Agenda item

Recommendation:  Conditional Approval subject to legal agreement.

Bill Soane left the Meeting for the duration of this item.

Proposal: Full application for the proposed erection of 5no dwellings.

Applicant: Hicks Development Ltd.

The Committee received and reviewed a report on this application, set out in Agenda pages 47 to 82.

The Committee were advised that the Members’ Update included:

·         Corrections to various conditions;

·         Clarification of the garden sizes;

·         Clarification of parking allocation;

·         Clarification of the reasoning behind the electrical plugs sitting at 1.0m above the finished floor level.

Graham Brown, Local Resident, spoke in objection to the application. He was of the opinion that the proposed development would cause an increased risk to flooding at his property and could back up the sewage system. He stated that the proposed development was situated in flood zone two and himself and other local residents were concerned about their properties being flooded as a result of the proposed development. He stated that there was flooding on the site earlier in the year which covered half of the proposed new development site. Mr Brown added that the raised levels of the proposed development would be one metre above his back garden and would be sixty centimetres above Orpington Close. He felt that the prior raising of land and other matters contradicted clauses twelve and thirteen. He urged the Committee to refuse the application based on the concerns he had listed. 

Jim Bailey, Agent, spoke in favour of the application. He stated that the principle of the five proposed dwellings was set out in the local plan and that the site was set out in a highly sustainable location. He added that the proposed houses would be in keeping with the character and appearance of the area and that they were all three bedroom family homes with an eleven metre garden depth. He stated that the proposed development would not harm the neighbouring properties amenities. Mr Bailey stated that flooding had been recognised as a key issue which had been addressed with various improvements to the scheme and subsequently the environment agency had removed their objection to the development. He stated that an underground storage system would be installed to store the excess surface water. He added that affordable housing would be delivered at the development and would be secured by a section 106 agreement.

Lindsay Ferris, Ward Member, spoke in objection to the application. He stated that due to flooding in 2014 the majority of the proposed development site was underwater or boggy ground. He stated that he had objected to the site being included in the local plan in 2012. He stated that flood zones should only be used for development in exceptional circumstances for example where they would provide a wider sustainability benefit and he queried how this proposed development would provide any wider sustainability benefit. Lindsay stated that the residents of the residents of 14, 15 and 16 Orpington Close felt exposed due the risk of water flowing down to their existing properties from the heightened new development. He stated that the proposed development posed a risk of backing up the drainage system. He concluded by stating that the proposed development would breach policy CC09 and added that the provision in the local plan was irrelevant due to the increased risk of flooding and therefore asked the Committee that the application be refused.

Francesca Hobson, Flood Risk Manager, clarified a number of points regarding flood prevention at the proposed development site. She stated that part of the proposed development site would be raised to negate any flooding risk and that a 1 in 100 + 35% climate change analysis had been carried out which had shown minimal risk to the development side and the existing properties. Francesca added that an attenuation tank would be installed to deal with the excess surface water run-off and clarified that the January 2017 WBC SUDs strategy discourages Council adoption of attenuation tanks. She stated that Thames Water had resolved the sewage issues that had occurred in the past in this area and they stated that they could deal with the additional surface water run-off from the proposed development.

Justin Turvey, Operational Development Management Lead Officer (Interim) clarified that there had been no objections to the current application from the Drainage Officer or the Environment Agency subject to conditions.

Members queried the reliability of the tests relating to flooding on the site.  Francesca Hobson clarified that the tests had been completed by a Drainage Officer who was a qualified engineer but the Officer was fully reliant on the developer supplying the correct information.

In response to Member queries regarding parking provision, Chris Easton, Service Manager – Highways Development, stated that there would be an over provision of unallocated (or visitor) parking at the proposed development and that garages were not counted as parking spaces.

Members queried as to why the Environment Agency (EA) had removed their objections to the application. In response, Francesca Hobson stated that the Environment Agency had previously objected to the application based on the previous flood risk assessment that was undertaken. She added that the current flood risk assessment had taken in to account the EA’s comments and had clarified the extent of the land raising amongst other features of the development. 

In response to Member queries regarding raising of ground levels, Simon Taylor, Case Officer, stated that Orpington Close had been raised by approximately 80 centimetres when it was developed in 2003 and that there were no concerns with the consistency of ground levels across the new and existing sites.

Members asked that condition 21 be approved and monitored in consultation with the Chair so that the ground levels would not pose an increased risk to flooding in the area.

RESOLVED: That application 172704 be approved subject to the conditions set out on Agenda pages 48 to 56, the updated conditions contained in the Members’ Update and that condition 21 be approved in consultation with the Chairman.