To consider a report by the Head of Planning.
Minutes:
The Committee considered an outline application - 6/2019/0639 - for up to 15 residential dwellings, site re-profiling and associated infrastructure, with all matters reserved apart from vehicular access from West Lane at Land North of West Lane, Stoborough, Wareham
The Service Manager for Development
Management and Enforcement considers that the concerns raised by the Parish
Council warrant the application being considered by the planning committee.
With the aid of a visual presentation,
officers provided context of what the main proposals, principles and
planning issues of the development were; how these were to be progressed; how the
development would contribute to meeting housing needs; and what this entailed.
The presentation focused on not only what the development entailed and its
detailed design, but what effect it would have on residential amenity and the
character the area, including the Dorset AONB and taking into account the
policies against which this application was being assessed, with consideration
also being given to the Arne Neighbourhood Plan.
Plans and photographs provided an
illustration of the location, orientation,
dimensions – form, bulk, size and mass - and
appearance of the development
and of the individual properties, with
examples being given of how typical
properties would be designed, along with
their ground floor plans; how it
would look; proposed street scenes; the
materials to be used; access and
highway considerations; environmental
considerations; the means of
landscaping and screening and its setting
within that part of Stoborough and the wider
landscape - including the AONB the nearby heathland and its proximity to the
River Frome.
Officers showed the development’s
relationship with other adjacent residential
development and how the buildings were
designed to be in keeping with the
characteristics of the established local
environment. The characteristics and
topography of the site was shown and its
relationship with the highway
network. Views into the site and around it
were shown, which provided a satisfactory understanding of all that was
necessary. As part of the scheme, a footway would be provided linking the development
to the village
How the relationship between the proposal
and the provisions of the Local
Plan; the NPPF and the Arne NP were applied
and what considerations needed to be given to each were explained, as well as
the weight to be given to each.
In summary, officers planning assessment
adjudged that the overall design of
the development was considered to be largely
acceptable, with all,
significant, planning matters having been
appropriately, or adequately,
addressed. Having assessed the material
considerations these
were seen to be acceptable and sufficiently
compliant with national and local
planning, so the recommendation being made
by officers to approve the application was based on this.
The Committee were notified of the written submission
received – from the agent of the applicant - and officers read this direct to
the Committee – being appended to these minutes.
Having heard what was said, officers
responded to some of the pertinent
issues raised, being confident that each one
could be addressed by the
provisions of the application.
Cllr Ryan Holloway took the opportunity to address the Committee, both in his own right and on behalf of his fellow Ward Member, Councillor Beryl Ezzard, in objecting to the proposal due to the amount of affordable housing provided, the location of the development flooding concerns, highway safety provision and environmental issues during construction He was also concerned that the adopted Arne NP did not accord with what was being proposed es not accord with it.
Formal consultation had seen an objection
from Arne Parish Council in that
the Neighbourhood Plan stated that site
should not be used for development, this should not be considered as a Rural
Exceptions site, as the proportion of open market housing was too high, a lack
of pedestrian link to the village; and there would be an increase in traffic
and impact upon highway safety.
In addition, 26 objections, and a petition
with 35 signatures, were received citing environmental, amenity, traffic and
development concerns, as well as not being an allocated site and not being in
accordance with the Arne Neighbourhood Plan.
Having heard what was said, officers
responded to some of the pertinent issues raised, being confident that each one
could be addressed by
the provisions of the application.
The Committee were informed that in the
light of the Housing Delivery test it
has been necessary to consider this
application against paragraph 11 of the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
In this case the NPPF policies
did not provide any clear reasons for
refusing the development proposed and
no adverse impacts had been identified that
would outweigh the benefits.
The proposed erection of up to 15 residential
dwellings made efficient use of land without harming the character of the area
and would contribute to housing supply, including the provision of affordable
housing which can be secured by a planning obligation. The proposed dwellings
were considered to be of an appropriate scale, size and design and acceptable
in terms of impact on the character and appearance of the local area. The
impact on neighbouring amenity, highway safety, biodiversity and drainage were
also considered to be acceptable, subject to conditions and securing
appropriate heathland mitigation via a planning obligation. The proposal was
therefore considered to be sustainable development for the purposes of NPPF
paragraph 11. The application had been considered in the light of the
presumption in favour of sustainable development so officer’s view was that
permission should be granted. It was now for the Committee to adjudge whether
this was the case and whether the number of dwelling proposed was acceptable.
The opportunity was then given for members
to ask questions of the
presentation and what they had heard, in
seeking clarification of aspects so
as to have a better understanding in coming
to a decision.
Some important points raised were:-
·
access
arrangements
·
footway
needs and how these were to be accommodated.
