Agenda item

The Principal Development Management Officer introduced application number 138157, an application for 5no. dwellings at Bleak Farm, Cherry Willingham.

 

There were a number of updates for this item:

 

·         The original appeal on this site had now been validated by the planning inspectorate, and had a start date of 11 October;

 

·         No additional information from the applicant had been submitted following last month’s Planning Committee, so the application remained as written;

 

·         The Cherry Willingham Neighbourhood Plan was referenced in the report; however, some of the policies within the Plan, in particular H3 have been challenged.  The weight given to these policies would have to be tempered whilst the challenge was ongoing;

 

The first of the public speakers on this item was Parish Councillor Paul Moore, from Cherry Willingham Parish Council.  He raised the following points:

 

·         The Parish Council fully accepted the principal of development on this site, as established by the previously granted outline permission;

 

·         This was an important site at the heart of the village, and it justified a development that made the most of the heritage and potential of the site;

 

·         The Parish Council were gratified when an earlier application in May 2018 was refused, as they felt it did not live up to these heritage standards;

 

·         This application seemed almost identical to a previous application from May 2018, which was rejected by committee; the Parish Council felt that there were no material changes in this application that could lead to this new application being granted;

 

·         The site, until recent times, was a working farmstead.  It was confirmed as a non-designated heritage asset in the Neighbourhood Plan;

 

·         Some of the buildings on-site had now gone through demolition; however the historic context and the setting of the farmstead and nearby listed buildings remained unaltered.  Any development on this site would have an effect on the setting and significance of these heritage assets, but this should be properly assessed to inform the design and layout of any new development.  That was the requirement of adopted planning policy;

 

·         The Parish Council agreed with Lincolnshire County Council’s (LCC’s) Historic Environment Officer that the submitted heritage statement was wholly inadequate;

 

·         By only developing part of the site, the application failed to make the most of the whole area, and there was no requirement for public open space or affordable housing;

 

·         Policy LP25 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan (CLLP) required that development proposals protected the significance of designated heritage assets, including their setting, as well as promoting opportunities to better reveal the significance of heritage assets.  In addition, the desirability of sustaining and enhancing non-designated heritage assets should be taken into account;

 

·         Many developments exist on old village-centre farmyards that retained design and layout links with the site’s former use, and produced a high quality development that enhanced the village centre;

 

·         The site’s present condition was very poor; this did not justify an inadequate development proposal for this site simply to tidy it up (reflected in the National Planning Policy Framework – NPPF);

 

·         It was important for this site to have the following as part of any application:

                      I.        Establish a strong sense of place;

                    II.        Respond to local character and history and reflect the identity of local surroundings;

                   III.        Ensure that new developments were visually attractive as a result of good architecture and appropriate landscaping;

 

·         The application site provided an opportunity for a good, sensitive development that respected and acknowledged its historical context and the wider character of the village;

 

·         The submitted scheme failed to meet these objectives;

 

The next speaker was Councillor Maureen Palmer, Ward member for Cherry Willingham.  She highlighted the following:

 

·         The principal of a residential development on the site of a former working farmstead was accepted; any development would need to fit in with the setting of the site;

 

·         Unless there were any significant differences in this application, it should also be refused;

 

·         The inclusion of this site in the Neighbourhood Plan was not just focused on the preservation of the farm’s buildings; heritage issues should have been an important part of the application;

 

·         There were comments from district councillors previously about the site currently being an ‘eyesore’; this may be the case, but any replacement not up to standard would be an eyesore for years to come;

 

·         The overall site design should reflect that it was agricultural in nature in a previous time;

 

·         The application site provided an opportunity for a sensitive development contributing to the wider character of the village; the submitted scheme failed to achieve those objectives.

 

The final speaker was Councillor Ann Welburn, also a Ward councillor for Cherry Willingham.  The following points were highlighted:

 

·         The original application back in August 2016 was for 13 dwellings with conversion of a barn.  It was agreed with 25% of affordable housing units, with the provision of no less than 3% designated as public open space;

 

·         Subsequently to this, the site had been sold, all outbuildings had been destroyed, bricks had been removed, the house had been vandalised and the site had been left derelict;

 

·         Application number 137057, considered back in May 2018 was rejected for not protecting an historic site in Cherry Willingham, and was a proposal contrary to LP25 and 26 of the CLLP, as well as guidance within the NPPF at paragraphs 58, 128, 132 and 133.  Added to this were statutory duties in section 66 of the Planning, Listed Building and Conservation Areas Act;

 

·         The application before committee on 17 October was very similar to application 137057;

 

·         Cherry Willingham residents welcome this development but request that it be dealt with as a whole.  The importance lies with the setting;

 

·         The wall outside the site is in disrepair and should be taken down;

 

·         It was suggested that the applicant work with a steering group and the Parish Council as that would produce a far better outcome.

 

The Principal Development Management Officer reminded Members that they were considering the application before them now, and that it would not be for them to ask the developer to go away and come back with a larger site to be developed. 

 

In relation to affordable housing, LP11 of the CLLP was referred to.  It was explained that whilst the number of dwellings fell below the threshold for requiring affordable housing, if the scheme was followed by an obviously linked subsequent development scheme at any point where the original permission remains extant, or up to 5 years following completion of the scheme, then, if the combined total of dwellings qualified for affordable housing, the level of affordable housing would be backdated to include this scheme.

 

Some weight could be afforded to the draft Neighbourhood Plan, however there were unresolved objections to this, which would temper the weight that may be given.

 

There seemed to be a general acceptance of development at the site, but problems with the scheme’s layout.  There needed to be a wider perception of reflecting the local character.

 

Officers recognised that the site was being considered as important; however this wasn’t reflected in the development plan or the Neighbourhood Plan.

 

Following these issues raised by officers, Planning committee members then provided their own comments;

 

·         There was currently a planning appeal lodged against a previous iteration of this application;

 

·         The site was in the centre of the village; non-designated heritage assets are no less important than their designated counterparts;

 

·         There were sufficient reasons to support refusal, namely LP25 and LP26 of the CLLP, regarding the historic setting. Also, policy 127(c) of the 2018 national policy, which was sympathetic to local character and history, and policy 128 – design quality should be considered throughout the evolution of proposals.

 

·         Paragraphs 185(c) and 191 of the NPPF were applicable;

 

·         Other Councillors felt that there wasn’t enough information in the application to refuse;

 

·         There was not enough assurance in the application that there would be outcomes that were going to protect the heritage of the site;

 

·         No development would take place on site until a sample of brick no more than 1m in height be installed.  Officers and Members could go to the site to inspect materials;

 

It was then moved and seconded that the recommendation in the report to agree the application, subject to conditions, be overturned and on voting it was AGREED that the application be REFUSED for the following reasons:

 

1. The development is not sympathetic to local character and history, including the surrounding built environment. The proposed development will not protect the historic village centre of Cherry Willingham, its setting and its heritage assets including non-designated heritage assets through its detrimental design quality and layout. The proposal is therefore contrary to local policies LP25 and LP26 of the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan and guidance within the National Planning Policy Framework, particularly paragraph 127(c), 128, 185(c) and 191.