Agenda item

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report for full planning permission to redevelop site with enabling residential development to provide 9 residential units together with associated car parking, open space and refuse and recycling facilities (enabling development for linked application EPF/2517/14) (DEV-007-2015/16).

The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Control) presented a report regarding the redevelopment of the site at Foster Street Farm in Foster Street to provide 9 residential units together with associated car parking, open space, refuse and recycling facilities. This was an enabling development for the linked applications EPF/2517/14 and EPF/2518/14, as the approval of the two residential schemes would fund and enable the relocation of C J Pryor to an expanded site at Harlow Gateway South.

The Assistant Director stated that the application site was on the northern side of Foster Street and was part of a small development compromising commercial sites and approximately 50 residential sites. The site contained a large former agricultural building and various smaller storage buildings, with residential properties to the east and south of the site and open land to the north and west. There was a single access road to Foster Street and the site was within the Green Belt.

The Assistant Director reported that the proposal sought permission for two 3-bed, five 4-bed and two 5-bed properties to erected. The dwellings would all be two-storeys in height, and although the original plans had included three-storey dwellings these had been amended to lower the height of the buildings. A pair of semi-detached and a single dwelling would front Foster Street, with a linear development of detached dwellings to the rear of these. A small pond would be sited in the south east of the site and the site access would be relocated to allow for better visibility.

The Assistant Director informed the Committee that the main issues concerning this application were the principle of the development as the site was located within the Green Belt and was previously developed land; the very special circumstances for development with the Green Belt put forward by the applicant for the three linked applications; whether the location was sustainable for this development as it was a small rural hamlet; the highways issues relating to the development; the visual impact of the development on the area; the potential loss of amenity for the existing residential properties in the area; and the ecological impacts of the proposed development. Other matters considered for this development included flooding, contamination and the collection of waste from the proposed residential dwellings.

Planning Officers had concluded that the proposed development would not result in any greater harm to the openness of the Green Belt and would not cause any significantly greater impact on the character and appearance of this rural area. There would be no perceptible increase in vehicle movements and the relocation of the access road would improve highway safety. The loss of amenity to existing properties would not be excessive, and there were some amenity benefits to the local area from this development. Adequate parking and private amenity space had been provided, and the small scale of the proposed development was sufficient in respect of sustainability. The proposal complied with the National Planning Policy Framework and the relevant Local Plan policies, and was therefore recommended for approval.

The Assistant Director added that this application, along with the two linked and enabling applications, were originally considered by Area Plans Sub-Committee East at its meeting on 13 May 2015. However, all three applications were referred directly to this Committee without discussion.

The Committee noted the summary of representations. Twelve letters in support of the application had been received, including the local Member of Parliament and six employees of C J Pryor; nine letters of objection had been received, including North Weald Bassett Parish Council. Harlow District Council had no objection to the development. The Committee heard from an objector, the Parish Council and the Applicant’s Agent. Both the objector and Parish Council stated that they had not seen the amended plans, only the original plans, and it was suggested to the Committee that the application be deferred to allow the stakeholders to study the revised plans for the development. The Committee proceeded to debate the application.

The Committee expressed discomfort about having to determine this application when the proper stakeholders had not had sight of the revised plans, and it was felt that the Parish Council as a statutory consultee and the local residents should have been properly consulted. The Assistant Director acknowledged that the revised plans had not been circulated for consultation, but the site area was the same and the proposed dwellings were in approximately the same position, but the 3-storey houses originally proposed had been changed to 2-storey houses and the appearance of the residential units had been amended. The advice from the Council’s Legal Officers was that the Committee could determine the application as the plans had not been sufficiently radically altered, and if the application was deferred then it could lead to a planning appeal on the grounds of non-determination.

The Committee noted the comments of the Assistant Director and the legal advice, but felt that this application – along with the two other linked applications – should be deferred pending proper consultation with the Parish Council and local residents over the revised plans.

Resolved:

(1)        That the consideration of planning application EPF/2516/14 at Foster Street Farm in Foster Street, along with the two linked enabling applications EPF/2517/14 at Harlow Gateway South in London Road and EPF/2518/14 at Cecil House in Foster Street, be deferred until the next meeting of the Committee scheduled for 5 August 2015 pending proper consultation with the statutory consultees, including local residents and North Weald Bassett Parish Council, over the revised plans for this application.