Agenda item

Change of use of healthcare centre from Use Class D1 to incorporate proposed pharmacy resulting in mixed use comprising D1 (non residential institutions) and A1 (retail).

RECOMMENDATION: grant permission subject to conditions.

[Cllr Solomon arrived late to the meeting and was therefore prohibited in accordance with the Council’s Constitution from taking part in any discussions or voting on this item].

The Committee considered a report on the application to grant planning permission for the change of use of the Somerset Gardens Healthcare Centre from use class D1 to mixed use comprising D1 and A1 to permit the incorporation of a proposed pharmacy. The report set out details of the proposal, the site and surroundings, planning history, relevant planning policy, consultation and responses, analysis, equalities and human rights implications and recommended to grant permission subject to conditions.

The planning officer gave a short presentation highlighting the key aspects of the report. The Committee was asked to note that the officer recommendation to grant permission was subject to a condition limiting the hours of operation of the pharmacy. Due to the location of the application site, it was considered the proposal would give rise to significant unacceptable noise and nuisance levels in the late hours which would be injurious to the residential amenity. The hours of operation therefore proposed to be imposed by condition on the pharmacy were Monday to Friday 0700hrs-1930hrs only.

A number of objectors addressed the Committee and raised the following points regarding the application:

·        The applicant had made limited effort to engage with the local community regarding the application which was considered essential in light of the residential setting of the Health Centre.

·        The appropriateness of siting a 100hrs pharmacy in a residential area was questioned, particularly in view of likely disturbance caused to residents in the vicinity from increased traffic and footfall in the area, especially in the evenings as the pharmacy would be open beyond the standard operating hours of the Health Centre.  

·        It was of concern that should approval be granted for the pharmacy, that needle exchange and/or methadone treatment services could potentially be offered in the future which was considered to be completely unsuitable in a residential area.

·        The local area was already sufficiently served by pharmacies located in more appropriate and accessible town centre locations. The applicant had not identified a clear need for a new pharmacy in the area.

Cllr Bull addressed the Committee in support of the key points raised by the objectors including the limited engagement undertaken, despite prompting, with the local community in the development of the plans and the lack of an identified need for a new pharmacy in the area. The potential for the new pharmacy to offer needle exchange and methadone services in the future had also been raised as a concern by a number of local people Cllr Bull had spoken to, particularly owing to the residential location and the potential for associated crime and anti-social behaviour.

The applicants addressed the Committee and raised the following points:

·        The provision of an onsite pharmacy aimed to improve the quality of patient care and health outcomes delivered by the Health Centre through providing integrated medicine management and delivery in one location.

·        The applicant confirmed that any restrictions imposed to the opening hours of the pharmacy would be unacceptable from a business perspective as it would contravene the terms of the NHS pharmaceutical licence held. In response to a question from the Committee, confirmation was provided that if the restricted hours of operation proposed by officers were imposed, the pharmacy would not be viable and would be forced to close as the terms of the pharmaceutical contract required 100 hours of operation. The applicants were unable to obtain any alternative pharmaceutical contract based on a lower number of hours.  

·        The Health Centre had undertaken a survey looking at the current use of the pharmacy which illustrated at present limited use of the out of hours service and identified that the majority of customers walked to the centre as opposed to using a car.

·        Data had also been collected from more established, similar pharmacies held by the pharmacy group in other areas of the country and illustrated fairly low visitation levels during the out of hours period.

·        The Council’s transport team had identified that the application would not have a significant impact on the existing level of traffic or car parking demand in the area.

·        The automatic gates to the Centre’s car park would be kept open outside of the standard opening hours of the Health Centre for use by pharmacy customers thereby reducing any potential parking problems.

·        In relation to community engagement, the plans had been discussed at the Health Centre’s patient representation group.

·        Confirmation was provided that methadone treatment and needle exchange services were not mandated under the terms of the pharmaceutical contract. A commitment was made to consulting with local people on any future plans to operate these services from the Centre.

Cllr McNamara put forward a motion to amend the condition covering the hours of operation of the pharmacy to 08.00-18.00 Monday-Friday in light of the concerns expressed by residents. The motion was not carried.

The Chair moved the recommendation of the report and it was

RESOLVED

• That planning application HGY/2013/1943 be approved subject to conditions:

IMPLEMENTATION

The development hereby authorised must be begun not later than the expiration of 3 years from the date of this permission, failing which the permission shall be of no effect.

Reason: This condition is imposed by virtue of the provisions of the Planning &

Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and to prevent the accumulation of

unimplemented planning permissions.

2. The development hereby authorised shall be carried out in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted to, and approved in writing by the Local

Planning Authority.

Reason: In order to ensure the development is carried out in accordance with

the approved details and in the interests of amenity

3. The development hereby approved shall be operated within the following hours, Monday to Friday – 0700hrs to 1930hrs and not at all on Saturday and Sundays.

Reason: In order to ensure that the development hereby approved does not

prejudice the beneficial enjoyment of the residential buildings in the vicinity.

INFORMATIVE: In dealing with this application the Council has implemented the requirement in the National Planning Policy Framework to work with the applicant in a positive and proactive way. We have made available detailed advice in the form of our development plan comprising the London Plan 2011, the Haringey Local Plan 2013 and the saved policies of the Haringey Unitary Development Plan 2006 along with relevant SPD/SPG documents, in order to ensure that the applicant has been given every opportunity to submit an application which is likely to be considered favourably.

In addition, where appropriate, further guidance was offered to the applicant during the consideration of the application.