Issue - meetings

Application for determination:

Residential development of 315 dwellings (comprised of apartment blocks and houses) and formation of new accesses, with associated landscaping, parking, open space and ancillary works including demolition of existing buildings.

He stated that the application should be granted on the following grounds:

-       The applicant had worked constructively with officers and consultees.

-       The scheme had been amended when required.

-       The application was before committee a couple of weeks after the adoption of the updated City Plan.

-       Only two parties had objected to the application, which was rare for an application as large as the one before Committee. This showed the support the local community had for the scheme.

-    It is a sustainable edge centre location.

-    There significant abnormal costs which impacts on the delivery of affordable housing.

-       A decision to grant the application would support the plan led system and would deliver 315 needed properties for Gloucester.

-       The capacity was increased from 200 to 300 at the City Plan Examination. 

-       Granting of the scheme would provide a third of the housing laid out in the recently adopted City Plan.

-    The Officer report explained how it met key requirements for dwellings.

-       26 affordable housing units would be provided.

-       The application would allow for the long-awaited redevelopment of a derelict site.

Members’ Questions 

The Principal Planning Officer responded to Members’ questions concerning issues raised about pedestrian crossing on Horton Road and Great Western Road, whether a condition to install a pedestrian refuge on Great Western Road could be included as part of the application, gull mitigation measures, use of the sidings, maintenance of boundary treatments, educational contributions to a local primary school, knotweed, how many electric charging points there were, disabled access , tree maintenance, noise at the site, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), the nature of the notification process, bin storage, tree maintenance and the public open space as follows:

-       Gloucestershire Highways had assessed the site in detail and did not deem a pedestrian crossing on Great Western Road or Horton Road necessary.

-       Pedestrians would cross Great Western Road to get to the hospital. There is an existing crossing further up Great Western Road.

-       Condition 30 of the report stipulated that Gull Mitigation Measures needed to be put in place prior to the first occupation within the individual flat blocks.

-       Regarding the use of the sidings, the applicant had liaised with Network Rail and had stated that they had quite a low use, by tamper vehicles. The Council’s environmental health consultant was satisfied with the impact.

-       Concerning the boundary treatments, there was a condition that required approval of Boundary treatments or means of enclosure.

-       The County Council had made a request for £1,507,940 to St Peters Primary School and/or Barton/Tredworth Primary planning area and/or other schools within the statutory walking distance. Widden Primary School likely would have fallen under one of these categories. However, contributions were linked with the viability of being able to provide said contributions and the applicant was not offering any contributions in relation to education. This said, the applicant had made the offer of providing 26 affordable housing units.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42