Agenda item

Application no - 161301 Land west of Beech Hill Road, Swallowfield

Recommendation:  Conditional Approval

Minutes:

Proposal: Reserved Matters application pursuant to Appeal Outline planning permission O/2013/1221 (dated 09/06/2015) for a development of up to 120 dwellings with associated infrastructure and access from Beech Hill Road. This application comprises 120 dwellings including details of appearance, landscaping, layout and scale.

 

Applicant:  Bellway

 

The Committee received and reviewed a report about this application, set out on Agenda pages 101 to136.

 

The Committee were advised that the Members’ Update included:

 

·         Proposed amendment to Condition 2 to reflect the receipt of revised drawings;

·         Proposed amendment to Condition 4 to requiring agreement on a Landscape and Ecological Maintenance and Management plan prior to the commencement of development;

·         Proposed amendment to Condition 14 to requiring agreement on an Employment Skills Plan prior to the commencement of development;

·         Proposed additional Condition 15, requiring agreement on the specification for open space and play area prior to commencement of development.

 

Peter D’Ardenne spoke against the application. He stated that the appeal decision in July 2015 established the principle of up to 120 residential units on the site. The plans indicated that the applicant was struggling to fit 120 units on the site and he felt that the number should be reduced. He expressed concern about the shared hedgerow between the existing and new properties and stated that the proposal would result in overlooking and a loss of privacy for existing residents in Diana Close.

 

Terry Follen spoke against the application. He expressed concerns about parking provision and stated that 6 Diana Close would be overlooked by eight properties resulting in a loss of privacy and views and increased noise pollution.

 

Steven Brown (Woolf Bond Planning) spoke in favour of the application. He stated that the detailed scheme was the outcome of a collaborative approach between the applicant and Council Officers. The submitted proposals had received no technical objections from statutory consultees and demonstrated that the applicant had responded to local concerns.

 

In response to Member concerns about overlooking of properties in Diana Close, Officers stated that the hedgerow would provide screening for ground floor windows whilst the upper floor window at 6 Diana Close was a bathroom window. The proposed separation distances between properties were acceptable in policy terms.

 

In response to a Member question on parking, Officers confirmed that the site requirement for parking spaces was 254. The application included 269 parking spaces with a further 70 potential garage spaces.

 

Members expressed concern about the potential impact on parking from houses in multiple occupation. Officers confirmed that it would be possible to attach a condition limiting permitted development rights for specific parts of the site.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)      application No 161301 be approved, subject to the conditions set out on Agenda pages 102 to 105, with the updates and amendments to the Recommendation and conditions 2, 4, 12, 13, 14 and additional condition 15, as set out in the Members’ Update;

 

2)      a further condition be added, to limit permitted development rights for plots 3 to 10 of the application site.

Supporting documents: