Agenda item

Application Ref.

Address

Agenda ref.

Page no.

6/2019/0553

West Lulworth Primary School

Item 5

13

Update(s): comments received from West Lulworth Parish Council;

West Lulworth Parish Council objects to the planning application 6/2019/0553 (proposal to remove condition 13 of planning permission 6/2018/0653) to allow unrestricted occupation of the dwellings.

The emerging Purbeck Local Plan (PLP) Policy H14 was welcomed as it aims to address the high provision of holiday homes within Purbeck. West Lulworth is one of the parishes greatly affected by second homes which have a negative impact on the area with a reduction in community engagement.

Comments were made in the PLP consultation that Policy H14 did not go far enough as it did not include holiday lets and it is lamentable that the inspector considered these comments to indicate that the Policy should not be enforced at all. The applicant, along with other developers, was an objector to the Policy being included in the PLP and it is disappointing to see that persons with a financial interest in removing the Policy have been heard whereas the communities that are affected by the large number of second homes and holiday lets have been disregarded.

Dorset Council has a financial interest in the land and should be leading the way in ensuring provision of housing suitable for local need is provided than yet another profit-making scheme for a developer who has no attachment to the parish. Dorset Council could restrict the sale of the land until the developer agrees to provide homes that are suitable for local need, profits would still be garnered and the parish would be benefitted.

If Dorset Council are inclined to approve the application due to the Planning Inspector decision on the appeal at Swanage then I would ask that consideration is given to Part 107 of the PLP Pre-Submission Draft which states that “the PLP sets out policy to deliver sufficient homes across the District that will meet the needs of local people. New development will help deliver the Plan’s objectives to:

Support sustainable community growth to provide for the needs of local residents.

Dorset Council is currently consulting on a Strategic Plan and one of the five priorities is to “Develop appropriate, affordable and sustainable housing, maximising the use of council-owed assets”. This is a rare opportunity to utilise the council-owned land to provide appropriate housing for the local community and I urge you to consider refusal of the planning application.

Application Ref.

Address

Agenda ref.

Page no.

6/2019/0337

Misty Cottage Worth Matravers

Item 6

29

Additional Statement of Worth Matravers Parish Council

This site is within the Worth Matravers Conservation Area.

The Parish Council, now the third tier of elected government in England, raises the following additional issues. Its concerns remain that the Officers report and the incorporated views of the new DC planning consultant do not reflect the accepted statutory requirement to improve and enhance the existing Conservation areas of Worth Matravers village.

It has never been acceptable in professional planning circles to state that a new, additional rather than replacement, proposal can be approved if it does not create any more harm than the existing extension. Two wrongs never make a right. Despite the accepted extensive and longer distance views of the rear gardens of this group of properties the proposed rear extension is now closer to the boundary of the next door property. It includes an additional blank flank wall 13 foot high on ground significantly higher than the ground level of the adjacent listed building. It must have a substantial and adverse impact on the listed building and an adverse visual impact as seen from the historic village green in the centre of the conservation area. It would be the first flat roof proposal for the centre of this historic conservation area currently comprised totally of cascading different height ridge roof features.

Members of the Planning Committee should be aware that its new consultant is from North Norfolk. His advice however is totally contrary to the current North Norfolk District Council Design Guide and Supplementary Planning Guidance which states.

What matters most when considering the scale of new development is not so much the absolute size of buildings, but their size relative to their surroundings.  Particularly with infill sites in sensitive areas, extreme care needs to be taken to ensure that ridge heights and overall proportions are compatible with adjoining buildings.

3.6.1 Extensions should be sited and designed to avoid any loss of light or privacy to adjoining properties. They should also not result in any overshadowing, tunneling or overbearing effects.

3.6.2 Flat roof forms are not normally acceptable.

The Parish Council does not accept your officers report .This proposed rear extension is of poor design and has a substantial impact on the adjacent listed building. As for the meaningless statement that the extension uses a sensitive use of the palette of materials to achieve a sympathetic blend this is just the sort of meaningless gobbledygook padding officers should have been instructed to avoid in their ‘professional’ reports to elected members.

The Officers inappropriate additional statement that indeed contrasting modern design is often the preferred choice for heritage locations is very worrying and must in principle be quickly rejected by the new Dorset Council. The committee should be mindful that this approach, the impact of which can occasionally and  regrettably be seen elsewhere in England, would totally desecrate many of the established village settings so much  a part of the Dorset village streetscenes and the AONB countryside generally.

Finally the extensive proposed roof lighting system makes mockery of the Dorset Council first recommendation to declare a Climate Emergency. This proposal will have significant adverse climate and environmental impact as Worth village is a dark nightime zone with no unnatural light sources. Those who know the village well will be aware that torches are a requirement to safely walk the streets of the centre after dark.

The Parish Council requests this application is refused and the applicant encouraged to submit a more sympathetic and acceptable proposal.