Report to Planning Committee – 4 March 2021 ITEM 2.1 PLANNING COMMITTEE – 4 MARCH 2021 PART 2 Report of the Head of Planning PART 2 Applications for which PERMISSION is recommended 2.1 REFERENCE NO - 18/502190/EIHYB APPLICATION PROPOSAL Phase 1 North - Erection of 91 dwellings accessed from Grovehurst Road, public open and amenity space (including an equipped children's play area) together with associated landscaping and ecological enhancement works, acoustic barrier to the A249, internal access roads, footpaths, cycleways and parking, drainage (including infiltration basins and tanked permeable paving), utilities and service infrastructure works. Full Planning Application - Phase 1 South - Erection of 257 dwellings (including 35 affordable dwellings) accessed from Quinton Road, public open and amenity space, together with associated landscaping and ecological enhancement works, internal access roads, footpaths, cycleways and parking, drainage (including infiltration swales, ring soakaways, and permeable paving), utilities and service infrastructure works. Outline Planning Application - for up to 852 new dwellings (including 10% affordable housing), a site of approximately 10 ha for a secondary and primary school, a mixed use local centre, including land for provision of a convenience store, public open and amenity space (including equipped children's play areas), together with associated landscaping and ecological enhancement works, acoustic barrier to the A249, internal access roads, footpaths, cycleways and parking, drainage (including a foul water pumping station and sustainable drainage systems), utilities and service infrastructure. All matters reserved. ADDRESS Land North Quinton Road Sittingbourne Kent ME10 2SX RECOMMENDATION GRANT Subject to the views of KCC Education in respect of the BREEAM conditions for the proposed schools, the signing of a suitably worded Section 106 agreement (to secure the mitigation set out at paragraphs 9.16.1 to 9.16.3 below) and the conditions set out below. Authority is also sought to amend the wording of the Section 106 agreement and the wording of conditions as may reasonably be required. SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION: The proposed development would accord with the requirements of the adopted Local Plan (Bearing Fruits, adopted 2017) and, in particular, Policy MU1, which allocates the wider site (of which the application site makes up the majority) for a minimum of 1500 dwellings. By providing up to 1200 dwellings, this development would make a major contribution to the delivery of housing in Swale, and in particular Sittingbourne. Other key benefits of the development would be the provision of land for the delivery of two schools (a secondary to serve the development and to cater for significant existing demand from the wider area and to broaden choice in the Sittingbourne area; a primary to serve the proposed development), a country park and substantial areas of other open space and strategic landscaping; a spine road would provide to create a new connection between Quinton Road and Grovehurst Road; the provision of 120 affordable dwellings; and the provision of a mixed use local centre. Report to Planning Committee – 4 March 2021 ITEM 2.1 With specific regard to the details area of the development (namely Phase 1 South and Phase 1 North), it is considered that the development would deliver a good layout, with well-designed homes, and without giving rise to any significant amenity concerns. Any adverse impacts that would otherwise have resulted from the development will be mitigated by developer contributions as summarised below and the imposition of conditions (also set out below). REASON FOR REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE Objection from Bobbing Parish Council, and the very substantial scale of the development. WARDS: Kemsley; PARISH COUNCIL Bobbing APPLICANT Persimmon Bobbing, Iwade and Lower (part of the site – to the west Homes Ltd Halstow: and The Meads. of the ditch running through AGENT JB Planning Associates the centre of the site is located within Bobbing Parish); Members will note that most of the site falls within the Sittingbourne area, which is un-parished. Iwade Parish is located to the north of the site, though is separated from it by the A249. DECISION DUE DATE Extension of the original time limit will be agreed in due course. Planning History (for application site) 15/506121/ENVSCR EIA Screening Opinion - A sustainable urban extension comprising up to 1,400 new dwellings (of a range of sizes, types and tenures, including affordable housing), a site of 10.00ha for a secondary and primary schools, and public open and amenity space, together with associated landscaping, access, highways (including footpaths and cycleways), parking, drainage (including a foul water pumping station), utilities and service infrastructure works EIA Required Decision Date: 21.08.2015 15/506821/EIASCO EIA Scoping Opinion - A sustainable urban extension comprising up to 1,400 new dwellings (of a range of sizes, types and tenures, including