Agenda item

Report No: DEV/WS/20/022

 

Planning Application - (i) 2no drive-through cafe/restaurant units (Use Class A1/A3 for Costa and Use Class A3/A5 for McDonald's) with associated parking and landscaping and (ii) McDonalds Climbing box

Planning Application - (i) 2no drive-through cafe/restaurant units (Use Class A1/A3 for Costa and Use Class A3/A5 for McDonald's) with associated parking and landscaping and (ii) McDonalds Climbing box

 

This application was referred to the Development Control Committee following consideration by the Delegation Panel and in light of the Officer recommendation being contrary with the objection from Newmarket Town Council.

 

Officers were recommending that the application be approved subject to a Section 106 agreement to secure a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and the conditions set out in Paragraph 89 of Report No DEV/WS/20/022.

 

Attention was drawn to the supplementary ‘late paper’ that was circulated following publication of the agenda and which contained an additional condition in respect of litter.  A typographical error within the proposed condition was highlighted and Members were advised that “Littler Management Plan” should have read “Litter Management Plan”. 

 

The Committee were also informed that the number of electric charge points has been reduced from 4 to 2 (condition No 8).

 

As part of his presentation the Senior Planning Officer included three videos of the site which he took the Committee through by way of facilitated a virtual ‘site visit’.

 

Attention was drawn to Suffolk County Council Highways’ initial objection to the scheme and explanation was given with regard to the reasoning behind their subsequent withdrawal of their objection.

 

Lastly, the Officer made reference to Newmarket Town Council’s objection and responded to this in detail.

 

Speakers:    Sara Beckett (Newmarket resident) spoke against the application

                   (Some Members and Officers struggled to hear Sara Beckett’s speech therefore, in the interests of clarity, the Chair asked the Democratic Services Officer to re-read the statement to the meeting)

                   Councillor Rachel Hood (Newmarket Town Council) spoke against the application

 

Councillor Andy Drummond advised the meeting that he had taken part in Newmarket Town Council’s consideration of the application when they resolved to oppose the scheme.  However, Councillor Drummond stressed that he would keep an open mind and listen to the debate prior to voting on the item.

 

Some Members voiced concerns that, even with the additional condition in relation to litter, if granted the application was likely to result in increased litter in the locality.

 

Other members of the Committee voiced support for the location and considered the application to be appropriate for an out of town, industrial area.

 

Councillor Drummond then addressed the Committee and made reference to the nearby skatepark development and the increased traffic the scheme was likely to generate.  He subsequently proposed that the application be refused, contrary to the Officer recommendation, however the motion failed to achieve a seconder when sought by the Chair and the Lawyer advised the meeting that the debate should therefore continue.

 

Councillor Peter Stevens raised queries with regard to the design of the scheme and proposed that the application be deferred in order to allow time in which for the applicants to work with Newmarket Town Council in order to establish a design that the Town Council considered in keeping with the area.  This was duly seconded by Councillor David Roach.

 

Prior to the Chair putting the motion to the vote, the Service Manager (Planning – Development) advised the Committee that it was not considered reasonable to defer the application for design negotiations, given the site context, and that role of the Committee was to consider the application that was before them.

 

Upon being put to the vote and with 6 voting for and with 10 against, the Chair declared the motion lost.

 

Following further debate, the Senior Planning Officer was then invited by the Chair to respond to the matters raised:

‘Totem Pole’ signage – the Officer clarified that this element was not part of the scheme before Members;

Litter – the Committee were informed that McDonalds was official partner of ‘Keep Britain Tidy’;

Obesity - it was highlighted that there were no specific policies within the Local Plan that related to obesity prevention;

S106 Agreement – the fact that the S106 Agreement had been completed by the applicant did not influence the planning balance in respect of the Officer’s recommendation and no weight should be attributed to this in the Committee making their determination;

Location – the Officer clarified that whist there were vacant units on Newmarket High Street, the scheme proposed included a drive-through which was therefore more appropriate for an out of town location;

Skate Park – the skate park project was led by West Suffolk Council meaning that Planning Officers could liaise with their colleagues in the Parks & Open Spaces team in order to ensure that adequate litter bins etc were provided.

 

Councillor Ian Houlder proposed that the application be approved, as per the Officer recommendation, and this was duly seconded by Councillor Andy Neal.

 

Upon being put to the vote and with 11 voting for the motion, 4 against and with 1 abstention it was resolved that

 

Decision

Planning permission be GRANTED subject to the following conditions and the completed Section 106 Agreement:

 

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        The site preparation and construction works shall only be carried out between the hours of 08:00 to 18:00 Mondays to Fridays and only 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.

4        No plant or equipment associated with the development shall be operated until details thereof have first been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The details shall include specifications of the design, location and screening of the proposed plant or equipment.

          The plant or equipment shall be installed in complete accordance with the approved details before being first brought into use. Following installation the plant or equipment shall be retained in accordance with the approved details unless the prior written consent of the Local Planning Authority is obtained for any variation of the approved details or specifications.

          The rating level of the sound emitted from the site shall not exceed the existing background sound level. The sound levels shall be determined by measurement or calculation at the nearest residential premises. The measurements and assessment shall be made according to BS 4142:2014+A1:2019.

5        Prior to first use details of the ventilation system and system to control odours from any cooking process shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The details shall include the measures to abate the noise from the systems and a maintenance programme for the systems. The system shall be installed prior to first use and thereafter the systems shall be retained and maintained in complete accordance with the approved details unless the written consent of the Local Planning Authority is obtained for any variation.

6        Prior to first operation on site, details of all proposed external lighting sources and fittings shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority and thereafter be retained in the approved form.

7        Commercial deliveries to the two café/restaurant units hereby approved shall be restricted to between 07:00 and 22:00 hours on Mondays to Saturdays and 08:00 and 18:00 hours on Sundays, Bank and Public Holidays. Outside of these hours, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority, no commercial deliveries shall take place.

8        Prior to operational use of the site, at least 2 publicly available electric vehicle charge points shall be provided at reasonably and practicably accessible locations within the car park. The Electric Vehicle Charge Points shall be retained thereafter and maintained in an operational condition. Charge points shall be Rapid (Minimum 43kW AC /50kW DC) chargers.

9.       No development above ground level shall take place unless the need for fire hydrants has been assessed and, if deemed to be required, a scheme for the provision of a fire hydrant or fire hydrants has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. No part of the development shall be brought into use until any fire hydrants that are required have been provided in accordance with the approved scheme. Thereafter the hydrants shall be retained in their approved form unless the prior written consent of the Local Planning Authority is obtained for any variation.

10      No development above ground level shall take place until a scheme of soft landscaping for the site drawn to a scale of not less than 1:200, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall include accurate indications of the position, species, girth, canopy spread and height of all existing trees and hedgerows on and adjacent to the site and details of any to be retained, together with measures for their protection during the course of development. Any retained trees removed, dying or becoming seriously damaged or diseased within five years of commencement shall be replaced within the first available planting season thereafter with planting of similar size and species unless the Local Planning Authority gives written consent for any variation.  The works shall be completed in accordance with the approved plans and in accordance with a timetable to be agreed with the Local Planning Authority.

11      The development hereby approved shall not be brought into operational use until the areas to be provided for storage, presentation and collection of Refuse/Recycling have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved waste management scheme shall be carried out in its entirety before the development is brought into use and shall be retained thereafter for no other purpose.

12      No development above ground level shall take place until details have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority showing the means to prevent headlight glare for the drive-through lanes affecting other highway users and means to ensure any fencing, planting or other boundary treatment will not cause harm to the highway.

13      No development above ground level shall take place until details have been 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.

14      Before the development hereby approved is first brought into operational use, details of the areas to be provided for the secure cycle storage for staff and customers shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The approved scheme shall be carried out in its entirety before the development is brought into use and shall be retained thereafter and used for no other purpose.

15      All HGV and Construction traffic movements to and from the site over the duration of the site clearance and construction period shall be subject to a Construction Deliveries Management Plan which shall be submitted to the planning authority for approval a minimum of 28 days before any deliveries of materials commence. No HGV movements shall be permitted to and from the site other than in accordance with the routes defined in the Plan.

The Plan shall include:

          1) Routes to and from the site and means to monitor and enforce

          2) Means to ensure no water, mud or other debris will egress onto the highway

          3) Means to ensure suitable space will be provided on site for the manoeuvring and parking of all site traffic including deliveries, staff and visitors.

          4) Means to ensure sufficient space is provided on site for the storage of materials and equipment

          5) Means to ensure no light source from the site can cause glare or hazard to highway users.

          6) The site operator shall maintain a register of complaints and record of actions taken to deal with such complaints at the site office as specified in the Plan throughout the period of occupation of the site.

16      All delivery and servicing traffic movements to and from the site throughout the duration site’s operational life shall be subject to a Delivery and Services Management Plan which shall be submitted to the planning authority for approval a minimum of 28 days before the first use of the site.

          No delivery or servicing traffic movements shall be permitted to and from the site other than in accordance with the routes and times defined in the Plan.

          The site operator shall maintain a register of complaints and record of actions taken to deal with such complaints at the site office as specified in the Plan throughout the period of occupation of the site.

17      Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended (or any Order revoking and re-enacting that Order) and the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015, as amended, the two buildings as approved shall be used only for the purposes permitted and for no other purpose unless previously agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

18      No development above slab level shall take place until samples of all facing materials to be used within the construction of both approved buildings 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.

19      The development hereby approved shall be carried out in complete accordance with the details contained within sections 9 and 10 (or such amendment thereto as may be approved in writing by the local planning authority) of the submitted Travel Plan as dated July 2017 and authored by Woods Hardwick.

20      The development hereby approved shall not be brought into use until a Litter Management Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The litter management plan shall:

                                         i.    Set out the areas where litter will be collected from both within and outside of the application site;

                                        ii.    Set out when litter patrols shall take place and by whom.

The litter management plan shall be implemented and operated as approved and in accordance with the approved details. It shall not be altered or amended without the prior written consent of the local planning authority.

 

(On conclusion of this item the Chair permitted a short comfort break and asked that an adjournment slide be displayed in the live stream, before reconvening the virtual meeting and taking a roll-call of those present.)