Application
for the conversion of a public house to 5 flats together with rear extension
and parking area
LOCAL
MEMBER: Councillor Linda Ann Wyn Jones
Additional documents:
Decision:
To defer the
decision in order to receive more information about drainage matters
Minutes:
Attention was drawn to the late observations form that had been
received - in response to observations from the Local Member, consultation had
taken place with the Council's Flood Risk Management Unit, and a swift response
had been received. It was noted that the Department
had no knowledge of the situation, although it was intended to investigate the
complaint. No timetable had yet been set for this work.
a)
The Planning Manager elaborated on the background
of the application, and noted that the application had been
submitted to the Planning Committee on 02.03.2020 when it had been
decided to arrange a site visit for members. In the meantime, it was reported that the applicant had informed the Council
that he had submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate due to a lack of
decision by the Council on the application (no date yet received).
Members were reminded that this was an application to convert a
public house into five residential, self-contained flats, along with the
creation of parking spaces and an entrance.
It was noted that the site was located within
the development boundary of Blaenau Ffestiniog and
that the use of the building as a public house had ceased since early 2017. The
proposal would involve internal changes to create the flats on the three
floors. The exterior changes were restricted to the side extension and the
slight alteration of the layout of the ground floor window and door openings on
the rear elevation.
Additional
photographs and a video were shown as it had not been
possible to undertake a site visit due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Policy TAI9
permits the sub-division of existing properties into self-contained flats
provided they conform to the relevant criteria: it was not
considered that the proposal to convert the building into five flats
would be contrary to the policy aims of TAI 9.
Reference was made to Policy TAI15 that stated that every development
was required to achieve an appropriate mix in terms of tenure, types and sizes
of affordable housing, which is supported by Policy TAI 8 and the SPG: Housing
Mix. It should be noted that the Strategic Housing
Unit stated that there was a recognised need for one and two bedroom flats in
the town. It was considered that the amended
application provided an appropriate mix of accommodation in an existing
building that met a recognised need for housing in the town.
Policy TAI 15 (Threshold of Affordable Housing and their Distribution) stated an expectation that at least 0.4 of the units should be affordable, in accordance with the information submitted. Information had been received from the applicant stating that he had investigated purchase/rental prices within a one-mile radius of the site as part of the development. Although the officers did not disagree with the prices, the valuation was not based on the Red Book, and there were other minor deficiencies in the information submitted. In the circumstances, it was considered that the application could be approved subject to imposing a ... view the full minutes text for item 6