Parish: Chidham & Hambrook. Ward: Southbourne CH/15/01444/FUL

Transcription

1 Parish: Chidham & Hambrook Ward: Southbourne CH/15/01444/FUL Proposal Demolition of existing garages and erection of 3 homes with associated car parking, allotment space and landscaping. Replacement parking and allotment space provided off site. Site Garage Compound South East Of 21 To 25 Flatt Road Nutbourne West Sussex Map Ref (E) (N) Applicant Hyde Housing RECOMMENDATION TO PERMIT WITH S106 1

2 NOT TO SCALE Note: Do not scale from map. For information only. Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Mapping with the permission of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Crown Copyright. License No Reason for Committee Referral Parish Objection - Officer recommends Permit 2.0 The Site and Surroundings 2.1 The application site lies within the settlement boundary of Hambrook/Nutbourne at the southern end of Flatt Road. The site currently comprises a garage court and 6 allotments which are accessed from Flatt Road. To the west of the application site is a mix of semidetached and terraced bungalows whilst to the north is a mix of semi-detached and terraced 2 storey properties, all of which front onto Flatt Road. A predominance of detached dwellings in large plots front the A259 to the south and to the east the street scene is characterised by terraces of 2 storey properties fronting onto Broad Road. 2.2 At present within the northern part of the site are a total of 13 concrete garages within two blocks with profiled sheeting over flat roofs and up-and-over metal doors and concrete hardstanding for manoeuvring. There is also vehicular access from the garage court to the rear of neighbouring dwellings on Broad Meadow. To the south and west of the application site there is an area of allotments with mature planting along the southern and eastern boundaries and wire fencing along the western boundaries, with neighbouring dwellings. 3.0 The Proposal 3.1 Planning permission is sought for the provision of a terrace of 3 x one bedroom bungalows. The applicant is a Registered Provider for social housing and the proposal is for the dwellings to be affordable rented properties. The terrace would be approximately 23.2m in length, and each dwelling would measure 5.2m in height with a depth of between 5.1 and 5.6m due to varying projections at the rear. 3.2 The proposal includes the provision of a total of 6 parking spaces within the application site. In addition a new area of parking is proposed in the form of a lay-by along Flatt Road in order to provide a further 9 spaces. 3.2 The eastern half of the existing allotments (comprising an area of approximately 19m x 24m) would be replaced by part of the new development; however the western end of the allotments would be retained. It is proposed to replace these allotments on land to the north of Flatt Road, which would be secured via a S106 planning obligation. The proposed location of the new allotments would be approximately 153m to the north of the application site. The use of land as allotments does not require planning permission; however other associated works such as the demolition of the garage block and the creation of an access through the site would. Therefore although the intended siting of the allotments has been indicated on the submitted drawings this would be the subject of a separate planning application for any necessary associated development. 4.0 History 2

3 14/04305/FUL REF Demolition of existing garages and erection of 4 homes with associated car parking and landscaping. 5.0 Constraints Listed Building NO Conservation Area NO Rural Area NO AONB NO Strategic Gap NO Tree Preservation OrdeNO South Downs National NO Park EA Flood Zone - Flood Zone 2 NO - Flood Zone 3 NO Historic Parks and Gardens NO 6.0 Representations and Consultations 6.1 Parish Council Chidham & Hambrook Parish Council OBJECTS to the Application and makes the following Comments: The Parish Council submitted a detailed Response dated 18 June 2015 to the earlier version of this Application and is now responding to the current REVISED APPLICATION. This Response may look similar to the 18 June Response, but it has been carefully revised to take fully into account the REVISED APPLICATION. The efforts made to improve on the inappropriate earlier application are appreciated. The number, scale and appearance of dwellings have been greatly improved and the 3 single storey dwellings would not overlook adjacent dwellings and private amenity space. In addition, the proposed bungalows would be welcome in that they would provide accommodation that is accessible by people with restricted mobility and suitable for residents who wish to downsize - and that also falls into the category of Affordable Housing. However, there remain serious deficiencies in the proposals, as follows. PARKING - The site is approached via the south arm of Flatt Road. The current parking provision for residents in this stretch of road is already completely inadequate. Residents are forced to park on the grass verge, particularly in the evenings and at weekends. The 3

