Agenda item

PLANNING APPLICATION B/15/0343

Proposal: Application for Outline Planning Permission with some matters reserved (consideration given to access)  for residential development (100 dwellings)

 

Location: Land off Punchbowl Lane, Boston, Lincolnshire

 

Applicant:Mr Mark Mann, Larkfleet Homes

Minutes:

Proposal: Application for Outline Planning Permission with some matters reserved (consideration given to access)  for residential development (100 dwellings)

 

Location: Land off Punchbowl Lane, Boston, Lincolnshire

 

Applicant: Mr Mark Mann, Larkfleet Homes

 

The Senior Planning Officer presented the report and advised the Committee that 7 further representations had been received after the publication of the agenda papers, 3 being from residents in The Graylings, 1 from Langrick Road, 1 from Punchbowl Lane and one e-mail from an unknown address.

 

In summary, the representations objected to the application on the grounds of fire risk, drainage, increase in crime, more social housing leading to noise and violence, the footpath, that the land should remain agricultural, the impact on services and facilities, as well as other non-material objections.

 

In addition to the conditions listed in the report, the Senior Planning Officer recommended that the element relating to the footpath link be removed from the proposal because it was not within the applicant’s control.

 

The Senior Planning Officer also reported that Lincolnshire County Council had specified that the education contribution requested related to Boston West Primary School, in order to add a classroom, and Haven High Academy, to extend the dining room; therefore, the request still needed to be considered to see how it complied with the CIL Regulations. 

 

The Committee received the following representations from members of the public registered to speak.

 

A resident of The Graylings addressed the Committee in objection to the application on the following grounds. 

·         The new emerging local plan should be given little or no weight, having only just gone out for consultation; if given any weight, the application did not comply with it in respect of the developer contribution or affordable housing policies. 

·         The site was outside the settlement boundary in the current local plan and there had been no changes since to make the site sustainable or warrant its inclusion within the boundary. 

·         The development was not sustainable in accordance with the NPPF due to the adverse effect of the increase in traffic; the impact on schools; the lack of public transport; lack of space to sustain adequate parking for the number of residents. 

·         Also, the site was within a flood risk zone; it would adversely impact on views from public woodland and the river footpath; the proposed location of the open space was unsuitable; there were no off-site recreation or flood mitigation contributions; the level of affordable housing was 10% below what it should be and no starter homes were proposed. 

·         The lack of a 5-year land supply did not mean the application could not be refused. 

 

The planning director from Larkfleet Homes was then invited to address the Committee.  He advised the Committee that he was a chartered town planner and Larkfleet Homes was a local house builder, which had won a number of awards and used new sustainability techniques and renewable energy.  Although small, they had invested significantly in sustainability and provided attractive, quality properties, including affordable and starter homes, in sustainable locations.  They were happy to pay the education contribution provided that it was in accordance with the CIL Regulations. None of the consultees had objected to the application.  There would be further discussions with the Planning Officers about the concerns of local residents and issues to be addressed at the Reserved Matters stage.

 

It was proposed by Councillor Mike Brookes and seconded by Councillor Jonathan Noble that authority be delegated to the Development Control Manager to approve the application once the planning obligation had been entered into regarding the education contribution, subject to the conditions listed in the report and the removal of the footpath link, as recommended by the Planning Officers.

 

Vote: 10 for, 2 against.

 

RESOLVED: That authority be delegated to the Development Control Manager to approve application B/15/0343 upon satisfactory completion of a section 106 planning obligation with the Council relating to necessary and directly related financial contributions for education, subject to the removal of the footpath link and the following conditions:

 

1.         No development shall commence until details of the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of the development (hereafter referred to as the ‘reserved maters’) have been submitted to and approved by the local planning authority. 

Reason:        Required to be imposed pursuant to Section 92 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This is an outline application only and such details must be approved before development commences, and to accord with the objectives of Local Plan Policies G1 and H3 and with the intentions of the NPPF (2012).

 

2.         Application for approval of Reserved Matters shall be made to the local planning authority not later than the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

Reason:        Required to be imposed pursuant to Section 92 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

 

3.         The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of two years from the date of approval of the last of the reserved matters to to be approved.

Reason:        Required to be imposed pursuant to Section 92 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

4.         Prior to the commencement of any part of the development hereby permitted, details shall be submitted to and approved by the local planning authority for the provision of a fire hydrant/s or other acceptable alternative. The fire hydrant/s (or other acceptable alternative) as approved in writing by the local planning authority shall be installed/agreed prior to the occupation of any dwelling approved by this consent.

 

            Reason:        To enable the protection and maintenance of the development and to accord with Adopted Plan Policy G1. This is a pre-commencement condition with the layout yet to be agreed and thus the location of the fire hydrants will need to be agreed and incorporated within the approved layout.

 

5.         The development permitted by this planning permission shall be carried out in accordance with the approved Flood Risk Assessment (MA10164-FRA-R01, dated August 2015) and in particular the following mitigation measures:

 

·         Finished floor levels shall be set no lower than 3.5mAOD;

·         Flood resilient construction shall be incorporated throughout all dwellings to a minimum height of 300mm above the predicted floor level;

·         No sleeping accomodation shall be located at ground floor level for any the dwellings

 

            The mitigation measures shall be fully implemented prior to occupation.

 

Reason:        To reduce the risk of flooding to the proposed development and future occupiers in accordance with the intentions of the NPPF (2012).

 

6.         No development shall take place until a surface water drainage scheme for the site, based on sustainable drainage principles and an assessment of the hydrological and hydrogeological context of the development, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The scheme shall:


(a) Provide details of how run-off will be sfaely conveyed and attenuated during storms up to and including the 1 in 100 year critical storm event, with an allowance for climate change, from all hard surfaced areas within the development into the existing local drainage infrastructure and watercourse system without exceeding the run-off rate for the undeveloped site;

 

            (b) Provide attenuation details and discharge rates which shall be restricted to 1.4 litres per second per hectare;


(c) Provide details of the timetable for and any phasing of implementation for the drainage scheme; and

(d) Provide details of how the scheme shall be maintained and managed over the lifetime of the development which shall include the arrangements for adoption by any public authority or statutory undertaker and any other arrangements to secure the operation of the scheme throughout its lifetime.

 

            The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved drainage scheme and no dwelling shall be occupied until the approved scheme has been completed or provided on the site in accordance with the approved phasing. The approved scheme shall be retained and maintained in full in accordance with the approved details
           
Reason:        In accordance with the details of the application and to ensure for the satisfactory, sustainable drainage of the site, to ensure that surface water run-off from the development will not adversely affect, by reason of flooding, the safety amenity and convenience of the residents of this site and vicinity and to accord with Adopted Local Plan Policies G1 and G6. This is a pre-commencement condition as the drainage strategy is a fundamental part of the layout and the details need to be agreed prior to any form of development taking place.

 

7.         No development shall commence above ground on the buildings hereby approved until details of an Affordable Housing Plan have been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority that identifies how a minimum of 20% of the total housing units shall be provided and managed to supply affordable housing. These units of affordable housing shall comprise a 60% affordable rented / 40% shared ownership split. These details shall include:

•the identity and location of the affordable housing plots,
•the arrangements for the transfer of affordable housing to an identified affordable housing provider,
• the arrangements to ensure that such provision is affordable for both first and subsequent occupiers in perpetuity of the affordable housing,
• the occupancy criteria to be used for determining the identity of occupiers of the affordable housing and the means by which such occupancy criteria shall be enforced,
• the timing of the construction of the affordable housing and its phasing in relation to the occupancy of the market housing

Reason:        To ensure the provision of affordable housing and to remain so in perpetuity to accord with the applicants stated intentions, and to accord with the objectives of Adopted Affordable Housing Policy - November 2006 (Non statutory Interim Policy).

8.         The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the application received 4 September 2015 and the submitted ‘Location Plan’ (2/2).

 

Reason:        To ensure the development is undertaken in accordance with the approved details and to accord with Adopted Local Plan Policy G1.

 

9.         No development shall take place until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which has been submitted by the applicant and approved in writing by the local planning authority.

 

Reason:       In order to ensure that satisfactory arrangements are made for the investigation, retrieval and recording of any possible archaeological remains on the site and to accord with Adopted Local Plan Policy C12. This is a pre-commencement condition as the level of archaeology remains is as yet unknown. The program of works therefore needs to be carried out prior to commencement to ensure that any archaeological remains are suitably recorded.

 

10.       Before each dwelling is occupied the roads and/or footways providing access to that dwelling, for the whole of its frontage, from an existing public highway, shall be constructed to a specification to enable them to be adopted as Highways Maintainable at the Public Expense, less the carriageway and footway surface courses.

 

The carriageway and footway surface courses shall be completed within three months from the date upon which the erection is commenced of the penultimate dwelling.

 

Reason:        To ensure safe access to the site and each dwelling/building in the interests of residential amenity, convenience and safety and to accord with Adopted Plan Policies G1 and G6.

 

11.       No dwellings (or other development as specified) shall be commenced before the first 50 metres of estate road from its junction with the public highway, including visibility splays, as shown on the submitted sketch masterplan has been completed.

 

Reason:        In the interests of safety of the users of the public highway and the safety of the users of the site and to enable calling vehicles to wait clear of the carriageway of Punchbowl Lane and to accord with Adopted Plan Policies G1 and G6.

 

12.       Before any dwelling is commenced, all of that part of the estate road and associated footways that forms the junction with the main road and which will be constructed within the limits of the existing highway, shall be laid out and constructed to finished surface levels in accordance with details to be submitted and approved by the local planning authority.

 

Reason:       In the interests of safety of the users of the public highway and the safety of the users of the site and to accord with Adopted Plan Policies G1 and G6.

 

In determining this application the authority has taken account of the guidance in paras 186 – 187 of the NPPF (2012) in order to seek to secure sustainable development that improves the economic, social and environmental conditions of the Borough.

Supporting documents: