Agenda item

Report No: DEV/WS/23/035

Reserved Matters Application - Submission of details approved under Outline Planning Permission F/2013/0394/OUT the access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for 139 dwellings and associated works, including details in relation to condition 3 and 11 of F/2013/0394/OUT

(Councillor Jon London declared, in the interests of openness and transparency, that he had family members who lived quite closely to the application site. However, this would have no bearing on his consideration of the application.)

Reserved Matters Application - Submission of details approved under Outline Planning Permission F/2013/0394/OUT the access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for 139 dwellings and associated works, including details in relation to condition 3 and 11 of F/2013/0394/OUT

This application was referred to the Development Control Committee following consideration by the Delegation Panel on 4 October 2022.

This application followed outline planning permission for the construction of up to 140 dwellings at the site granted in October 2018 and sought approval of matters reserved by condition 2 of the outline planning permission.

The Committee was advised that the proposal description for the application was amended to include ‘access’. This was because only the two access points from the highway into the site had been considered and approved at outline stage, whilst all other access matters remained reserved.

The Principal Planning Officer explained that there had not been re-consultation on the description change, because there had been no changes to any of the plans or supporting documents as a result, which have been subject to public consultations. The description change is a technical modification only.

The application had been submitted within three years as was required by Condition 1 of the outline planning permission. Report No DEV/WS/23/035 related to the requirements of Condition 2 of planning permission F/2013/0394/OUT and the details required to be submitted with the reserved matters by Conditions 3 (additional details) and 11 (travel plan) of the outline permission. The decision notice for the outline permission was attached as Working Paper 1.

Lastly, the Principal Planning Officer informed the meeting that the developer contributions towards off-site provisions of children’s play space and equipment was confirmed as £85,020.

A Member site visit was held prior to the meeting. Officers were recommending that the reserved matters be approved, subject to the completion of a Deed of Variation (in respect of the S106 Agreement), a legal agreement to secure the off-setting measures in perpetuity, and the conditions as set out in Paragraph 130 of the report.

Speaker:      Stuart McAdam (applicant, Persimmon Homes) spoke in support of the application

A number of varied questions were posed during the initial debate which the Principal Planning Officer responded to as follows:

Parking standards: whilst there was shortfall within the scheme, Suffolk County Council Highways had considered the proposal acceptable;

Acoustic mitigation: the Committee was advised that conditions to control this had been included in the outline stage of the application;

Affordable housing: the Council’s Housing Team were content with the distribution of the affordable housing in the scheme, as proposed;

Wildflower garden: the management of this element would be covered within the landscape strategy;

Traffic calming: the Committee was advised that three raised tables would be included within the scheme to help reduce the speed of vehicles;

Bungalow standard: it was confirmed that the bungalows within the scheme would be built to the Part M4(2) lifetime standard;

EV charging: each plot within the scheme would have EV charging;

Roads: the Committee was reminded that the Planning Authority could not compel developers to seek adoption for roads within a development, but did require the roads to be built to an adoptable standard.

Further discussion took place in respect of the offsetting land to be managed for the Stone Curlew; with reservations voiced over the trees that would be felled. The Principal Planning Officer explained that many specialists had scrutinised the proposal and Officers had certainty that Natural England considered the offsetting measures proposed to be acceptable. In any event, the offsetting land was a separate planning application which had already been approved.

In response to questions in relation to the S106 Agreement, Members were advised that there was not a detailed breakdown of the S106 Agreement within the report before the Committee as that had been covered within the outline permission granted, including all the usual requirements for education, health etc. The existing S106 Obligation would be varied to incorporate the additional commuted sum for Public Open Space.

Councillor Jon London made specific reference to the management of the open space and explained that he was aware of a Local Authority who had put an agreement in place for a similar development whereby a clause was included to enable the management company, who managed the open space, to wind up after a set period and transfer the management of the open space to the Parish Council. Councillor London asked if something similar could be put in place for this application.

Other Members voiced support for this suggestion and Councillor Ian Houlder proposed that the application be approved, as per the Officer recommendation, inclusive of an additional condition in respect of the open space management transferring to the Parish Council. This was duly seconded by Councillor Andy Drummond.

Councillor London also made reference to the ongoing work in relation to the Council’s open space policy and asked if this could be applied retrospectively to the application. The Service Manager (Planning – Development) explained that planning applications lawfully had to be determined in line with the policies in place at the time.

The Principal Planning Officer drew attention to Working Paper 1 which outlined the conditions appended to the outline permission previously granted. Condition No 5 set out the requirement for details for future management and maintenance of the public open spaces to be submitted to the Planning Authority.

As this had already been conditioned it was not possible to address this via the reserved matters application and, instead, the Service Manager (Planning – Development) suggested that Officers investigate Councillor London’s suggestion on receipt of the details from the developer, which would help inform the matter.

Accordingly, it was not necessary to include the additional condition as proposed. The Chair sought the approval of the proposer and seconder of the motion to remove this and to seek a vote for approval of the application subject to the requirements set out in Paragraph 130 of the report.

Upon being put to the vote and with the vote being unanimous, it was resolved that

Decision

Reserved Matters be APPROVED subject to:

i)     Completion of a Deed of Variation to the S106 Agreement to secure developer contributions of £85,020 towards off-site provision of children’s play space and equipment; and

ii)   A legal agreement to secure in perpetuity the off-setting measures subject to application DC/23/1082/FUL

And, subject to the following conditions:

1. Approved Plans and documents
2. Materials specifications or samples
3. Affordable GF flats to be M4(2) – Accessible and adaptable dwelling compliant
4. Prior to works above slab level the off-setting measures (application DC/231082/FUL) shall be implemented in full
5. Implementation in accordance with the landscape details and phasing plan
6. If construction commences during the period March to September (the stone curlew nesting season), pre-commencement a stone curlew survey must be undertaken and submitted for approval in writing by the LPA to ensure birds are not nesting within 500m of the development site

(On conclusion of this item the Chair permitted a short comfort break.)