PLANNING STATEMENT Tame Homes Limited Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This Planning Statement has been prepared to accompany a planning application submitted to Lichfield District Council on behalf of Tame Homes Limited. The application seeks approval for the partial demolition of existing buildings and the conversion of retained buildings to create 7 no. dwellings, landscaping, access and associated works. The Proposals 1.2 The planning application seeks to demolish part of existing development on site and convert the remaining to create 7 no. dwellings and 1 no. garage. The application includes the creation of a new vehicular access on to Coppy Nook Lane and alterations to the existing access on to Overton Lane. The existing access on Coppy Nook Lane which is currently shared by the neighbouring dormer bungalow will remain (outside the applicant’s ownership) and will continue to serve the neighbouring premises. 1.3 The proposals will create 3 no. separate buildings; each accommodating terraced or semi detached housing. 3 no. plots are located within one building to the northwest. Car parking is situated to the southeast (side) with gardens to the rear. 1.4 To the southeast is a block containing a pair of semi detached properties. Plot 4 has parking to the northwest (side) and plot 5 has parking to the front. Gardens are provided to the rear. Tame Homes Limited 2 Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement 1.5 To the south is a third block containing a pair of semi detached properties. The two plots (6 and 7) are set to the back of the site such that their gardens are forward of the building. The garden will be enclosed by brick walling to provide screening and privacy. Car parking is to the east (side). 1.6 The image below shows the extent of demolition proposed coloured red. The white sections being the buildings retained and converted. 1.7 The existing brick and tile building at the junction of Coppy Nook Lane and Overton Lane will be converted into garaging. Relevant Planning History 1.8 19/01452/FUL – Demolition of existing buildings (Use Class B2/B8) and erection of 9no dwellings, garages, access and associated works. Refused 16 June 2019. Tame Homes Limited 3 Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement 1.9 The above planning application is subject of an appeal which, as of writing, is yet to be determined (ref. APP/K3415/W/20/3263751). Site Location 1.10 The application site is known as Overton Farm and has been operating lawfully as a series of workshops (B2 Use Class) for a considerable number of years. The site sits at the corner of Coppy Nook Lane and Overton Lane, a short distance to the north west of Hammerwich. 1.11 The image below shows an aerial of the site. The 3 no. groups of existing buildings can be seen, one to the southwest of the junction, a large group within the middle of the site and building to the west. The buildings are mainly constructed in block work with corrugated fibre cement roof sheeting. 1.12 The buildings are set behind open areas of hardstanding; the larger open area being situated to the east alongside Overton Lane. Ground levels rise across the site from a low point to the east (close to Overton Lane) to a high point on the western part of the site. Tame Homes Limited 4 Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement 1.13 There exists 2 no. vehicular access points into the site. 1 no. is located to the northwest end of the site and is currently shared with the neighbouring dormer bungalow. This access falls outside the application site and would not therefore be utilised as part of the development. The second access is on to Overton Lane and is gated approximately 6 metres rear of the highway boundary. 1.14 The existing buildings vary in height and design but none are considered to be heritage assets worthy of retention. The brick built building towards the junction of Coppy Nook Lane and Overton Lane is perhaps the oldest building on site. 1.15 The site is washed over by Green Belt and is located outside of a recognised settlement. It is therefore within open countryside. The site is not within a Conservation Area and there are no designated or non-designated heritage assets within the vicinity of the site. The site is not within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, SSSI or the subject of any other ecological, geological or landscape designation. It does however fall within the ‘zone of influence’ for the Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The site lies within Flood Zone 1 and is therefore in an area least at risk of flooding. 1.16 There are 2 no. dwellings located close to the site, a dormer bungalow to the north/northwest and a two storey detached dwelling to the south. Tame Homes Limited 5 Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement 2.0 PLANNING POLICY The Development Plan 2.1 The Development Plan includes the Lichfield Local Plan Strategy (LPS) that was adopted in February 2015 and the Local Plan Allocations Document (LPAD) that was adopted in July 2019. 2.2 The following policies of the Local Plan Strategy (LPS) are considered relevant to the determination of this current planning application and will be discussed in greater depth, where relevant, in the following sections of this Statement:- Core Policy 6 – Housing Delivery Policy NR2 – Development in Green Belt Policy NR3 - Biodiversity, Protected Species and their Habitats Policy NR7 - Cannock Chase Special Area of Conservation Policy BE1 – High Quality Development Core Policy 14 – Our Built and Historic Environment 2.3 With regard to the Local Plan Allocations Document (LPAD), there are no relevant policies that are considered to be material to the application proposals. 2.4 In relation to Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs), the authority has adopted the following which are considered relevant to the proposals. Trees, Landscaping & Development Biodiversity & Development Rural Development Tame Homes Limited 6 Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement Sustainable Design National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) 2.5 The Government’s policies concerning appropriate forms of development in the Green Belt are contained in paragraphs 145 and 146. Paragraph 143 states that inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. 2.6 Paragraph 145(g) explains that the, "limited infilling or the partial or complete re-development of previously developed land, whether redundant or in continuing use" , is an appropriate form of development in Green Belt where it would not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt than the existing development. 2.7 The term, ‘previously developed land’ is defined within Annex 2 of the Framework as meaning, “Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole of the curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes: land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings; land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill, where provision for restoration has been made through development management procedures; land in built-up areas such as residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was Tame Homes Limited 7 Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement previously developed but where the remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape.” 2.8 Paragraph 146 of the Framework sets out that certain other types of development are not inappropriate in the Green Belt provided that they preserve its openness and do not conflict with the purposes of including land within in. This includes at paragraph 146(d) the re-use of buildings provided that the buildings are of permanent and substantial construction. 2.9 The five purposes of Green Belt are set out within paragraph 134 of the Framework. They are: to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas; to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another; to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land. 2.10 Paragraph 133 underlines the importance the Government attaches to Green Belt outlining that the “fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open”. It reads on to state that the essential characteristic of Green Belts is “their openness and their permanence”. Tame Homes Limited 8 Overton Farm, Overton Lane, Hammerwich, Burntwood WS7 0LT Planning Statement 2.11 If development is deemed to be inappropriate development in Green Belt, paragraph 143 states that it will, by definition, be harmful to it and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. Such circumstances will not exist unless the, “potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm resulting from the proposal, is clearly outweighed by other considerations” (paragraph 144). 2.12 Paragraph 79 relates to rural housing and states that planning decisions should avoid the development of isolated homes in the countryside unless one or more of a series of listed circumstances apply. 2.13 The Court of Appeal judgment (the case of Braintree District Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Others [2018] EWCA Civ 610 – Appendix 1) has clarified the meaning of “isolated” in the context of paragraph 55 (old NPPF) and thus that set out in paragraph 79 of the NPPF 2019.