Application for the demolition of existing building providing 7 self contained units and provision of access and associated parking.
Local Member: Councillor Jean Forsyth
Minutes:
Application to demolish existing building
together with the construction of a four-storey building which provides seven
self-contained living units and the provision of an access and associated
parking.
(a)
The
Development Control Manager elaborated on the background of the application,
and noted that the site was on the lowest part of Bangor High Street and within
the development boundary of the city. It was noted that the existing site was
described in relation to its use as the applicant's roofing business centre
with the building being used as offices and the yard to the rear was used to
park vehicles and to store materials and equipment.
Reference was
made to the relevant policies along with the public consultations and attention
was drawn to the information submitted by the Agent on the additional
observations sheet that had been distributed to the Committee.
In terms of
visual amenities, it was noted that the site was located in a relatively
prominent location, adjacent to the lowest part of Bangor High Street with the
site surrounded by buildings of various size, design and appearance which had a
mainly residential use.
It was noted
that it would be inevitable that any development on the site would be likely to
have some impact on the area’s visual amenities but the proposal in this case
would see a difference of approximately 6 additional metres in height compared
with the height of the existing building.
It was noted
that the success of developing the site depended on full consideration of the
impact of any building on existing views, including the adjacent listed
buildings, it was considered that it was possible to create a suitable and
striking building that would not dominate the streetscape of the adjacent
listed buildings, but it was not believed that this had been achieved in this
case.
Attention was
drawn to the fact that the building to be demolished was attached to a part of
the gable end and front elevation of 1, Friars Terrace, which formed part of a
row of three striking grade II listed buildings. A separate application had
been submitted for listed building permission to undertake this work.
The Senior
Conservation Officer stated that Friars Terrace and Plas
Meuryn were traditional buildings in appearance, and
the new development would be completely modern.
It was considered that the proposal was too large for the site and that
it would not add to the value and character of the listed terrace, but would
rather undermine the current character.
Erecting a new four-storey building would dominate the site and would
have a detrimental impact on the character and setting of the adjacent listed
terrace.
Based on all
considerations, it was noted that the principle of the development was not
unacceptable, but significant amendments needed to be made in terms of the
design and scale of the building in order to create a plan which was suitable
and acceptable for this specific site and which responded to officers’
concerns. Therefore, it was considered
that the proposal was unacceptable as it did not comply with the requirements
of local and national policies and guidelines.
(b)
It
was understood that the local member supported the recommendation of the
planning officers to refuse the application.
(c)
The
recommendation was proposed and seconded.
RESOLVED: To
refuse for the following reasons:-
1.
The proposal is contrary to all the requirements of
Policies B22, B23 and B25 of the GUDP as the design
does not incorporate good design principles while using methods consistent with
the nature, design and scale of the development.
2.
The proposal, due to its design, size, height, scale, form
and location next to the listed buildings would appear an incongruous feature
and would have a detrimental impact on
the appearance, character and setting of the historical
site. The proposal is therefore contrary to policies B2 and B3 of the Gwynedd Unitary Development Plan and
advice within chapter 6 of Planning Policy Wales and paragraph 11 of the Welsh
Office circular 61/96 which
states that proposals should not cause significant harm to the architectural or
special historic character of listed buildings or their settings.
Supporting documents: