Residential development
up to 45 dwellings (including affordable dwellings) together with creating a new access, improving
the existing access, provide public open spaces, car parking and landscaping
LOCAL MEMBERS: Councillor
Endaf Cooke and Councillor Roy Owen
Link
to relevant background documents
Minutes:
Residential
development for up to 45 dwellings (including affordable housing) together with
the creation of a new access, upgrading the existing access, provision of
public amenity spaces, parking spaces and landscaping
The
discussion on the above application was chaired by the Vice-chair.
(a)
The
Senior Development Control Officer elaborated on the background of the
application, noting that the application had been deferred at the Committee
meeting held on 26 December 2016, in order to amend the contents of the report
to include Welsh Water's observations. This was an outline application to erect
up to 45 dwellings, including affordable housing on the site of the former Ysgol yr Hendre
site, Caernarfon. Matters such as landscaping,
elevations, plan and scale would be reserved for consideration in a reserved
matters application. The aim was to:
-
build
up to 45 dwellings with nearly 50% being affordable housing. Those houses would
include social rented housing provided by a registered social landlord - CCG in
this case;
-
A new access would be
created off the unclassified county road (Ffordd Eryri) approximately half way down the the
site;
-
Upgrade the existing
access;
-
Provide
public amenity spaces, parking spaces partly within the curtilage of the
dwellings and partly outside to provide community parking and general
landscaping.
It
was noted that the site was located within an established residential area and
within the Caernarfon development boundary as included in the Gwynedd Unitary
Development Plan (GUDP) measuring approximately 1.4 ha, which now comprised of
vegetation together with the foundations of the former primary school.
In the context of relevant planning
considerations, it was reported that the principle of developing this site for
residential dwellings had been based on Policies C1, C3 and CH3 of the GUDP. It
was highlighted that Policy C1 stated that land within town and village
development boundaries and the developed form of rural villages would be the
main focus for new developments. Policy C3 approved proposals that gave
priority, wherever this was feasible, to re-using previously developed land
located within development boundaries provided that the proposal conformed to
all the other relevant policies in the Plan.
It was considered
that the proposal complied with relevant policies and also, took into
consideration the observations of the Council's Housing Strategy Unit (Housing
Options Team) that confirmed that the type of housing proposed as part of this
application, addressed the needs of applicants on the Council's common housing
register.
In the context of
visual amenities, it was noted that the site was located on the outskirts of
established housing estates of various forms, design, plan and size with a
variety of external materials. It was explained that the site was currently
deteriorating in terms of visual amenities and that approving this application
was likely to be a step towards improving the visual amenities in this part of
the town.
It was noted that
residential dwellings were located to the north, south and west of the site.
Although only indicative plans of the location of the proposed houses had been
submitted with the current application, it was possible to reduce any
overlooking, loss of privacy and the creation of oppressive structures (namely
the main objections of nearby residents to the outline application) by
re-designing the setting of some of the proposed houses in order that they did
not cause significant or substantial harm to the amenities of nearby residents.
Although objections had been received regarding disturbance undermining the
amenities of local residents, the Committee was reminded that the site was
located within an established residential area of a high density where domestic
disturbance was already an integral part of the area's character together with
the fact that a school existed on the site in the past. Therefore, it was
deemed that locating up to 45 houses would not significantly disturb neither
the residential nor general amenities of local residents.
It
was reiterated that the latest plans submitted in the context of the estate
road and parking spaces had been amended in accordance with the requirements of
the Transportation Unit and, to this end, the plans complied with the
requirements of highway safety.
In
considering educational matters, reference was made to the relevant document
SPG: Housing Developments and Educational Provision, which offered guidance to
applicants on residential developments along with the cases where the Local
Planning Authority would seek a financial contribution towards local
educational facilities. In relation to this, statistics indicated that the
capacity of Ysgol yr Hendre was 420, and in September 2015 (the academic year
when the application was submitted) it was noted that 345 attended the school
(with the figure likely to increase to 382 for September 2016).
Having considered all relevant matters including the local and national
policies and guidance, as well as all the observations received, it was
highlighted that the proposal was acceptable.
The recommendation to approve the application
with a condition ensuring a provision of affordable housing was amended, as a
106 agreement was not possible as the Council currently owned the site.
(b) Taking advantage of the right to speak, the applicant’s agent noted the
following main points:-
-
It was an outline application for 22 affordable units and 23 units for
the open market
-
The development was a response to the local need for affordable housing
- very long waiting lists at present in Caernarfon's four wards
- The new development would include a variety of houses / units to seek to
meet the need for affordable housing in the town
-
With the open market housing, CCG would look into partnering with local
developers to target the sale of two and three bedroom houses for local people
for a reasonable price
- Relevant
agencies now supported the application
- good news that Welsh Water had withdrawn their concerns about the application
-
CCG in a position to buy the site by the end of the financial year
(c)
The application was
supported by the local member (not a member of this Planning Committee) and he made the following
main points:-
-
The site was currently an eyesore
- He was pleased that bungalows would be provided for the elderly
- The development was a response to long waiting lists
He was grateful to everyone who had worked on
the application
The application was
supported by the local member (a member of this Planning Committee) and he made
the following main points:-
-
There was a need to ensure sufficient boundaries between existing houses
and the new houses
-
A need to raise awareness that there would be an increase in traffic
flow
(ch) It was
proposed and seconded to approve the application.
In
response to an observation that the development had not been included within
the Local Development Plan and consequently, that the number of housing would
add to Gwynedd's total, it was explained that the development was within the development
boundary, and although it had not been designated in the Unitary development
plan, the houses would contribute towards the housing numbers required in
Gwynedd.
In
response to a question regarding control of the 23 houses that would be sold on
the open market, it was noted that these would be open market housing and that
the applicant had stated that he would collaborate with a relevant developer to
provide them for a reasonable price.
In
response to a question regarding the consistency of information in terms of
site size, it was confirmed that the site measured approximately 1.4ha.
In
response to a question regarding imposing a planning condition to provide
affordable housing rather than having a 106 agreement, it was highlighted that
the Council, who owned the land, could not formulate an agreement itself with
them and therefore, a 106 agreement was not an option in this case.
RESOLVED to approve the application.
Conditions:
2. External materials including slate.
3. Landscaping
4. Highways
5. Welsh Water
6. Biodiversity
7. Removal of permitted development rights.
8. Programming archaeological work.
9. Provision
of affordable housing
Supporting documents: