Agenda item

To consider the attached report.

The Assistant Director (Development Management) presented a report with regard to the proposed demolition of an existing bungalow and the erection of three flats at 48 Russell Road, Buckhurst Hill.

Members noted that consideration of the application was before the District Development Management Committee because Area Plans Sub-Committee South had agreed at its meeting on 27 June 2018 that it be referred to the Committee for determination, after an equal number of members had voted for and against the development proposal.

The Assistant Director (Development Management) reported that the application site comprised a large single storey detached dwelling on a hillside location, which sloped downwards to the south at the rear and downwards to the east from the front elevation. Members noted that, due to the complicated levels of the site the bungalow had one non habitable room at lower ground floor level and could not be considered a two-storey dwelling. The Committee was advised that adjoining the western boundaries were three storey terraced houses and adjoining the eastern boundary was a pair of two-storey semi detached dwellings. The Assistant Director (Development Management) reported that Russell Road was made up of a mixture of a wide mixture of dwellings, with apartment buildings on either side of the road and opposite the application site and that the site was within an urban area and was not listed or within a conservation area.

Members were advised that the application followed an earlier refusal of planning permission for the redevelopment of the site for a detached two-storey dwelling house, as this would have facilitated the loss of a bungalow. The Committee noted that the proposed development had been redesigned to provide a more symmetrical and softer appearance than the previous scheme, involving the construction of a block of three flats over three floors.

The Assistant Director (Development Management) reported the revised application, with an increased number of fully accessible residential units along with the overall bulk and scale of the proposed development, was considered acceptable. Despite objection from neighbouring residents, it was considered that the proposal would not cause any undue loss of amenity to neighbouring residents or cause any parking or highway harm and would adequately serve the living conditions of future occupants. The Committee was advised that the proposal therefore complied with the guidance set out within the National Planning Policy Framework, the relevant policies contained within the adopted Local Plan and Alterations and the Submission Version of the emerging Local Plan.

The Committee was advised that, as the proposed development would create new residential units within a distance of 6.2km of the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation, policies DM2(C) and DM22 of the Submission Version of the Epping Forest District Local Plan required that any permission be subject to a financial contribution to towards access management and monitoring of visitors to Epping Forest in order to mitigate against the harmful impacts of development on air quality and biodiversity within the Forest. The Assistant Director (Development Management) advised members that the amount of such contribution had not currently been agreed.

RESOLVED:

That planning permission for the proposed demolition of an existing bungalow and the erection of three flats at 48 Russell Road, Buckhurst Hill be granted, subject to the completion within six months of a Section 106 Legal agreement to secure appropriate financial contributions towards (a) access management and monitoring of visitors to the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC); (b) mitigation of air pollution in the vicinity of the Epping Forest SAC;and 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:

318-PL-11 - Site & Location Plans;

318-PL-12 - Proposed & Existing Street Elevation;

318-PL-13 - Proposed Ground Floor Plan;

318-PL-14 - Proposed Lower Ground & First Floor Plans;

318-PL-15 - Proposed Second Floor & Roof Plans;

318-PL-16 - Proposed Elevations;

318-PL-17 - Proposed and Existing Section A-A;

318-EX-01 - Existing Lower & Ground Floor Plans;

318-EX-02 - Existing Roof Plan;

318-EX-03 - Existing Elevations; and

Supporting Documents: Tree Constraints Plan, Arboricultural Report;

(3)       No construction works above ground level shall take place until documentary and photographic details of the types and colours of the external finishes have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority, in writing. The development shall be implemented in accordance with such approved details;

(4)       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;

(5)       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;

(6)       If any tree, shrub or hedge shown to be retained in the submitted Arboricultural reports is removed, uprooted or destroyed, or dies, or becomes severely damaged or diseased during development activities or within 3 years of the completion of the development, another tree, shrub or hedge of the same size and species shall be planted within 3 months at the same place, unless the Local Planning Authority gives its written consent to any variation. If within a period of five years from the date of planting any replacement tree, shrub or hedge is removed, uprooted or destroyed, or dies or becomes seriously damaged or defective another tree, shrub or hedge of the same species and size as that originally planted shall, within 3 months, be planted at the same place;

(7)       No development, including works of demolition or site clearance, shall take place until foundation details have been submitted to the Local Planning Authority and approved in writing. The foundations shall consist of piles and an above ground beam design. Drawings submitted shall include cross sectional detail of pile and beam join and the location of piles in plan from. 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;

(8)       No services shall be installed within the root protection area of the retained trees on or adjacent to the site unless the Local Planning Authority gives its prior written approval;

(9)       The proposed use of this site has been identified as being particularly vulnerable if land contamination is present, despite no specific former potentially contaminating uses having been identified for this site. Should any discoloured or odorous soils be encountered during development works or should any hazardous materials or significant quantities of non-soil forming materials be found, then all development works should be stopped, the Local Planning Authority contacted and a scheme to investigate the risks and / or the adoption of any required remedial measures be submitted to, agreed and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to the recommencement of development works. Following the completion of development works and prior to the first occupation of the site, sufficient information must be submitted to demonstrate that any required remedial measures were satisfactorily implemented or confirmation provided that no unexpected contamination was encountered;

(10)    An electric vehicle charging point shall be provided for each of the approved dwellings prior to first occupation;

(11)    Prior to first occupation measures shall be incorporated within the development to ensure a water efficiency standard of 110 litres (or less) per person per day;

(12)    Prior to first occupation of the dwellings hereby approved measures to improve the ecological value of the site shall be implemented in accordance with details that have been submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority;

(13)    No development shall take place until wheel washing or other cleaning facilities for vehicles leaving the site during construction works have been installed. The installed cleaning facilities shall be used to clean vehicles immediately before leaving the site;

(14)    All construction/demolition works and ancillary operations, including vehicle movement on site which are audible at the boundary of noise sensitive premises, shall only take place between the hours of 07.30 to 18.30 Monday to Friday and 08.00 to 13.00 hours on Saturday, and at no time during Sundays and Public/Bank Holidays unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority; and

(15)    No construction works above ground level shall take place until documentary and photographic details showing the fenestration to be completed in timber have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority, in writing. The development shall be implemented in accordance with such approved details.