Agenda item

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report for residential infill comprising 12 residential dwelling houses with associated off-street parking, garden space and external landscaping.

The Principal Planning Officer presented a report for residential infill comprising 12 residential dwelling houses with associated off-street parking, garden space and external landscaping. The application had been considered by Area Planning Sub-Committee South at its meeting on 27 September 2017 and had been referred to this Committee for a decision so that a financial package could be agreed with Officers prior to this meeting; the Officer recommendation to refuse planning permission remained. The Applicant had been requested to submit a validated viability assessment for review by the Council’s own affordable housing consultants. However, the Applicant had refused and instead had made an offer of £372,000 towards affordable housing on a without prejudice basis, despite asserting that the site was not within a settlement and therefore affordable housing was not required.

The Principal Planning Officer stated that the site was an open parcel of land to the north-west of the Lodge. The access road to Woolston Manor formed the south-western boundary of the site, whilst the north-eastern boundary was an avenue leading to a Leisure complex. To the north-west of the site was a building, a former motel, accommodating flats, and the site was off Abridge Road between the village of Abridge to the north-east and Chigwell to the south-west. The site was entirely within the Metropolitan Green Belt, and was situated within an isolated rural location which was distinct from the built-up area of Chigwell.

The Principal Planning Officer reported that Planning Officers had concluded the proposal was contrary to Green Belt policy and did not represent sustainable development. The main material consideration for the application was the absence of a five-year land supply for housing throughout the District as a whole. However, this was not sufficient to outweigh the degree of harm that would be caused to the Metropolitan Green Belt by the development, and therefore no very special circumstances existed in favour of granting the application. In addition, the application would not provide the required affordable housing, and that the Applicant had not provided sufficient evidence or information – as required by the National Planning Policy Framework – to demonstrate that it would be unviable to provide any affordable housing on the site.

The Committee noted the summary of representations received in respect of this application, including support for the application from Chigwell Parish Council. The Committee heard from the Applicant’s Agent before proceeding to debate the application.

Cllr D Stallan expressed concerns that the report was inaccurate and did not contain enough information for the Committee to determine the application. There had been  no reference to the email from the Applicant contending that the site was in Chigwell, nor any mention of the Council requesting a contribution for affordable housing. Cllr Stallan felt that as there was already development in the area with the flats then the site had to be sustainable. In addition, the legal advice stated that the site was in Chigwell.

The Principal Planning Officer responded that the application had been previously considered by Area Planning Sub-Committee South on 27 September 2017, and the second paragraph within the covering report dealt with the issues raised at that meeting in relation to this application. The Council had requested a viability statement for the development but the Applicant had refused to provide one and simply made a unilateral offer of £372,000 for affordable housing instead. The flats at that location were originally granted planning permission as part of the Leisure Complex, and Officers did not believe that the legal advice received was correct; as stated clearly in the report, the site was definitely in the parish of Chigwell but not in the village of Chigwell.

Cllr C C Pond felt that the isolation of the site could be resolved by a footpath to Debden station, but agreed with the Officers that the site was in the Chigwell Parish but not the settlement of Chigwell Village. Cllr C C Pond would also support an archaeological study to be made of the site before any development commenced if the application was approved, but the Councillor supported the Officer recommendation for this application.

Cllr G Chambers pointed out that it took approximately 15 minutes to walk, or 6 minutes to cycle, to the nearby Nuffield Gymnasium from Debden station. The Councillor felt that this application should be granted planning permission as it would provide much needed housing for the area. The Chairman of the Committee felt that the application should be considered in a practical manner; there would be little or no effect from the development occurring next to the existing flats, a contribution towards affordable housing would be received from the Developer, and there was support for the application from local residents and the Parish Council. Therefore, the application should be granted planning permission.

The Officer recommendation to refuse planning permission for this application was lost on a vote by the Committee.

Cllr J Knapman proposed that the application be granted planning permission and the special circumstances to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt was that it was a sustainable, in-fill development on a previously developed site, the Council had failed to prepare a five-year land supply for housing, and the application met the aim of the Local Plan by building a small-scale development on the edge of an existing community. Cllr G Chambers seconded the proposal. The Principal Planning Officer listed a number of conditions to be agreed for the application if planning permission was granted, and reiterated that it was the opinion of Planning Officers this was not an in-fill site.

The proposal to grant planning permission for this application was also lost on a vote by the Committee.

Cllr J Knapman proposed that the application be referred to the Council for a decision; this was seconded by Cllr D Stallan.

Decision:

(1)        That planning application EPF/1390/17 at the Lodge in Woolston Manor. Abridge Road, Chigwell be referred to the Council with the Officer recommendation for planning permission to be refused.