Renewal of planning application reference No.
C08A/0568/24/LL for the erection of 24 dwellings, alterations to a present
entrance and the creation of estate roads
LOCAL
MEMBER: Councillor Aeron Maldwyn Jones
Minutes:
Renewal of planning application number
C08A/0568/24/LL for the erection of 24 dwellings, alterations to an existing
entrance and the creation of estate roads.
Members of the Committee had visited the site
before the meeting.
(a)
The Development Control Manager elaborated on the
background of the application, and members were reminded that an initial
discussion on the application had been held at the Planning Committee meeting
on 19.10.15, when it was decided to conduct a site visit. At that meeting, it was reported that the
capacity of the school in the planning application’s catchment area, namely Ysgol Felinwnda, had increased
based on the results of the Gwynedd school capacity survey during 2014 and that
there was now no requirement for the applicant to make a financial contribution
towards providing additional capacity within the school.
However, after reconsidering the context of all relevant policies and
planning requirements, the Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG): Housing
Developments and Educational Provision states:
‘the
assessment of the effect of a residential development on local schools will be
based on current information (i.e. the capacity of the educational
establishments together with the number of pupils attending them), which
reflects the situation in the academic year when the planning application is
submitted.'
In this case, the relevant academic year was 2013-2014 as the planning
application was submitted in May 2014. It was estimated that 10 children would
derive from this development which meant that there would be a lack of capacity
in the school for three children; therefore, the applicant was required to
ensure a financial contribution towards educational provision in the catchment
area as referred to in the original report submitted to the Planning Committee
in July 2014. The contribution would stand at £36,771.00 for the educational
needs of Ysgol Felinwnda.
In addition, it was noted that the local member had
suggested the possibility of erecting an additional house on the open space of
recreational value included in the proposed development and relocating the
recreational space to another location in the village. It was noted that policy CH43 stated that new
housing developments of 10 or more dwellings, in areas where the existing open
spaces provision would not meet the needs of the proposed housing development,
were expected to provide suitable open spaces of recreational value. In this
case, in order to comply with the requirements of these policies, it was
required to provide an open space of recreational value within this
development rather than in another location within the village.
It was noted that the principle of the development
was acceptable and members were asked to delegate the right to the Senior
Planning Manager to approve the application subject to the applicant signing a
legal agreement under Section 106 relating to ensuring that six of the 24
houses were affordable homes for general local need as well as adding an
educational financial contribution to the 106 Agreement.
Taking advantage of the right to speak, the applicant’s agent noted the following points:-
·
The site had been designated in the unitary
development plan
·
Following discussions, the open space was to remain
within the site
·
No objection to the contribution to the local
school, but a suggestion that the current situation should be considered as
opposed to the date of the application’s submission
(c) The
following main points were made by the local member (not a member of this
Planning Committee):-
·
No objection to the outline application.
·
The affordable houses were acceptable and responded
to local need
·
Appreciated the reconsideration of the education
contribution
·
A suggestion to relocate the recreational space for
it to function as a space for the whole village, or for the developer to
contribute a sum of money to the Community Council to provide a playing field
for the village. Need to agree who was responsible for the recreational space
in relation to safety issues. Propose that discussions should be held with the
developer, officers and local member to seek a recreational space in the
village in accordance with policies.
(ch) In response to the above points, it was noted
that there was no requirement to provide a recreational space which included
play equipment, only an open green space within the estate.
It was proposed and seconded to approve the
application in accordance with the recommendation, but to add a condition that
discussions would take place on the recreational space, and to protect the
natural hedges which were located parallel to the development.
(d) During
the ensuing discussion the following main observations were noted:
·
Suggest discussions regarding the recreational
space
·
Offer a public right of way
·
Consider a phased development
·
Did the recreational space policies address ‘safe
opportunities for children to play’?
(dd) In response to the noted observations, it was
noted that it would be possible to write to the
applicant to confirm the Committee’s wish for the applicant to hold
discussions with the Community Council and Local Member, to be undertaken
outside the planning procedure. It was
confirmed that a condition had been included to address the need for a phased
construction, and in the context of ‘safe opportunities for children to play’,
the suggestion to investigate this further was accepted.
RESOLVED to delegate the
right to the Senior Planning Manager to approve the application subject to the
applicant signing a legal agreement under Section 106 relating to ensuring that
six of the 24 houses are affordable homes for general local need and to
determine the arrangements for the education contribution. The planning
permission would include relevant conditions relating to:
Conditions:
1. Five
years
2. In
accordance with the plans.
3. Natural
slates/external materials.
4. Highway
conditions
5. Natural
Resources Wales
6. Welsh
Water
7. Landscaping
/ agree on a scheme to protect the existing hedges
8. Removal
of permitted rights for the affordable homes
9. Details
of fences/walls
10. Phased development
11. Secure
an open space within the site
Supporting documents: