Agenda and minutes

  The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked Members and Officers to introduce themselves

  There were no formal late items, however the Panel was in receipt of supplementary information in respect of the following applications: 

  14/07273/FU and 14/07274/LI – Burley House 12 Clarendon Road (minute 184 refers)

  15/00415/FU – Low Fold South Accommodation Road LS10 (minute 185 refers)

  The information had been circulated in advance of the meeting and had been published on the Council’s website

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct. 

  There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest

  Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor R Procter, with Councillor Flynn substituting for her

To approve the minutes of the City Plans Panel meeting held on 16^th April 2015

(minutes attached)

  RESOLVED -  That the minutes of the City Plans Panel meeting held on 16^th April 2015 be approved, subject to an amendment to minute 173 – Pre-application/Position Statement – Kirkstall Forge Development to include the following:

·  the new station at Kirkstall Forge with concerns being raised this would only serve passengers travelling between Leeds and Bradford and therefore would not serve the wider community

  With reference to the pre-application proposals at Kirkstall Forge considered by Panel on 16^th April 2015, the Head of Planning Services informed Members that at the national Place-making Awards, Kirkstall Forge won the award for mixed-use redevelopment and was also highly commended in the Northern England Regional Place-making category

  Members were also informed about the latest position in respect of appeals on PAS applications.  It was reported that the Inspector’s decision to dismiss the appeal on the Kirklees Knowl site was now the subject of a high court challenge, with a date being awaited for the hearing and that the decision on the Grove Road site at Boston Spa would be delayed, with a date on or before 10^th September 2015 being given by the Secretary of State’s Office for the issuing of this decision

  In respect of the applications at Leeds Road Collingham; Breary Lane, Bramhope; East Scholes and Bradford Road East Ardsley, a suggestion had been made by the Council for these to be co-joined, however the applicants had objected to this.  The Planning Inspectorate have decided to co-join the appeals in two separate Inquiries and the intention was to appoint the same Inspector for the both hearings and deal with them consecutively

  In relation to another site – Haigh Road West Ardsley - agreement had been reached to deal with this appeal by written representations, however in this case, the main focus of the appeal was around character, rather than the Council’s 5 year land supply

  Members discussed the proposed approach in relation to the time these would take, with the Head of Planning Services stating that overall, the process should be shorter than dealing with the four appeals separately as the issue of the 5 year land supply would be dealt with once for the two Inquiries

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for residential development of 156 dwellings and associated works

(report attached)

  Plans, photographs and graphics were displayed at the meeting.  A Members site visit had taken place earlier in the day

  Officers presented a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for a residential development, comprising 156 dwellings and associated works on a PAS site to the rear of Sandgate Drive Kippax

  Members were informed that the site was well vegetated; there were existing residential dwellings, mainly bungalows to the south; more sparse vegetation to the east and to the north of the site lay the Green Belt and open agricultural land

  The proposals had been revised since they were first submitted, which initially was for 166 dwellings.  Improved relationships between the existing residential development had reduced the number of dwellings across the site to 156

  Half of the site would be retained as green, open areas and whilst there would be tree loss, mitigation planting was proposed

  Details were provided of the walking distances from the site to the nearest schools together with the proposed housing mix and form of the two storey houses

  Reference was made to the Executive Board’s decision in February 2015 to withdraw the Council’s Interim PAS Policy, and allow work to commence on the Site Allocations Plan (SAP), with Members being informed that the SAP did not propose to allocate this site for housing but to retain it as PAS

  In respect of highways issues, the applicant had sought to put forward a scheme but Officers in Highways were not satisfied with the proposals

  A further representation was reported which expressed concern about the timing of the Plans Panel meeting, i.e. through the day and that insufficient time had been available to consider the revised plan

  As the applicant’s agent had decided not to speak at Panel, the Chair advised there would be no public speaking on this application

  Members discussed the proposals, with the main issues relating to:

·  the impact of the proposals

·  the inadequacy of the access arrangements

·  the SAP process; the work of Development Plan Panel on this and the need to consider sites in the correct context

·  the need for significant investment in infrastructure for Kippax

·  the work being undertaken on a Neighbourhood Plan for Kippax to shape future development

·  whether, in view of the withdrawal of the Council’s Interim PAS Policy, any applications on PAS sites should be approved

The Panel considered how to proceed

RESOLVED -  That the application be refused for the following reasons:

  1 The Local Planning Authority considers that the release of the site for housing development would undermine the plan led system, being contrary to policy N34 of the adopted UDP Review (2006) and contrary to Paragraph 85, bullet point 4 of the NPPF, at a time when the Secretary of State has concluded on the basis of examined evidence that Leeds has an identified 5 year housing supply in an up to date Core Strategy.  The suitability of the site for housing purposes as part of the future expansion of Kippax needs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 183.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for change of use of offices to 16 self-contained student flats and extension of existing annex to form 9 self-contained student flats and related Listed Building application for internal and external alterations