4 suggested layby in Flatt Road, south arm, for nine cars, is good in that it will take some of the cars off the grass verge. However, it cannot be viewed as providing additional parking. If permission is granted, the layby should be a mandatory condition of approval. It remains the view of the Parish Council that the inadequate parking provision in the proposed development would result in the cars of residents and visitors accessing the proposed houses being forced to park in the south arm of Flatt Road. This would make an already unsatisfactory situation completely untenable. ACCESS FOR CDC REFUSE VEHICLES - The CDC Waste Services Officer, Darren Martin, in his Response of 8 June 2015, raised serious concerns over the adequacy of the proposed access for CDC refuse freighters. He asked that the developer checks that the correct details of size, etc have been used in their Swept Path Analysis. More importantly, he stated that Flatt Road must be sufficiently cleared of parked cars to cope with the swing of the vehicle as it turns into the site. The part of Flatt Road in question contains the parked cars of elderly residents and the latter should not be asked to park their vehicles some distance away from their homes. Darren Martin went on to say that The turning head within the site does appear to be rather tight. I would also strongly advise sufficient parking restrictions are put in place to prevent visitors from parking outside the properties as this may impede our driver when trying to manoeuvre the freighter within the site. The Parish Council still feels that the proposed access for Refuse Vehicles is too tight and makes unwarranted assumptions regarding the care with which other vehicles may be parked. ALLOTMENT PROVISION - At present, there are 3 standard size allotments and 1 half-size allotment on the site. The original proposal would have reduced this provision to 2 half-size allotments. This 70% reduction in allotment provision would have been contrary to Government guidance. Currently, all of the 3.5 allotments are leased and there is a waiting list. Included in the latter are three residents of Flatt Road. The revised, current proposal appears offers some replacement allotments either side of a hardstanding access to the electricity substation and the rear garden of Hawthorns, Broad Road. The owner of Hawthorns, Mr Steve Kuc, has submitted an online objection (9 June 2015) to this proposal, in which he raises many valid reasons for refusing the Application. They include: Blockage by Allotment Users of his right of way and that of SSE Power Distribution for emergency maintenance work, Unsafe Environment because of the lack of overlooking of the secluded site, Removal of Parking Area thus exacerbating the parking problem in Flatt Road north, Mud on access way resulting in unsafe surface. The plan in the Revised Application showing the Flatt Road North provision of allotments indicates that this aspect has still not been given the attention it needs and deserves. The scant regard paid in this Application to current residents of Flatt Road in respect of parking and allotments was well expressed by Amanda Hall of Flatt Road in her letter of Objection to the previous Application: I also believe you are insensitive to the needs of the community that live here and use the allotments and garages. Many of the people who use the allotments are retired and these allotments have been a source of economic and social activity to these people. To take it away could cause health problems for these people. SURFACE WATER DRAINAGE - The Application contains virtually no detailed information about Surface Water Drainage. A local resident, Mr Ed Spooner, who has lived at 47 Flatt Road for 33 years and has been an Allotment Holder for many years, has provided valuable local knowledge about the parlous state of drainage in Flatt Road in general and in and around the Application Site in particular. Mr Spooners information is contained in an online Objection posted on the CDC Planning Website on 15 June Essentially, he reports that key drainage ditches have fallen into disuse and have silted up so that they no longer function correctly. The result is that the current Allotment site and the gardens of adjoining houses experience significant flooding throughout the winter. A site visit to the Allotments 4

5 indicates that Mr Spooner has raised his Allotment bed about 12 inches (30 cm) so that they are above the level of flooding. The Application depends on soakaways for the disposal of surface water. These will not work because the ground is saturated and flooded for extended periods of time. INFRASTRUCTURE - The infrastructure is inadequate to support such a development in respect of primary school places in Chidham Parochial Primary School, provision of local shops and primary care and medical facilities. Please refer to the Parish Councils objection to the original Application for details of these inadequacies. CONCLUSION The Parish Council would perceive a net benefit arising from the proposed development for the reasons propounded in the third paragraph of this Objection, were it not for the serious deficiencies in the areas of Parking, CDC Refuse Vehicle Access, Allotments Provision and Surface Water Drainage. 6.2 WSCC - 31/07/2015 No Objection - The proposal is for the erection of 3 dwellings upon allotments, and relocation of allotments to replace a garage compound. Access from both sites shall be onto Flatt Road via existing access points. From an inspection of the plans alone, there are no apparent visibility issues at the points of access onto Flatt Road. It has been established that the garage compounds are privately controlled and are not related to the control of the nearby dwellings. As a result the provision of additional parking on Flatt Road, as included under the previous submission for this site should be sufficient to alleviate an existing parking provision issue in the area to a large degree. One other area of discussion from the previous submission was that of refuse collection. After some discussion, refuse collection should now be via an area of allocated bin storage close to the access point to the dwellings. The most recently available verified accident records reveal there have been no personal injury accidents in the vicinity of the existing point of access, indicating a low risk of highway safety issues with this proposal. In terms of Highway safety, whilst there may be an increase in movements accessing either site, there are no concerns with this proposal. 6.3 Southern Water No new development or tree planting should be located within 3m either side of the centreline of the public sewer and all existing infrastructure should be protected during the course of the construction works. No new soakaways should be located within 5m of the public sewer. 6.4 CDC - Environment Officer No objection - conditions required to ensure any lighting scheme minimises impact on bats and no clearance of vegetation or trees takes place during the bird breeding season (1st March - 1st October). A contribution to mitigate impact upon the Chichester and Langstone Harbours Special Protection Area required for each dwelling. 6.5 CDC - Waste Services 5

6 No objection - One waste and one recycling bin required per dwellings. Some concerns regarding access to site if vehicles are parked on Flatt Road, otherwise residents would be required to move their bins to a collection point at the entrance to the shared driveway. Advise restrictions put in place to prevent visitors from parking outside the properties. 6.6 CDC - Corporate Information Officer No objection - Provision of allotments are required. 6.7 CDC - Coastal and Drainage Engineer No objection - The site is within flood zone 1 (low risk) and I have no knowledge of flooding to the site. The proposal is to discharge the surface water via infiltration to the ground. I can confirm that this is the preferred means of surface water drainage and as such the approach is acceptable in principle. The detailed design of all infiltration structures will need to be supported by winter groundwater monitoring and percolation tests at the location and depth of the proposed structures. If the application is approved suggest a drainage condition. 6.8 CDC - Housing Officer No objection - Confirm that the garage protocol has been met. Proposal would provide 3 x 1 bedroom (2 person) affordable rented bungalows of which one would be provided as a wheelchair accessible unit. There are currently 16 households on the housing register with a local connection to Chidham, of which 3 are currently eligible for this scheme and a further 2 would be eligible in a years' time. The proposed mix would provide much needed smaller units for older people wishing to downsize, thus freeing up larger family housing. The Parish has 6.9 CDC - Environmental Health Officer No objection - Given age of garages there is likely to be asbestos present. Recommend conditions including all waste materials must be disposed of in accordance with current waste regulations, provision of secure cycle parking and also that during construction a code for considerate contractors should be follows in order to minimise environmental impacts Eight third party objections have been received in respect of the application concerning: a) Flooding b) Lack of information about the proposed allotments b) Right of way across allotments is impractical c) Potential for damage to drains when allotments provided d) Proposed allotments not safe due to lack of natural surveillance e) Allotments will remove parking from the area f) Flatt Road has no drainage for rainfall, in heavy groundwater rises causing flooding g) Allotment are is constantly under water in winter h) grass verge helps drainage, when changed into car parking this will be lost i) proposal will change aesthetics of the road making it look like a large car park j) concern about impact upon bats k) a lot of building work being undertaken in Nutbourne l) Parish has exceeded number of dwellings needed by more than 3 times m) There are 28 affordable homes permitted and 44 affordable homes already built nearby within the last 5 years. Hard to understand why 3 more are required. 6.9 One third party comment has been received raising the issue of flooding. 7.0 Planning Policy 6

7 The Development Plan 7.1 The Development Plan for Chichester District comprises the Chichester Local Plan: Key Policies and all adopted neighbourhood plans. There is no adopted neighbourhood plan for Chidham and Hambrook at this time. 7.2 The principal planning policies relevant to the consideration of this application are as follows: Chichester Local Plan: Key Policies Policy 1: Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development Policy 2: Development Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy Policy 33: New Residential Development Policy 39: Transport, Accessibility and Parking Policy 42: Flood Risk and Water Mangement Policy 48: Natural Environment Policy 50: Development and Disturbance of Birds in Chichester and Langstone Harbours Special Protection Areas Policy 54: Open space, sport and recreation National Policy and Guidance 7.3 Government planning policy comprises the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). At the heart of the NPPF is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan-making and decision-taking. This means unless material considerations indicate otherwise development proposals that accord with the development plan should be approved without delay. 7.4 Consideration should also be given to paragraph 17 (Core Planning Principles), together with Sections 6, 7, 8 and 11 generally. 7.5 The government's New Homes Bonus (NHB) which was set up in response to historically low levels of housebuilding, aims to reward local authorities who grant planning permissions for new housing. Through the NHB the government will match the additional council tax raised by each council for each new house built for each of the six years after that house is built. As a result, councils will receive an automatic, six-year, 100 per cent increase in the amount of revenue derived from each new house built in their area. It follows that by allowing more homes to be built in their area local councils will receive more money to pay for the increased services that will be required, to hold down council tax. The NHB is intended to be an incentive for local government and local people, to encourage rather than resist, new housing of types and in places that are sensitive to local concerns and with which local communities are, therefore, content. Section 143 of the Localism Act which amends S.70 of the Town and Country Planning Act makes certain financial considerations such as the NHB, material considerations in the determination of planning applications for new housing. The amount of weight to be attached to the NHB will be at the discretion of the decision taker when carrying out the final balancing exercise along with the other material considerations relevant to that application. Other Local Policy and Guidance 7

8 7.6 The emerging Chidham and Hambrook Neighbourhood Plan has been formally submitted to the District Council and is currently being consulted upon prior to examination and therefore carries some weight. 7.7 The aims and objectives of the Council's Sustainable Community Strategy are material to the determination of this planning application. These are: B1 - Managing a changing environment D1 - Increasing housing supply D3 - Housing fit for purpose 8.0 Planning Comments Assessment 8.1 The main issues arising from this proposal are: i) Principle of development ii) Impact upon character of surrounding area iii) Impact upon the amenities of neighbouring properties iv) Housing Need v) Loss of parking and impact upon highway safety vi) Replacement of allotments vii) Flooding viii) Impact upon trees ix) Ecology i) Principle of development 8.2 The site is within the Settlement Boundary of Hambrook/Nutbourne which is identified as a Service Village; a sustainable location for small scale development outside of Chichester City and the Settlement Hubs where, in accordance with Policies 1 and Policy 2 of the Local Plan there is a presumption in favour of sustainable development. Furthermore, Paragraph 14 of the NPPF establishes that there is a presumption in favour of sustainable development in such a location, unless the adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits. The proposal would result in the re-location of allotments and car parking areas, the impact of these changes are addressed below alongside the other key material considerations, however in principle the proposal accords with the national and local planning policies that seek to secure housing in sustainable locations.` ii) Impact upon the character of the surrounding area 8.3 Section 7 of the NPPF requires good design that improves the overall quality of the area and policy, with Paragraph 56 of the NPPF stating that "good design is indivisible from good planning". Policy 33 of the Local Plan states inter alia that new development should; meet the highest standards of design, provide high quality living environments in character with the surrounding area, respect the character of the site and surroundings in terms of the proportion, massing, siting, layout, density, height, size and scale. 8

9 8.4 The area surrounding the the application site is characterised by a mix of housing types, styles and sizes. However, immediately adjacent to the site are a number of bungalows which afford this part of the streetscene a low key character and a previous scheme for a larger development of 2 storey dwellings was previously refused. Having regard to the concerns raised previously by officers the applicant now proposes a smaller scheme of 3 single storey dwellings. The terrace of dwellings is of a similar scale to the bungalows to the east of the site, and therefore whilst views of the development would be available from Flatt Road along the access and between the neighbouring dwellings, the proposal would not appear incongruous or out of keeping with the neighbouring properties. In addition, the appearance of the proposed dwellings in conjunction with a smaller parking court and better surveillance of the allotments would improve the overall quality of the application site and its surroundings. It is therefore considered that the proposed dwellings and parking area meet the requirements of national and local planning policies that seek to improve the overall quality of an area and the way it functions. 8.5 The proposed parking lay-by on Flatt Road would result in the loss of a small part of a green verge, however the verge at present measures approximately 10m in width and following the provision of a lay-by along part of the verge a width of 8.2m would be retained at its narrowest point. It is considered that whilst the proposal would result in the loss of some of the green space along Flatt Road, this change would not result in demonstrable harm to the streetscene due to the retention of a wide verge. 8.6 It is therefore considered that the proposal would not detract from the character of the locality or the appearance of the streetscene, and therefore the proposal accords with national and local planning policies this respect. iii) Impact upon amenities of neighbouring properties 8.7 Paragraph 17 of the NPPF is clear that planning should ensure a good quality of amenity for all existing and future occupiers of land and buildings, and policy 33 of the Local Plan seeks to provide high quality living environment in keeping with the character of the area and to protect neighbouring and public amenity. 8.8 The proposed dwellings would be single storey and in excess of 13m from the nearest dwelling (23 Flatt Road, to the west), with at least 9.3m between the boundary of the rear garden and the nearest window of the proposed dwellings, which would serve a kitchen. The distances between the proposed dwellings and the other neighbouring properties to the west would range between 16m and 25m. It is therefore considered that the proposed dwellings would be sufficiently distanced from the dwellings on Flatt Road to ensure that they would not result in any material loss of light or privacy. 8.9 The rear gardens proposed would be 'L' shaped and would range from 5m - 7m at their shortest points, increasing to 10m m. There is a significant degree of screening between the proposed dwellings and those existing to the south and east. Taking into account the scale of the dwellings, the screening of the neighbouring properties and also the sensitive siting of fenestration it is considered that the proposal would not result in the loss of privacy or the amenity to the neighbouring properties to the east and south. iv) Housing Need 8.10 The proposed development would provide a total of 3 affordable rented dwellings, one of which would be wheelchair accessible. 9

10 8.11 The Housing Officer has advised that the parish of Chidham and Hambrook has an aging population with 43% aged 55 or older (census 2011) and only 22% of the housing stock in the parish is 1-2 bedroom properties, the census also illustrates a high number of under-occupancy within the parish. In addition, the Housing Officer advised that at present there is a specific need for this type of accommodation. At present there are 3 households in the local area who have an identified need for ground floor accommodation on the waiting list, and it is anticipated that a further 2 households would be eligible within the next 12 months. The proposal would provide an opportunity for older people to downsize in order to free up the larger family housing for households currently waiting for these existing properties The NPPF states in paragraph 50 that Local Planning Authorities should "Plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, market trends and the needs of different groups in the community (such as, but not limited to, families with children, older people, people with disabilities, service families and people wishing to build their own homes). In addition, the paragraph 021 of the National Planning Practice Guidance states that "the need to provide housing for older people is critical given the projected increase in the number of households aged 65 and accounts for over half of new households" and "supporting independent living can help to reduce the costs to the health and social services, and providing more options for older people to move would also free up houses that are under occupied" It is considered that the proposed development would provide affordable rented accommodation that would meet an existing need, and reflects the objectives of the NPPF and the NPPG to provide for the aging population and the needs of the community. Whilst this is a clear benefit to the development currently proposed It is important to note that, given the location of the site within a Settlement Boundary, it would be equally appropriate for a development of similar market housing, and for that reason it would not be reasonable to control the tenure of the dwellings by way of a Section 106 planning obligation. v) Impact upon Highways 8.14 At present the main application site provides a total of 13 garages. The garage site to the north of Flatt Road which is indicated to be the location for the replacement allotments provides a total of 6 garages. The parking survey submitted as part of the Transport Statement with the application assessed how many of these garages were in use and also the level of demand for on-street for parking The survey demonstrated that of the 19 garages 14 were rented out. Of the garages in use 1 was used for storage, 2 were used for parking by someone who does not live locally and the remaining 11 are used for parking by local residents. In addition it was identified that there was a further space available for parking on hardstanding within the garage court of the application site, although during the surveys there were 2 vehicles parked on this area of hardstanding. 6 spaces were also available within the garage court where the proposed re-placement allotments would be located, but only 1 space was in use during the surveys. As a result there are 14 parking spaces (including within garages) in active use by local residents that would be displaced as a result of this development The application proposes 6 spaces on site, 3 of which would be required to serve the development. In addition, the Transport Statement states that there is sufficient space on Flatt Road for a total of 45 vehicles to park on the street. During the times of the surveys there was significant amount of space on the road and also within the parking court at the northern end of Flatt Road. Over the three surveys it was identified that there were between 10

11 23 and 26 unoccupied parking spaces available on Flatt Road. The parking displaced as a result of the development could therefore be accommodated within the existing available spaces on Flatt Road leaving a minimum of 9 spaces still available during peak demand In addition it was noted that there were up to 10 vehicles parked illegally on a verge adjacent to the proposed lay-by which would now have the opportunity to park lawfully within this provision, with the one further additional vehicles being accommodated within the remaining capacity of Flatt Road The Highways Authority has confirmed that the proposed level of parking would be acceptable to meet the parking demand in the area, and it is considered that the information submitted is sufficient to demonstrate that the proposal would be acceptable with regards to the need to provide parking. The provision of the lay-by parking would be the subject of a condition, as would the provision of the on-site parking The Highways Authority has also confirmed that based on the amended plans the proposed access and turning facilities would be acceptable and that the proposal would not have an adverse impact upon the highway network. Concerns were raised by the Waste Services Officer that the space for refuse vehicles to turn into the site may be limited by onstreet parking, although the turning space within the site would be sufficient provided it is not blocked by any vehicles parked outside of marked bays. A condition is recommended to ensure that the turning spaces would be kept free to ensure that large vehicles are able to turn on site. However, the residents of the proposed dwellings would be required to place their bins for kerbside collection. Therefore, although it would be physically possible for refuse vehicles to enter, turn and egress the site it would be unnecessary and would address concerns raised regarding the potential for obstruction of a refuse vehicle by cars parked on Flatt Road It is therefore considered that subject to condition requiring the provision and retention of the necessary parking, turning and bin collection areas the proposal would be provided with satisfactory access arrangements and would not affect the highway network or highway safety in accordance with policy 39 of the Local Plan. vi) Replacement of allotments 8.21 The plans submitted with the application demonstrate that 2 allotments would be retained within the application site and the remaining 1 and half that would be removed as part of the development would be provided elsewhere. The applicant has agreed to this being the subject of a Section 106 planning obligation and has indicated the proposed location for the allotments. Whilst any development associated with the allotments would need to be the subject of a planning application, the S106 would also require a scheme for the provision of the allotments to be submitted and approved by the Local Planning Authority to ensure that the layout would be satisfactory. The proposed location for the allotments measures approximately 27m x 21m on average. It is considered that despite the need for an access to be retained through the site of the proposed allotments there would be sufficient space within the site to provide the necessary equivalent provision. The proposal therefore accords with policy 54 of the Local Plan and paragraph 74 of the NPPF that seeks to ensure there is no net loss in open space as a result of new development. vii) Flooding 8.22 A number of third party objections have been received expressing concern with regard to drainage in the local area and flooding the site. The application site lies in Flood Zone 1, 11

12 the area least at risk of flooding, and therefore flood risk would not be a constraint to development. Furthermore, there is no known surface water flooding issues in this area as advised by the Council's drainage engineer. However, in light of information raised in third party representations and by the Parish Council, a condition would be imposed requiring ground water monitoring to take place and percolation tests to be carried out prior to the surface water drainage scheme being designed to ensure that the proposal would adequately manage surface water drainage without flooding occurring on the site, or the surrounding sites It is therefore considered that the drainage of the site could be managed through an appropriately worded condition to ensure that the proposal would not result in any increased risk of flooding of the site or neighbouring properties. The proposal therefore accords with policy 42 in respect of flood risk and water management. viii) Impact upon trees 8.24 The application is accompanied by an Arboricultural Assessment. There are few trees within the site, the exception being an apple tree which is to be retained; however there is hedgerow and mature trees along the boundary of the site. The proposed development would not result in the loss of any trees within the site or to its boundary, however there is a need to prune small branches of a Holm Oak to provide maintenance and reduce the potential for overhanging. These works would not affect the health of the tree. In addition, the assessment includes a Tree Protection Plan, which includes the use of protective fencing, no changing to land levels within the root protection areas, storage of materials within 20m and no fires within 5m of the trees and hedgerow. It is considered that subject to the development being carried out in accordance with the assessment submitted that the proposal would not have an adverse impact upon trees. ix) Ecology 8.25 The application site lies within the 5.6km zone of influence for the Chichester and Langstone Harbours Special Protection Area (SPA) and therefore the proposal is likely to have a significant impact upon the SPA as a result of recreational disturbance. The applicant has agreed to mitigate this impact by paying a financial contribution towards the joint mitigation strategy in accordance with policy 50 of the Local Plan In respect of the impact of the development upon ecology within the site consideration has been given to a Phase 1 Habitat Survey submitted with the application. The survey found no evidence of protected species on the site, although there is potential for birds to breed within the allotments part of the site. The habitat survey submitted with the application includes recommendations to install bat and bird boxes within the site to support local populations of these species, and therefore this is also the subject of a condition. Therefore, subject to a restriction on the timing of vegetation works to avoid the bird breeding season and the consideration of bats when designing the external lighting scheme, it is considered that the proposal would not have an adverse impact upon key ecological features or protected species. Conclusion 8.27 Based on the above assessment of the material planning considerations it is considered the proposal would comply with development plan policies 1, 2, 33, 39, 42, 48, 50 and 54 and therefore the application is recommended for approval. 12

13 Human Rights 8.28 In reaching this conclusion the Human Rights of the applicants and nearby occupiers have been taken into account when reaching this recommendation and it is concluded that the recommendation to permit is justified and proportionate. RECOMMENDATION PERMIT WITH S106 1 A01F Time Limit - Full 2 B01G No Departure from Plans 3 U Materials to be submitted 4 U Boundary Treatments 5 U Cycle parking 6 U Site set up 7 U Parking and Turning 8 U Drainage 9 U Tree Assessment 10 U Ecological Appraisal 11 U Disposal of waste 12 N21G - Contaminated Land 13 U Sewer INFORMATIVES 14 U Informative: Other Consents 15 U Informative: Works within Highway 16 U Considerate contractors 17 U Connection to sewer 18 U Sewer Connection 19 W02F - S.106 Agreement For further information on this application please contact Fjola Stevens on