Agenda item

Erection of a three-storey storage unit, with an office block and mezzanine, and link to existing building.

LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Craig ab Iago

Link to relevant background documents

 

DECISION: To approve subject to conditions -

 

1.    Five years

2.    In accordance with the plans

3.    Materials

4.    Language mitigation measures (signage, correspondence, etc.)

 

Erection of a three-storey storage unit, with an office block and mezzanine, and link to existing building.

Attention was drawn to the late observations form.

 

a)    The Planning Manager highlighted that it was a full application to erect a three-storey storage unit, with an office block and mezzanine, and side extension to link the proposed building to the adjacent existing building.  The proposed building would be split into two sections - the main three-storey building for storage and the substantially smaller second section for a small kitchen, visiting room and an office on the first floor. The building would measure 34 metres in length, 15.5 metres in width and 11 metres high.

 

It was reported that Policy PCYFF 3 stated that proposals, including extensions and alterations to existing buildings and structures, would be permitted provided they conformed to a number of criteria including that the proposal complemented or enhanced the character of the site, the building or the area in terms of siting, appearance, scale, height, massing and elevation treatment; that it respected the context of the site and its place within the local landscape.

 

It was highlighted that the proposal entailed the erection of a building of substantial size and height on the western outskirts of an industrial estate on a site between two buildings and near a boundary clawdd with the adjacent trunk road. It was explained that plans submitted with the application indicated that the building would be substantially higher than the nearby buildings and boundary clawdd and, therefore, it would create a high, prominent and incompatible feature from the trunk road to the detriment of the area's visual amenities.

 

It was accepted that elements of the existing buildings nearby were visible from the Penygroes bypass but the height and scale of the proposed building would stand out as an inconsistent feature in the development pattern and draw attention, and substantially add, to the man-made features that were visible from that road. Although the site formed part of the industrial estate, it was highlighted that the site abutted with open countryside where the landscape was much more sensitive to change. 

 

Due to their size, height and scale, it was noted that existing buildings were screened by existing clawdd and vegetation; however, the vegetation was mainly deciduous plants and, therefore, the building would be much more prominent in the winter.

 

In the context of matters relating to the Welsh Language, it was noted that the applicant was not requested to prepare and submit such a statement as it would not change the views of the Planning Service in terms of the visual impact. However, without an appropriate assessment, it was not possible to assess the impact of the proposal on the language.

 

Having considered the proposal in the context of relevant policies it was deemed that the proposal was not acceptable for approval. Due to its scale and size, it was considered that the building would be an incompatible addition that would have a significant negative impact on the appearance and character of the area (which was contrary to Policies PCYFF2, PCYFF3, PCYFF4 and PS 19). The proposal was also contrary to policy PS 1 of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Joint Local Development Plan (LDP) as it was not possible to assess the impact of the development on the language. 

 

b)    Taking advantage of the right to speak, the Local Member made the following points:

·         He supported the application

·         The application addressed economic (created jobs locally), environmental (intention to improve the building and utilise a carbon neutral ethos) and social (supported local enterprises) matters

·         No linguistic statement as the company already existed and employed Welsh-speakers

·         The proposal was located in an industrial estate

·         The company was part of a local litter-tackling initiative in an attempt to have a tidy industrial estate

·         The application responded to the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act

·         It was a matter of opinion - the proposal would only be visible from the bypass

·         It would not deteriorate the view - it was possible to plant trees in the space between the road and the building

·         The application concurred with policies

·         That a nearby building was higher

·         The 'site' abutted with the countryside and not this building alone

·         Encouraged the committee to approve

 

In response to the Local Member’s observations, the Planning Manager noted that she agreed that some elements of the application were a 'matter of opinion'; however, she added that two additional full-time posts would be created and, therefore, it was not possible to emphasise the economic argument. In addition, 'street view' was used so that members could see the location of the proposal and its proximity to the bypass.

 

c)    It was proposed and seconded to approve the application, contrary to the recommendation, as the proposal was located in an industrial estate and, therefore, it was not considered that there was a visual impact on the amenities of the local area. A suggestion was made to impose a landscaping / tree planting condition.

 

In response to the proposal, the Monitoring Officer noted that he accepted the reason that there would be no visual impact as a reason to consider approving the application; however, ownership boundaries needed to be considered and how to deal with this in order to impose a landscaping condition. The Planning Manager added that planting trees and landscaping would not make much difference if the application was approved and that agreeing on finished colour and design would be more important.

 

In response, the proposer and seconder agreed to propose approving the application for the reason that there would be no visual impact on the amenities of the local area.

 

            DECISION: To approve subject to conditions -

 

1.    Five years

2.    In accordance with the plans

3.    Materials

4.    Language mitigation measures (signage, correspondence, etc.)