Agenda item
- Meeting of Planning Committee, Monday, 4th March, 2019 1.00 pm (Item 5.1)
- View the declarations of interest for item 5.1
Change of use from annexe to holiday accommodation
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Eirwyn Williams
Minutes:
Change of use from annexe to holiday
accommodation
The Members had visited the site.
(a)
The Development Control Officer elaborated on the
background to the application, and noted that the application had been deferred at the Committee meeting held in December
2018, in order to undertake a site visit. It was highlighted
that the site was located within a residential housing estate in Cricieth. It was noted that the
site consisted of a two-storey residential property with an external
single-storey pitch-roofed building within the curtilage that was currently
used as a games room.
It was reiterated
that an amended floor plan, a Design and Access statement and Business Plan had
been submitted (27.11.2018) as part of the application which
reduced the number of bedrooms from two to one and removed a window that
overlooked the curtilage of the residential property.
It was explained
that pre-application advice had been provided where it had been highlighted in
the response that the proposal was contrary to policies TWR 2 and PCYFF 2 as the proposed unit was located within a mainly
residential area. It was considered that the proposal
would have an unacceptable impact on the amenities of neighbouring residents.
It was highlighted that policy TWR 2 permitted the conversion of outbuildings
to holiday accommodation provided that the development
was of a high quality in terms of design, setting and appearance, and met five
criteria. Since the site was located within the curtilage of a residential
dwelling on a housing estate, it was considered that the proposal did not
comply with point iv of Policy TWR2 - The
development is not located in a mainly residential area, and doesd not cause significant harm to the residential
character of the area. Due to the proximity of the proposal to the
residential dwelling, it was reiterated that it could
not be considered to be of high quality in terms of location. It was also
considered that using this building as a separate unit would mean that the
scale of the development was unacceptable and that each property would
detrimentally impact the other. Therefore, the
proposal did not comply with point ii of Policy TWR2 - That the scale of the proposed
development is appropriate considering the site, location and/or dwelling in
question.
It was considered
that the proposal was also contrary to PCYFF 2 with regards
to securing and protecting the amenities of current and future occupiers
from activities that could cause disturbance to the estate from noise and
movements related to the nature of holiday use.
(b) It
was proposed and seconded to refuse the application.
(c) In response to a question regarding whether
it would be possible to hold further discussions with the applicant to consider
possibilities and amend the plan, it was noted that it
would be difficult to meet criteria TWR2 with the proposal in question. It was reiterated that pre-application advice had been provided
to the applicant where it had been highlighted that the proposal was contrary
to policies.
(ch) In response to a Member’s observation that an annexe for parents
would be acceptable but that a holiday unit would be unacceptable, it was noted
that the main principle in question here was the type of use being considered
and the need to protect residential locations. It was reiterated that the
Planning Service was unable to manage open market housing, but with this type
of proposal it would be possible to manage through
legislation. Approving the proposal could set a precedent for similar
developments to create self-contained accommodation units in a residential
area.
(d) In response to a suggestion to include a 106
agreement on the holiday unit so that both units could not be
sold separately, the Senior Solicitor noted that including a 106
agreement was likely to be challenged for revocation within five years.
(dd) In
response to an observation regarding the need for clarity for the number of
tourist accommodation in Cricieth (70 units and five
self-contained units) compared to a total of 41 (in a statement on the number
of non-domestic rates), it was noted that the Planning Service had consulted
with the Tourism Unit and that it had no reason to disagree with their
observations.
(e) During
the ensuing discussion, the following points were made by members:
·
Competing was not a reason for refusing.
·
The building was the
size of a double garage and, therefore, if approved it could set a dangerous
precedent for others.
RESOLVED
to refuse the application in accordance with the recommendation.
The proposal to convert the existing building within the curtilage into
a self-contained holiday accommodation is unacceptable because of the site's
location within a residential housing estate, and as the Local Planning
Authority has not been satisfied that there is not an excess of this type of
accommodation in the area, which is contrary to criterion iv and v of policy
TWR 2 of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint Local Development Plan 2011-2016. Because of the
building's location and its proximity to the existing residential dwelling on
the site, the proposal cannot be considered to be of
high quality in terms of its location. It is also considered that using this
building within the curtilage as a separate unit would mean that the scale of
the development is unacceptable and that both properties would detrimentally impact the amenities of the other, which is contrary to
criterion ii of policy TWR 2 of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint Local
Development Plan 2011-2026.
The proposal is contrary to the requirements of policy PCYFF 2 of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint Local Development Plan 2011-2026 in terms of securing the amenities of current and future occupiers in relation to safeguarding the amenities of local property occupiers from activities that could cause disturbance to the estate from noise and movements.
Supporting documents: