Issue - meetings

Granted planning permission subject to the conditions and informatives as set out in the Committee report and supplementary report; and the Committee’s recommendation that the Transport Team explore the practicalities of increasing parking provision through the use of diagonal parking bays.

PROPOSAL

Demolition of all garages on site to provide five new homes with associated cycle and refuse storage, resurfacing of Newland Court to provide shared vehicular and pedestrian surface, provision of on-street car parking along Newland Court, new refuse storage facilities to serve existing residents at Newland Court and all associated landscaping works (revised scheme)

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Committee resolve to GRANT planning permission subject to:

(1)      The Head of Planning being delegated authority to issue the planning permission and impose conditions an informatives as detailed in the report.

(2)      That the Head of Planning is delegated authority to make changes to the wording of the committee’s decision (such as to delete, vary or add conditions, informatives, planning obligations or reasons for the decision) prior to the decision being actioned, provided that the Head of Planning is satisfied that any such changes could not reasonably be regarded as deviating from the overall principle of the decision reached by the committee nor that such change(s) could reasonably have led to a different decision having been reached by the committee.

(3)      That the Committee confirms that adequate provision has been made, by the imposition of conditions, for the preservation or planting of trees as required by Section 197 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Nicola Blake, Principal Planning Officer, North Area Planning Team, introduced the repot and set out the key issues. In introducing the report members were advised that the proposed application sought the demolition of all the garages on site to provide five new family sized homes. The application site comprised of 34 garages across the northern side of the service road of Newland Court. The site was adjacent to Barnhill Conservation Area, a designated heritage asset. The section of Forty Avenue that fronted Newland Court was designated as an Intensification Corridor within Brent’s Local Plan and to the east of the application was the boundary of the Wembley Growth Area.

The Chair thanked Nicola Blake for introducing the report, as there were no Committee questions raised at this point, the Chair invited the first speaker Mr Marc Etukudo (objector) to address the Committee (in person) in relation to the application.

The following key points were highlighted:

·                Concerns were raised that objections made in relation to specific queries had been ignored by officers.

·                It was felt that the proposed application had been based on misinformation and unreliable, out-dated reports in order to fast track the application.

·                It was felt that the Council’s Ecological Report was flawed and inaccurate as there were discrepancies in the report in relation to ecological surveys undertaken.

·                Concerns were raised that a follow up ecological report advising that the bat surveys were conducted at the wrong time of year and which had identified species of bats (protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and regulations Act 1984) found in the trees by the garages had not been considered by officers.

·                Concerns were raised that a number of trees in the Arboricultural Report had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6