(report attached)

  Plans, photographs, including historic images and drawings were displayed at the meeting.  A Members site visit had taken place earlier in the day.  A supplementary report which set out proposed conditions accompanied the main report

  Officers presented the report which related to a conversion of a Grade II Listed Building previously used for offices, to form 16 self-contained student flats and the extension of an existing annex to form a further 9 self-contained student flats at Burley House, Clarendon Road which was sited in a Conservation Area

  On the conversion of the Listed Building, Members were informed that work had been undertaken to try, through the conversion, to reinstate the existing room forms and characteristics of the original building.  The applicant had agreed to retain the timber panelled lobby area and board room, with the existing skirting boards; doors and cornicing being repaired and retained.  The windows would also be repaired and restored to a timber finish

  Details of the accommodation being proposed were outlined, with Members being informed that two of the units in the main building were smaller than would usually be supported at 22 – 23sqm.  However, as the scheme would retain the original form of the Listed Building and when considering the floor to ceiling heights of the rooms, the number and size of windows and the internal arrangements for normal residential functions, it was the view of Officers that on balance the level of amenity afforded to future residents of these two units would be acceptable

  In terms of the new build element, the applicant’s architect had updated the drawings to re-order the living arrangements, with the bedroom space now at the back of the units and living space at the front

  The design of this element was a deliberately discrete, low scale, flat roofed, modern building which would be of red brick with vertical detailing to compliment the styles of the neighbouring properties

  If minded to approve the application, an additional condition was proposed to control the height of the wall and secure an appropriate visibility splay adjacent to the proposed vehicle access

  The Design Team Manager informed Members that the inclusion of a flat roof on the new build extension was considered to be appropriate in this case in order to retain the view of the historic host building.  Members were also informed that the proposal would retain the Listed Building in viable use

  The Panel discussed the application, with the following key issues being raised:

·  the ownership of the disused shelter close to the site and whether the annex could be constructed if the shelter was retained

·  the window treatment to the main building and the possibility of providing double glazed units to windows which required replacing rather than repairing

·  the size of the smallest two flats; whether a mezzanine floor could be considered for the sleeping area; whether the windows could be realigned to the small flat on the top floor to create additional light or for a duplex arrangement to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 184.

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer setting out the latest position on an application for 312 dwellings including new open space and associated works

(report attached)

  Further to minute 100 of the City Plans Panel meeting held on 11^th December 2014, where Panel considered pre-application proposals for a residential development at Low Fold, the Panel considered a further report of the Chief Planning Officer setting out the current position on the formal planning application for these proposals.  A supplementary report providing an update on highways issues, flood risk and noise, air quality and industrial odour implications was considered alongside the main report

  Plans, graphics, precedent images and sample materials were displayed at the meeting

  Officers presented the report and outlined the context of the application in relation to other developments and proposals in the surrounding area

  Members were informed that although a new bridge link did not form part of the application, the developer was keen to provide this as it would provide good links to New Dock and had the potential to unlock other development sites in the vicinity.  In order to provide this, a lower level of affordable housing was proposed than the 5% which would be expected on this site.  The view of Officers was that a lower level of affordable housing could be justified on this site in view of the development benefits which would flow from the provision of the bridge link

  The scheme proposed 312 dwellings - 160 of them being flats – in a series of 20 individual blocks in a mixed palette of materials.  Detailed landscaping proposals had been provided which were key to place making

  Detailed design issues were highlighted and included:

·  access routes

·  landscaping, including a ‘fold’ feature which would be in some parts a decorative function and in others, a practical one, i.e. forming a seating area

·  connectivity

·  car parking

·  sustainability features

·  the provision of a new type of back to back dwelling which included a lightwell in each house, running through the building to provide good levels of natural light

·  materials, which would include fibre cement panels; metal cladding; mesh cladding; blackened timber cladding and natural coloured timber cladding

In terms of the information provided in the supplementary report, it was

confirmed that, in principle and subject to a phased approach to the development, the Environment Agency would be willing to withdraw their objection to the scheme, subject to appropriate conditions

In relation to air quality, noise and industrial odour, the Council’s

Environment Protection Team was satisfied with the modelling assessment submitted by the applicant in relation to stack emissions from the nearby Allied Glass works and subject to conditions to address issues of potential noise nuisance and air pollution, Officers were of the view that the amenities of the future residents would be adequately protected

  On the issue of highways, a range of measures had been set out which would be required if the bridge was not provided.  In terms of deliveries and how these would be managed, Members were informed that a layby at the bottom of the service road would be used for on-line retailers/supermarket drop offs and would not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 185.

Thursday 11^th June 2015 at 1.30pm

  Thursday 11^th June 2015 at 1.30pm in the Civic Hall, Leeds