Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the next item, planning application number 145788, which sought outline planning permission for the construction of four dwellings and access on land adjacent to Westgate, Scotton.  The application had been brought to the Committee for determination because of objections received from the local Member and the Parish Council.  The report set out the history of the site.

 

The Chairman invited the Planning Officer to present the report and in doing he made reference to a further objection which had been received after the publication of the report.

 

The objection had been submitted by the owners of the restaurant at 20 Westgate.  It had been contended that there were discrepancies in the plans submitted in that the distance between garage number 18 and garage number 20 could not be achieved.  It was however reported that these distances had been checked and were accurate and the objection did not warrant any material change the report recommendation.

 

The Chairman invited the Democratic Services Officer to read out a statement of objection submitted by Karen Ibbeson as follows:-

 

“Westgate is the main thoroughfare through Scotton.  It is not a wide road and buses do struggle to pass on certain sections of the road.  It is also used by multiple HGVs, farming traffic, residents and visitors vehicles.   The road regularly has cars parked from the local pub past the entrance/exit of the proposed planning application.  The single vehicle width entrance/exit means a driver’s vision is restricted by a property that is further up that road.  Parked cars on the road will make the single vehicle entrance/exit even more dangerous for everyone.

 

Would all emergency vehicles be able to access the proposed dwellings safely without having to reverse down the private access road?

 

The application is for four dwellings and now altered  to 3 bedrooms. This means you are going to have a lot of vehicles and pedestrians using this single vehicle width entrance/exit that narrows towards the end of the proposed  private access road.  I do understand that there is going to be a passing place were the dwellings are going to be built, but  there is going to be a lot of reversing up and down this narrow private access road.

 

Each dwelling will have a minimum of two vehicles, eight vehicles estimated,  and even more when they have children with cars, or visitors to the dwellings, who arrive by car.

There are no pavements on this private access road, therefore pedestrians cannot safely enter/ exit the proposed dwellings safely if a car is using the private access road.  The health and safety of pedestrians and vehicles using a narrow single track private access road definitely has not been addressed by the developers.

 

Who is going to be responsible for the maintenance of this private access road?  We already have a private access road off Middle Street and it’s a very damaged road full of deep potholes.  Private access roads are fine for a single dwelling, but not a good idea for multiple dwellings.  The existing private access road off Middle Street is proof of that.

 

Is there going to be adequate lighting down this private access road, so that pedestrians can use the private access road safely?  Who would be responsible for the maintenance of the lighting (if there is any) as It is a private access road?

 

The acoustic reduction tunnel/wall maintenance.  When this tunnel/wall needs maintenance because of wear and tear who will be responsible for the maintenance? If this wall/tunnel is lost then neighbours will be affected by the sound and headlights of the cars entering/exiting the private access road, affecting their quality of life and mental health.  Everyone has a right to peaceful night sleep.”

 

The Chairman thanked the Democratic Services Officer and invited him to read out a further objection received from David and Christine Sylvester:-

 

“My wife and I are objecting to the above planning application for the following reasons:-

 

1). The application shows the minimum entrance width to the site from the shared drive as being 3.623M (See applicants drawing 1137-1005 dated 10/08/21 Option 1 & the enlarged view of narrowest point supplied).

 

The actual measurement of the narrowest point from the rear corner of my garage No. 20 at an angle of 90 degrees to the side wall of No18 garage is 3.10M. (As marked in green on the exploded view of the site application entrance supplied). This dimension was verified in the presence of our District Councillor, Mrs Lesley Rawlings.

 

Depending on where No18’s boundary finishes, the maximum entrance width to the site is 3.10M, minus 2 x the width of the "Acoustic fencing". Therefore the dimensions supplied on the Design & Statement - Access - page 10 of  3.20 metres on the drawing supplied are incorrect & cannot be achieved.

 

2}. The Noise Reducing Acoustic Fencing will only be 2.40M from the side of my bungalow including my drive. This side of my bungalow consists of all my 3 bedrooms and is therefore detrimental in a domestic setting such as this, as this type of fencing is normally used in heavy traffic locations such as main roads & motorways.

 

Due to the inaccuracies of the dimensions on the drawings supplied I think the entrance does not meet the criteria for a private road and it is therefore imperative that the Planning Committee undertakes a site visit to look at these very important points and the other points that Nos18 and No16 raise on this shared drive that they also use.”

 

The Chairman thanked the Democratic Services Officer for reading out the statement and invited the Planning Officer to comment.  The Planning Officer indicated that the plans submitted with the application indicated a driveway width of 3.2 metres.  The acoustic fencing was a reserved matter and would be agreed at a later stage.

 

The Chairman then opened up the meeting for comments to Members of the Committee.

 

There were concerns expressed about the proposed access but the Committee appreciated that this was an allocated site for development within the Neighbourhood Plan (NP) which had successfully gone through all of the NP approval processes.  Also the Highways Authority was satisfied with the access arrangements.

 

The position around land ownership and making application for planning permission was clarified and it was confirmed that all the necessary documentation in this respect had been completed.

 

Reference was made to the need perhaps for a condition regarding the hours of working to avoid any unnecessary disruption to existing residents at this location.

 

Accordingly, it was proposed, seconded and unanimously agreed that planning permission should be GRANTED subject to the following conditions and the submission to the Council  for approval prior to the commencement of work on the site, a Construction Method Agreement relating to the hours of construction work at the site:-

 

Conditions stating the time by which the development must be commenced:

 

1.Application for approval of the reserved matters must be made to the Local Planning Authority before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

 

Reason: To conform with Section 92 (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended).

 

2. No development shall take place until, plans and particulars of the appearance, landscaping and layout of the buildings to be erected and the landscaping of the site (hereinafter called “the reserved matters”) have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, and the development shall be carried out in accordance with those details.

 

Reason: The application is in outline only and the Local Planning Authority wishes to ensure that these details which have not yet been submitted are appropriate for the locality.

 

3. The development hereby permitted must be begun before the expiration of two years from the date of final approval of the reserved matters or, in the case of approval on different dates, the final approval of the last such matter to be approved.

 

Reason: To conform with Section 92 (2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended).

 

4. No development shall take place until the access road to serve the development hereby approved has been installed, as shown on drawing 1137-1009 Rev P04 received 8 March 2023.

 

Reason: In the interests of highway safety in accordance with Policy LP13 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and Policy 3 of the Scotton Neighbourhood Plan.

 

5. No development must take place until a construction method statement has been submitted and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved statement must be adhered to throughout the construction period. The statement must provide details for:

 

(i) the routeing and management of traffic;

(ii) the parking of vehicles of site operatives and visitors;

(iii) loading and unloading of plant and materials;

(iv) storage of plant and materials used in constructing the development;

(v) the hours during which machinery may be operated, vehicles may enter and leave, and works may be carried out on the site.

 

Reason: To reduce disturbance during the construction period in the interests of residential amenity in accordance with policy LP26 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and Policy 3 of the Scotton Neighbourhood Plan.

 

6.The layout details required by condition 2 will identify off-street parking provision for each dwelling.

 

Reason: To accord with policy 3 (f) of the Scotton Neighbourhood Plan.

 

Conditions which apply or require matters to be agreed before the development commenced:

 

7.The landscaping details required by condition 2 shall include details of a boundary treatment to the western boundary of the site.

 

Reason: In order to demonstrate compliance with policy 3 (d) of the Scotton Neighbourhood Plan.

 

Conditions which apply or are to be observed during the course of the development:

 

8.The development hereby approved must only be carried out in accordance with the recommendations set out in Section 5 (pages 13-20) of the Ecology survey completed by Inspired Ecology Ltd.

 

Reason: In the interest of nature conservation to accord with the National Planning Policy Framework and local policy LP21 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan 2012-2036.

 

9. No development, other than to foundations level, shall take place until details of foul and surface water disposal (the drainage system to be used should include the results of soakaway/percolation tests, as appropriate) have been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. These details should include a plan showing the position of the drainage and location of the connections to the proposal. The approved details shall be implemented, maintained and retained in accordance with the approved plans.

 

Reason: To ensure adequate drainage facilities are provided to serve the development to accord with the National Planning Policy Framework and Policy LP 14 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, and policy 3(g) of the Scotton Neighbourhood Plan.

 

10. With the exception of the detailed matters referred to by the conditions of this consent, the scale of development hereby approved must be carried out in accordance with the following drawings and any other documents forming part of the application:

 

• Site Location Plan 1137-1001 Rev P09 (red line only);
• Plans and Elevations 2 Bed Unit 1137-2001;
• Plans and Elevations 3 Bed Unit 1137 3002;
• Plans and Elevations 5 Bed Unit 1137 5002 Rev P01;

 

All received 8 March 2023. The development must include two and three bedroom dwellings.

 

Reason: To accord with Policy 3 of the Scotton Neighbourhood Plan which requires that the development contains two and three bedroom dwellings. 

 

Conditions which apply or relate to matters which are to be observed following completion of the development:

 

None.