Planning Committee Report 12 May 2021 REPORT SUMMARY REFERENCE NO - 21/00602/FULL APPLICATION PROPOSAL Erection of 2no. detached two bedroom dwellings with the provision of associated access, parking, amenity, landscaping and bio-diverse enhancements. ADDRESS Land Adjacent Frisco Cottage Hawkhurst Road Cranbrook Kent RECOMMENDATION Refuse (see section 11.0 of the Report for the full recommendation) SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION • The development would be harmful to the rural character of the area and would fail to conserve and enhance the special character of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. • The application site is only considered moderately sustainable at best, with limited services nearby and consequent heavy reliance on the use of private cars by the future occupants. • In addition, the proposal would harm the significance of nearby Grade II listed buildings, Hill Cottages (aka Hill Cottage and Frisco Cottage) and Hartley House. • It is not considered that there are sufficient public benefits, or any other material considerations, that outweigh the harm identified above. • The proposal is not therefore considered to constitute ‘sustainable development’. INFORMATION ABOUT FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF PROPOSAL The following are considered to be material to the application: Contributions (to be secured through Section 106 legal agreement/unilateral undertaking): N/A Net increase in numbers of jobs: N/A Estimated average annual workplace salary spend in Borough through net increase in numbers of jobs: N/A The following are not considered to be material to the application: Estimated annual council tax benefit for Borough: £357.35 Estimated annual council tax benefit total: £3570.50 Estimated annual business rates benefits for Borough: N/A REASON FOR REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE Called in by Cllr Holden as the site is in the AONB, outside the Limits to Built Development, and within the setting of listed buildings. WARD Benenden & PARISH/TOWN COUNCIL APPLICANT Mr N J Wickham Cranbrook Cranbrook & Sissinghurst AGENT Mr David Bedford Parish Council DECISION DUE DATE PUBLICITY EXPIRY DATE OFFICER SITE VISIT DATE 30/04/21 16/04/21 Various Planning Committee Report 12 May 2021 RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY (including appeals and relevant history on adjoining sites): 20/01991/FULL Erection of 2no. detached three bedroom dwellings Refused 03/11/20 with the provision of associated access, parking, amenity, landscaping and bio-diverse enhancements Reasons: 1) The development would cause significant harm to the rural character of the area, would have more than a minimal impact on the landscape character of the locality and would fail to conserve and enhance the special character of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 2) The proposal would harm the significance of nearby listed buildings. It is not considered that there are sufficient public benefits, or any other material considerations, that outweigh this harm. 07/01885/FUL Removal of 2 sheds and construction of stable Granted 11/12/07 building 94/00348/FUL Construction of detached house Refused 31/05/94 Reasons: 1) Development would be detrimental to the rural character of the AONB; 2) Proposal would be detrimental to the quality of a Special Landscape Area; 3) Proposal is for new development outside small rural towns and villages; 4) Access inadequate to serve the proposed development and would create unacceptable traffic levels; 5) Proposal would constitute an unacceptable form of backland development without proper road frontage and would be detrimental to the privacy and residential amenities of the adjacent property 6) LPA does not consider there is any justification for over-riding the policy objections. Appeal dismissed 25 January 1995 Planning Committee Report 12 May 2021 91/01383/OUT Outline - Residential development Refused 05/02/92 1) Development would be detrimental to the rural character of the AONB; 2) Proposal would be detrimental to the quality of a Special Landscape Area; 3) Proposal is for new development outside small rural towns and villages; 4) Access inadequate to serve the proposed development and would create unacceptable traffic levels; 5) Proposal would constitute an unacceptable form of backland development without proper road frontage and would be detrimental to the privacy and residential amenities of the adjacent property MAIN REPORT 1.0 DESCRIPTION OF SITE 1.01 The application site is located to the south west of Cranbrook, west of the A229 Hartley Road and comprises 0.17 hectares. It is accessed via Bishops Lane and is currently used for private equestrian purposes pursuant to the 2007 planning permission listed above. Condition 8 of that permission requires that if the stables fall out of use for their permitted purpose they shall be removed within three months of the cessation of that use. The application site only comprises the paddock associated with the stables, not the stables themselves. 