Argyll and Bute Council Development and Infrastructure Services Delegated or Committee Planning Application Report and Report of handling as required by Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 relative to applications for Planning Permission or Planning Permission in Principle ____________________________________________________________________________ Reference No : 15/00432/PP Planning Hierarchy : Local Applicant : Kilfinan Community Forest Company Proposal : Erection of 5 Affordable Dwellinghouses and Office/Training Centre, installation of 3 sewage treatment plants and associated works incorporating the submission of a masterplan in respect of 15/01140/MPLAN (Potential Development Area 2/101). Site Address : Lower Acharossan Forest, Land to the North West of Primary School, Tighnabruaich ____________________________________________________________________________ DECISION ROUTE Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 ____________________________________________________________________________ (A) THE APPLICATION (i) Development Requiring Express Planning Permission • Erection of five affordable dwellinghouses; • Erection of office/training centre; • Installation of three sewage treatment plants; • Connection to private water supply; • Upgrade of existing private access. (ii) Other specified operations § Structural landscaping ____________________________________________________________________________ (B) RECOMMENDATION: Having due regard to the Development Plan and all other material considerations it is recommended that planning permission be granted subject to the conditions, reasons and informative notes given at the end of this report. ____________________________________________________________________________ (C) HISTORY: Planning Permission (ref: 10/00452/PP) granted on 20 th May 2010 for the formation of a forest access road. No objections on 5 th July 2010 for an Agricultural Prior Notification (ref: 10/00750/PNAGRI) for the erection of an allotment hut, compost/machinery shed and four polytunnels. Planning Permission (ref: 11/00311/PP) granted on 16 th May 2011 for the erection of a timber composting toilet and soakaway. Planning Permission (ref: 11/01084/PP) granted on 22 nd September 2011 for the erection of a culvert and handrails. Planning Permission (ref: 11/02030/PP) granted on 19 th January 2012 for the erection of a 60 metre high meteorological mast for a temporary period of 18 months. No objections on 25 th June 2013 for a Forestry Prior Notification (ref: 13/00614/PNFOR) for the erection of a forestry storage building. Planning Permission (ref: 13/01915/PP) granted on 6th December 2013 for a micro hydro scheme. No objections on 17 th October 2013 for a Forestry Prior Notification (ref: 13/02019/PNFOR) for the erection of a forestry building. Planning Permission (ref: 13/02118/PP) granted on 15 th November 2013 for the variation of Condition 1 of Planning Permission 11/02030/PP to allow the retention of the meteorological mast. Non Material Amendment (ref: 14/01900/NMA) granted on 22 nd August 2014 for minor changes to micro hydro scheme. ____________________________________________________________________________ (D) CONSULTATIONS: SEPA (letter dated 14 th May 2015): No objection. Area Roads Manager (report dated 17 th May 2015): No objection subject to conditions. Access Team (report received 19 th May 2015) General comments regarding core paths, etc. West of Scotland Archaeology Service (letter dated 20 th May 2015) Recommends condition regarding implementation of a programme of archaeological works prior to the commencement of the development. ____________________________________________________________________________ (E) PUBLICITY: Regulation 20 Advertisement (closing date 29th May 2013). ____________________________________________________________________________ (F) REPRESENTATIONS: No representations received. ____________________________________________________________________________ (G) SUPPORTING INFORMATION Has the application been the subject of: (i) Environmental Statement: No (ii) An appropriate assessment under the Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994: No (iii) A design or design/access statement: No (iv) A report on the impact of the proposed development eg. Retail impact, transport impact, noise impact, flood risk, drainage impact etc: No (v) Supporting Information: Yes A Supporting Statement has been submitted dated 1 st February 2015, a summary of which is as follows: • Kilfinan Community Forest Company (KCFC) is a registered Scottish charity formed in 2007. In 2010, KCFC purchased the lower part of Acharossan Forest (125 hectares) on behalf of the residents of the Kilfinan parish, and what was once an unvisited tract of uninspiring commercial forestry has since then become a valuable community asset. KCFC aims to deliver a variety of benefits to the Kilfinan community, including the development of recreational facilities, further employment opportunities and the provision of genuinely affordable housing; • Current projects include community allotments, forest walks, a community composting facility, wood fuel supply and sawmill. The considerable investment required to subsidise such activities primarily comes from the generous support of governmental funding agencies and income generated by the charity; significantly, through sales of standing timber. However, whilst these funding sources continue to enable the forest to carry out projects and fulfil many different aims and objectives, they do not guarantee the sustainable future of the charity; • It has always been considered that the best way to maintain a ‘ living forest ’ is to actually have people living in the forest, encouraging a sense of belonging and ownership. A modest long term housing development is proposed to be the way of fulfilling these goals, delivering affordable housing, jobs and revenue and securing the community benefit of the forest in the long term; • In terms of the proposed affordable housing, KCFC has a substantial land holding, the aim of which is to provide community benefits; therefore, the charity can make building land available at substantially below market rates as part of its wider community benefit remit. Engineering studies that have been commissioned have shown that, with innovative design, substantial parts of the building structure can be made from logs processed on the site whilst still meeting all the requirements of the current Building Standards. The plan is for KCFC houses to be built using a mixture of experienced project managers, local professionals, skilled volunteers and, perhaps most importantly, apprentices. Provision of training has always been one of KCFC’s goals and it already has a strong track record on training delivery; • In order to avoid the possibility of householders taking a profit by moving on quickly – a potential issue which has been flagged up at various consultations that have been carried out – KCFC will seek to apply a Rural Housing Burden. A legal framework is currently being set up and, through a relatively new statute, it has been applied successfully elsewhere; • Despite the elevated position of the site, the surrounding trees (to be retained and enhanced) do effectively screen the development, meaning that it will have little visual intrusion on the rest of the village, only actually being visible from a few buildings some distance away. That said, the housing area is very much in the centre of what is becoming high quality amenity woodland and, therefore, buildings will need to complement rather than impose on the landscape. For this reason, all buildings will be low rise (less than 4.5 metres in height), using the lack of land investment pressure to enable building single storey only. This will create an outline that blends in with rather than contradicts the surrounding topography; ____________________________________________________________________________ (H) PLANNING OBLIGATIONS Is a Section 75 agreement required: No ____________________________________________________________________________ (I) Has a Direction been issued by Scottish Ministers in terms of Regulation 30, 31 or 32: No ____________________________________________________________________________ (J) Section 25 of the Act; Development Plan and any other material considerations over and above those listed above which have been taken into account in the assessment of the application (i) List of all Development Plan Policy considerations taken into account in assessment of the application. Argyll and Bute Local Development Plan 2015 LDP DM1 – Development within the Development Management Zones LDP 3 – Supporting the Protection, Conservation and Enhancement of our Environment LDP 9 – Development Setting, Layout and Design LDP 11 – Improving our Connectivity and Infrastructure Supplementary Guidance SG LDP ENV 6 – Development Impact on Trees / Woodland SG LDP ENV 13 –Development Impact on Areas of Panoramic Quality (APQs) SG LDP ENV 20 – Development Impact on Sites of Archaeological Importance SG LDP HOU 1 – General Housing Development including Affordable Housing SG LDP COM 2 – Community Plans and New/Extended Crofting Townships Sustainable Siting and Design Principles Delivery of Affordable Housing SG LDP SERV 1 – Private Sewerage Treatment Plants and Wastewater (i.e. drainage) systems SG LDP SERV 6 – Private Water Supplies and Water Conservation SG LDP SERV 7 – Flooding and Land Erosion SG LDP TRAN 4 – New