Issue - meetings

Demolition of existing houses and erection of 5 x 3 storey houses (comprising 4 x three bed and 1 x four bed) with associated parking.

RECOMMENDATION: Grant permission subject to conditions and a Section 106 Legal Agreement.               

The Committee was informed that this application had been deferred from the previous Planning Committee meeting held on 9 March 2009.  This application was a revised scheme following a previous dismissed scheme.

The Committee was advised that the application site was located on Creighton Avenue and had a very large rear garden which backed on to the gardens of Pages Hill.  The application site was currently a pair of semi-detached houses.

The design of the houses was considered acceptable as they reflected the height and bulk of existing houses adjacent to the site.  The density (157hrh) was actually lower than the recommended density range.  It was felt that the scheme complied with building overlooking distances and was not overbearing to adjacent properties.   Eight off street parking spaces, one disabled space were proposed along with a 20mph speed restriction which would assist traffic safety measures.

The Committee was further advised of a proposal by the applicant to amend the position of a single unit on the left hand side of the site by moving it forward by 1.5 metres.  The applicant had discussed this with the occupants of the property at number 18 who were happy with the proposal.

In response to a Members enquiry the officer explained the main differences between the current and previous applications;

• Proposal for 5 units rather than 6 in the previous application.
• The roof level had been reduced in terms of its bulk.
• The distance between the rear of the proposed new houses and the rear of houses in Pages Hill, backing on to the  buildings had been increased by 3 metres.
• The provision of parking spaces had been reduced from 12 to 8.

A Planning Consultant representing the residents of Pages Hill addressed the Committee and objected to the application on the basis that it was felt to be worse that the previous scheme dismissed on appeal.  It was considered that the reduced height, bulk and scale discussed was not true and the units were actually wider and broader.  The Planning Inspector had felt that the previous scheme would have a dramatic impact on the resident on Pages Hill and that there was no difference in the proposed scheme.  In response to a question raised by the Committee the representative explained that the pitch of the roof was lower, however it made little difference to the occupants on Pages Hill.

Cllr Matt Davies addressed to the Committee to requested that this application should be compared to the previous application dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate.  The Planning Inspectorate had been concerned about the impact on the residents of Pages Hill.  The Committee was requested to reject the application for the same reasons the Planning Inspectorate had dismissed the previous appeal because the applications were the same.

The applicant responded to the concerns raised and advised that the current application addressed the issues raised by the Planning Inspectorate.  The proposed houses were much smaller and the buildings had been positioned  in line with Creighton Avenue.   The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 433