Demolition of existing office building and
erection of 39 over 55's senior living residential apartments together with
associated Works
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Gareth A Roberts
Link
to relevant background documents
Decision:
To delegate powers to the Senior Planning Manager to
approve the application, subject to the following conditions:
1.
Five years.
2.
In accordance with the plans/details submitted with
the application.
3.
Compliance with the
parking scheme.
4.
Compliance with the
landscaping plan along with future maintenance work.
5.
Secure a
plan/arrangement to provide the affordable units e.g. mix, tenure, occupancy
criteria, timetable and arrangements to ensure that units are affordable now
and in perpetuity.
6.
Compliance with the recommendations of the Bat Survey
Report and the Preliminary Ecological Assessment.
7.
Agree on details
regarding Welsh names for the development before the residential units are
occupied for any purpose along with advertising signage informing and promoting
the development.
8.
Working hours limited to 08:00-18:00 Monday to Friday;
08:00-13:00 Saturdays and not at all on Sundays or Bank Holidays.
9.
Condition to comply with
the Lighting Plan submitted with the application.
10.
Submission of a
Construction Method Statement to include measures to reduce noise, dust and
vibration to be agreed with the LPA.
11.
Restrict the use to prospective occupants aged 55+.
Note: Need to submit a sustainable drainage system application to be
agreed with the Council
Minutes:
Demolition of existing office building and
erection of 39 living residential apartments for adults aged 55+ together with
associated works
Attention was drawn to
the late observations form.
a) The Senior Development Control Officer highlighted
that this was a full application for the demolition of the existing building
(unoccupied offices previously used by the Countryside Council for Wales) and
the construction of a replacement building that would provide 39 residential
flats for people aged 55+. The proposal included the following elements:
·
Provision of 39 flats that
included 18 one-bedroom flats and 21 two-bedroom flats and each flat would be
offered as an affordable unit.
·
Provision of 31 parking
spaces with six of these for disabled parking and six spaces for electric
vehicle charging points.
·
Using the current access
from Penrhos Road through Llys
Adda as per the current arrangement. The parking
spaces were located to the south and to the west within the application site.
·
Erecting a building that
varied from three storeys in the north (facing Penrhos
Road) to four storeys in the south taking the gradient of the land within the
site itself into account. The new building would be set in an "I"
shaped form with the external elevations broken up by using numerous and
various openings (some with Juliet balconies), various materials (e.g. clean
brickwork, coloured render, grey panelled windows and doors that reflected
vertical timber work and a blue slate roofing system) along with recessed
walls.
·
Landscaping to include soft
landscaping with a number of existing trees retained and additional planting
work to mitigate for the loss of some trees, cloddiau/privets, shrubs and hard
landscaping to include footpaths and an architectural feature in the form of a
sphere water fountain near the main entrance.
·
Communal amenity spaces
around the building as the building itself was located more or less in the
centre of the site.
·
Installation of solar
panels on the roof.
It was reported that the site was located within the
development boundary of Bangor as contained in the Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint
Local Development Plan, 2017 (LDP) but it had not been designated for any
specific use. It was highlighted that the site was included within Tree
Preservation Order ref. 3/TPO/A85, which also included the Llys
Adda Estate to the south of the application site.
It was highlighted that a large number of documents
had been submitted to support the application.
It was explained that the principle of constructing
houses on this site was based in Policies PCYFF1, TAI1, TAI15, PS5 and PS17 of
the LDP. Bangor was identified as an Urban Service Centre in Policy TAI1 and
this policy supported housing developments to meet the LDP's Strategy (Policy
PS17), which were located on housing designations and suitable windfall sites
within the development boundary, and were based on the indicative provision
contained within the LDP itself. This meant that Bangor, by completing the
existing land bank, reached its indicative growth level of 969 units and, in
such circumstances, consideration would be given to the units that had been
completed thus far within the Key Centres tier where there was a shortage of
371 units. Under such circumstances, the applicant would be required to outline
how the proposal would address the needs of the local community. To this end, the following information was
submitted:
·
Provision of 39 residential
flats for people aged 55+ on a brownfield site within the development boundary.
·
Although the capacity
figures for Bangor had been reached, it was considered that the housing supply
figure was an indicative figure only.
·
Although capacity figures
for Bangor had been reached, it was considered that the proposal to provide
100% affordable units addressed the needs of the local community - reference
was made to the response of the Strategic Housing Unit following the statutory
consultation process.
In the context of visual amenities, it was noted that
the site was fairly prominent within the local street-scene and the impact on
visual amenities was considered by referring to the following principles:
·
Scale - it was believed
that the scale and mass of the proposed building would be reduced by providing
façade elevations that were broken up by various openings, various materials
together with creating recessed walls on the main elevations.
·
Design - it was proposed to
create a modern residential development given that numerous dwellings in the
catchment area of the application site had modern elevations.
·
Setting - the site was
located within an urban context of fairly high housing density, which also
included vegetation and trees. The
building's setting within the site meant that it followed the footprint of the
existing building. It was reiterated that physical constraints, shape,
vegetation and trees that were subject to a tree preservation order determined
where any new building could be located.
·
Landscaping and trees - the
proposal involved undertaking soft and hard landscaping. As the site was
included within the Plas Penrhos
tree preservation order area, an Arboriculture Impact Assessment had been
submitted. The Assessment confirmed that only four trees within the site were
in Category A (trees of high quality), 12 in Category B (moderate quality), 10
in Category C (trees of low quality) and 2 within Category U (trees that needed
to be felled due to their poor quality). As a result, subject to compliance
with the contents of the assessment, it was anticipated that the development
would have minimum impact on the arboriculture environment of the site.
In the context of general and residential amenities, a
number of objections / concerns had been received from local residents relating
to matters that included overlooking, loss of privacy, loss of light and shade
considering the scale of the proposed building. In response, a Report on
Daylight and Sunlight within the site and on the outskirts of the site had been
submitted.
In the context of transport and access matters, it was
highlighted that the proposal included using the existing junction to the class
III county road, Penrhos Road and the junction with
the Llys Adda Estate road.
It was also intended to provide parking spaces for 31 cars with six of them as
disabled spaces and six of them for electric vehicle charging points. A new
pedestrian crossing would be provided along Penrhos
Road and adjacent to the application site that would make the proposal
accessible for pedestrians, which would be realised under Section 278 of the
Highways Act, 1980. It was noted that the Transportation Unit had no objection
to the development in principle subject to agreeing on details of the crossing
with the applicant.
It was considered that the proposal would improve the
visual appearance of the currently dormant site and with 100% of the units
affordable, it would greatly contribute towards the affordable housing needs of
the city. Full consideration had been given to the observations received from
local residents and it was acknowledged that a development of this size would
change the character of the local environment.
Nevertheless, having assessed the current proposal in its entirety, no
substantial harmful impact contrary to local planning policies and relevant
national guidance had been identified.
b) Taking advantage of the right to speak, the
applicant’s agent noted the following points:
·
The proposal was for the
demolition of an existing office building and erection of a new block of 39
one- and two-bedroom flats for adults aged 55+.
·
All of the flats would be
provided as affordable units and developed by the Local Housing Association, Adra.
·
The officer's report
provided a detailed assessment of the application.
·
The local need for this
type of units was high in Bangor with over 130 individuals aged 55+ waiting for
one- or two-bedroom units.
·
The units would be let
using a joint Local Lettings Policy.
·
Residents would be selected
from the Council's housing options list with priority given to residents with a
local connection - it was expected for the units to be occupied by residents
from the Bangor city area.
·
Providing units of this
type would enable local residents aged 55+ to get access to modern
accommodation of high, suitable standard for an affordable rent.
·
At present, a high
percentage of the residents in the Bangor city area under-occupied their
current homes. Following changes to the benefits system, a number of tenants
had suffered as a result of the bedroom tax and, therefore, wanted to move to a
smaller home. Not only would the proposed development help to meet the need for
units for those aged 55+, but it would also release homes that would be more
suitable for families who needed homes in the city.
·
With residents aged 55+, it
was not expected for a high percentage of them to be working and, therefore, it
was likely that traffic movements would be lower than its previous use as an
office. Following detailed discussions with Highway Officers, it was confirmed
that they had no objection on the grounds of highway matters.
·
With the development
already addressing the need for housing for local people living in the city, an
unacceptable impact on the Welsh language was not expected. However, Adra was willing to commit to undertake a linguistic study
after residents had moved into the units, and to find out the true picture in
terms of the language situation.
·
That the planning officers
recommended approving the application - it was hoped that the committee would
support the application to provide social rented housing that were genuinely
needed for local people in the city of Bangor.
c) Taking advantage of the right to speak, the Local
Member made the following points:
·
That a number of Llys Adda residents had
highlighted their concerns to him.
·
A site meeting had been
held with Adra.
·
Many expressed that the
density of 39 flats appeared to be excessive.
·
The area was known for
serious traffic problems.
·
An element of overlooking
affected some Llys Adda
houses.
·
The proposal would have a
negative impact on the amenities of current residents.
·
There were insufficient
parking spaces.
·
That use needed to be made
of the dormant building - a health centre would be better than a residential
centre.
·
Standard affordable homes
were needed but the figures had already been reached in Bangor.
ch) It was proposed
and seconded to approve the application.
d) During the ensuing discussion, the following
observations were made by members:
·
Such a scheme would release
homes for local people - allowing the current tenants of Adra
to move to smaller houses which released homes for families.
·
A similar project in Tywyn had been very successful.
·
The site needed to be
developed.
·
An excellent plan with some
negative elements.
·
Were 4 floors reasonable
considering the age of the tenants? Would it be possible to adapt the plan to
reduce density?
·
The development would add
to traffic problems in the area.
·
The Council had lost an
appeal in the past due to a decision on the impact of traffic on Penrhos Road.
dd) In response to the observations, it was
confirmed that lifts had been included as part of the development plans to
ensure easy access to the floors / flats. It was added that discussions had
been held regarding traffic, but the proposal was unlikely to contribute
towards current problems on Penrhos Road as only a
low number of tenants would go to work.
The Assistant Head of Department added that use of the
site as a busy office in the past had to be considered and that the plan in
question met local needs. It was highlighted that the plan was part of the
Council's Housing Plan vision - accepted that there were concerns about the
size and amenity impact on nearby residents, but these matters had been
assessed in detail.
RESOLVED:
To
delegate powers to the Senior Planning Manager to approve the application,
subject to the following conditions:
1. Five
years.
2. In accordance
with the plans/details submitted with the application.
3. Compliance
with the parking scheme.
4. Compliance
with the landscaping plan along with future maintenance work.
5. Secure a
plan/arrangements to provide the affordable units e.g.
mix, tenure, occupancy criteria, timetable and arrangements to ensure that
units are affordable now and in perpetuity.
6. Compliance
with the recommendations of the Bat Survey Report and the Preliminary
Ecological Assessment.
7. Agree on
details regarding Welsh names for the development before the residential units
are occupied for any purpose along with advertising signage informing and
promoting the development.
8. Working
hours limited to 08:00-18:00 Monday to Friday; 08:00-13:00 Saturday and not at
all on Sunday or Bank Holidays.
9. Condition
to comply with the Lighting Plan submitted with application.
10. Submission
of a Construction Method Statement to include measures to reduce noise, dust
and vibration to be agreed with the LPA.
11. Restrict
the use to prospective occupants aged 55+.
Note:
Need to submit a sustainable drainage system application to be agreed with the
Council.
Supporting documents: