Agenda item

Erection of 4no. two storey dwellings in accordance with amended plans received by the LPA on 31 May 2024 to vary the site boundary to allow for a future pedestrian and cycle path on the east side of the site.

 

Land off Wash Road, Kirton, Boston PE20 1QJ

 

Seagate Homes

Erection of 4no. two storey dwellings in accordance with amended plans received by the LPA on 31 May 2024 to vary the site boundary to allow for a future pedestrian and cycle path on the east side of the site.

                                   

Land off Wash Road, Kirton, Boston PE20 1QJ.

           

Seagate Homes

 

The Senior Planning Officer presented the application and confirmed it had been called in by the Ward Member Councillor Ralph Pryke to allow a public discussion of planning considerations including highways and local road congestion, access arrangements, layout, and overdevelopment of the site.

The site consisted of 0.18 hectares of land immediately to the north of Wash Road c.60 metres east of its junction with the A16. A single storey building housing the New Life Church lay to the west with a commercial building to the east. On the south side of Wash Road was a car dealership which itself formed a part of the Kirton Distribution Park, a commercial/industrial park extending some 700m southwards and 350m to the east. The main access to the park, Avalon Road, joined Wash Road c.60 metres east of the present application site.  The site was formerly occupied by a dwelling which was now demolished. The front and side boundaries included hedging and some trees. To the north was an area of land extending some 230 metres to Station Road on which planning permission had been granted for housing. 

The topography was flat.  Some old mapping had indicated a small land drain which ran along the eastern boundary, but it was not evident on the ground.

There were some protected trees on the land to the north, but those were not affected by the application. The proposal was for the erection of 4 no. detached two storey houses with access to Wash Road.

Committee were advised of the relevant planning history on the site. Planning application B/15/0503 for the demolition of an existing dwelling fronting Wash Lane and an outline application for up to 30 dwellings with consideration given to access off Station Road only (all other matters reserved for later consideration).  This had been refused on 03/03/2016 but allowed on appeal on 28/03/2017.  Planning Application B/19/0317 had been granted full planning permission for the erection of 31 no. dwellings following the demolition of an existing dwelling. The land included the present application site plus the area to the north stretching to Station Road.  The final planning application was B/19/0317/CD1 which discharged Condition 16 of the above application regarding a construction management plan.

 

Public representation was received the Mr Michael Brathwaite the agent for the applicant which included:

 

Members were reminded that the site under consideration was part of a larger area which already benefitted from part implemented planning consent for 31 dwellings. Extant planning permission would deliver 8 dwellings in the same area, however unlike the application under consideration, access to those 8 dwellings would be via Station Road to the north of the site. In the event the application be approved, then a further application would be submitted to amend the original consent to reflect the reduced site area for the extended planning permission which would not result in more than 31 dwellings being constructed on the overall site.

The red line had been amended to allow for construction of a footpath link to the development in the wider area to Wash Road.  It had not been part of the approved scheme for the 31 dwellings, but the applicant has accepted the request in response to Highways comments.  The public footpath would be for pedestrian and cycle use only and only the four dwellings would have vehicular access to Wash Road.  Whilst objections had been received in respect of increased traffic onto Wash Road, Highways had raised no concerns with a nett increase of 3 dwellings on the site.  The layout of the dwellings would allow retention of all trees on the site frontage, which would besubject to pollarding to reduce the canopy and gaps in the privet hedge would be used where possible, to access the proposed development to reduce any loss of hedgerow. The retained trees and limited loss of hedgerow would reduce the impact of the site when viewed from Wash Road.

 

No questions were tabled by members of the committee in respect of the representation received from Mr Braithwaite.

 

Representation was received by Parish Councillor Christopher Astill on behalf of Kirton Parish Council which included:

 

Voicing concerns Councillor Astill provided a brief history of the Business Site adjacent to the application site and referenced a property on the application site ‘Holme Leigh,’ which had been subject to such concern in respect of the potential impact of noise disturbance on that dwelling from any proposed businesses on that site, that it was deemed the property needed to be demolished or relocated, prior to the Business Site being developed. However, no such noise concerns appeared to have been raised on the application under consideration. Further concerns noted included the significant increase in traffic on all the roads surrounding the application site since the initial application for the development, along with the access/egress onto Wash Road, together with concerns at the change in layout of the dwellings under consideration with changes to the gardens and the close proximity of the dwellings. Members were asked to consider the four houses not being accessed from Wash Road which would solve the issues of the entrance direct onto Wash Road. 

 

No questions were tabled by members of the committee in respect of the representation received from Councillor Astill.