1.02 The surrounding area is characterised by open agricultural fields and clusters of development. The land sits close to residential development to the north, comprising of several dwellings arranged around a historic farmstead; some of which are formed from conversions of former agricultural buildings. It comprises of Frisco Cottage (Grade II listed); Hartley Oast; Hill Cottage (Grade II Listed) and Hartley Hall (Grade II Listed). To the north of Bishops Lane is Bull Farm (comprising a Grade II listed barn and farmhouse). 1.03 The eastern site boundary fronts Hartley Road and the southern boundary runs alongside a private access road that leads to an industrial site further east. To the south of the site, on the opposite side of the track and west of Hawkhurst Road/A229, are Dukes Cottages. On the east side of Hawkhurst Road, to the south-east of the site, there is linear road frontage development and cul-de-sacs (Westfield Terrace and The Meads). To the west of the site there are open fields. 2.0 PROPOSAL 2.01 This application seeks full planning permission for the erection of two detached dwellings with the provision of associated access, parking, amenity and landscaping. Planning Committee Report 12 May 2021 2.02 The proposed dwellings would be situated to the south of Frisco Cottage, on opposite sides of a shared turning head/access road. The dwellings would be 1.5 storeys in height. 2.03 Plot 1 faces north toward Bishop Lane and has a garden that extends south of the property. There are two parking spaces located outside of the property. Plot 2 faces west and a private garden extends to the east. As before, a dedicated ecology zone comprises most of the north east corner of the site. 2.04 Both dwellings would have two bedrooms and adopt the same internal layout. On the ground floor there would be an open plan kitchen and dining space with a separate living room and home working space. The first floor would accommodate two bedrooms (one with en suite) and a separate family bathroom. 2.05 The dwellings would be traditional in appearance with black timber weatherboarding the dominant external material. Clay roof tiles would be used for the roofs. 2.06 Vehicular access would be achieved by extending the road that serves dwellings to the north off Bishops Lane. The proposal would also create a new pedestrian access to the site via Hartley Road via a set of steps leading down to Bishops Lane. Each dwelling is allocated two car parking spaces and there is an additional visitor space, plus turning. 2.07 The application differs from its predecessor refused in November 2020 in the following ways; • The dwellings were previously two storey and of a ‘farmhouse’ design, using a weathered multi stock brick as the dominant external material, with either white weatherboarding or hanging clay tiles at first floor; • The dwellings featured a full height chimney stack, bay windows and architectural detailing; • The layout differs from the previous scheme; the access road previously extended through the site on a NW-SE orientation, whereas now it is shorted, runs along the western boundary and becomes a shared turning head between the dwellings; • The dwellings are now arranged differently, with Plot 1 now rotated through 90 degrees and occupying a similar position on the site. Plot 2 is also rotated through 90 degrees and has moved to the east slightly. The garden and parking layouts are correspondingly different. • There is slightly less tree removal than before, as T14 was previously proposed to be removed altogether (now it will just be pruned) along with T12. 3.0 SUMMARY INFORMATION Existing Proposed Proposed Change (+/-) under refused under application current 20/01991/FULL application Site Area (ha) 0.17 0.17 0.17 No change Land use(s) Private 2 x C3 2 x C3 + 2 dwellings including floor equestrian dwellings dwellings area(s) Car parking spaces N/A 5 5 +5 No. of storeys N/A 2 1.5 +1.5 Planning Committee Report 12 May 2021 Max height N/A 8 6.3m +6.3m Max eaves height N/A 5 3m +3m No. of residential 0 2 2 +2 units 4.0 PLANNING CONSTRAINTS • Agricultural Land Classification Grade 3 • Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (statutory protection in order to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of their landscapes - National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949 & Countryside and Rights of Way Act, 2000) • Limits to built development OUTSIDE • Within 250M Buffer Of TWBC Quarry / Landfill Site • Potentially Contaminated Land + 50M Buffer - Various Sites • Close to five Grade II listed buildings (statutory duty to preserve or enhance the