Erection of 13 no. houses and 6 no. flats with associated access and parking.
Minutes:
Cllr David Gray, Cllr Louie
O'Leary and Cllr Kate Wheller did not take part in the debate or vote on this
item.
The Committee considered an
application for the erection of 13 houses and 6 flats with associated access
and parking.
Members were shown a location plan and aerial photograph
showing the informal footpath to the Manor roundabout and Spa Road, listed
buildings located 100metres from the site and trees alongside Weymouth Way. An
extract from the Local Plan Map showed that the site was adjacent to, but
outside of, the Defined Development Boundary (DDB) and the layout plan provided
an overview of the basic structure of the site and the Conservation Area
boundary extending over a large area including Radipole Village. It had been made clear in the report that, in
the absence of a 5 year housing land supply such sites
should be considered for development potential if sustainable.
The layout plans included appropriate new planting and the
Senior Planning Officer drew attention to a cypress tree that was subject to a
Tree Preservation Order. He confirmed
that whilst this tree overhung the application site, it did not form part of
it. A plan of the southern part of the site showed the scope of additional
landscaping and new planting to include field maple and damson in addition to
hedgerows. He confirmed that some of the
existing copse would need to be removed as a result of this development.
Slides were shown of the various elevations and floor plans
of the proposed dwellings in addition to photos of the site and surrounding
area showing Weymouth Way in relation to the site, existing vegetation and
copse, the informal footpath and character of nearby houses, including the
Radipole historic buildings.
The Key Planning matters were highlighted including that the
scheme:-
·
was adjacent to the DDB in a sustainable
location;
·
considered to be appropriate development in the
Conservation Area given the
current context;
·
included the retention of a footpath link that
was improved;
·
addressed ecological matters;
·
included the provision of 32% affordable housing
on-site with the shortfall as a
financial contribution of £29,000; and
·
provided an additional19 houses to the local
housing land supply.
The scheme would
include 6 affordable housing dwellings on site, with the financial contribution
being used to provide affordable housing elsewhere which was supported by the Housing Enabling Officer and
was in accordance with policy.
A number of written submissions in objection of the proposal and a statement
by the agent were read out at the meeting and are attached to these minutes.
The Senior Planning
Officer responded on the following points in response to the issues raised in
the written submissions:-
·
That the
application site outside the DDB had been explored extensively in the report
under the principle of development.
·
The
Council's 5 year housing land supply equated to 4.83
years which undermined the housing policies in the adopted Local Plan. It was therefore necessary to look carefully
at sites that came forward even when these were outside the DDB.
·
The site
scored highly in terms of sustainability as it was within 5 minutes' walk of
local facilities,10 minutes' walk to a local supermarket, 5 minutes' walk to a
bus stop and close to the cycle network. The distance to Weymouth town centre
and the railway station was 1.5 miles.
·
It was
unlikely that the trees along Weymouth Way would be removed as a result of this
development and would remain in public ownership.
·
The site
was cut off from the historic buildings by Weymouth Way. This meant that there
was no relationship with the historic buildings and setting of Radipole Village
and it was therefore considered that this could not inform the development of
this site. Although the Conservation
Officer had not been initially supportive of the scheme, a logical conclusion
had been reached over a period of time to draw on the
qualities and character of newer dwellings and the Conservation Officer was now
supportive of the development.
·
Ongoing
discussions had taken place with the Natural Environment Team to develop a
Biodiversity Mitigation and Enhancement Plan, including ecological planting
throughout the site as well as trees planted in gardens. A contribution towards Radipole Nature
Reserve had been secured which was consistent with policy.
·
The
copse in the south eastern corner of the site was likely to be removed in part,
with certain trees being retained.
·
The site
had been used as a pony paddock and not been used as a public space although
the informal path had been accommodated within the scheme.
In addition, the Tree
and Landscape Officer confirmed that the Cypress tree had been taken into
proper consideration in the development proposals. He advised that the removal of trees on the
western side of the copse would expose the remaining trees in a way that they
have not grown up with. The ground
currently occupied by the copse would become part of a garden and turn the
landscape from being an ecological wildlife area into a more manicured setting
with only a couple of the existing copse trees remaining that would form the
backbone of the new planting.
The Highways Officer
advised that the highways proposal was satisfactory, well connected to the road
network and could not be refused under NPPF guidance.
The meeting was
adjourned for a short period (10.58am to 11.01am) to allow a comfort break
prior to the committee debate on this application.
Cllr Nick Ireland drew
attention to comments made by the Conservation Officer and asked which of these
had not been included in the scheme. He asked
about numbers of people on the housing register, whether low cost housing was
affordable and the need to look carefully at whether the scheme met policy SUS2
as a site outside of the DDB and not in the Local Plan.
