Full application
for a new residential development of 14 dwellings to include associated service
road and footpath, parking, landscaping and foul drainage pumping station
LOCAL MEMBER:
Councillor Dylan Bullard
Decision:
DECISION
To delegate the right for the
Assistant Head of Department to approve the application, subject to completing
a Section 106 Agreement to secure a financial contribution towards play areas
and to ensure provision of four affordable dwellings. Also,
conditions involving the following should be implemented:
1. Timescales
2. In accordance with the approved plans.
3. Permitted development restriction on the affordable
dwellings.
4. Materials
5. Welsh Water / SUDS
6. Construction times
7. Finished floor levels
8. Privacy screens for balconies on plots 5 and 10
9. Highways access conditions
10. Landscaping
11. Protecting trees
12. Archaeological investigation
13. Welsh language
mitigation measures – to advertise the site, names of the estate and the houses
For information: SUDS
Minutes:
Attention was drawn to the
late observations form.
a)
The Development Control Team Leader highlighted that the application was a
full
application to construct 14 two-storey dwellings, with four of them as
affordable homes. The site was located to the north of Pwllheli
above the town centre in an area known as Denio.
Although the site was located within the defined development boundary of Pwllheli, the existing development density is lower than
the rest of the town. It was explained that Pwllheli
was identified as an Urban Service Centre under policy TAI 1 of the LDP, which
encouraged a higher proportion of new developments within urban centres by
means of housing designations and windfall sites. When adopting the LDP, the
site was allocated for 14 units, therefore, the
application met the requirements of policy TAI 1.
It was
reported that the applicant had submitted the open market value of the
dwellings to show that a suitable discount could be applied to ensure they
remained affordable in perpetuity. Having assessed the
figures in consultation with the Housing Department, it
was agreed to give a 40% discount when preparing a section 106 agreement.
In
the context of open spaces, it was noted that Policy
ISA 5 of the LDP required new housing proposals for 10 or more new houses in
areas where existing open spaces could not satisfy the needs of the proposed
housing development to provide a suitable provision of open spaces. In exceptional circumstances, where it was not possible to provide
an outdoor play area as an integral part of a new housing development, the
developer would be required to provide suitable provision off the site; a site
that is accessible and close to the development in terms of walking or cycling
distance or, where this was not practically possible, to make a financial
contribution towards new facilities including equipment, improving existing
facilities on sites with access or improve access to existing open spaces.
It
was highlighted that the application did not include
the provision of an open / play area on the site but that the plan provided the
number of anticipated dwellings in accordance with the site allocation. Having assessed the plan, it was
not unreasonable that there was no provision on the site and after using the
formula within the SPG Open Spaces in New Housing Developments, the Joint
Planning Policy Unit had calculated a financial contribution of £5855.71
towards provision off the site. A discussion was held with
the applicant and it was agreed that the contribution would be ensured via a
section 106 agreement.
In the context of a linguistic impact, although there
was no need to submit a formal statement, consideration should still be given
to the Welsh language in accordance with the guidance in Appendix 5 of the
'Maintaining and Creating Distinctive and Sustainable Communities' SPG. It was
highlighted that the applicant had considered the Welsh language and
that the application complied with the requirements of section 'CH', Appendix 5
of the SPG. However, the information submitted did not comply in full with the
requirements of criteria 4 and 5 of policy PS 1 in terms of signage, street names
and house names. Compliance with the policy could be ensured
by imposing a condition to ensure that details on marketing materials were in
Welsh or bilingual and that the names of the estate and the houses were Welsh
names.
In the context of highway impacts, attention was drawn to the concerns of local residents regarding the
impact of the proposal on the local roads network, considering other
developments that had been approved, existing movements made in relation to
existing houses and the Coleg Meirion Dwyfor site nearby. In response, to improve road safety and
visibility for vehicles using the site, it was noted
that the proposal included the provision of a footpath from the estate access,
along the boundary to the south-west along the road junction that extended
downwards towards Allt Salem. It was considered
that this would prevent collisions between vehicles and pedestrians and would
give sufficient visibility of all directions to pedestrians.
It was recognised that the site stood alone and away
from the town centre and that there was no public
footpath (pavement) between the site and the town. However, it was considered that the lack of a footway was a
well-established feature between the site and the town, as well as the areas of
Penrallt and Denio in
general. Additionally, traffic calming measures to
keep traffic speeds low and appropriate were already in place.
Having considered all the
relevant matters, including local and national policies and guidance, as well
as the observations received during the consultation period, it was deemed that the proposal was acceptable.
b) Taking advantage of the right to speak, the
applicant noted the following points:
·
Discussions had been held
over the past nine months to carefully discuss the planning and transport
matters before the application was submitted to the committee.
·
The officer's report highlighted that attention had been given to every planning matter and any concerns
from neighbouring residents.
·
A local company that was run
by a father and son –who lived in Pwllheli, and
supported local houses for young local people.
·
Over the years, the company had constructed 39 houses
with 36 of them sold to Welsh-speaking local residents. 30
of these houses were affordable homes sold to a housing association or sold
privately under a 106 agreement. This meant that +90% of their homes had been sold to local residents.
·
It was not possible to make all of the houses
affordable due to costs, land price etc. In an attempt to sell the houses to families
in the area, they marketed the new houses locally for the first three months
before starting to market them via an agent or on-line. He explained that this
gave priority to local residents.
·
Accepted that some of their house prices were out of
the reach of young buyers, but by marketing locally it
would be possible to sell to someone searching for their second or third
purchase, which would release a terraced house for an affordable price to a
young person.
·
James Lloyd Developers was
a local company, constructed houses for local people and employed local people.
c) It was proposed and seconded to approve the
application.
ch) During
the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by Members:
·
Welcomed affordable homes
but access to the houses raised a concern.
·
An increase of 14 houses doubled the number of
dwellings in the area and, therefore, created traffic problems.
·
Needed to create a safe road for pedestrians and
drivers.
·
Urged the Transportation Department to consider a way
to tackle the problem.
·
Housing for local people needed.
·
The site had
been earmarked for housing in the Local Development Plan.
·
The marketing plan was
impressive.
·
Condition was needed for an open space.
·
Advance discussions had
been advantageous.
d) In response to concerns about public safety along the road, the Senior
Development Control Engineer accepted that the road was very narrow from the
town to the Denio area. He added that traffic speed
restrictions had been imposed and that there were
speed humps along the road. Installing a pavement would narrow the road, which
would lead to having to consider measures such as installing traffic lights or
creating a one-way system.
The Assistant Head of
Planning and the Environment Department added that transport matters had been submitted during the period of consulting on and
establishing the Local Development Plan.
RESOLVED
To delegate the
right for the Assistant Head of Department to approve the application, subject
to completing a Section 106 Agreement to secure a financial contribution
towards play areas and to ensure provision of four affordable dwellings. Also, conditions involving the following should be
implemented:
1. Timescales
2. In accordance with the approved plans.
3. Permitted development restriction on
the affordable dwellings.
4. Materials.
5. Welsh Water / SUDS
6. Construction times
7. Finished floor levels
8. Privacy screens for balconies on plots
5 and 10
9. Highways access conditions
10. Landscaping.
11. Protecting trees
12. Archaeological investigation
13. Welsh language mitigation
measures - to advertise the site, names of the estate and the houses
For
information: SUDS
Supporting documents: