Change of use of the first floor of the building from a 4 bed flat to 5 bed student accommodation together with erection of an extension and external alterations.
LOCAL MEMBER: Councillor Steve Collings
Link to relevant background documents
Minutes:
Change
of use of the building's ground floor from a four bedroom flat to student
accommodation with five bedrooms together with building an extension and
external alterations.
(a) The Senior Development Control Manager
elaborated on the background of the application, noting that the existing building
had been empty following its recent use as a public house with a flat above.
The proposed accommodation would include five bedrooms, two bathrooms and one
open-plan kitchen and dining room, all on the first floor.
Reference
was made to the relevant policies in the report along with the responses to the
consultation.
In
terms of the principle of the development, it was noted that there was no
specific policy in the Unitary Development Plan that dealt with a development
of this type. However, the proposal
complied with the requirements of policy C3 that relate to the use of
previously used sites.
It
was noted that the merits of the application had to be considered against the
current situation, namely continuation of the use of the ground floor and
converting the existing four bedroom living unit into student accommodation
with five bedrooms. Whilst acknowledging
that student accommodation developments were a concern in Bangor, the scale of
this application was considered to be fairly small compared to previous
applications submitted and was therefore unlikely to have a damaging or
significant impact on the student accommodation situation or the city's housing
stock. In order to ensure satisfactory
arrangements for letting the units, a condition may be imposed that
accommodation agreements should be agreed in advance with the Local Planning
Authority.
It
was noted that the existing flat provided four bedrooms,with the intention of
adding one more bedroom and it was unlikely to cause a significant different
impact to the present. It was
considered that the proposal would not be an over-development and would not
have a significant detrimental effect on the residential amenities.
In
terms of transportation and access matters, no objection had been received from
the Transportation Unit regarding road safety and parking provision.
Having
assessed all the relevant planning considerations, the proposal was considered
acceptable and complied with relevant local and national planning policies and
guidelines and it was recommended to approve the application subject to
appropriate conditions.
(b) It was proposed and seconded to approve the
application.
(c)
During
the ensuing discussion, the following points were noted by individual members:
·
That
that it was important to keep an eye on this type of provision and it was felt
that the proposal was oppressive as there would be only one kitchen for five
units and they were packing in more units in order to make profit.
·
were
more student units needed
·
concern
regarding safety in terms of fire safety and exits as no comments had been
received from the fire service / police
·
That
the facility of one kitchen between five units was fairly acceptable, and
regarding fire the upper floor of the building had been regularly used in the
past for concerts for approximately 70 persons.
Resolved:
Approve with conditions
1.
Five years
2.
In accordance with the Flood Consequence Assessment
3.
External finishes to match the existing building
4.
Agreement on the accommodation contracts to include
students only, a public contact point and a restriction on the use of cars.
Welsh
Water Note
Bats
discovered note
Supporting documents: