Agenda item

Report No: DEV/SE/18/006

Planning Application - 2no. dwellings with associated vehicular access and copse area

Planning Application - 2no. dwellings with associated vehicular access and copse area

This application was referred to the Development Control Committee following consideration by the Delegation Panel.  The matter had been referred to the Delegation Panel at the request of Councillor Peter Stevens (Ward Member: Cavendish) and because the Parish Council had no objection to the proposal, which was contrary to the Officer recommendation of refusal, for the reason set out in Paragraph 35 of Report No DEV/SE/18/006.

The Planning Officer drew attention to the plan within ‘late papers’ that had been circulated in connection with the application, as a result of the version included within the agenda having been printed incompletely.

The Officer also highlighted Paragraph 32 of the report in which it explained the position with regard to a neighbouring approved application site that fell partly within the remit of Babergh District Council.

Speaker:      Mr Dean Pearce (agent) spoke in support of the application

Councillor Peter Stevens spoke in support of the scheme and proposed that the application be approved, contrary to the Officer recommendation of refusal.  This was duly seconded by Councillor David Roach.

The motion for approval was verbally supported by a number of other Members, in light of which the Case Officer read out a number of conditions that would be applied to the application if approved. 

The Service Manager (Planning – Development) explained that whilst the proposed development did not accord with Policy DM27, Members clearly considered that it was a sensitive and modest development which would contribute to the Council’s housing supply.  In this case Officers, therefore, did not consider a risk assessment to be necessary.  She also advised the Committee that there had been a number of recent appeal decisions made in relation to Policy DM27 and she would look to arrange a Member seminar on this topic in the near future.

Upon being put to the vote, and with 13 voting for the motion and with 1 against, it was resolved that

Decision

Planning permission be GRANTED, CONTRARY TO THE OFFICER RECOMMENDATION OF REFUSAL subject to the following conditions:

1           The development hereby permitted shall be begun not later than 3years from the date of this permission.

2           The development hereby permitted shall not be carried out except in complete accordance with the details shown on the approved plans anddocuments.

3           Demolition or construction works shall not take place outside 08:00 hours to 18:00 hours Mondays to Fridays and 08:00 hours to 13:00 hours on Saturdays and at no time on Sundays or BankHolidays.

4           The acoustic insulation of each dwelling shall be such to ensure noiselevels, with windows closed, do not exceed an LAeq (16hrs) of 35dB(A) within bedrooms and living rooms between the hours of 07:00 to 23:00, and an LAeq (8hrs) of 30dB(A) within bedrooms between the hours of 23:00 to 07:00.

5           The new vehicular access shall be laid out and completed in all respects in accordance with Drawing No. 17/79/06 as per DM01 (SCC - Domestic Vehicular Access Layout); with an entrance width of 4.5m and made available for use prior to occupation. Thereafter the access shall beretained in the specified form.

6           The access driveway shall be constructed at a gradient not steeper than 1 in 8.

7           Prior to the development hereby permitted being first occupied, theaccess onto Mill Road shall be properly surfaced with a bound material fora minimum distance of 5 metres from the edge of the metalled carriageway, in accordance with details previously submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.

8           The use shall not commence until the areas within the site shown onDrawing No. 17/79/06 for the purposes of loading, unloading, manoeuvring and parking of vehicles has been provided and thereafter those areas shall be retained and used for no otherpurposes.

9           Prior to the access being constructed the ditch beneath the proposedaccess shall be piped or bridged in accordance with details which previously shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority and shall be retained thereafter in its approvedform.

10          Before construction of the access is first commenced details shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authorityshowing the means to prevent the discharge of surface water from the development onto the highway. The approved scheme shall be carried out in its entirety before the access is first used and shall be retained thereafter in its approved form.

11          Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town & Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (or any Order revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification) no means of frontage enclosureshall exceed 0.6 metres in height above the level of the carriageway of the adjacenthighway.

12          The recommendations expressed in section 5 of the submitted GreatCrested Newt Assessment prepared by Skilled Ecology Consultancy Ltd. (dated November 2017, received 1st December 2017) shall be implemented infull.

13          The dwellings hereby permitted shall not be occupied until there has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority a scheme of soft landscaping for the site drawn to a scale of not less than 1:200. The soft landscaping details shall include planting plans; written specifications (including cultivation and other operations associated with plant and grass establishment); schedules of plants noting species, plant sizes and proposed numbers/ densities. The approved scheme of soft landscaping works shall be implemented prior to occupation (or within such extended period as may first be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority). Any planting removed, dying or becoming seriously damaged or diseased within ten years of planting shall be replaced within the first available planting season thereafter with planting of similar size andspecies unless the Local Planning Authority gives written consent for anyvariation.

14          No individual dwelling hereby approved shall be occupied until the optional requirement for water consumption (110 litres use per person per day) in Part G of the Building Regulations has been complied with for thatdwelling.

On conclusion of this item the Service Manager (Planning – Development) advised Members that it was to be the Planning Officer’s last meeting in attendance at the Development Control Committee, in light of him leaving the West Suffolk Councils later in the month in order to take up a Senior Planning Officer post at South Cambridgeshire District Council.  All Members wished the Officer well in his future endeavours.