The Senior Planning
Officer stated that the scheme would provide access to local facilities and
have less impact on the local countryside as it was adjacent to the DDB and
scored highly in terms of sustainability.
He confirmed that 95% of the design characteristics sought by the
Conservation Officer had been incorporated in the latest amended plans and
related to finer details of the development, including materials.
The 6 affordable
housing flats would be available at 70% discount of the normal market price and
met NPPF requirements. The Housing
Enabling Officer was supportive of the proposal as it included smaller 1 and 2
bed flats.
Cllr Jean Dunseith
outlined her concerns regarding the exit and entrance onto the brow of a hill
with cars accelerating up the hill from Radipole Village and the need to
conserve green spaces and for residents and children to step into green areas
and be at one with nature. She was
disappointed that there were only 6 affordable homes and that none of these
were for rent and asked whether the discount on the affordable housing would
continue if the properties were re-sold. She also asked about the location of a
gas pipeline in relation to the site.
The Highways Officer
stated that there had been no recorded accidents in the area during the past 5
years and that existing residents reversed in and out of driveways in the
vicinity. All of the proposed houses had turning areas
within their frontage and he therefore did not consider that the application
could be refused on highway safety grounds.
The Senior Planning
Officer confirmed that the gas pipeline was in the locality and did not cross
the application site. SGN Gasworks Ltd
had not objected during consultation on the application. He confirmed that any reduction in the
affordable housing units would be continuously applied and was enshrined in the
Section106 requirement.
Cllr Kelvin Clayton
stated that SUS2 stipulated that developments outside of the DDB must be
strictly controlled and that the report acknowledged that the Council was only
just below its 5 year land supply. He asked whether there was any evidence of
the need for 4 bed homes in the Weymouth area.
In response, the
Senior Planning Officer advised that the 4 bed homes were in the context of a
mixed development site and were split between semi- detached and detached
homes.
Cllr Peter Barrow felt
that the committee was being asked to disregard plans and policies such as the
SHLAA, the Local Plan and DDB in order to provide an argument for continuous
expansion in the Conservation Area. He commented that, although the affordable
housing element was to be welcomed, this would not have a great impact in
reducing the housing waiting list.
Cllr Susan Cocking
asked how much of the copse would remain and the Tree and Landscape Officer
stated that the last proposed house on the south east corner of the site was
entirely within the copse area. This
meant that a large proportion of the copse would disappear with 3 decent trees
remaining, including a sycamore. The
copse did not register as individual trees and much of it would need to be
taken out due to the poor condition of individual trees. He confirmed that there were between 40-60
tree species in the copse that had been wind pruned at one edge. Removal of a substantive part of the copse
represented a total change of character in that locality.
Cllr Nick Ireland
stated that the proposal contravened policies SUS2, SUS3, ENV2 and ENV5. The proposal did not meet any other criteria
other than sustainability and the loss of green space, irreplaceable habitat
and positive contribution to the character of the area outweighed the need for
housing on this site. He proposed that
the application be refused.
This was seconded by Cllr Kelvin
Clayton who stated that the Council's declaration of
a climate emergency was a material consideration and gave more weight to policy
SUS2. This policy allowed for development outside the DDB to
be strictly controlled and he questioned the need for this development,
particularly given the small number of affordable homes.
Cllr David Shortell
asked about the results of the ecological survey and the adoption of the Roman
Road extension by Dorset Highways.
Officers confirmed
that reptiles had been found on site which would be trans located in accordance
with the Biodiversity Mitigation and Enhancement Plan. An archaeological programme of works would
also be carried out. Roman Road was
currently being offered for adoption.
The
Chairman adjourned the meeting at 11.58am in order that officers could
formulate the wording of the reasons for refusal based on the comments made by
members. The meeting was reconvened at
12.12pm.
Cllr
Louie O'Leary left the meeting at 12.08, however, he did not take part in the
debate or vote on this item.
Decision: That the
application be refused for the following reasons:-
1.
The
site is outside of the defined development boundary and the Council has declared
a climate emergency, as such the development is therefore contrary to Policy
SUS2 of the West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan (2015). The site is a
currently undeveloped green space with a copse and is within the Conservation
Area. The site is considered to make a positive contribution to the character
of the Conservation Area by virtue of its openness, trees and copse and the
development would neither preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation
Area contrary to Policies ENV2 and ENV4 of the West Dorset, Weymouth and
Portland Local Plan (2015) and the National Planning Policy Framework (2019).
2.
In the absence of a completed planning
obligation the scheme would not ensure the affordable housing and affordable
housing financial contribution are provided, nor the ecological financial
contribution and nor would the replacement public footpath be provided and
maintained. As such the development is contrary to Policies HOUS1, ENV2 and
ENV11 of the West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland Local Plan (2015) and the
National Planning Policy Framework (2019).
Supporting documents: