Agenda item

Land at Main Street, Wymondham

Application:	21/00344/OUT
Location:	Land at Main Street, Wymondham
Proposal:	Outline planning application for the demolition of an existing brick building and the subsequent residential development of up to 24 dwellings, including vehicular access and an associated drainage scheme

 

The Planning Officer (GE) addressed the Committee and provided a summary of the application and advised the application was recommended for approval subject to conditions set out in Appendix C and a Section 106 Agreement to secure contributions towards:

 

(i)   Secondary and Post 16 Education Provision

(ii)  Contribution to sustainable transport options

(iii)  Waste services contribution

(iv)  On Site Affordable Housing Provision

 

Members raised concerns and the Planning Officer responded as follows:

 

·       Wymondham was a service centre and this was an allocated site for growth under the current Local Plan

·       The affordable housing mix had been agreed at 10 homes in accordance with the Local Plan

·       There was a motion to approve the application as the application was in line with the Council’s policies. However the speakers had not taken part at this point and the Solicitor advised that should the Councillor remain open-minded and listen to the speakers and debate then he would be deemed to be not pre-determined. The Councillor agreed that they remained open-minded on the application

·       This was an outline application and a further application would be submitted when the Parish Council would be consulted on the detail

·       The Planning Officer gave assurance that conditions 2, 3 and 5 would be assessed against the relevant policies but the conditions could be amended to be more specific should Members wish to do so

·       It was confirmed that a s106 request for £11k had been received for NHS services since the report had been published

·       It was confirmed that no s106 request had been received from the Parish Council and any comments they had made at the workshop were included

 

Pursuant to Chapter 2, Part 9, Paragraphs 2.8-2.28 of the Council’s Constitution in relation to public speaking at Planning Committee, the Chair allowed the following to give a 3 minute presentation:

 

Howard Gresham, Wymondham Parish Council

 

Following the speaker’s presentation, the following points were noted:

 

·       There was concern that when the site was handed over to the developer, there would be no commitment from the current landowner to follow through on previous plans to construct a wooded area beyond the site which would alleviate drainage issues to the lower lying development site

·       It was noted that conditions 9 and 10 covered drainage arrangements for the site and it was suggested that these conditions could be strengthened and to state the scheme must be in place prior to development rather than prior to occupation, also at the reserved matters stage the scheme be reviewed by the officers and any other relevant statutory bodies to ensure it was acceptable

·       A Point of Order was raised as it was considered that questions were being addressed to officers and not the speaker, however the Solicitor explained that the questions to the officers were as a result of previous questions to the speaker

 

Chris Green, Agent

 

Following the speaker’s presentation, the following points were noted:

 

·       At the workshop meeting with the Parish Council, the agent had indicated that the landowner was willing to discuss wider concerns

·       The drainage strategy was designed to take the surface water and move it around the site as necessary, and it provided betterment to control the water rather than the current empty field also if there was a wider solution that could be achieved then the landowner would be open for discussion 

 

Councillor Malise Graham, Ward Councillor

 

During debate the following points were noted:

 

·       Concern that there was no mention of the design spd and the Neighbourhood Plan H2 in the conditions and it was considered these should be included in the relevant conditions for the avoidance of doubt

·       Severn Trent Water’s comments formed part of the report

·       It was pointed out that the application was outline with access and principle of development which meant that further details through discharge of conditions and reserved matters could be raised at a later stage as well as further engagement Severn Trent Water and other statutory consultees

·       It was noted that conditions could be amended at this stage and any amendments should be listed in the decision

 

Councillor Pritchett proposed that the application be approved subject to the conditions listed in the report and the following :

 

·       Conditions 9 and 10 be strengthened to ensure that at the reserved matters stage the scheme be reviewed by the officers and any other relevant statutory bodies to ensure it was acceptable

·       Condition 9 be amended to state the scheme must be in place prior to development rather than prior to occupation

·       Conditions 2, 3 and 5 be amended to include reference to the SPD and policy Neighbourhood Plan H2

·       £11k be allocated under the s106 for NHS services

 

 Councillor Browne seconded the motion.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the application is APPROVED subject to conditions set out in Appendix C and a Section 106 Agreement to secure contributions towards:

 

(i)     Secondary and Post 16 Education Provision

(ii)    Contribution to sustainable transport options

(iii)   Waste services contribution

(iv)   On Site Affordable Housing Provision

 

And the following :

 

(v)        Conditions 9 and 10 be strengthened to ensure that at the reserved matters stage the scheme be reviewed by the officers and any other relevant statutory bodies to ensure it was acceptable

(vi)      Condition 9 be amended to state the scheme must be in place prior to development rather than prior to occupation

(vii)    Conditions 2, 3 and 5 be amended to include reference to the SPD and policy Neighbourhood Plan H2

(viii)  £11k be allocated under the s106 for NHS services

 

(6 for, 2 against, 1 abstention)

(Councillors Chandler and Holmes requested their vote against the decision be recorded.)

 

REASONS

 

The proposal accords with the requirements of Policies SS1 and SS2 which strongly emphasise the need to provide housing in locations that can take advantage of sustainable travel and make appropriate provision for parking and ensure that there is not a significant impact caused to the Highway network. Wymondham is a 'service centre' under policy SS2 and identified as appropriate for a limited quantity of development in the form of allocations and accommodation of 'windfall'.

 

The site is allocated for housing purposes in the Neighbourhood Plan under Policy H2 with an estimated capacity of 20 and Policy C1 (A) Ref. WYM3 of the Melton Local Plan.

 

Affordable housing provision remains one of the Council’s key priorities. This application delivers the required level of affordable housing (in line with the Melton Local Plan) that helps to meet identified local needs. Accordingly, the application presents a vehicle for the delivery of 10 affordable housing units, of a type that supports the local market housing needs. The final mix of affordable housing would be secured by Section 106 Agreement.

 

The application is in outline and demonstrates how this allocation could be delivered including the site specific criteria applied by the Plan.  This report will go on to show that the principle of the proposal is compliant with the policies of the development plan as a whole when considering the Neighbourhood Plan and the Local Plan.

 

The development is considered to not result in a significant impact upon highway safety and a safe and suitable access is achieved to the site from Main Street. Sufficient off street parking provision can be secured as part of consideration of the proposed layout at detailed reserved matters stage.

 

Should Planning Permission be granted a further application would be submitted for “Reserved Matters” which would consider the following points Appearance, Landscaping, Layout and Scale.  These matters are not considered within this report due to the application being submitted as an outline planning application with only access to be determined at this stage.