Agenda item

Report No: DEV/SE/18/022

Planning Application - 2 no. dwellings with associated access, car parking and landscaping (following demolition of existing agricultural barn) as amended and supported by additional information received 19th March 2018 and 30th April 2018

(Councillor Mike Chester declared a local non pecuniary interest in this item, in that he was not familiar with the applicant but was an acquaintance of the applicant’s family.)

Planning Application - 2 no. dwellings with associated access, car parking and landscaping (following demolition of existing agricultural barn) as amended and supported by additional information received 19th March 2018 and 30th April 2018

This application had been referred to the Development Control Committee following consideration by the Delegation Panel; the item had been referred to the Delegation Panel at the request of the Ward Member (Cavendish) Councillor Peter Stevens.  A Member site visit was held prior to the meeting. 

Officers were recommending that the application be refused for the reasons set out in Paragraph 81 of Report No DEV/SE/18/022.  Attention was also drawn to the late papers that were circulated after publication of the agenda and which contained an amendment to the third reason for refusal.  The Principal Planning Officer explained that this amended reason unfortunately contained a typographical error, in that the paragraphs listed in the last sentence should have read “131, 134 and 173” (and not “131 – 173”).

Members were advised of the material considerations for/against the development and the reasoning behind the Officer’s balanced recommendation.  Attention was also drawn to the site’s ‘fall-back position’ (as outlined in Paragraph 56 onwards in the report) which was a significant consideration when determining the application.

Speaker:      Mr Richard Sykes-Popham (Agent) spoke in support of the application

Councillor Peter Stevens spoke as Ward Member (Cavendish) for the application.  He stated that in his opinion the site was not within open countryside and was rather part of a ‘contained cluster’ of domestic properties.  As such, the application required a pragmatic decision to be made and he therefore moved that the application be approved, contrary to the Officer recommendation of refusal.

Councillor Alaric Pugh also spoke on the application, he similarly considered the site to be within a small residential area and he seconded the motion for approval.

A number of other Members made comment, the majority of which were in favour of the application.  With the exception of Councillor Terry Clements who supported the refusal recommendation and made reference to the need for affordable housing within rural areas.

The Chairman invited the Principal Conservation Officer to expand upon the Conservation Officer’s objection to the development.

In response to a question as to whether Permitted Development Rights could be removed via conditions, the Principal Planning Officer confirmed that this was possible.

Further to comments made with regard to policy, the Service Manager (Planning – Development) advised that work was due to commence later in the year on the development of the West Suffolk Local Plan.

The Service Manager also explained that if Members were minded to approve the application, contrary to the Officer recommendation of refusal, then the decision making protocol wouldn’t need to be invoked in light of the Committee attributing additional weight to the ‘fall back’ position as outlined in the report.

Accordingly, the Principal Planning Officer then read out a list of conditions that could be applied to the application, if approved, inclusive of the removal of Permitted Development Rights.

Upon being put to the vote and with 13 voting for the motion and with 2 abstentions 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 3 years 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 and documents.
3. No development shall commence above ground level until details of the facing and roofing materials to be used have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.
4. The site demolition, preparation and construction works shall be carried out between the hours of 08:00 to18:00 Mondays to Fridays and between the hours of 08:00 to 13:30 Saturdays and at no time on Sundays or Bank Holidays without the prior written consent of the Local Planning Authority.
5. The acoustic insulation of each dwelling shall be such to ensure noise levels, 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.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 as amended (or any Order revoking and re-enacting that Order) no development permitted by Article 3 and Part 1 Class A-E and Part 2 Class A; of Schedule 2 to the Order shall be erected/carried out within the site other than any expressly authorised by this permission.
7. No other part of the development hereby permitted shall be commenced until the existing vehicular access has been improved, laid out and completed in all respects in accordance with SCC drawing DM04; and with a minimum entrance width of 4.5m. Thereafter the access shall be retained in the specified form.
8. Prior to the hereby permitted dwellings being first occupied, the access onto Stansfield Rd shall be properly surfaced with a bound material for a 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.
9. The use shall not commence until the area(s) within the site shown on drawing no. 1625 - 17 for the purposes of [LOADING, UNLOADING,] manoeuvring and parking of vehicles has been provided and thereafter that area(s) shall be retained and used for no other purposes.

10.Before the access is first used details shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority showing 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. Gates shall be set back a minimum distance of 5 metres from the edge of the carriageway and shall open only into the site and not over any area of the highway.
12. The precautionary measures and recommendations of the Preliminary Ecological Assessment by Bright Green dated November 2017 shall be followed and implemented in their entirety prior to development commencing.
13. The biodiversity enhancements recommended in the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal by Bright Green (dated November 2017) shall be provided; details of bat and bird boxes to be installed within the residential curtilage prior to the occupation of the dwelling shall first be submitted and agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority.
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 that dwelling.

15.Before the dwellings hereby permitted are first occupied, the first floor windows in the south elevation of Plot 1and the first floor windows in the west elevation of Plot 2 shall not be glazed other than with obscure glass and this form of glazing shall be retained permanently at all times thereafter.