), 22 (Rainwater and / or Greywater Recycling Systems), 25 (Boundary Treatments), 26 (Details of Secured by Design) and 35 (Timeframe for the Delivery of West Park) of outline planning permission LBE ref: P/2012/0708, dated 13/08/2013 (amended by minor material amendment application PP/2014/2142, dated 21/07/2014) for the multi-Phased regeneration of the South Acton Estate. Adrian Harding (Interim Major Projects Manager) introduced the report and referred members to the updates provided in the Briefing Note. Transport for London (TfL), the Metropolitan Police and the applicant had met on-site on 28 January 2015 to discuss the relocation of the existing bus stop on Bollo Bridge Road. TfL and the Metropolitan Police representative asked the applicant to reduce the proposed 5 metres width of the new footpath to between 3.8 – 4.0 metres, so that the additional width could be added to Bollo Bridge Road, where the proposed bus loading bay would be located. The Council’s Highways Engineer was satisfied with the recommended width of the footway and carriageway, and advised that the detailed design of both would be secured under a S.273 Agreement. For clarification, the Committee was advised that with the inclusion of the Phase 4 development, there would be a net increase of 186 units in affordable tenure, constructed within the South Acton Estate since 2007. The net additional 186 units were comprised of 177 units in shared ownership tenure, and 9 units in social rent tenure. Councillor Simon Woodroofe highlighted the application was part of a wider scheme and noted the overall net increase of units in affordable tenure. Councillor Tariq Mahmood welcomed the regeneration the application would provide. The minutes should be read in conjunction with the agenda for the meeting. They are subject to approval and signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 2 Planning Committee – 04/02/15 In response to a question from Tariq Mahmood, Adrian Harding reported that a condition had been included as part of the recommendation to address the requirement to agree the location of the replacement bus stop. Resolved:- GRANT - with conditions as detailed in the agenda. Application 02 in respect of Land at junction of Leamington Park and Western Avenue, Acton W3 6TH (Agent: Katie Harley)(Ward: East Acton) Redevelopment of the site to provide a two-storey freestanding restaurant (Use Class A3/A5) building with associated drive through; provision of vehicle access from western avenue; and egress from Leamington Park; car parking and landscaping including outdoor seating area; installation of 2.No of customer display and canopy and refuse storage. Martin Gorst on behalf of Ealing Cycling Campaign, spoke in objection to the application. He stated that the proposal for a drive-in McDonalds did not, as claimed bring a new facility to the area. For drivers, there was a Burger King on the A40 about 1 k m away, near Park Royal Tube Station. For locals, there were four fast food places within 200 metres of the site. He said the A40 Green Corridor Policy was not being adhered to by the proposal. It was mainly concrete, with only a tiny strip of shrubbery. A drive-in McDonalds only encouraged non-sustainable transport. With 28 car park spaces, and a looping drive-in lane, there was no space left to plant the trees needed to make the A40 Green Corridor a reality. Instead, a back alleyway entrance to the site, plus the pollution caused by running engines would make this a ‘crime and grime corridor’. Concerns were raised in relation to traffic safety. He said that a drive-in facility encouraged drinking and eating at the wheel, which was considered more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol or driving whilst using a phone. The proposed deceleration lane did not allow enough braking distance. He said the access road to the site would cut across the cycle path at an angle, allowing vehicles to cross it at speed and without a clear view of cyclists on their left. He said the Council had recognised that this was dangerous but they had not presented any plans to install a zebra crossing or signals. He said it was usual in planning for safety to be considered right from the start and not ‘bolted on at the end’. He said to make the crossing safe would require significant design changes, altering the road layout to slow vehicles down and provide better sight lines. He raised a second concern regarding the introduction of the slip road that had taken away space that would have been available for the proposed East-West Cycle Superhighway. The shared use path was not suitable for fast moving commuter The minutes should be read in conjunction with the agenda for the meeting. They are subject to approval and signature at the next meeting of this Committee. Page 3 Planning Committee – 04/02/15 cyclists. He said a simple solution to these problems was to provide vehicle access from Leamington Park. He stated he had received a letter from Andrew Gilligan, ‘cycling tsar’ raising concern about the impact of the application on the proposed Cycle Superhighway. Martin Gorst urged the Committee to reject the application. Atul Pathak, the applicant and Managing Director (Appt Corporation Ltd t/a McDonald’s) responded to the points raised. He told the Committee that he owned and operated 26 McDonald’s restaurants across North West London, including four in Ealing. In response to concerns raised regarding cycle provision near the site, he said he was fully aware of Transport for London’s (TfL) Cycle Superhighway proposals. He had been working with TfL to ensure the proposal aligned with the aspirations to deliver a green verge, a cycle path, a cycle superhighways standard and a pedestrian path. He would continue to work with TfL to ensure these were delivered. He said it was important to note that these proposals did not form part of this planning application. He said, he had worked with Council officers and they had confirmed that a raised zebra crossing at the deceleration lane/cycle junction was acceptable. He said that based on research commissioned by McDonald’s, his restaurants in Ealing contributed £12.2 million annually to the local economy. He said with the approval of the application, even more would be added to the local economy, including at least the creation of 100 new jobs. He cared passionately about developing his staff and he provided a special training facility for them to complete their apprenticeships and GCSE in Maths and English. He told the Committee that in 2013 he organised a large scale Capital Clean-Up event in Windmill Estate, which was attended by the local MP, many local councillors, Police and officers from Ealing Council along with over 50 McDonald’s staff.