Application No:
Application Type:
2015/2042
Case Officer:
Ward:
Aneta Mantio
Expiry Date:
Location:
OL
Weybridge
South
31/07/2015
The Grotto Monument Hill Weybridge Surrey KT13 8RX
Three storey detached building containing 9 flats following demolition of existing
buildings (Outline application for Access, Appearance, Layout and Scale)
Birchwood Commercial Ltd
Mr J Cox
Taylor Cox Associates
Churston House
Portsmouth Road
Esher
Surrey
KT10 9AD
Proposal:
Applicant:
Agent:
If Permit – Sub-Committee
If Refuse – Sub-Committee
Permit
Decision Level:
Recommendation:
Representations: Objections from 17 households and 1 letter of observation have been
received concerned with the following issues:
• Access/traffic safety;
• Parking problems in the area;
• Loss of light and privacy to the occupiers of Albany Court apartments;
• Loss of the historic Grotto; Is The Grotto a listed building?
• Cramped form of development (overdevelopment) – 9 residential units on a small site;
• Impact on residential amenities of the future occupiers;
• Disruption during construction;
• The existing building could be converted into a local business/single dwelling rather
than flats.
In addition, 1 letter of support has been received in connection with the following:
• The existing property has been vacant for at least 2 years and new development
would be welcome.
***This application qualifies for public speaking***
Report
Description
1. The application site of 401sqm (0.04ha) is located at the junction of Monument Hill and Baker
Street, adjacent to the Town Centre of Weybridge. The application site being located at the
eastern end of Monument Hill, near the junction with Oatlands Drive, Hanger Hill and Queens
Road, lies in the key gateway area to the town centre. It is currently occupied by a vacant
detached two-storey building (The Grotto Inn) and a detached single garage. The site lies
within the District Centre and Residential Environs character area as defined in the Weybridge
Settlement Companion Guide to the Design and Character SPD.
Constraints
2. The relevant planning constraint is:
•
Area of High Archaeological Potential
Policy
3. In addition to the National Planning Policy Framework and the National Planning Practice
Guidance, the following local policies and guidance are relevant to the determination of this
application:
Core Strategy 2011
CS2 – Housing provision, location and distribution
CS4 – Weybridge
CS17 – Local Character, Density and Design
CS19 – Housing type and size
CS21 – Affordable housing
Development Management Plan 2015
DM1 – Presumption in favour of sustainable development
DM2 – Design and amenity
DM5 – Pollution
DM7 – Access and parking
DM8 – Refuse, recycling and external plant
DM10 – Housing
DM12 – Heritage
Design & Character SPD 2012
Companion Guide: Weybridge
Developer Contributions SPD 2012
Relevant History
4. There is no recent relevant planning history.
Proposal
5. Outline planning permission is sought for a three storey detached building containing 9 flats
following demolition of existing buildings, considering access, appearance, layout and scale
only, with the landscaping being reserved.
6. The access covers accessibility for all routes to and within the site, as well as the way they link
up to other roads and pathways outside the site. No vehicular access would be provided as
part of the proposal and the application site would be accessed only by two pedestrian
accesses, one from Monument Hill and one from Baker Street. The building itself would be
accessed from Baker Street within the west/side elevation.
7. The appearance includes the aspects of a building or place within the development, which
determine the visual impression the building or place makes, including the external built form
of the development, its architecture, materials, decoration, lighting, colour and texture. The
proposed building would be of a contemporary appearance with flat roof and Juliet balconies.
Its frontage would be staggered along the curved boundary line along Monument Hill and
would be finished in part render/part brickwork.
8. The layout includes buildings, routes and open spaces within the development and the way
they are laid out in relations to buildings and spaces outside the development. The proposed
3-storey building would infill the majority of the application site. Additional two smaller singlestorey outbuildings would be provided, serving as a bin store and a cycle store.
9. Scale means the height, width and length of each building proposed within the development in
relation to its surroundings. The proposed block of flats would be a maximum of 26.1m wide,
9.15m deep with a height of 8.85m. The bin store would be a maximum of 4.95m wide, a
maximum of 2.1m deep with a height of 2.5m. The proposed cycle store would be 4.05m wide,
2.2m deep with a height of 2.5m.
Consultations
10. Surrey County Council (Transportation) – The Highway Authority has assessed the impact of
the proposal on highway safety and capacity and raised no objections subject to conditions
and informative. The development is considered in accordance with Policy DM7 of the
Development Management Plan 2015 and the National Planning Policy Framework 2012.
11. SCC (Archaeology) – No response at the time of writing the report. An update will be available
at the sub committee meeting.
12. Tree Officer – No formal response received at the time of writing the report. An update will be
available at the subcommittee meeting.
Positive and Proactive Engagement
13. In assessing this application, officers have worked with the applicant in a positive and
proactive manner consistent with the requirements of 186-187 of the NPPF by making
available pre-application advice to seek to resolve problems before the application was
submitted and to foster the delivery of sustainable development.
14. A formal pre-application advice (ref. 2014/0983/NEW) was sought. The following advice was
offered:
• The proposed replacement building should be set back from Monument Hill;
• Monument Hill is one of the Air Quality Management Areas in the borough and
therefore design would have to reflect this in terms of the residential amenities of the
future occupiers;
• Justification for a loss of its lawful use in favour of a residential redevelopment in the
form of a marketing overview should be provided at the application stage.
Planning Considerations
15. The main planning considerations in the determination of this application are:
•
•
•
•
•
Principle of development;
The design of the proposal and its impact on the character of the area;
The impact on the amenity of neighbouring properties and of the future occupiers;
Access and parking;
Financial considerations.
Principle of development
16. The Core Strategy indicates that there is a scope for residential development through the
redevelopment of existing sites with well-designed schemes that integrate with and enhance
the local character. The new development is required to deliver high quality design, which
maximises the efficient use of land and which responds to the positive features of individual
locations; integrating sensitively with locally distinct townscape while protecting the amenities
of those living in the area.
17. The application site is currently occupied by a two-storey vacant building with an additional
single storey outbuilding. The site is of a limited scale and lies adjacent to a classified road
(A317 Monument Hill). The site has been vacant for at least 2 years and is currently boarded
up.
18. The applicant submitted marketing information confirming that the building has been marketed
since August 2013 for its existing use. The applicant’s marketing consultant suggests that
whilst the site is in a prominent location, it is not very accessible for customers and sits
between the bar/restaurant circuits of Queens Road and Weybridge Town Centre. In addition,
due to its limited space (in the region of 30 covers), any trading potential would be limited by
the lack of cover space. As such, the current use is unlikely to be taken up.
19. The proposed development would result in approximate density of 224dph, which is
considered quite high. However, the application site is located just outside of the Town Centre
designation and is within an easy reach of all the residential amenities and transport links. As
such, the flatted development of such density in this particular location would be considered
acceptable in principle.
20. The building and the site does not lie within a Conservation Area, nor is it a Listed Building.
However, it is within the Area of High Archaeological Potential. Whilst it is considered that the
existing development on site has possibly damaged any potential archaeological remains, the
SCC Archaeological Officer has been consulted and the outcome will be reported to the
members at the sub-committee meeting.
21. Based on the above, the redevelopment of the application site is considered acceptable in
principle, subject to the considerations below.
The design of the proposal and its impact on the character of the area
22. As identified above, the application site is located in a key gateway area, on a main access
road to the town centre of Weybridge from the southeast, as identified in the Design and
Character Supplementary Planning Document. This area is characterised by a great variety of
buildings and uses, reflecting its edge of town centre location. The building heights vary from
2-4 storeys in the vicinity and pre-dominantly include residential, office and retail (A1/A3) uses.
The proposed residential use would be therefore considered in keeping with the uses in the
immediate surrounding area.
23. In terms of the appearance, there is a mixture of traditional and more contemporary buildings.
The proposal is for a contemporary, flat roof three-storey building finished in a range of
external materials including render and brickwork. The building would be set further away from
the Monument Hill pavement when compared with the existing building, which would result in
a more spacious feel around the building. This would also allow for a soft landscaping to its
frontage and the additional boundary treatment adjacent to the main road; however details of
these would be subject to a separate reserved matters application. The development would
incorporate a number of front facing Juliet balconies and its front façade would be staggered
in places. These features appear similar to those on the ‘Temple Court’ building across the
road to the west. As such, it is considered that the appearance of the proposed development
would reflect the existing built form in the vicinity and is therefore considered acceptable.
The impact on the amenity of neighbouring properties and of the future occupiers
24. The proposed building would have the main windows to the habitable rooms located within the
north/front and east and west/side elevations. Windows serving corridors would be situated
within the south/rear elevation. There are no immediate neighbouring buildings located to the
sides – west and east elevations of the proposed building. The proposed development would
be adjacent to the block of garages and set approximately 16.7m to the north of No’s. 1-12
Albany Court block of flats. The windows facing Albany Court, serving non-habitable spaces,
could be obscurely glazed to avoid any adverse overlooking and loss of privacy to the amenity
area and habitable windows of Albany Court. This could be secured by condition.
25. The 1-12 Albany Court block of flats is a three-storey building with a pitched roof. The
proposed development is also a three storey building but with a flat roof and whilst no
comparison elevations have been provided with the current application, it is likely that their
heights would be comparable. Due to its orientation to the north, the proposed development is
not considered to result in any loss of sunlight to the above neighbouring property. In addition,
the building would not breach the 25-degree test line and therefore it is not considered that the
development would cause any adverse loss of light to the above property.
26. The neighbouring property across the road to the north is a block of flats, 1-17 Two Oaks. The
separation distance between this neighbouring building and the proposed building would be in
excess of 19m. Whilst the proposal would be located to the south of the above neighbour, a
sufficient separation distance would be maintained as not to result in any adverse loss of light
or sunlight. In addition, due to their face-to-face relationship and the road in between with
some existing screening in the form of trees, the proposal is not considered to result in any
detrimental loss of privacy.
27. The proposal incorporates nine 1-bedroom flats, all of which comply with the minimum space
standards, as set nationally and in Policy DM10. The application site lies within one of the Air
Quality Management Areas in the borough. As such, design of any residential units on this site
has to be sensitive to the existing pollution levels, which should include a passive ventilation
system and suitable windows (fixed) design. Provision of these could be secured by condition.
Subject to the above, it is considered that adequate living conditions would be provided for the
future occupiers of the development.
Access and parking
28. The traffic/safety and parking concerns of the local residents are noted. It is considered that
the future occupiers would be likely young professionals, as the housing provision would be in
the form of 1-bedroom flats. Due to the highly sustainable location of the application site, it is
considered that the future occupiers would not need a car and therefore would not require
parking provision. A cycle store would be provided on-site.
29. County Highway Authority has undertaken an assessment in terms of the likely net additional
traffic generation, access arrangements and parking provision and is satisfied that subject to
conditions, the application would not have a material impact on the safety and operation of the
adjoining public highway. The County Highway Authority seeks to impose relevant condition
and informative in order not to prejudice highway safety nor cause inconvenience to other
highway users.
Financial considerations
New Homes Bonus
30. Section 70 subsection 2 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) states that
any local financial considerations are a matter to which local planning authorities must have
regard to in determining planning applications; as far as they are material for the application.
The weight to be attached to these considerations is a matter for the Council.
31. The New Homes Bonus is a grant paid by central government to local councils for increasing
the number of homes and their use. The New Homes Bonus is paid each year for 6 years. It
is based on the amount of extra Council Tax revenue raised for new-build homes, conversions
and long-term empty homes brought back into use. There is also an extra payment for
providing affordable homes.
32. In the 2014-15 allocation, the Council received £2.07m through the New Homes Bonus. The
Council’s provisional New Homes Bonus allocation for 2015-16 is £2.45m.
33. Local financial considerations are defined as grants from Government or sums payable to the
authority under the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This means that the New Homes
Bonus is capable of being a material consideration where relevant. In the current case, the
approval of the application would mean that the New Homes Bonus would be payable for the
net increase in dwellings from this development.
Affordable Housing
34. Policy CS21: Affordable Housing of the Council’s Core Strategy (2011) requires that
development resulting in the net gain of 6-14 residential units should provide 30% of the gross
number of dwellings on site as Affordable Housing. However, on 28 November 2014 the
Minister for housing and planning set out changes to the way planning contributions for
affordable housing should be collected. This statement set out that contributions should not be
sought from developments of 10-units or less, and which have a maximum combined gross
floorspace of no more than 1000sqm. The detail supporting this statement was then
established in the National Planning Practice Guidance paragraphs 13 to 23. The Council
recognises that ministerial statements are a material consideration with regard to the granting
of planning permission and is therefore applying the Government's new policy to all decisions
determined on or after 1 December 2014.
35. This development falls below the threshold and thus in planning policy terms there is no
requirement for the applicant to provide a legal agreement to secure affordable housing as
part of this application.
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
36. The development falls under development which is liable for CIL. It is estimated that 559sqm
of new floor space will require a contribution of £79,233.26. The applicant has provided the
relevant liability forms required to pay the chargeable amount required by the Council’s
adopted Charging Schedule in accordance with the relevant regulations.
Matters raised in Representations
37. The matters raised have been addressed in the planning considerations above, however the
outstanding issues are discussed below:
• It is not the Council’s role to prescribe a certain development type/use on the
application sites, unless specifically indicated in the Local Plan. In this particular case,
the application site has been vacant for a relatively long period of time and its current
use is no longer achievable. The applicant seeks to ascertain the acceptability of a
residential scheme on site in terms of the national and local planning policies and the
LPA’s obligation to determine this valid application.
• Noise and disruption during construction - While the concerns of the local resident in
terms of the disruption that may be caused by the construction works are noted, it is
not the planning system’s role to obstruct development on this basis. Inevitably, any
construction works may lead to some temporary disruption. Ordinarily, the
requirements of Environmental Health legislation will seek to limit any harm so far as
reasonably practicable. A standard informative is added to permissions to draw this
matter to the attention of the applicant.
Conclusion
38. On the basis of the above, and in light of any other material considerations, the proposal is
considered to be in accordance with the development plan. Accordingly, the recommendation
is to grant outline planning permission in terms of access, appearance, layout and scale only,
with the landscaping being reserved.
Case Officer Checklist
Neighbour Notifications
Consultations
Drawings
Site Visit Notes
Recommendation:
AMA 16/06/2015
AMA 16/06/2015
AMA 16/06/2015
AMA 14/07/2015
Grant Outline Permission
Conditions/Reasons
1
OUTLINE (RESERVED MATTERS)
PLANS AND PARTICULARS OF THE LANDSCAPING OF THE SITE (HEREINAFTER
CALLED "THE RESERVED MATTERS") SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO AND APPROVED IN
WRITING BY THE BOROUGH COUNCIL BEFORE ANY WORK ON THE SITE IS
COMMENCED AND SHALL THEREAFTER BE CARRIED OUT AS APPROVED.
Reason: To comply with Section 92 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990.
2
OUTLINE (RESERVED MATTERS - SUBMISSION IN 3 YEARS)
Application for the approval of all Reserved Matters referred to in Condition 1 above shall be
made to the Borough Council before the expiration of three years from the date of this
permission.
Reason: To comply with Section 92 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990.
3
OUTLINE (DURATION)
The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of two years from the
date of approval of the last of the Reserved Matters to be approved .
Reason: To comply with Section 51 of Part 4 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act
2004.
4
LIST OF APPROVED PLANS
The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in strict accordance with the following
list of approved plans: 1184/01, 02, 03, 04, 05, all received on 26/05/2015; and 1184/07
received on 05/06/2015.
Reason: To ensure that the development is carried out in a satisfactory manner.
5
MATERIALS SAMPLES
NO DEVELOPMENT SHALL TAKE PLACE UNTIL SAMPLES OF THE MATERIALS TO BE
USED ON THE EXTERNAL FACES AND ROOF OF THE BUILDING HAVE BEEN
SUBMITTED TO AND APPROVED IN WRITING BY THE BOROUGH COUNCIL.
DEVELOPMENT SHALL BE CARRIED OUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE APPROVED
DETAILS.
Reason: To ensure that a satisfactory external appearance is achieved of the development in
accordance with Policy DM2 of the Elmbridge Development Management Plan 2015. It is
considered necessary for this to be a pre-commencement condition because the use of
satisfactory external materials goes to the heart of the planning permission.
6
OBSCURE GLAZING
The corridor windows above the ground floor level within the south/rear elevation of the
development hereby permitted shall be glazed with obscure glass; and non-openable unless
above 1.7m over the finished floor level of the room they serve to. Such glass shall be
sufficiently obscure to prevent loss of privacy. The affixing of an obscure film will not be
sufficient.
Reason: To preserve the reasonable privacy of neighbouring residents in accordance with
Policy DM2 of the Elmbridge Development Management Plan 2015.
7
PARKING & TURNING/RETENTION OF PARKING & TURNING
The development hereby approved shall not be first occupied unless and until space has been
laid out within the site in accordance with the approved plans for bicycles to be stored in a
secure, covered and accessible location. The parking area shall be used and retained
exclusively for its designated purpose.
Reason: The above condition is required in order that the development should not prejudice
highway safety nor cause inconvenience to other highway users and to satisfy Policy DM7 of
the Development Management Plan 2015 & Policy CS25 of the Elmbridge Core Strategy.
8
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
CONSTRUCTION TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT PLAN
No development shall commence until a Construction Transport Management Plan, to include
details of:
parking for vehicles of site personnel, operatives and visitors
loading and unloading of plant and materials
storage of plant and materials
programme of works (including measures for traffic management)
(e)
(f)
provision of boundary hoarding behind the visibility zones
measures to prevent the deposit of materials on the highway
have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Only the
approved details shall be implemented during the construction of the development.
Reason: The above condition is required in order that the development should not prejudice
highway safety nor cause inconvenience to other highway users and to satisfy Policy DM7 of
the Development Management Plan 2015 & Policy CS25 of the Elmbridge Core Strategy.
9
ARCHAEOLOGY - SCHEME OF WORKING (SITE OF HIGH ARCHAEOLOGICAL
POTENTIAL)
NO DEVELOPMENT SHALL TAKE PLACE UNTIL THE APPLICANT HAS SECURED THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF A PROGRAMME OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK ON THE SITE IN
ACCORDANCE WITH A WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION WHICH HAS BEEN
SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICANT AND APPROVED IN WRITING BY THE BOROUGH
COUNCIL.
Reason: The site is one of/within an area of high archaeological potential and it is important
that the archaeological information should be preserved as a record before it is destroyed by
the development in accordance with Policy DM12 of the Elmbridge Development Management
Plan 2015.
Informatives