 

Representation was received from Ward Member Councillor Ralph Pryke which included:

 

Councillor Pryke confirmed that he had been aware of the plot of land for the designated 31 houses over time and had observed discussions in respect of the site at the Parish Council and had also spoken about the site and the application under consideration with residents on Station Road and elsewhere in Kirton.  Residents’ concerns had included the increase in traffic the site would generate with the reality of two cars per dwelling, and the impact of that traffic at key times through the exit onto Station Road and causing congestion on Station Road, Horseshoe Lane and at the roundabout.  Committee were advised residents had suggested that an arrangement might be possible with the New Life Church to permit access to the site from their land. Further concerns noted the growth on the Business Site which had generated significant traffic as a major employment site whereby workers were dependant on vehicle transport as the site was a long way from any public transport points.  Noting the site of the proposed eight dwellings had required measures to lower the impact of noise from the Business Site on those eight dwellings, Councillor Pryke questioned why the four dwellings under consideration on the same site, had not been subject to such noise reducing measures.  

Concluding Councillor Pryke advised that the key concerns of residents were the application was another small development for houses only, with no social housing element.  There would be no contributions to any of the local amenities, resulting on increasing strains in the locality including schools and medical services and Kirton has a growing village with many housing developments, many of which would not be contributing to their impact on the community. 

 

No questions were tabled by members of the committee in respect of the representation received from Councillor Pryke.

 

Committee deliberation followed which included the following supported by officers’ responses where required:

 

Initial questioning noted the concerns of both the Ward and Parish Councillors at the lack of consideration in respect of the significant impact of noise levels from the neighbouring Business Park on the four dwellings.

The Senior Planning Officer advised that notwithstanding the history of the site, the application was considered in terms of its own merit.  The Council’s Environmental Health Team had been consulted on the application and had raised no concerns.  Referencing the New Life Church on the eastern side of the site, members were advised that any noise from there would be contained within the building itself, with further community buildings being built on the site that too would not be noise generating due to activities taking place inside the buildings.  The Jaguar dealership to the south side of Wash Road had its car parking shielded by the building itself.  As such, there was no big industrial noise on the site – no generators of heavy outside plant movements and therefore it would hot have been reasonable to install any attenuation measures.

In response to a question raised querying the increase in occupancy on the Business Site since 2016 as expansion needed to be a consideration, the Senior Planning Officer advised that whilst he did not have that information to hand, the site was not yet fully built out and would continue to grow to the South of the Jaguar dealership.  In response to a further question the Senior Planning Officer confirmed that Seagate Homes did have the option on all 31 dwellings and not just the four under consideration.

Seeking clarification of the lack of any biodiversity requirements within the report, the Senior Planning Officer confirmed that the application had been exempt due to the date that it was submitted from the new National Biodiversity Regulations. Officers were unaware of any protected species on the site which until recently had been a domestic garden. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the committee approve the application in line with officer recommendation, subject to the conditions and reasons as identified within the application submitted:

 

The development hereby permitted must be begun not later than the expiration of three years beginning with the date of this permission.

Reason: Required to be imposed pursuant to Section 51 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

 

The development hereby permitted shall only be undertaken in accordance with the following approved plans:

• Drawing No. 564-39_PL_DD01 Proposed Boundary Treatments

§  Drawing No. 564-39_PL_GA01 HTA - Plots 1 & 2

§  564-39_PL_GA02 HTB - Plot 3

• 564-39_PL_GA03 HTB (handed) - Plot 4
• 564-39_PL_GA04 Proposed Garage Designs
• 564-39_PL_LP01 Location Plan
• 564-39_PL_LP01 Rev B Location Plan
• 564-39_PL_SP01 Rev B Existing Site Plan
• 564-39_PL_SP02 Rev C Proposed Site Plan

Reason: To ensure that the development is undertaken in accordance with the approved details, in the interests of residential amenity and to comply with Policies 2 and 3 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan 2019.

 

The development hereby approved shall be undertaken in complete accordance with the recommendations for flood resilient construction and finished floor levels set out on pages 14 & 15 of the Flood Risk Assessment forming part of the approved application. The mitigation measures shall be fully implemented prior to occupation and subsequently remain in place.

 

Reason: In the interest of reducing flood risk in accordance with Policy 4 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan 2019.

 

The development shall be implemented in accordance with the scheme of landscaping shown on dwg. no. Site Plan 564-39_PL_SP02 revision C including the retention of existing trees and hedges as indicated. All trees, shrubs and bushes shall be maintained for the period of five years beginning with the date of completion of the scheme and during that period all losses shall be made good as and when necessary.

 

Reason: To ensure that the development is adequately landscaped, in the interests of its visual amenity and character in accordance with Policies 2 and 3 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan 2019.

 

Where trees are shown on dwg. no. Site Plan 564-39_PL_SP02 revision C to be retained on site they shall be protected prior to and during construction work as follows:

i)             tree protection measures shall be provided around the trees to be retained before any development is commenced at a minimum distance from the trunks equal to the spread of the crowns of the trees.

ii)            No materials, equipment, site huts, fuels or other items shall be placed or stored within the areas enclosed by the fencing so erected and the ground levels within those areas shall not be altered, nor shall any excavation be made.

iii)           no burning of materials or other items shall take place within 3 metres of the crown spread of any of the trees to be retained.

iv)           no services shall be routed under the spread of the crowns of the trees to be retained.

v)            no retained tree shall be cut down, up rooted, destroyed, topped or lopped unless first agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority;

vi)           if any tree which is to be retained dies or is to be removed it shall be replaced within six months thereafter with a tree of such size and species which shall be first be agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

Reason: To ensure the protection of trees on the site in accordance with Policies 2 and 3 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan, 2019 and national guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework, 2023.

 

Prior to any development above the level of the damp proof course a schedule of external materials and hard surfaced areas shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority, the development shall be constructed in accordance with the materials so approved.

 

Reason: In the interests of the appearance and character of the development and the visual amenity of the area in accordance with Policies 2 and 3 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan, 2019.

 

The water consumption of the dwelling hereby permitted should not exceed the requirement of 110 litres per person per day (as set out as the optional requirement in Part G of the Building Regulations 2010) and Policy 31 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan (2019).

The person carrying out the work must inform the Building Control Body that this duty applies.

 

Reason: To protect the quality and quantity of water resources available to the district. This condition is imposed in accordance with Policy 31 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan 2019.

 

Prior to any works above the level of the damp proof course full details of the proposed

soakaway system for the disposal of surface water from the development hereby permitted, including percolation test results, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. This shall include the calculations undertaken to determine the volume of storage required. Soakaways shall be built to accord with the standards set out in document BRE365. Should the percolation test results be considered unacceptable by the Local Planning Authority details of an alternative means of providing for surface water drainage shall be submitted for consideration.

 

The approved means of surface water drainage shall be implemented in full before the development hereby permitted is first brought into use.

 

Reason: To ensure that the site is adequately drained, to avoid pollution, and to prevent increased risk of flooding in accordance with Policies 2, 3 and 30 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan, 2019 and national guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework 2023.

 

Three swift nest bricks shall be incorporated within the external walls of each dwelling hereby approved and shall be retained thereafter.

 

Reason: In the interests of biodiversity and in accordance with Policy 28 of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan 2019.

 

 

Paragraph 13 of Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 states that planning permission is deemed to have been granted subject to the “biodiversity gain condition” which means development granted by this notice must not begin unless:

 

(a) a Biodiversity Gain Plan has been submitted to the planning authority, and

(b) the planning authority has approved the plan.

 

Biodiversity net gain does not apply to applications for reserved matters.

 

Based on the information submitted in the planning application documents, the Planning Authority considers that this permission is exempt from biodiversity net gain,

and as such does not require approval of a biodiversity gain plan before development is begun.

 

Statutory exemptions and transitional arrangements

 

There are statutory exemptions and transitional arrangements which mean that the biodiversity gain condition does not always apply. These can be found at Paragraph: 003 Reference ID: 74-003-20240214 of the Planning Practice Guidance, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/biodiversity-net-gain.

 

Irreplaceable habitat

If the onsite habitat includes irreplaceable habitat (within the meaning of the Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Irreplaceable Habitat) Regulations 2024) there are additional requirements for the content and approval of Biodiversity Gain Plans.

 

Effect of Section 73(2D) of the 1990 Act

Under Section 73(2D) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) where -

(a)       a biodiversity gain plan was approved in relation to the previous planning permission (“the earlier biodiversity gain plan”), and

(b)       the conditions subject to which the planning permission is granted:

(i)         do not affect the post-development value of the onsite habitat as specified in the earlier biodiversity gain plan, and

(ii)        in the case of planning permission for a development where all or any part of the onsite habitat is irreplaceable habitat within the meaning of regulations made under paragraph 18 of Schedule 7A, do not change the effect of the development on the biodiversity of that onsite habitat (including any arrangements made to compensate for any such effect) as specified in the earlier biodiversity gain plan.

 

- the earlier biodiversity gain plan is regarded as approved for the purposes of paragraph 13 of Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) in relation to the planning permission.