Agenda item

Application for determination:

Reserved matters application for approval of appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for 97 dwellings, provision of Green Infrastructure including surface water attenuation and play space and other related infrastructure including foul water pumping station (pursuant to outline planning permission ref. 18/01228/OUT). Resubmission of application ref. 21/00317/REM.

The Planning Development Manager presented the report detailing a reserved matters application for approval of appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for 97 dwellings, provision of Green Infrastructure including surface water attenuation and play space and other related infrastructure including foul water pumping station (pursuant to outline planning permission ref.18/01228/OUT).

A Design & Planning Executive representing Taylor Wimpey addressed the committee in support of the application.

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

-       The application was developed in line with the approved site master plan agreed upon at the outline stage;

-       The application respected the character of the area;

-       Of the 97 proposed dwellings, 24 would be affordable housing. This amounted to 25% of properties, which was in accordance with the S106 agreement. - The application was well designed;

-       The application would provide 200 car parking spaces;

-       Each 4-bedroom property would have at least three car parking spaces, three bedroomed properties would have at least two parking spaces and so on;

-       The application would provide a well-equipped play area;

-       Sufficient green infrastructure would be provided;

-       Private and secure cycle storage would be provided for the dwellings;

-       Each home would have a 7.2 k/w electric vehicle charging point;

The Planning Development Manager responded to Members’ questions concerning concerns raised about the lack of bungalows proposed, whether there would be electric vehicle charging points, the distance between the pumping station and the neighbouring properties, the time of the publication of the late material, questions about the public right of way and private drive, whether Brooklyn Villas would be accessed by vehicle, whether there would be a Showman’s Guild site within the site, what the main concerns were regarding the representations made in the late material and whether Severn Trent had approved the water pumping station as follows:

-       There was no specific policy that stipulated a requirement of a certain number of bungalows. However, there was a policy regarding housing mix, which depended on the application size.

-       Regarding wheelchair provision, there was a policy within the City Plan which tied in with the affordable housing policy. Out of the total builds, 25% of dwellings must be a category M4(2) dwelling. These were dwellings which made reasonable provisions for most people to access and included features that made them suitable for adaption for a range of potential occupants, including some wheelchair users. 4% of dwellings needed to be a category M4(3) dwelling which was a wheelchair user dwelling. The provision of one bungalow met this 4% threshold.

-       The Housing Officer was satisfied that the application was compliant with policy and met the local area's needs.

-       Electric vehicle charging points were being provided. - Regarding late material, for this particular application, the relevant Planning Officer specifically consulted the residents who had previously made representations to inform them that the application was going before the committee, and that the objectors had requested that their letters were published in full.

-       The public right of way fell within and continued beyond the site and had been considered at the outline stage. It was common that public rights of way went across private land. The applicant proposed to make upgrades to the public right of way and a minor diversion in one corner. Condition 8 listed in the late material stipulated that no development would start until specifications of the surface improvements to the public right of way were provided. The improvements to the public right of way were a bonus.

-       The reserved matters application was only for the approval of appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale. - Brooklyn Villas would be accessed by vehicle. An additional access point was included in the outline permission to provide residents with alternative access.

-       There was not a Showman’s Guild site as part of the application. The Planning Brief for Land East of Waterwells Business Park produced in 2009, listed in paragraph 3.7 of the report, included the wider site and generally had been superseded. It was still a planning document, but now had very limited weight.

-       The representations circulated in the late material argued against the development on numerous grounds. His view was that the majority went to the principle of development and determinations made at the outline stage.

-       He could not say the exact distance of the Pumping Station to the closest property, but it appeared to be more than 20 metres away from any dwelling. - The pumping station had been approved by Severn Trent Water. He was unsure exactly where the water would be pumped to, but confirmed that this would have been considered by the relevant professionals.

Members’ Debate

The Vice-Chair stated that he believed there were matters raised by residents in the late material that required addressing. He added that he was unsure whether he would vote in line with the officer’s recommendation.

The Chair stated that he agreed with concerns raised regarding the publication date of the late material for the committee meeting and that he would follow this matter up for future committee meetings with Gloucester City Council’s Democratic Services Team and the Planning Development Manager.

The Chair moved, and Councillor D. Brown seconded the officer’s recommendation as amended in the late material:

RESOLVED that: - approval of the reserved matters of layout, scale, appearance, and landscaping be granted subject to the conditions outlined in the report and amended in the late material.