affordable housing), a site of 10.00ha for a secondary and primary schools, and public open and amenity space, together with associated landscaping, access, highways (including footpaths and cycleways), parking, drainage (including a foul water pumping station), utilities and service infrastructure works Decision Date: 2.12.2015 16/506014/EIASCO EIA Scoping Opinion - A sustainable urban extension comprising up to 1,100 new dwellings (of a range of sizes, types and tenures, including affordable housing), a site of 10.50 ha for a secondary and primary school, and public open and amenity space, together with associated landscaping, Report to Planning Committee – 4 March 2021 ITEM 2.1 access, highways (including footpaths and cycle ways), parking, drainage (including a foul water pumping station), utilities and service infrastructure works. Decision Date: 12.04.2017 Planning History (relating to adjacent sites) 19/501845/OUT – Members resolved, at the Planning Committee on 27 January 2020, that outline planning permission (with all matters reserved) should be granted for the erection of 23 dwellings with access road on land to the rear on land at 2 Bramblefield Lane, Kemsley subject to conditions and the signing of a suitably-worded Section 106 agreement. The decision notice has not yet been issued for this development, which would adjoin the northern part of the site of the current application, as the drafting of the s106 Agreement is on-going. 18/500257/EIFUL – Planning permission was granted on 21st December 2020 for the development of 155 dwellings (9 x 2 bed flats, 13 x 2 bed houses, 66 x 3 bed houses, and 67 x 4 bed houses) together with associated new access road, car parking, linear park with acoustic barrier to the A249, dedicated LEAP, allotments, areas of surface water drainage attenuation and ecological enhancement, and new planting, including an area planted in the style of an orchard on 8.74 hectares of land in the south-west corner of the Local Plan (Policy MU1) allocation, with its northern and eastern boundaries adjoining the site of the current application. Among other things, Members will note that the applicant has committed to achieving a 14% betterment to the requirements of the current Building Regulations in terms of minimising CO2 emissions associated with the development. 18/502372/EIOUT - Outline application for the development of up to 115 dwellings and all necessary supporting infrastructure including emergency access, roads, footpath and cycle links, open space, play areas and landscaping, parking, drainage and all utilities and surface infrastructure works on 4.98 hectares of land at the northern end of the Local Plan allocation, between Grovehurst Road and Swale Way (and known as land at Great Grovehurst Farm). All detailed matters are reserved for subsequent approval except (a) mitigation of impacts on Great Crested Newts; (b) vehicular access to Grovehurst Road and (c) extraction of brickearth. This application is to be approved under delegated powers. Assessment of it is at an advanced stage, though the s106 agreement to accompany the permission has not yet been completed. 1. DESCRIPTION OF SITE 1.1 The site comprises a total of 64.5 hectares of arable farmland on the western edge of Sittingbourne. This can be sub-divided into 11 hectares located to the north of Bramblefield Lane and the public right of way ZU54 (and known as Pheasant Farm) and approximately 53.5 hectares to the south of this. As noted in the Planning Statement, the northern parcel “…comprises largely of an artificial mound…constructed from spoil arising from the construction of the adjacent A249 road.” The southern portion is further sub- divided by a ditch and intermittent tree / hedge line running south-west across the site and by a field boundary (featuring intermittent trees and hedging) running south-east from Bramblefield Lane to the eastern boundary of the site. 1.2 The boundaries of the site are defined as follows: to the west, the site adjoins the A249 dual-carriageway, which connects the M2 to Sittingbourne and Isle-of-Sheppey and is classified as a trunk road. To the south, the site fronts Quinton Road. Meads Avenue and the more-recent Meads housing estate are located immediately to the south of Quinton Road. To the east, the southern parcel is bounded by the railway line, which links the main London-Dover line to Kemsley and the Isle-of-Sheppey. At the northern end of the southern parcel, the site adjoins the Kemsley Halt Station and the Grovehurst Surgery Report to Planning Committee – 4 March 2021 ITEM 2.1 medical centre. The Bramblefield Lane cul-de-sac – characterised by a mix of single- and two-storey dwellings and some chalet bungalows - forms part of the northern boundary of the southern parcel and the southern boundary of the northern parcel. 1.3 The Environmental Statement describes the topography of the site as follows: “The topography of the site comprises a very gradual slope from c.20 AOD (Above Ordnance Datum) in the central-west…at Bramblefield Lane down to the south-east at the railway line.