Scale 1:1,250 Map Dated: 28/10/2015 CA/15/2006/OUT Crown copyright and database rights 2015 Ordnance Survey 100019614 Canterbury City Council Military Road Canterbury Kent CT1 1YW
AGENDA ITEM NO 10 PLANNING COMMITTEE 10 November 2015 APPLICATION NUMBER: SITE LOCATION: PROPOSAL: APPLICATION TYPE: CA//15/02006/OUT Land adjacent to 27 Rose Acre Road, Littlebourne, CT3 1SY Proposed three bedroom chalet bungalow Outline application DATE REGISTERED 15 September 2015 TARGET DATE 10 November 2015 LISTED BUILDING CONSERVATION AREA WARD: APPLICANT: AGENT: OFFICER CONTACT: WEB LINK: RECOMMENDATION: Not listed No Little Stour and Adisham Mrs J Stone Mervyn Gulvin Architects High Street Bridge Kent CT4 5LB Mr Guy Wilson https://publicaccess.canterbury.gov.uk/onlineapplications/simplesearchresults.do?action=firstpage Grant subject to conditions as set out at the end of the report. SITE LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION 1. The application site consists of an area of what is considered to be undeveloped land, surrounded to the sides and rear by a timber close boarded fence, and which sits between 25 and 27 Rose Acre Road. The site is approximately 40m long and 10m wide at the access, widening to 15m to the rear. The site is accessed by a shared private access which exits onto a turning head of the unclassified Rose Acre Road. 1
2. Development on Rose Acre Road is characterised by detached and semidetached bungalows, with a small number of two storey dwellings and chalet bungalows. RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY 3. There is no relevant planning history. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT 4. The application is for permission to erect a three bedroom chalet bungalow together with the formation of a new access and parking. 5. The application is outline at this stage, with access layout and scale to be considered. Appearance and landscaping are reserved matters to be dealt with at a later stage. CONSULTATION RESPONSES 6. The following response have been received in respect of this application: Southern Water No objection however note that the development is not served by a public surface water sewer. SUDS are referred to in the application but no details provided. Details of the drainage system, together with an effective management plan for the lifetime of the development will need to be submitted. Environmental Health No objection but have requested construction hours be controlled by condition Canterbury City Council Rubbish & Recycling Have been informally consulted and have stated that the proposal should be acceptable, subject to refuse collection arrangements being the same as for neighbouring residents whereby bins are wheeled to the end of the shared private access. Canterbury City Council Archaeology No objections Canterbury City Council Transportation Have not commented Kent Highways No comments to make. REPRESENTATIONS 7. The application was publicised by means of the notification of the owners of adjoining property, in accordance with national requirements. 2
8. Seven letters of representation have been received raising objections to the proposed development. The issues raised are: Access issues regarding the narrowness of the access and the inadequacy of the turning head, which together mean that emergency vehicles, bin lorries and other service vehicles cannot access the site. The impact on residential amenity in terms of loss of privacy, loss of light and overbearing. The scale of the proposed dwelling is out of character with the area and the plot too small to accommodate a new dwelling. The plans are inaccurate 9. Littlebourne Parish Council has objected on the basis that: The plot is too small and the development would adversely affect the amenity of neighbours. The access in inadequate with regards to emergency vehicle access, bin collection, and not sufficient for the additional traffic. The two-storey nature of the development would be out of character. RELEVANT POLICY GUIDANCE 10. The following policies of the Canterbury District Local Plan First Review 2006 apply: H1 - Residential development on allocated & non-allocated sites. H9 Residential development, in excess of minor development, on previously developed sites within villages; see para 2.56 for villages limited to minor development.imp2 - Section 106 Agreements; contributions to be sought from developers for social, recreational or community facilities. BE1 - High quality designs, sustainable developments and specific design, amenity and landscape criteria to which the Council will have regard: crossrefers to SPGs. C9 - KCC Vehicle & Cycle Parking Standards with local variations. IMP2 Section 106 Agreements; contributions to be sought from developers for social, recreational or community facilities. 11. The following policies of the Canterbury District Local Plan (Publication Draft) 2014 apply: SP1 - Presumption in favour of sustainable development unless material considerations indicate otherwise. SP4 - Urban areas of Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable to be principal focus for new development. T9 - Parking and cycle provision to be applied in accordance with KCC standards. CC11 - Sustainable Drainage Systems to be utilised where practical and greenfield run-off rates to be achieved where possible. 3
