Agenda item

Planning application for residential development comprising: a new access road and road junction to Deepdale; 50 dwellings with estate roads, public open space and associated development; a scheme of 22 apartments and 14 bungalows for the over 55s with communal areas, shared open space and off street car parking.    

Planning application for residential development comprising: a new access road and road junction to Deepdale; 50 dwellings with estate roads, public open space and associated development; a scheme of 22 apartments and 14 bungalows for the over 55s with communal areas, shared open space and off street parking.

In addition to the recommended decision within the report, delegation was sought to make the following minor amendments to conditions 4, 24 and 25 (as highlighted in bold below).

With regards to condition 4 second sentence should read:

4) . The affordable housing shall be drawn from the bungalows and apartments as part of the over 55’s housing located within the red line on drawing number A00-NET-SITE-01 Rev C.

With regards to condition 24 the text should read:

24) Prior to the first occupation of the development within the red line shown on drawing number A00-NET-SITE-01 Rev C hereby permitted elevations, a floor plan and schedule of finishing materials for the bin store associated with the over 55 year olds dwellings shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The details approved shall be implemented in full prior to the first occupation of the development within the red line shown on drawing number A00-NET-SITE-01 Rev C hereby permitted and shall be retained for such use in perpetuity.

With regards to condition 25, instead of 56 years, it should read 55 years as below.

25) The bungalows and apartments within the area outlined in red on drawing number A00-NET-SITE-01 Rev C shall be occupied by people aged 55 years and over.

There were four speakers registered to speak on this application who all had up to five minutes to speak.

Councillor John Evans spoke on behalf of Nettleham parish council in support of the application which had been part of the Neighbourhood plan. The site was identified as an important site for development because of its location being on a major road out of the village and also within walking distance to the village centre. It was felt that it would be a good site for accommodation for the over 55’s. It was mentioned that 40% of the residents of the village were over 60 years of age and the percentage was likely to grow making supported/sheltered living provision desirable to allow people to continue living in the village by providing extra care facility. As the plans included generous proportion of supported living accommodation, it was felt that the scheme met the needs of the community and should be supported.

The next speaker was Mr Michael Braithwaite, planning consultant for the Robert Doughty Consultancy, acting for the joint applicants - Allison Homes and LACE housing. Allison Homes and LACE housing were both Lincolnshire based organisations. The site was allocated in the MADE Nettleham Neighbourhood plan and in the adopted CLLP. A number of changes were made to the plan to meet the neighbourhood plan proposal including accommodating the need for the over 55’s accommodation as part of the scheme which was identified as a priority for the neighbourhood. Allison Homes opened discussions with LACE housing, a specialist housing association that provides supported accommodation for the over 55’s, before finalising the design, which resulted in LACE being a joint applicant on the current planning application. The submitted application is for 50 homes plus 36 affordable bungalows and apartments for the over 55’s. All the over 55’s units will be affordable housing as defined in the NPPF. This represents a higher level of affordable housing provision than required in the CLLP. The consultation on the application resulted in three requests for contributions towards healthcare, primary education and enhancement to play equipment. The request in relation to play equipment was not CIL compliant. The applicant’s legal adviser prepared a draft s.106 covering the health and education contributions and undertaken detailed negotiations with the council’s legal team and this was now ready to be signed upon a favourable decision from the committee.

Mr Ryan Watson addressed the committee advising that he and Mrs Watson owned land adjacent to the site. They were not against the development in principle or the number of houses but had concerns relating to the potential flood risk associated with the surface water basin due to no overflow facility which they believed could pose a serious future risk of flooding to the surrounding properties. Mr Watson suggested that there had been no percolation test done directly in the position of the basin which he felt was fundamental to establishing whether it was a suitable and that there was minimal landscaping around the basin to take the full run off from the entire site.

Councillor Angela White raised the issue of the planning notice which was displayed in the village reportedly having neither date nor signature visible on it when seen and photographed on 15 April 2017 by Councillor White. However it may have done originally. Councillor White further stated that it was not erected in front of the bungalows behind which the proposed development was located but instead was on a telegraph pole to the front of the houses affected. Councillor White also wished for a record to be made of the Ridge and Furrow field being completed. The issue of the Linelands site, a former care home in Nettleham, was raised, enquiring why this site, which closed in April 2013, was not being used.

Officers commented on the issue of percolation testing raised by one of the speakers, stating that the underlying geology of the site was assessed and the central and southern areas of the site, where there was shallow limestone present, which was permeable, was found to be suitable for soakaways. The Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) had no concerns about drainage. The above objections were forwarded onto the LLFA and no additional comments were made on that basis. Members were referred to Condition 6 that required a set of various measures to be submitted to the council before development started to ensure the scheme was fit for purpose.

Councillor Cotton advised in relation to the Linelands site that it was a separate issue which could not be addressed under this application. He then went on to say that as this application accorded to the Local Plan and the Neighbourhood plan, he would be happy to move the recommendation.

Councillor McNeill stated that the site allocation was for 50 houses and this was a proposal for substantially more than that which could be seen as a significant departure from the Local Plan and one of the concerns he had was that the 46% affordable housing provision could not be conditioned (only 25% could be conditioned). Fire and Rescue concerns were raised and the water main on Deepdale lane was also highlighted as it had recently burst and it was questioned whether any measures could be put in place to prevent any additional issues which may be caused by the new development in relation to the infrastructure.

Officers explained that this was within the remit of Anglian Water and as a planning authority we could not impose any stringent measures in that respect. The fire hydrants would be included in the conditions. The dwellings above the allocation in this case were due to the higher density of the LACE affordable housing provided under the scheme which was covered by a policy provision which stated that we could depart from 50 provided there was no harm and none was identified in this case.

Members requested more details on the use of the agricultural land for this development.

Officers responded that the land was already allocated and the loss of that grade of agricultural land was therefore inherently agreed to.

The application was seconded and voted upon and approved unanimously.

It was therefore AGREED that the application be APPROVED.