Outline planning application for 100 dwellings and land for community uses, public open space and landscaping; and access from Dawes Lane.
799
The Committee considered an outline planning application for 100 dwellings and land for community uses, public open space and landscaping and access from Dawes Lane at land at Dawes Lane, West Mersea, Colchester. The application had been referred to the Committee because it was a departure from the Local Plan, substantive objections had been received and a Section 106 agreement was required. The application had also been called in by Councillor Moore
The Committee had before it a report in which all information about the application was set out, together with various written representations which had been presented at the meeting.
The Committee members had been provided with video clips of the site taken by the planning officer to assist in their assessment of the impact of the proposals upon the locality and the suitability of the proposals for the site.
James Ryan, Principal Planning Officer, presented the report and, together with Karen Syrett, Planning and Housing Lead, assisted the Committee in its deliberations. He confirmed that the scheme would contribute to the Council’s five-year housing supply, the site had been considered acceptable in the emerging Local Plan, the argument that the application was premature was not considered to be an acceptable one upon which to base a refusal of the application, given the public benefits the application would deliver. He also confirmed that the scheme had included a transport assessment, the findings of which had been accepted by the Highway Authority. He considered the requests for a tree planting belt of 40 to 50 metres needed to be weighed against the use of the land for public open space purposes but confirmed that the Committee members had the option to require an additional informative or condition to this effect if considered desirable. He also confirmed that the cascade mechanism built into the Section 106 Agreement could be varied by the Committee members if preference towards the Glebe site was considered appropriate.
Various members of the Committee referred to the work undertaken on the West Mersea Neighbourhood Plan and the need for this to be taken into account in some form. In addition, the issue of prematurity was supported, given the current status of the emerging Local Plan and the potential for further consultation to be undertaken, together with concern about the impact of the development on the landscape, the nature of the access road together with the proposals for public open space and the doctors’ surgery.
Other members of the Committee acknowledged the quality of the proposed development, the affordable housing and community amenities that were proposed and the support given to the proposals by the Highway Authority and other statutory consultees. The video clips of the application site circulated to the Committee members prior to the meeting, given the restrictions on site visit arrangements, were welcomed as well as the reassurances given by the case officer that the development was compliant with the policies contained in the emerging Local Plan. As such, the ability of the community to influence the development once the emerging Local Plan had been considered sound was welcomed.
A number of Committee members sought an assurance regarding the screening of the development in respect of the length of time taken to come to maturity and the range of species to be planted. Clarification was also sought in relation to the modifications to the emerging Local Plan required by the Planning Inspector.
The Planning and Housing Lead explained that the Planning Inspector had indicated that Section 1 of the emerging Local Plan could be made sound and, in order to do so, modifications would be required. He had also further confirmed that, following requests from Colchester, Tendring and Braintree Councils, he had started work on the modifications to enable the three Authorities to report to their respective Committees in mid-July 2020 and, in Colchester’s case, this would be on 14 July 2020.
Reference was made, should the application be approved, to the amendment of the Section 106 Agreement to provide for a revised cascade mechanism to enable the distribution of the community funds as determined by West Mersea Town Council and for the screening belt to include a proportion of evergreen species.
The Principal Planning Officer confirmed that the Highway Authority had appraised the transport assessment submitted with the application and had considered it to be acceptable, subject to the inclusion of conditions. He also confirmed that the Council’s landscape adviser had recommended the use of a mix of native species for the tree screening belt which would mature gradually over time and which included evergreen species.
The Planning and Housing Lead explained that, should the application be refused or deferred and be subject to an appeal, it would be determined by an Appeal Inspector who would not wait for the examination of Section 2 of the emerging Local Plan. She acknowledged that the West Mersea Neighbourhood Plan was a considerable piece of work for the community to undertake and that it had not progressed as quickly as the Town Council had hoped. She cautioned the Committee members against the use of prematurity as a ground for refusal or deferment. Whilst acknowledging this argument had been used by the Council in respect of a speculative development in Tiptree, she explained that the Planning Inspector and the Secretary of State considered this argument was not justified and was contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework. She confirmed that the Council’s 15-year housing supply data for Mersea currently included eight units in addition to the Brierley Paddocks site.
The Principal Planning Officer confirmed that the landscaping matters would be dealt with at the reserved matters stage for the application and, as such, an additional informative could be considered by the Committee members to provide for a mix of deciduous and evergreen species to a satisfactory depth and that the cascade mechanism in the Section 106 Agreement could be varied to provide for the community finding to be allocated to the Glebe, followed by the MICA Centre.
RESOLVED (FOUR voted FOR, TWO voted AGAINST and THREE ABSTAINED) that -
(i) The Assistant Director Place and Client Services be authorised to approve the planning application subject to the conditions set out in the report, an additional informative to advise that the landscape buffer screening belt should include a significant proportion of native evergreens and be of sufficient depth to provide effective screening and filtering of views as swiftly as possible and subject to the signing of a legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 within six months from the date of the Committee meeting, to provide for the following:
• Archaeology – £17,553.00 contingent on finds for display;
• Parks and Recreation – £31,992.72 for play equipment, likely to be used for an upgrade of the Wellhouse Farm play space with a request for an outdoor gym and a commuted sum if the Council was to maintain the open space, the legal agreement to include a clause to determine the precise sum when the detail of the open space is finalised at reserved matters stage, based on the following costings:
Rural and/or suburban countryside - £9,430 per hectare for single sites greater than 1 hectare in extent,
Maintenance of sports pitch area - £69,700 per hectare,
Woodland (new planting) - £32,400 per hectare,
Public Open Space, predominantly urban in character - £43,460 per hectare;
• The option of transferring the open space and maintenance fee to West Mersea Town Council if all parties are agreeable;
• Community – £168,652.00 to be spent via a cascade mechanism, with priority going towards the funding of a multi- use community centre at the Glebe but if that is not possible then the contribution to go towards an upgrade of the MICA centre;
• Affordable Housing – contribution to meet the requirements of emerging policy DM12, that is, 95% of affordable housing to be complaint with M4 Cat 2 and 5% of the affordable housing to be compliant with M4 Cat 3 (2) (b);
• NHS – £59,027.00 to expand facilities;
• The gifting to West Mersea Town Council of 0.7hectares of land suitable for community uses/a doctors’ surgery/ community parking or other uses as the Town Council consider fit;
• North Essex Recreational disturbance Avoidance Mitigation Strategy (RAMS): a contribution of £12,558.00 (£125.58 per dwelling) towards mitigation under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017;
(ii) In the event that the legal agreement is not signed within six months from the date of the Planning Committee, the Assistant Director Place and Client Services be authorised, at their discretion, to refuse the application or otherwise be authorised to complete the agreement.