Agenda item
Land Adjacent to Morritt House, Talbot Road, Wembley, HA0 (Ref.12/1383)
Decision:
Grant planning permission subject to conditions, informatives and the completion of a satisfactory Section 106 or other legal agreement and delegate authority to the Head of Area Planning or other duly authorised person to agree the exact terms thereof on advice from the Director of Legal Services and Procurement.
Minutes:
PROPOSAL: Construction of a pair of 2-storey semi-detached houses with rear gardens and parking spaces to the front on land to the rear of Morritt House, fronting Talbot Road and the creation of a 6 new car parking spaces to the rear of the site for the use of residents of Morritt House, with associated landscaping and refuse storage.
|
RECOMMENDATION: Grant planning permission subject to conditions, informatives and the completion of a satisfactory Section 106 or other legal agreement and delegate authority to the Head of Area Planning or other duly authorised person to agree the exact terms thereof on advice from the Director of Legal Services and Procurement.
|
Neil McClellan, Area Planning Manager with reference to the tabled supplementary report responded to the following issues that were raised during the site visit:
Access arrangements and pedestrian safety
The access arrangements had been assessed by Transportation officers who advised that its width was sufficient to serve the number of spaces and would allow vehicles to pass one another. With a controlled access, an automated barrier and access to serve only serves 6 spaces, the site was unlikely to experience high volumes of car movements. For the above reasons the access was considered unlikely to pose a risk to pedestrian safety.
Compliance with Supplementary Planning Guidance 17 (SPG17).
The scheme was not considered to be over dominant nor would it result in an overbearing impact on Morritt House. In addition as the size and siting of the proposed houses generally complied with the 30 degree rule, the scheme complied with SPG17. A number of flats would also benefit from much improved outlook through the removal of the existing garage block.
Waste management
Refuse bins would be collected from a dedicated refuse storage area in Talbot Road which was considered more accessible for collection and an improvement on the existing arrangement.
Tree and landscaping
The Arboricultural report concurred by the Tree Preservation Officer found that the existing horse chestnut tree had severe deficiencies and trunk decay was also evident. As its long term prospects were limited, the report recommended that it be felled. Against this background, the current scheme was supported by a site wide landscaping scheme including proposals for 6 new trees.
Parking spaces
The Area Planning Manager confirmed that there were 16 spaces in total in the redundant garage block although the block had not been used for a considerable period of time (in excess of 10 years).
Miss Catherine O’Callaghan in objecting to the proposed development expressed concerns about the access road and parked vehicles, fly tipping and loss of light. She added that with the possibility of the houses being rented out for multiple-occupation, the development could give rise to over-population resulting with increased pressure on residential amenities.
Mr Shapulavar an objector expressed concerns about the access road and the likely risk it would pose to the safety of young children within the development. He continued that as the bins were located in close proximity to the block, they would result health hazard for the residents. Mr Shapulavar alleged that not all residents were consulted about the meeting thus denying them the opportunity to give their views about the proposal which would also lead to loss of light, contrary to the view expressed by the officer.
Mr Brian Peppiat, the applicant’s agent brought an architectural model to support his presentation to the Committee. With reference to the model, Mr Peppiatt stated that the scheme had been designed to be compatible with the area, giving an open feel to the development and using grasscrete, would result in a green outlook. He continued that the controlled (key or card) barrier arrangement would be available to all residents of Morritt House. He continued that in addition to each house having its own car parking space, there would be five informal parking spaces for use by residents which would on the basis of first come first served.
In response to members’ enquiries, Mr Peppiatt stated that fencing would be provided from one end to the other which would prevent children from crossing and thus minimise any danger to them. He added that the current proposal would discourage irregular use such as on-site dumping of rubbish. Mr Peppiatt agreed to an additional condition recommended by Steve Weeks, Head of Area Planning, requiring the applicant to submit detail landscaping to enable disabled access to facilitate the use of wheel chairs.
The Chair requested the officer to comment on inadequate consultation, parking on the access road, measures to discourage the use of bin areas by non-residents and light impact. Neil McClellan responded that all residents who responded to the initial consultation were informed about the meeting. He advised that the issue of parking on the access road would have to be dealt with by the managing agents via parking enforcement including wheel clamping. He drew members’ attention to condition 9 which addressed issues on bin enclosures and added that whilst there would be reduced direct light at certain times, the impact was not considered significant to warrant refusal on those grounds. The Head of Area Planning recommended a further condition requiring details of the barrier arrangement which was accepted.
DECISION: Planning permission granted as recommended subject to additional conditions for submission of further details of disabled access and barrier arrangement.
Note: In accordance with the Planning Code of Practice Councillor Aden could not vote on this application as he was not present throughout the meeting during consideration of the application. |
Supporting documents: