Agenda item

Application for determination.

Contact: Development Control Tel: (01452) 396783

The Principal Planning Officer presented her report which detailed a reserved matters application for the erection of 131 one, two, three and four bedroom dwellings, including apartments and houses, with vehicular access, drainage and associated works on area 4B1 on Framework Plan 4, Kingsway.

She referred Members to the late material and she advised that Officers had been working with the Applicant to achieve significant changes to the road layout of the development.

She illustrated the proposed parking provision and advised that double yellow lines would be necessary to prevent obstruction. She considered that the Applicant had endeavoured to ensure that convenient parking was located on or near to dwellings. She recommended that in the event the Committee approve the application, the Development Control Manager be authorised to approve the detailed wording of appropriate conditions.

Ben Draper, for the applicants, addressed the Committee in support of the application.

Mr Draper advised that the application had been the subject of many discussions with Officers prior to May when the applicant had requested that the application be deferred.

He noted that there had been no objections from the public and the proposal was in accordance with the development plan in terms of density, affordable housing and tenure of properties.

He believed that the application before the Committee represented the best that could be achieved for the site. He was conscious of overspill parking from previous phases of the overall development and noted that the current proposal would provide 298 car parking spaces for 131 dwellings compared to the 204 spaces provided for 120 dwellings in the previous phase.

He noted that the Local Highways Authority had accepted the proposal and that it had addressed the concerns expressed by Officers regarding affordable housing. He pointed out that a footpath had been proposed through the centre of the development and pedestrian refuges had been included on two corners of the access road to the north.

Significant Section 106 infrastructure contributions were planned together with 30 per cent affordable housing. He believed that the lack of objection supported his firm belief that the application represented the best possible solution.

Councillor Hobbs expressed concerns regarding the shared space approach and the ability of refuse vehicles and other large vehicles to navigate around the development if there was displaced parking. He called for a two hour restriction to be imposed on the visitor car parking spaces to prevent abuse of those spaces by residents.

Councillor McLellan believed that the application represented a realistic approach but he still had concerns regarding visitor parking. He welcomed the   proposed restrictions of converting garages to living space.

The Principal Planning Officer advised that these issues had been considered in great detail. The shared surface would keep vehicle speeds low. She advised that layouts like this included details of vehicle tracking movements and these had been checked by Highways Officers. She noted that any restriction on visitor parking spaces would prevent use of those spaces by residents.

Councillor Hobbs believed that there would be displaced parking and problems with refuse collection and other large vehicles. He was advised that Highways Officers required parking restrictions to be put in place to prevent this.

The Chair believed that visitor parking should not be restricted and he welcomed the additional footpath and creation of two culs-de-sac in place of the long shared space.

Councillor Etheridge suggested a weight restriction but was advised that this would be impractical due to the need for delivery, removal and refuse vehicles to access properties.

Councillor Dee suggested a restriction on parking for part of the day when refuse was collected each week and was advised that the timing of deliveries could not be controlled.

Councillor Hilton was advised that the change to two culs-de-sac would reduce through traffic, reduce speeds and introduce an intimacy to the area. He asked whether Officers were confident that the design of the new footway would prevent anti-social behaviour.

The Principal Planning Officer illustrated the degree of overlooking and confirmed that the proposal complied with design guidance for footways.

RESOLVED that the application be approved and the Development Control Manager be authorised to approve the detailed wording of appropriate conditions.

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