·
how flooding
and drainage issues would be satisfactorily managed
·
what
Heathland mitigation there was to be
·
The
effect on the Dorset AONB
·
how the number of buildings proposed; their
affordability, allocation and where they were to be sited conformed with the
provisions of the Neighbourhood Plan and what considerations should be taken in
to
account in
how this might be satisfactorily addressed so as to provide
what was
necessary and, in doing so, maintain the affordable housing
ratio
the provision for
green space/ recreation.
Officers addressed the questions raised,
providing what they considered to be
satisfactory answers, which the Committee
saw as generally acceptable.
Of importance was that officers did not
consider that the proposal conflicted
with the Arne NP for the following reasons:
· That although The NP formed part of the Development Plan documents that must be considered when assessing the application, it did not allocate any specific sites for development. Therefore, in the absence of a site allocation policy within the NP Arne neighbourhood Plan and taking into account the Housing Delivery Test results for the Isle of Purbeck, it was reasonable to conclude that there was a presumption in favour of sustainable development on the site.
· For the above reasons it has been found that, in this case, the NPPF policies did not provide any clear reasons for refusing the development proposed and no adverse impacts had been identified that would outweigh the benefits of the provision of affordable and market housing. The proposal was therefore considered to be sustainable development for the purposes of NPPF paragraph 11 and approval was being recommended subject to conditions and a s106 legal agreement to secure the affordable housing and necessary highway improvements. Accordingly, the application relied on this policy to deliver small sites for housing need.
· Given that the site was in the Dorset AONB, some concerns had been raised as to the detrimental impact this development would have. However, officers had given great weight to the localised harm to the AONB - taking into account the AONB Management Team’s views - officers considered that the substantial public benefits of providing 15 homes, including 7 affordable dwellings (plus an off site affordable housing contribution), were sufficient to outweigh any harm.
What was being proposed was designed to
satisfy need as identified in the Arne Parish Housing Needs Survey - in terms
of the provision of affordable housing, although being below the 50% proposed,
a commuted sum would be required to redress this, equating to £82,500.
Whilst the majority of the Committee
considered the proposal to be
acceptable - understanding the fundamental
issue of housing land supply and
the delivery of the necessary number of
houses in Purbeck - given it had failed the housing delivery test, there was a
presumption to grant unless there was clear reason otherwise to demonstrably
outweigh this - members considered that this development would significantly
contribute to the housing supply in Dorset and meet the identified need and
should be seen to be an asset. Moreover the SANG being provided was within
reasonable distance, there would be an improvement for the village with the
provision of a pavement, ensuring a safer route to school, meets need in Purbeck
fallen below housing provision delivering. A balanced judgement had to be made
on what number of dwellings was acceptable
but, given the officer’s
recommendation and the basis for this; that
this was an acceptable small development which would make the best use of the
land available - with affordable housing being guaranteed – and in the absence
of any other development land being identified in the Arne NP, then they
considered the proposal to be acceptable, as proposed.
However other members were of the view that
whilst affordable housing
should be welcomed, in their view this
didn’t override the provisions of the
Arne NP and what this was designed to
achieve – through a democratic process – in terms of housing allocation and
location, and that its provisions should be upheld. They also were concerned
about the adverse effect the development would have on the Dorset AONB, nearby
Heathland, the effect of flooding and highway safety provision and concern over
second homes.
The Solicitor
clarified that any planning judgement made should not assess what was before
members with any future applications in terms of numbers which would be
assessed against the Arne NP at that time.
Having had the opportunity to discuss the
merits of the application and an
understanding of all this entailed; having
taken into account the officer’s report
and presentation; the written
representations; and what they had heard at the
meeting, in being proposed by Councillor
Shane Bartlett and seconded by
Councillor Mike Barron, on being put to the
vote, the Committee agreed - by
9:2 - to be minded to grant
permission, subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 17 of the officer’s
report, with the enactment of their minded to decision being made by the
Service Manager for Development Management and Enforcement
Resolved
1)That planning permission be minded to be granted subject to conditions and the completion of a S 106 Legal agreement – to provide (summary) affordable housing provision of 7 dwellings plus financial contribution of £82,500.
or
refuse permission if the legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and
Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) is not completed within 6 months from
the date of committee or such extended time as agreed by the Head of Planning.
2)Having taken into consideration the Committee’s minded to decision, the
delegate to the Head of Planning be authorised to grant permission subject to the completion of a legal agreement under section 106 of the town and country planning act 1990 (as amended) in a form to be agreed by the legal services manager to secure the following:
Affordable housing provision of 7 dwellings
in accordance with the mix set out above plus financial contribution of
£82,500.
Reason for Decision
·
As set
out in paragraphs 17 in the report
• The proposal is
compliant with the Arne Neighbourhood Plan
• Para 14 of the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that permission should be granted
for sustainable development unless specific policies in the NPPF indicate
otherwise
• There is not
considered to be any significant harm to neighbouring residential amenity.
• There are no
material considerations which would warrant refusal of this application
Supporting documents: