Agenda item

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report for the proposed demolition of existing outbuildings and erection of one new dwelling (DEV-016-2016/17).

The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) presented a report for the proposed demolition of existing outbuildings and erection of one new dwelling on land adjacent to The Brewhouse in Church Lane, Ongar. The application had been considered by Area Planning Sub-Committee East on 5 October 2016 and granted permission, but four Members of the Sub-Committee stood to refer the application to this Committee under the Minority Reference Rules within the Constitution (Part4, Rule M2 refers).

The Assistant Director reported that the site was part of a property known as The Brewhouse, which was accessed by Church Lane. At the northern end of the site was a building with an open front facing south, constructed of breeze block with a flat metal surfaced roof and three windows to the rear facing north. This building faced on to an enclosed yard, with a wall 2.5 metres in height along the eastern side, a hedge along the western side, and three further buildings along the southern side. On the other side of the hedge was a track leading from Greensted Road to Lavender Farm, part of which was the Essex Way public footpath. The site sloped from south to north and was within the Metropolitan Green Belt. In the vicinity of the site were three listed buildings, of which one – Greensted Hall – was a grade II listed building.

The Assistant Director added that the proposed dwelling would face north and have a chalet bungalow character to its appearance. The front elevation would have one full storey and roof accommodation, with the forward projecting bay appearing to be above ground, whereas the accommodation set further back would be at basement level, terraced into the slope of the ground. This would give the appearance of a one-and-a-half storey building with a detached outbuilding to the front, and the footprint would resemble an inverted ‘L’. The main element of the proposed building would appear as a flank wall and would have two windows facing the footpath. The ridge of the gable roof would have an average height of 6.5 metres as seen from the footpath.

The Assistant Director stated that Planning Officers had concluded the site, although within the Metropolitan Green Belt, was previously developed land and the proposal would result in a 15% reduction in volume and a 50% reduction in the built form footprint. The application complied with all the relevant Local Plan Policies and Government Guidance, and was therefore recommended for approval.

The Assistant Director informed the Committee that, since the publication of the agenda, four additional letters of objection had been received from The Old Rectory Greensted Road, Wren Cottage Greensted Road, The Granary Church Lane and Church Barn Church Lane, as well as a Statement of Truth. The Statement asserted that one of the restrictive covenants on the site prevented any commercial or business activity other than that of Market Gardener, Doctor, Dentist, Solicitor or Architect, and not for any purpose other than as a private residence in the occupation of one family. The Statement also claimed that there had been no commercial or business activity on the site since 2000. The Committee were reminded that restrictive covenants were not a planning issue. In addition, it transpired that Greensted Hall Management Limited did not object to the application; their objection was made by one individual on the management committee and not all of the other individuals objected to the application.

The Committee noted the summary of representations received in relation to this application, including Ongar Town Council who had strongly objected to the application. There were seven letters of objection received, including from the West Essex Ramblers, and a further letter outlining concerns with the proposal. Following the initial consideration of the application at Area Planning Sub-Committee East on 5 October 2016, another two letters of objection from nearby residents had been received plus an additional letter from the Coach House, Greensted Hall who had initially objected to the application. The Committee heard from an Objector, the Town Council and the Applicant’s Agent before proceeding to debate the application.

Cllr Waller commented that this was an important and sensitive historical site, and highlighted the comments from Historic England that the application should be determined in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) following advice from the Council’s Conservation Officer. The report had indicated that the Conservation Officer had no objection to the application and had recommended conditions to be applied, whilst if paragraph 134 of the NPPF was considered then the removal of the existing outbuildings would clearly improve the setting of the listed building and the application would not be substantially harmful to it.

Other Members felt that the design of the proposal was sympathetic to the surroundings, and there could have been a much bigger development proposed for the site. The site was some distance from the Church and there were a number of modern barn conversions in the vicinity as well. The outbuildings currently in situ detracted from the listed building and it was felt that the proposed development was modest and appropriate for the setting.

Cllr C C Pond pointed out that the draft Local Plan recently agreed for public consultation had identified much more than a 1.35 year supply of land for housing purposes, and that this argument within the report should not be given any weight in determining the application. There was also no evidence that the outbuildings had been constructed since April 1994 when The Brewhouse became a listed building. Cllr C C Pond requested that condition 5 be made more stringent; this was an important historic site and a physical investigation was required rather than just a desktop exercise. The Assistant Director agreed that condition 5 could be amended as the site would require digging out anyway.

Cllr J M Whitehouse opined that the site levels were important as this would determine the relative height of the proposed new building to The Brewhouse. The Assistant Director stated that a condition could be added to deal with the site levels as this had been implemented for other applications in the past.

The Assistant Director added that the report had been misleading when quoting a case in Dartford in 2015 regarding Green Belt development. Planning Officers had considered that the outbuildings to be removed had originally been used for business purposes rather than curtilage, and therefore was previously developed land in the Green Belt.

Decision:

(1)        That planning application EPF/0035/16 at Land adjacent to The Brewhouse in Church Lane, Ongar be granted permission, subject to the following conditions:

1.               The development hereby permitted must be begun not later than the expiration of three years beginning with the date of this notice.

2.         The development hereby permitted will be completed strictly in accordance with the approved drawings nos:

1588.25 Location Plan at 1:2500

1588.25A Site Plan at 1:500

1588.24A

1588.23A

1588.20

1588.CC

1588.22A

1588.26

Heritage Statement

Design & Access/Planning Statement

Arboricultural Impact Assessment with drawing OS 1092-15.2 Revision A

3.               The existing built form on the site, as shown on the site plan and as referred to in the Design & Access/Planning Statement, shall be demolished concurrently with construction of any part of the house hereby approved. No part of the existing built form on the site as shown on the site plan and as referred to in the Design & Access/Planning Statement shall remain above ground level, prior to first occupation of the house hereby approved.

4.               Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 as amended (or any other Order revoking, further amending or re-enacting that Order) no development generally permitted by virtue of Class A, B or E of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Order shall be undertaken without the prior written permission of the Local Planning Authority.

5.               At least 48 hours prior notice shall be given to the Archaeological Advisory Group of Essex County Council of the date works will be commenced on this site or any part thereof, and persons authorised shall be afforded access for inspection of the site, and for carrying out works of excavation for the purpose of recording any features thereon of historical or archaeological significance.

6.               No development shall have taken place until samples of the types and colours of the external finishes have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority in writing prior to the commencement of the development. The development shall be implemented in accordance with such approved details. For the purposes of this condition, the samples shall only be made available for inspection by the Local Planning Authority at the planning application site itself.

7.               No development shall take place until details of foul and surface water disposal have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be implemented in accordance with such agreed details.

8.               Before any preparatory demolition or construction works commence on site, full ecological surveys and a mitigation strategy for the site shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for agreement in writing with a working methodology for site clearance and construction work to minimise impact on any protected species and nesting birds. Development shall be undertaken only in accordance with the agreed strategy and methodology.

9.               No development shall take place, including site clearance or other preparatory work, until full details of both hard and soft landscape works (including tree planting) and implementation programme (linked to the development schedule) have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. These works shall be carried out as approved. The hard landscaping details shall include, as appropriate, and in addition to details of existing features to be retained: proposed finished levels or contours; means of enclosure; car parking layouts; other minor artefacts and structures, including signs and lighting and functional services above and below ground. The details of soft landscape works shall include plans for planting or establishment by any means and full written specifications and schedules of plants, including species, plant sizes and proposed numbers /densities where appropriate. If within a period of five years from the date of the planting or establishment of any tree, or shrub or plant, that tree, shrub, or plant or any replacement is removed, uprooted or destroyed or dies or becomes seriously damaged or defective another tree or shrub, or plant of the same species and size as that originally planted shall be planted at the same place, unless the Local Planning Authority gives its written consent to any variation.

10.            No development, including works of demolition or site clearance, shall take place until a Tree Protection Plan Arboricultural Method Statement and site monitoring schedule in accordance with BS:5837:2012 (Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction - recommendations) has been submitted to the Local Planning Authority and approved in writing. The development shall be carried out only in accordance with the approved documents unless the Local Planning Authority gives its written consent to any variation.

11.            No development shall take place until a Phase 1 Land Contamination investigation has been carried out. A protocol for the investigation shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority before commencement of the Phase 1 investigation. The completed Phase 1 report shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to the commencement of any necessary Phase 2 investigation. The report shall assess potential risks to present and proposed humans, property including buildings, crops, livestock, pets, woodland and service lines and pipes, adjoining land, groundwaters and surface waters, ecological systems, archaeological sites and ancient monuments and the investigation must be conducted in accordance with DEFRA and the Environment Agency's "Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination, CLR 11", or any subsequent version or additional regulatory guidance.

[Note: This condition must be formally discharged by the Local Planning Authority before the submission of details pursuant to the Phase 2 site investigation condition that follows.]

12.            Should the Phase 1 Land Contamination preliminary risk assessment carried out under the above condition identify the presence of potentially unacceptable risks, no development shall take place until a Phase 2 site investigation has been carried out. A protocol for the investigation shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority before commencement of the Phase 2 investigation. The completed Phase 2 investigation report, together with any necessary outline remediation options, shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority prior to any redevelopment or remediation works being carried out. The report shall assess potential risks to present and proposed humans, property including buildings, crops, livestock, pets, woodland and service lines and pipes, adjoining land, groundwaters and surface waters, ecological systems, archaeological sites and ancient monuments and the investigation must be conducted in accordance with DEFRA and the Environment Agency's "Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination, CLR 11", or any subsequent version or additional regulatory guidance.

[Note: This condition must be formally discharged by the Local Planning Authority before the submission of details pursuant to the remediation scheme condition that follows.]

13.            Should Land Contamination Remediation Works be identified as necessary under the above condition, no development shall take place until a detailed remediation scheme to bring the site to a condition suitable for the intended use has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved remediation scheme unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The remediation scheme must include all works to be undertaken, proposed remediation objectives and remediation criteria, timetable of works and site management procedures and any necessary long term maintenance and monitoring programme. The scheme must ensure that the site will not qualify as contaminated land under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or any subsequent version, in relation to the intended use of the land after remediation.

[Note: This condition must be formally discharged by the Local Planning Authority before the submission of details pursuant to the verification report condition that follows.]

14.            Following completion of measures identified in the approved remediation scheme and prior to the first use or occupation of the development, a verification report that demonstrates the effectiveness of the remediation carried out must be produced together with any necessary monitoring and maintenance programme and copies of any waste transfer notes relating to exported and imported soils shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for approval. The approved monitoring and maintenance programme shall be implemented.

15.            In the event that any evidence of potential contamination is found at any time when carrying out the approved development that was not previously identified in the approved Phase 2 report, it must be reported in writing immediately to the Local Planning Authority. An investigation and risk assessment must be undertaken in accordance with a methodology previously approved by the Local Planning Authority. Following completion of measures identified in the approved remediation scheme, a verification report must be prepared, which is subject to the approval in writing of the Local Planning Authority in accordance with the immediately above condition.

16.            Additional drawings that show details of proposed new window, doors, structural alterations, eaves, verges, and cill, to be used by section and elevation at scales between 1:20 and 1:1 as appropriate shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority in writing prior to the commencement of the works. The works shall be implemented in accordance with such approved details and permanently retained as such.

17.            The public's rights and ease of passage over Public Footpath no.50 Ongar shall be maintained free and unobstructed at all times.

18.            No development shall take place until details of levels have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority showing cross-sections and elevations of the levels of the site prior to development and the proposed levels of all ground floor slabs of buildings, roadways and accessways and landscaped areas. The development shall be carried out in accordance with those approved details.