Agenda item

Outline Planning Permission, with all matters reserved except means of access, for; up to 42 residential dwellings; open space and landscaping; roads, parking and new access off Box Road; SuDS; and associated ancillary and infrastructure works.

The Senior Planning Officer introduced the proposal which she confirmed was an outline application with all matters reserved except for access. The application was seeking in principle approval for up to 42 dwellings, including 30% affordable housing, and the provision of a car park for users of Cam and Dursley Railway Station. It is the last undeveloped site along Box Road which does not benefit from allocation in the Local Plan or implementable permission for development. It is therefore outside the residential settlement boundary and contrary to the Local Plan. However, given the quantum of recent applications for residential and mixed-use developments around the site and their outcomes, the LPA has concluded that the location of this site is acceptable and sustainable for residential development.

The Senior Planning Officer noted that there had been significant public concerns raised about traffic, car parking and flooding relating to this application. She explained that the LPA relies on the technical knowledge of the Highways Authority to form an assessment on traffic issues and is content that the Box Road could take the additional traffic generated as a result of this development. The LPA has negotiated with the developers to secure a railway overspill car park on the site providing 19 vehicle spaces to help alleviate on street parking issues. The Gloucestershire LLFA had rejected the original drainage scheme of infiltration for the site but considered the resubmitted pump scheme to be a viable strategy.

The Senior Planning Officer requested that three standard biodiversity conditions be added to the permission should it be approved. These are:

1. Standard CEMP condition

2. Ecological design strategy to be submitted at REM stage

3. Lighting Strategy to be submitted.

Councillor Tomblin, as Ward Councillor for Cam West, joined the meeting and raised the following issues:

1. More information on the scheme to address flooding on the site would be important

2. As raised by the Parish Council, it is likely that 1.5 parking spaces per household on this site will be insufficient and it is therefore likely that residents would use the 19 additional spaces provided for railway users. She suggested that consideration be given to providing exclusive access to the overflow car park from the station car park.

3. Further consideration needs to be given to suggested widening works on the Box Road junction and to the general deterioration of the surface of the road.

4. Concerns about the safety of pedestrians on Box Road given the configuration of footpaths.

5. If the outline application is approved, a request for the LPA to consult with the Parish Council on the design and layout of the development prior to agreement.

Stewart Angell joined the meeting to speak on behalf of Cam Parish Council and raised the following points:

1. Access to the additional parking spaces, by road and by foot, should be from the station car park only to ensure they are used by train station users.

2. Concern that two parking spaces per home had been provided for other adjacent residential developments but not this one.

3. A request for more information on the mitigation to be put in place for the traffic issues which would be exacerbated as a result of this development.

Stephen Hawley, GCC Highway Team Leader, explained that a number of the issues raised by Councillor Tomblin were not related to the outline planning application under consideration. Highway maintenance and car parking were Reserved Matters whilst traffic calming and widening works were consented schemes outside the proposal. The number of parking spaces per home would be appraised as part of the Reserved Matters application based on local ward data to ensure that it is evidence led. Stephen Hawley further explained that, in relation to wider mitigation the applicant had provided a transport assessment, and in a sustainable location with good transport links, the provision of 42 houses was relatively modest in the context of background traffic flows and of existing consented developments. No further specific off-site mitigation would be required to address this.

The Senior Planning Officer clarified that, at the Reserved Matters stage, Cam Parish Council would be consulted on the design and layout of the site as the LPA is legally obliged to consult on all applications. She confirmed that access to the overspill car park would be provided under the section 106 agreement and discussion could take place at that stage on whether it should be segregated from the remainder of the built development.

Nick Freer, speaking in support of the application on behalf of the developers, joined the meeting and highlighted the following points:

1. Amendments had been made to the application in response to concerns from local residents including the provision of at least 19 additional parking spaces. The owners of the site wish to ensure that access to the station car park is possible from the application site, but would also wish to explore management options to ensure that the additional spaces are not used for residential parking.

2. Following extensive discussion with the LLFA a drainage scheme utilising a pump solution had now been agreed as a viable strategy.

3. The application proposes a policy compliant scheme with the inclusion of 30% affordable housing.

4. The site is at the heart of a location which is planned and accepted as a focus for sustainable growth.

Councillor Clifton asked whether any thought had been given to the impact of noise from the railway line on this development.

The Senior Planning Officer noted that the site would be the closest development to the railway station but other housing was planned next to the railway line itself. At Reserved Matters stage, details of landscaping would be required to separate the development further. No objection regarding noise had been received from the Environmental Health Officer who had confirmed that properties in those locations are acceptable.

Councillor Jones asked for confirmation, and supporting evidence, that discharge from the site into the River Cam would not cause issues further down the river. The Senior Planning Officer confirmed that evidence was not available at this stage as only a strategy is presented in an outline application, but that technical details would be required at Reserved Matters stage as part of the conditions imposed. The Major & Environment Team Manager clarified that the technical details would have to be at green field and climate change levels so there is an attenuation scheme to hold water on site and release it slowly. Consequently, it was unlikely that any issues would be caused elsewhere.

Councillor Jones reiterated the importance of putting a robust scheme in place to ensure that the Cam can take the additional capacity as it floods on a regular basis. He further asked how hydrocarbons would be handled within the drainage strategy proposed.

The Senior Planning Officer explained that the LLFA is very aware of the drainage issues on the site but the outcome is one of the consequences of the site being the last development going through the planning process. Whilst an integrated approach would have been preferable, with all developments along Box Road at different stages in the planning process, it has not been possible to broker such a scheme.

Councillor Clifton asked whether it was a requirement for applications to include 2 parking spaces per home or the 1.5 spaces referred to in discussion of this application.

The Senior Planning Officer confirmed that the number of spaces being proposed for the application would be submitted at the Reserved Matters stage. The Head of Development Management clarified that the Local Plan states 1.5 spaces per home and that is the policy. Any final decision would have to consider the form and nature of the scheme proposed.

The substantive Motion, in accordance with the Officer’s recommendation to permit, with the addition of the three standard biodiversity conditions previously detailed, and agreement that the management of the overspill car park to ensure it is not used by residents should be included in the Section 106 agreement, was proposed by Councillor Cooper, seconded by Councillor Kay, and debated.

On being put to the vote it was carried, with 7 votes for and 1 against.

RESOLVED    To GRANT planning permission for Application S.18/2697/OUT subject to a S106 agreement