DBE1 - All development to incorporate sustainable design and construction measures. DBE3 - Development proposals to be of high quality, to be assessed against specific amenity, visual, landscape, accessibility and highways criteria. DBE4 - Proposals for modern design to be of high quality. DBE7 - New housing to have acceptable standard of accommodation to meet minimum space standards and to provide refuse and cycle storage and outdoor space. DBE9 - Residential intensification only acceptable in existing residential areas and on allocated housing sites. 12. The following Supplementary Planning Documents apply: 'Sustainable Construction' adopted April 2007; Residential Intensification adopted April 2008. 13. The following sections of the National Planning Policy Framework are considered particularly relevant: P14. At the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan-making and decision-taking. Section 6 Delivering a wide choice of quality homes Section 7 Requiring good design Section 10 Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change. ASSESSMENT 14. The application is brought before the Planning Committee due to the number of objections received. 15. The main considerations in the assessment of this application are: Principle of the development Living conditions and residential amenity Visual Impact Access Principle Housing development 16. The adopted local plan does not have a specific housing policy regarding minor development within villages, although policy H9 seeks to restrict larger developments. In the emerging local plan, policy SP4 states that in larger villages including Littlebourne, appropriate small scale housing development will be supported, subject to it not conflicting with other policies. 4
17. Canterbury City Council cannot currently demonstrate a five year housing supply, and as such its housing supply policies are considered out of date, and proposals should be assessed against the requirements of the NPPF. 18. The acceptability of the principle of new housing in this location is therefore subject to the sustainability of the location. The site is located within the built confines of Littlebourne village, on an area of undeveloped land. There is a bus stop which currently has a regular service to Canterbury, located less than 200m from the site, and there is a station 1.5 miles away in Bekesbourne providing services to Dover and London The village contains a number of essential services including a school, GP surgery, village shop and pubs. 19. The site does not have any significant constraints being within flood zone 1 (low risk), being outside the Littlebourne Conservation Area and being outside any specially designated areas with regards to landscape and ecology. 20. Taking into consideration national and local policy, and assessing the sustainability of the site, it is considered that the principle of minor housing development in this location should be supported, subject to other material considerations. Living conditions and residential amenity 21. Adopted local plan policy BE1 sets out that development should be assessed with regard to a number of considerations including the privacy and amenity of the existing environment. This test is also found in emerging plan policy DBE3 which requires consideration of the privacy and amenity of neighbouring buildings and future occupiers of the development itself. 22. The design and appearance, together with landscaping, for the proposed dwelling is a reserved matter, however the scale of the dwelling is being assessed at this stage, and an indicative plan of the dwelling has been considered. 23. Given the scale of the plot, the new dwelling would be in close proximity to its immediate neighbours on Rose Acre Road. As a consequence a new dwelling in this location would have the potential to lead to a loss of privacy of, and have an overbearing impact on these neighbouring dwellings. The issue of privacy should be able to be addressed satisfactorily through a wellconsidered design with regard to the use of glazing. The proposed chalet bungalow design, subject to its detailed design, would mean that the dwelling would not overbear or overshadow to a detrimental level. 24. Policy DBE7 of the emerging plan set outs the requirement for new development to meet residential space standards. Paragraph 50 of the NPPF sets out the need for local authorities to identify the size and type of housing that meets local demand, with the National Planning Practice Guidance stating that consequently, new homes would meet national space standards. 5
25. National space standards for a dwelling of this size specify a minimum gross internal area of between 84sqm and 102sqm, depending on the number of inhabitants. While detailed plans have not been submitted, the indicative plan would appear likely to exceed these requirements. 26. The proposal for a chalet bungalow is considered a good compromise between making efficient use of the land and not, in terms of scale, having a harmful impact on the amenity of the occupiers of neighbouring residences. Visual Impact 27. Adopted policy BE1 requires development to be considered with regard to its visual impact and impact on the local townscape character. Emerging local plan policy DBE3 restates this. 28. The majority of dwellings on Rose Acre Road are bungalows, although No. 23 has a dormer conversion, and there are three two storey dwellings at the High Street end of the road. 29. While the proposed dwelling would be of a larger scale than most dwellings in the area, the indicated scale and ridge height of the chalet bungalow would not be out of character with the area, while representing an efficient use of the land. Access Highways Safety 30. Policies BE1 of the adopted local plan and policy DBE3 of the emerging local plan state a need to consider the need to safely access and move within developments. 31. Vehicular access to the development is via a shared private access, which exits onto the unclassified Rose Acre Road. While the private access is only a single lane, the addition of one or two new dwellings would not significantly increase traffic movements near the development or be otherwise detrimental to road safety. The proposed development adheres to existing vehicle parking standards. No provision for cycle storage has been indicated on the sketch plans, however this should be included in any reserved matters application. Emergency vehicle access and refuse collection 32. A number of objections have raised concerns regarding how the width of the access road and the limited size of the turning head will make access for emergency vehicles difficult, with a recent shed fire on land adjacent to 24 Rose Acre Road being cited as an example of the how this is a problem. 33. Emergency vehicle access is something which is primarily addressed by building regulations. Approved document B sets out that for single dwelling houses, a pump appliance should be able to reach within 45m of the front 6
door, with the access road needing to be a minimum of 3.7m. While this issue would have to be addressed as a building control matter if permission is granted, the proposed layout would appear to be likely to be able to achieve compliance with this requirement. 34. Problems with refuse collection arising from the narrowness of the access have also been raised as a concern. There is no planning policy which directly deals with this, although bin storage should be included at the reserved matters stage. Currently refuse collection vehicles normally reverse onto Rose Acre Road from Littlebourne High Street, with six dwelling currently served by the private access, most of which wheel their bins to the end. The addition of one or two new dwellings would not have a significant impact on this arrangement. Environmental factors Flood risk 35. The site is within flood zone 1, where there is a low risk of flooding. New development should however be designed to ensure it does not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere. 36. The applicant has indicated that they will seek to introduce a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) to manage drainage. Southern Water have stated that there don t appear to be any public surface water sewers in the vicinity of the development, and so a SuDS system would need to be sufficient to ensure no inundation of public foul sewers. A requirement to submit details of the design and management of the SuDS system would need to be conditioned to any grant of permission. Renewable energy and sustainable construction 37. Following a ministerial statement earlier in 2015, the environmental performance of new dwellings is now dealt with via building regulations rather than the planning system. 38. No details of the construction or the integration of any renewable energy features have been indicated at this stage. The new dwelling as indicated would have a south facing roof slope and so there is a high potential for the integration of solar PV and/or hot water into the development in order to maximise its sustainability. Other considerations 39. Some objectors have stated that other dwellings on Rose Acre Road are subject to restrictive covenants which require them to remain bungalows. Such covenants are a civil matter and not a material planning consideration, although the relationship of the new dwellings with the character of the area has been considered above. 7
40. A number of objectors have questioned the accuracy of the plans. The plans are only largely indicative at this stage. When checked on site, the plans do not appear to be materially inaccurate. Planning Obligations 41. Policy IMP2 of the adopted local plan states that planning obligations will be sought from all developments where they are necessary and directly related in scale to the development. The adopted planning obligations supplementary planning guidance sets out that contributions will be normally sought for affordable housing (for developments of 15 or more in urban areas and 5 or more in rural areas), education, transport, and open space. The NPPF however sets out that planning obligations should only be sought where they are necessary to mitigate the impact of otherwise unacceptable development. 42. It is not considered that the addition of a single dwelling would by itself place a significant burden on nearby education and transport infrastructure, or nearby public open space. Nor have any specific projects to which this development relates been identified. As a consequence it is not considered appropriate to seek development contributions from this development. Conclusion 43. It is considered that the principle of new dwelling in this location is acceptable and would represent sustainable development. It is not considered that a dwelling of the scale proposed would have a harmful impact on the living conditions of any neighbours or the character of the area. It is considered that dwelling can be safely accessed, and would have no detrimental impact on highway safety. The application is considered to comply with the NPPF and the policies of the Canterbury District Local Plan (2006). Subject to conditions, it is recommended that the application be granted. 8
DRAFT CONDITIONS/REASONS FOR DECISION NOTICE Application No: CA/15/02006/OUT Proposal: Proposed three bedroom chalet bungalow. Location: Land adjacent to 27 Rose Acre Road, Littlebourne, CT3 1SY CONDITIONS/REASONS: 1 Details relating to the appearance and landscaping of the site shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority before any development is commenced. REASON: No such details have been submitted and these items have been reserved for future consideration. 2 Application for approval of the details referred to in condition 1 above must be made not later than the expiration of three years beginning with the date of the grant of outline planning permission. REASON: In pursuance of Section 92(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. 3 The development to which this permission relates must be begun not later than the expiration of two years from the final approval of the reserved matters, or, in the case of approval on different dates, the final approval of the last matter to be approved. REASON: In pursuance of Section 92(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by Section 51 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. 4 Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the local planning authority the development or work shall only be carried out in accordance with drawings 6944 401 & 6944 403 received on 15.09.2015. REASON: To ensure the development or work is in accordance with the permission, consent or approval given. 5 Details of the Sustainable Drainage System, to the used on the development hereby approved shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority before such features are installed and be implemented prior to the occupation of any of the dwellings hereby approved. As well as the design of the SUDS these details shall: Specify the responsibilities of each party for the implementation of the SuDS scheme. Specify a timetable for implementation Provide a management and maintenance plan for the lifetime of the development
The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved plans and retained as such thereafter. REASON: Pursuant to Articles 35 (1) and (2) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure)(England) Order 2015, the local planning authority is satisfied that the requirements of this condition (including the timing of compliance) are so fundamental to the development permitted that, if not imposed, it would have been necessary to refuse permission for the development. This is because, at the time of granting permission, details of the drainage for the development are not yet available but this information is necessary to ensure the development complies with section 10 of thhe NPPF. Therefore to ensure adequate provision for surface water drainage is made across the site and that no inundation of foul sewage systems occurs. 6 Before construction works on the new dwelling is commenced, details of the levels of the building shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The development shall be implemented in accordance with such details as approved. REASON: Pursuant to Articles 35 (1) and (2) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure)(England) Order 2015, the local planning authority is satisfied that the requirements of this condition (including the timing of compliance) are so fundamental to the development permitted that, if not imposed, it would have been necessary to refuse permission for the development. This is because, at the time of granting permission, full details of the building levels for the development to allow an assessment of the implication for surrounding development are not yet available but this information is necessary to ensure the development complies with Canterbury District Local Plan 2006 Policy BE1 and Draft Canterbury District Local Plan 2014 Policy DBE3. Thereby seeking to to ensure that the work is carried out at suitable levels in relation to adjoining properties. 7 The areas shown on the submitted plans as car parking space shall be provided before the dwellings to which they relate are first occupied. Thereafter these areas shall be used or kept available for the parking of cars. REASON: Development without provision of adequate accommodation for the parking and turning of vehicles is likely to lead to parking inconvenient to others and be detrimental to the safety and amenity of neighbouring residents. 8 Hours of construction work arrising from the development and any associated deliveries to the site shall be restricted to: 0800-1800 Monday to Friday and 0800-1300 on Saturday. No construction or deliveries shall take place on Sundays or Bank Holidays. REASON: In the interests of residential amenity in accordance with Canterbury District Local Plan (2006) policy BE1.