Agenda item

Proposed development

Outline application for the erection of up to 135 dwellings together with associated development including hard and soft landscaping, access roads, public open space, dedicated woodland and permanent footways and the upgrading of existing footpath to a pedestrian/cycle link (PROW No. 35). This application is accompanied by an environmental statement which has been the subject of a Regulation 22 request (as amended by additional EIA information received 08/08/2014 and additional information and emails received 27/12/2014, 23/12/2014, 11/12/2014, 04/11/2014, 15/10/2014, 08/10/2014, 07/10/2014, 06/10/2014 and 03/10/2014, 13/11/2014  16/01/2015 and 20/01/2015 and 22/01/2015)  at  Land At Sturt Road,  Haslemere GU27 3SE

 

Recommendation

That, subject to the completion of a S106 agreement to secure the management of SANG land in perpetuity by the Land Trust, provision of affordable housing, highway and transport improvements, sustainable transport measures, a travel plan, upgrade of the existing footpath to a Public Bridleway, community facilities, drainage improvements, education, libraries, playing pitches, play space, open space, sports/leisure centres, recycling and other environmental improvements and for the setting up of a Management Company and to require the applicant to first secure any necessary planning permission or advertisement consent for the SANG and subject to conditions, permission be GRANTED.

Proposed development

Outline application for the erection of up to 135 dwellings together with associated development including hard and soft landscaping, access including partial demolition of retaining walls, public open space, dedicated woodland and permanent footways and the upgrading of existing footpath to a pedestrian/cycle link (PROW No. 35). This application is accompanied by an environmental statement which has been the subject of a Regulation 22 request (as amended by additional EIA information recevied 08/08/2014 and additional information and emails received 27/08/2014, 27/12/2014, 23/12/2014, 11/12/2014, 04/11/2014, 15/10/2014, 08/10/2014, 07/10/2014, 06/10/2014 and 03/10/2014, 13/11/2014  16/01/2015 and 20/01/2015 and 22/01/2015)  at Land At Sturt Road,  Haslemere GU27 3SE

 

The Chairman introduced the Officers present and referred Members to the proposed order of business for the meeting.

 

With reference to the report circulated with the agenda, Officers presented a summary of the planning history of the site, and the current plans and proposals. Officers showed pictures of the site and plans for the application. A representative from the County Highways Authority was also present and advised members of the arrangements in place by the applicant to improve access and highway improvements.

 

Officers outlined the matters of principle/technical judgement and those matters of judgement and advised members of information received following the agenda being published and detailed in the update sheet. This included further information regarding the AONB, flood risk and drainage. Further consultee responses from Chichester District Council and County Highway Authority. And, 3 additional representations against the application but these did not raise any additional material considerations. There were also two additional conditions proposed in relation to the retaining wall and proposed ground levels and the recommendation had been amended to reflect the additional environmental information and clarity around the management company being within the site.

 

Officers advised the Committee that the application was for outline planning permission with all matters reserved except means of access and landscape. Therefore, in forming a conclusion, the NPPF required that the benefits of the scheme must be balanced against any negative aspects of it. Members noted that the site was located in the Countryside Beyond the Green Belt and, as such, the development would encroach into the countryside. The Council’s preference would be for previously developed land to be developed prior to green field sites. However, the Council could not currently identify a deliverable supply of housing sites from the identified sites which would sufficiently meet the housing demand for the next five years. Members noted that this was a material consideration of significant weight in this assessment.

 

The Committee noted that the proposal would result in increased traffic movements but this had been addressed by way of conditions by the County Highways Authority. Furthermore, the applicant was putting in measures to address flood risk. There was provision for a SANG and a high number of both market and affordable housing being proposed. In view of the benefits of the scheme, officers were of the opinion that these would significantly outweigh the adverse impact on the character of the Countryside Beyond the Green Belt and AONB when assessed against the policies in the NPPF taken as a whole or specific policies in the NPPF and recommended to the Committee that the application be granted.

 

Following the officers presentation and before the Committee debated the application, in accordance with the guidance for public participation at meetings, each party was given the opportunity to speak for up to 5 minutes. The following people spoke to the application:

 

Objector

Mr Robert Serman

 

Haslemere Town Council

No speaker

 

Supporter/Applicant

Nigel Whitehead and Craig McGowan

 

Having heard the officers’ presentation as well as the representations from the objectors and the applicant and supporter, Members were invited to ask any further questions or to seek clarification on areas of concern from the officers.

 

The Committee was pleased to note that the scheme would provide 40% of affordable housing as this would improve the vitality of the Town Centre and help young people and families live and remain in Haslemere. Members were pleased with the low density of housing prepared compared to some applications they had received, an average being 22.8 dwellings per hectare. They were also pleased that 3.53 hectares of SANG land was proposed adjoining the site so residents did not have to travel to use it. There was some concern about the quality of the SANG but it was noted that this would be managed and the applicant was proposing to place paths through the SANG for walkers to use.

 

There was some concern raised about the size of the development and the impact on infrastructure but it was felt that the site was very sustainable and could provide for 52 dwellings out of 135 dwellings of affordable housing which was much needed in the town and no other development could provide such a benefit. There was also some concern about the flood/surface water flooding arising from the development but officers assured members that the proposal had demonstrated, subject to control by way of planning conditions that in terms of flood risk the development would be safe for its lifetime taking account of the vulnerability of its users without increasing flood risk elsewhere.

 

The Committee noted the highway improvements to the scheme and although the proposal would cause less than substantial harm to the significance of the designated heritage assets, this harm was considered to be outweighed by the public benefits of the proposal, namely the significant delivery of housing was the scheme would achieve.

 

Having concluded its deliberations, the Joint Planning Committee RESOLVED that, having regard to the environmental information contained within the application, the accompanying Environmental Statement and responses to it, together with proposals for mitigation, subject to the completion of a S106 agreement to secure the management of the SANG land in perpetuity by the Land Trust, provision of affordable housing, highway and transport improvements, sustainable transport measures, a travel plan, upgrade of the existing footpath to a Public Bridleway, community facilities, drainage improvements, education, libraries, playing pitches, play space, open space, sports/leisure centres, recycling and other environmental improvements and for the setting up of a Management Company for open space within the site and to require the applicant to first secure any necessary planning permission or advertisement consent for the SANG and subject to the conditions and informatives noted below, permission be GRANTED.

 

1.       Condition

          Details of the reserved matters set out below (""the reserved matters"") shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for approval within three years from the date of this permission:

          1. layout;

          2. scale; and

          3. appearance.

          The reserved matters shall be carried out as approved. Approval of all reserved matters shall be obtained from the Local Planning Authority in writing before any development is commenced.

 

2.       Condition

          The development to which this permission relates must be begun not later than the expiration of two years from the final approval of reserved matters or, in the case of approval on different dates, the final approval of the last such matter to be approved.

 

3.       Condition

          The plan numbers to which this permission relates are Location Plan SLP1 at Scale 1:1000; Site Layout Plan 1880-SP-03 at Scale 1:750, Plan of Primary Tier Fixed Elements 1027.07F at Scale 1:750 and Proposed Site Access Arrangement Plan 9.1 at Scale 1:500.  The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved plans.  No material variation from these plans shall take place unless otherwise first agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority.

 

4.       Condition

          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.

 

5.       Condition

          The development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations, including the biodiversity enhancements, set out in the 'Mitigation Measures' section of the Ecology section of the Environmental Statement by Concise Construction Ltd dated May 2014, as amended by additional EIA information received 08/08/2014, and additional information and e-mails received 27/12/2014, 23/12/2014, 11/12/2014, 04/11/2014, 15/10/2014, 08/10/2014, 07/10/2014, 06/10/2014 and 03/10/2014).

 

6.       Condition

          Prior to the commencement of works, a Construction Environmental Management Plan, to control the environmental effects of the construction work, shall first be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall include:

          (i)         control of noise;

          (ii)        control of dust, smell and other effluvia;

          (iii)       control of surface water run off;

          (iv)       proposed method of piling for foundations;

          (v)        hours during the construction and demolition phase, when delivery vehicles or vehicles taking away materials are allowed to enter or leave the site;

          (vi)       hours of working.

          The development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the approved details unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

7.       Condition

          Prior to the commencement of development on site, a surface water drainage scheme, to include maintenance, for the site shall first be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. No infiltration of surface water into the ground shall be permitted. The development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the approved details and plans.

 

8.       Condition

          Prior to the commencement of development on the site, a foul water drainage scheme for the site shall first be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the approved details and plans.

 

9.       Condition

          If contamination is found to be present on the site, works shall cease and a remediation strategy shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The works shall be carried out in strict accordance with the agreed details.

 

10.     Condition

          Development shall not commence until a drainage strategy detailing any on and/or off site drainage works, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with the sewerage undertaker. No discharge of foul or surface water from the site shall be accepted into the public system until the drainage works referred to in the strategy have been completed. The development shall be carried out in full accordance with the approved details.

 

11.     Condition

          Development should not be commenced until Impact Studies of the existing water supply infrastructure have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with Thames Water. The studies should determine the magnitude of any new additional capacity required in the system and a suitable connection point. The development shall be carried out in full accordance with the approved details.

 

12.     Condition

          Development shall not commence until a pollution prevention strategy has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local Planning Authority in consultation with Thames Water. The strategy should detail the control measures used to minimise the impact of the development proposal to the local ground water both during and after construction. The development shall be carried out in full accordance with the approved details.

 

13.     Condition

          Prior to the commencement of development, a Landscape and Ecology Management Plan, relating to the public spaces within the site, shall first be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the approved details and plans.

 

14.     Condition

          Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 ( as amended by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (No.2) (England) Order 2008 (or any other Order revoking or re-enacting or amending those Orders with or without modification), no development within Part 1, Classes A-H shall take place on the dwellinghouses hereby permitted or within their curtilage, unless otherwise first agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

15.     Condition

          No development shall take place until a written Waste Minimisation Statement, confirming how demolition and construction waste will be recovered and reused on site or at other sites has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The measures shall be implemented in strict accordance with the approved details.

 

16.     Condition

          Prior to the commencement of any development, details shall first be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority of a Programme of Phased Implementation for the permission hereby granted. The development shall thereafter be carried out in accordance with the agreed Phasing Programme unless otherwise first agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The phasing plan shall indicate the timing of construction of the scheme phases, including the provision of associated external works (such as parking and landscaped areas), commensurate with the phases and associated areas/uses being brought into use. The development shall be carried out in full accordance with the approved phasing plan, unless otherwise in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

17.     Condition

          The development hereby approved shall not be commenced unless and until a scheme for upgrading Public Footpath No.35 to a Public Bridleway is submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, in consultation with the County Highway Authority. The scheme shall include provision of pedestrian and cycling links between the site and Public Footpath No.35. Prior to the first occupation of the development, the applicant shall undertake the Public Bridleway upgrade in accordance with the County Highway Authority's technical requirements. The development shall be carried out in complete accordance with the approved details.

         

18.     Condition

          The development hereby approved shall not be first occupied until space has been laid out within the site, in accordance with a scheme to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority for vehicles to be parked and for vehicles to turn so that they may enter and leave the site in forward gear. Thereafter, the parking/turning areas shall be retained and maintained for their designated purpose.

 

19.     Condition

          No development shall commence until a Construction Transport Management Plan, in general accordance with the FMW Consultancy's 'Framework Construction Management Plan' dated October 2014, to include details of:

          (a)        parking for vehicles of site personnel, operatives and visitors;

          (b)        loading and unloading of plant and materials;

          (c)        storage of plant and materials;

          (d)        programme of works (including measures for traffic             management);

          (e)        provision of boundary hoarding behind any visibility zones;

          (f)         vehicle routing;

          (g)        HGV deliveries and hours of operation;

          (h)        measures to prevent the deposit of materials on the highway;

          (i)         before and after construction condition surveys of the highway and a          commitment to fund the repair of any damage caused;

          (j)         measures to prevent deliveries at the beginning and end of the school        day

          (k)        on-site turning for construction vehicles

          has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Only the approved details shall be implemented during the the construction of the development.

 

20.     Condition

          No operations involving the bulk movement of earthworks/materials to or from the development site shall commence unless and until facilities have been provided in accordance with a scheme to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, so far as is reasonably practicable to prevent the creation of dangerous  conditions for road users on the public highway. The approved scheme shall thereafter be retained and used whenever the said operations are undertaken.

         

21.     Condition

          The development hereby approved shall not be first occupied unless and until the following facilities have been provided in accordance with a scheme to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, in consultation with the County Highway Authority for:

          (a)        The secure parking of bicycles within the development site. Such   facilities to be integral to each dwelling/outbuilding;

          (b)        Providing safe routes for pedestrians/cyclists to travel within the     development site;

          (c)        Electric Vehicle charging points for every dwelling, in accordance with       Surrey County Council's 'Vehicular and Cycle Parking Guidance' dated           January 2012.

          The development shall be carried out in full accordance with the approved details.

 

22.     Condition

          Prior to the commencement of development, a Travel Plan shall be submitted to and for the written approval of the Local Planning Authority, in accordance with the sustainable development aims and objectives of the NPPF 2012, the Surrey County Council's 'Travel Plans Good Practice Guide', and in general accordance with FMW Consultancy's 'Framework Travel Plan' dated May 2014. The approved Travel Plan shall be implemented prior to the first occupation of the development, and for each and every subsequent occupation of the development, thereafter maintain and develop the Travel Plan to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority.

         

23.     Condition

          Prior to the commencement of development, details shall first be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority in respect of management monitoring arrangements for the SANG (agreed as part of the permission hereby granted). These details shall include arrangements for an annual inspection by the Local Planning Authority to ensure that the approved management arrangements are being complied with. The development shall be carried out in full accordance with the approved details.

 

24.     Condition

          Prior to the commencement of development, details of the acoustic fencing to be erected along the northern boundaries of Sturt Farm and Sturt Farm Barn, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The fencing shall be erected and maintained in full accordance of the approved details.

 

25.     Condition

          No development shall take place until a detailed landscaping scheme has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority in writing.  The landscaping scheme, which should be based on the Landscape Plan No.1027.07F prepared by LanDesign Associates dated August 2013 submitted with the outline application. The landscaping scheme shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the agreed details and shall be carried out within the first planting season after commencement of the development or as otherwise agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority.  The landscaping shall be maintained to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority for a period of 5 years after planting, such maintenance to include the replacement of any trees and shrubs that die or have otherwise become, in the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, seriously damaged or defective.  Such replacements to be of same species and size as those originally planted.

 

25.     Condition

No development shall take place until details have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority showing the existing and proposed ground levels of the site and proposed ground levels and finished floor levels of the development hereby permitted.  The development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the approved details.

 

26.     Condition

Prior to the commencement of development, details shall be submitted to and approved in writing regarding the demolition and rebuilding of the retaining wall. Such details shall include proposals to re-use existing materials where possible, and shall show the final position and height of the retaining walls. The development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the agreed details.

 

          Informatives

 

1.       The applicant's attention is drawn to the advice contained in the letter by Surrey Wildlife Trust dated 24/07/2014.

 

2.       The applicant;s attention is drawn to the comments of Thames Water contained in their letter dated 18/07/2014.

 

3.       ''IMPORTANT'' This planning permission contains certain conditions precedent that state 'before development commences' or 'prior to commencement of any development' (or similar). As a result these must be discharged prior to ANY development activity taking place on site. Commencement of development without having complied with these conditions will make any development unauthorised and possibly subject to enforcement action such as a Stop Notice. If the conditions have not been subsequently satisfactorily discharged within the time allowed to implement the permission then the development will remain unauthorised.

 

          There is a fee for requests to discharge a condition on a planning consent.  The fee payable is £97.00 or a reduced rate of £28.00 for household applications.  The fee is charged per written request not per condition to be discharged.  A Conditions Discharge form is available and can be downloaded from our web site.

4.       Please note that the fee is refundable if the Local Planning Authority concerned has failed to discharge the condition by 12 weeks after receipt of the required information.

 

5.       The applicant is advised that Public Footpath No.35 crosses the application site and it is an offence to obstruct or divert the route of a right of way unless carried out in complete accordance with appropriate legislation.

 

6.       Design standards for the layout and construction of access roads and junctions, including the provision of visibility zones, shall be in accordance with the requirements of the County Highway Authority. The alterations to the retaining walls to facilitate access to the site will require technical approval from the County Highway Authority's Structures Team.

 

7.       The County Highway Authority has no objection to the proposed development, subject to the above conditions, but if it is the applicant's intention to offer any of the roadworks included in the application for adoption as maintainable highway, permission under the Town and County Planning Act should not be construed as approval to the highway engineering details necessary for inclusion in an Agreement under Section 38 of the Highways Act 1980. Further details about the post planning adoption of roads may be obtained from the Transportation Development Planning Division of Surrey County Council.

 

8.       Details of the highway requirements necessary for inclusion in any application seeking approval of reserved matters may be obtained from the Transportation Development Planning Division of Surrey County Council.

 

9.       All bridges, buildings or apparatus (with the exception of projecting signs) which project over or span the highway may be erected only with the formal approval of the Transportation Development Planning Division of Surrey County Council under Section 177 or 178 of the Highways Act 1980.

 

10.     The permission hereby granted shall not be construed as authority to carry out  any works on the highway or any works that may affect a drainage/culvert or water course. The applicant is advised that a permit and, potentially a Section 278 Agreement, must be obtained from the County Highway Authority before any works are carried out on any footway, footpath, carriageway, verge or other land forming part of the highway. All works on the highway will require a permit and an application will need to be submitted to the County Council's Street Works Team up to 3 months in advance of the intended start date, depending on the scale of the works proposed and the classification of the road. The applicant is also advised that consent may be required under Section 23 of the Land Drainage Act 1991.

11.     The developer is reminded that it is an offence to allow materials to be carried from the site and deposited on or damage the highway from uncleaned wheels or badly loaded vehicles. The County Highway Authority will seek, wherever possible, to recover any expenses incurred in clearing, cleaning or repairing highway surfaces and prosecute persistent offenders (Highways Act 1980 Sections 131, 148 and 149).

 

12.     When access is required to be completed before any other operations, the County Highway Authority may agree that surface course material and in some cases edge restraint may be deferred until construction of the development in complete, provided all reasonable care is taken to protect public safety.

 

13.     The developer is advised that the upgrading of Public Footpath No.35 must be carried out in complete accordance with the appropriate legislation.

 

14.     The applicant is advised that as part of the detailed design of the highway works required by the above condition(s), the County Highway Authority may require necessary accommodation works to street lights, road signs, road markings, highway drainage, surface covers, street trees, highway verges, highway surfaces, surface edge restraints and any other street furniture/equipment.

 

15.     The developer would be expected to instruct an independent transportation data collection company to undertake the monitoring survey. The survey should conform to a TRICS Multi-Model Survey format consistent with the UK Standard for Measuring Travel Plan Impacts as approved by the County Highway Authority. To ensure that the survey represents typical travel patterns, the organisation taking ownership of the Travel Plan will need to agree to being surveyed only with a specified annual quarter period but with no further notice of the precise survey dates.  The developer would be expected to fund the survey validation and data entry costs.

 

16.     Section 59 of the Highways Act 1980 permits the County Highway Authority to charge developers for damage caused by excessive weight and movements of vehicles to and from the site. The Highway Authority will pass on the cost of any excess repairs compared to normal maintenance costs to the applicant/organisation responsible for the damage.

 

17.     The applicant is advised that the Section 278 highway works will require payment of a commuted sum for future maintenance of highway infrastructure. The applicant is advised that in providing each dwelling with integral cycle parking, the County Highway Authority will expect dedicated integral facilities to be provided within each dwelling for easily accessible secure cycle storage/garaging.

 

18.     The Council confirms that in assessing this planning application it has worked with the applicant in a positive and proactive way, in line with the requirements of paragraph 186-187 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2012.