9 Application No C21/0431/45/LL Black Lion, Lôn Abererch, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 5LE PDF 52 KB
Demolition
of existing public house and the erection of six houses
LOCAL
MEMBER: Councillor Dylan Bullard
Additional documents:
Decision:
DECISION: To refuse
Reasons:
1. In considering the scale, design and number
of proposed dwellings, it is not considered that the development would be
suitable for the site and that its appearance would be unacceptable in the
local area. In addition, given the
narrow nature of the site, the number of units included in the plan and the
lack of amenity space associated with the individual houses, it is believed
that it would be an over-development of the site and harmful to residential
amenities. Therefore, it is considered that the proposal is contrary to the
relevant requirements of policies PCYFF 2 and PCYFF 3 of the Anglesey and
Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan.
2. On the grounds of the lack of suitable housing mix along with an
insufficient provision of affordable housing it is believed that the proposal
is unable to meet the requirements of policies TAI 8 and TAI 15 of the Anglesey
and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan, along with the relevant advice given
within the 'Affordable Housing' and 'Housing Mix' Supplementary Planning
Guidance.
3. It is not believed that the applicant has
submitted enough information to assess whether the proposal meets the
requirements of criterion 1c of Policy PS1 of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint
Local Development Plan that requires a Welsh Language statement to demonstrate
how the proposed developments would protect, promote and strengthen the Welsh
language. On this basis, the Local
Planning Authority has not been convinced that the proposal would not have a
negative effect on the Welsh language in the plan area.
4. It is not believed that sufficient
information has been submitted to justify the loss of the public house facility
on the grounds of the relevant requirements of policy ISA 2 C of the Anglesey
and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan together with Supplementary Planning
Guidance: "Change of use of community facilities, employment sites and
retail units"; that note the need to confirm, via evidence, that there
have been efforts made to market the site.
Minutes:
Demolition of existing public house and erection of
six dwellings
Attention was drawn to
the late observations form.
a) The Planning Manager highlighted that this was a full
application to demolish an existing two-storey public house and build 6 two or three bedroom houses in a terrace.
It was explained that the
site was located within the development boundary of the town of Pwllheli as
noted in the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan and that the
principle of the development was being considered against Policy PCYFF 1 ('Development
Boundaries'), Policy PS 5 (Sustainable Development), Policy TAI 1 (Houses in
the sub-regional centre and urban service centres), and Policy TAI 15
('Affordable Housing Threshold and Distribution'). In the context of policy
PCYFF 1, it was considered that the proposal was acceptable in principle due to
the site's location within an existing development boundary and similarly, that
policy PS 5 encouraged developments on previously developed sites.
Nevertheless, as the
settlement had seen its expected level of growth, through units being completed
in the period between 2011 and 2021, developing units in the existing land bank
and developing the sites designated for housing, justification was needed for
the application, outlining how the proposal would address the needs of the
local community. Every applicant submitting a planning application for 5 or
more housing units, must submit a Housing Statement to support their planning
application in accordance with the methodology outlined in Appendix 2 of the
SPG Housing Mix: It was not considered
that the information submitted as a part of this application was sufficient to
show clearly that the development in question met a specific need within the
local community.
It was explained that Policy TAI 15 of the LDP stated that Councils will seek to ensure an appropriate level of affordable housing in the plan area, and it was noted that for Pwllheli, the threshold for the need for such a provision was two or more housing units. As the proposed development proposed an increase of 6 units, it corresponded with the threshold of policy TAI 15 for making an affordable housing contribution. As Pwllheli was located in the 'Larger Coastal Settlements' Housing Price Area in the LDP, it was noted that providing 30% of affordable housing would be viable - this equated to 1.8 units in this development. It was highlighted that one unit was proposed in the application as an affordable unit and so a commuted sum to the value of 0.8 of a house would be expected to meet the policy requirement. It was reiterated that if the applicant was of the opinion that it was not viable to provide the expected affordable element here, it would be their responsibility to clearly highlight on an assessment proforma, the viability of the circumstances that justify the lower affordable housing provision. Nevertheless, it was reported that the applicant had not submitted information in terms of considerations that related to the viability of the development and whether providing the expected affordable ... view the full minutes text for item 9