Agenda item

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on a Reserved Matters application for a three storey university archive building with exhibition, conference space and associated offices

(report attached)

  Having declared a personal and prejudicial interest, Councillor Hamilton vacated the chair and withdrew from the meeting

  Councillor Monaghan was nominated and elected to chair this item

  Councillor Monaghan in the Chair

  Further to minute 21 of the Plans Panel City Centre meeting held on 13^th August 2009 where Panel agreed an outline application for the scale and position of a document archive store as part of a University development of three buildings around a collegiate-style green, Members considered a Reserved Matters application for an archive building which would be used by the University Library and by Marks and Spencer to house their archive collection which was currently sited in London

  Plans, graphics, drawings and a sample panel of the proposed cladding were displayed at the meeting

  Officers presented the report and informed Members that the building would align with the corner of the Charles Thackray building and be oriented to the campus green

  The entrance to the building would be from the green and would feature raised planters and formal seating outside

  At ground level there would be a reception and exhibition area with opportunities for reading rooms/ seminar rooms.  An internal plant area together with kitchen and office facilities would also be located on this floor and there would be two stair cores; one with a lift

  The next level would not be publicly accessible and would contain the Marks and Spencer strong room and archive materials.  This level would also provide some library storage space for the University as would the top floor

  The building was functional in design and comprised stainless steel pleated cladding which would be chemically coloured in a bronze colour.  The cladding would be arranged along the building to enable the pleats to change direction and add visual interest.  The highly reflective panels had been used on the Millennium Building in Cardiff and had proved to be highly weather resistant.  The panels would be pre-formed and have 5mm joints which would give a seamless appearance

  At ground level the proposed materials would be curtain wall glazing and brick cladding.  Two wall features would extend from either end of the building which due to the land levels, would hide the plant from the sports centre at the rear and also help define the bank of trees from the formal landscaping to the front of the building

  A delivery area to the east of the building would be accessed from the existing Clarendon Road and Moorland Road access and exits;  three disabled parking spaces would be provided outside the entrance to the building

  In terms of landscaping proposals, trees in raised planters would be situated at the front of the building and a double bank of trees was proposed around the college green area, the site of which would also be levelled out and include a diagonal footpath 3m – 6m in width

  There was a requirement for roof-top plant and this had been carefully sited to ensure that views of the plant reduced from the main approaches and that only oblique views of this would be glimpsed from the northern side of the campus green

  Members were informed that a speaker had registered to address the Panel and that two letters of objection had been received from local residents on the following grounds:

·  the archive store would generate significant traffic to the area and no parking had been provided for visitors

·  the proposed design of the building was ‘ugly’ and did not blend in with the conservation area character

·  the building should not be lit at night

·  the building would block out views of the former Grammar School buildings from Woodsley Road

·  the building would result in a loss of existing greenspace and protected playing fields

Officers advised on the matters raised by the objectors as follows:

The principle of the loss of the protected greensapce, the scale and

position of the archive store and the likely traffic and parking implications had been fully considered and agreed at the time of the outline planning application.   It was for Members to consider the merits or otherwise of the proposed design.  There were no current proposals to light the building at night time apart from security lighting to the footpaths and entrance areas

  The Panel heard representations from an objector who attended the meeting, following which Members discussed the proposals and commented on the following matters:

·  the comments made by the speaker as to the legality of determining the application in view of concerns raised regarding consideration of the objections received

·  concerns about the species of trees to be planted and the need to avoid sycamores or field maples

·  some dissatisfaction at the proposed cladding and the view that this could be improved upon particularly in this setting

·  whether there was scope for the provision of a green roof

·  the appropriateness of a pedestrian access across the middle of the site and whether this should be redirected

The Head of Planning Services stated that issues around the loss of

the playing pitch had been dealt with previously through the outline application which had also established the principle of development.  The application before Members related to design matters and could only be considered on that basis

  In response to the concerns raised as to the legality of determining the application at this time, the Head of Planning Services informed Members that he was content that due process had been followed in this case and that a decision on the application could be made.  It was not uncommon, due to the required timescales for the publication of the agenda, for reports to be written ahead of objections being received.  In this case the issues raised had been considered and put to Members to enable them to have regard to all the information available prior to determining the application

In response to a question from the Panel, the Legal Services representative concurred with the advice already given by the Head of Planning Services

Officers provided the following information in response to the issues raised by Members

·  that a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating was being sought for the development which in itself was a costly exercise.  Whilst noting the comments about the provision of a green roof, Officers were of the view that such a request could not be justified

·  regarding the footpath across the site, the majority of Members considered that if this was to be removed, a desire line would remain to enable the whole site to be accessed by the shortest walking route.  In view of this the suggestion to relocate the diagonal footpath was not supported

RESOLVED -  To approve the application in principle and to defer and

delegate final approval to the Chief Planning Officer subject to resolving the detailed consultation responses and detailed matters raised in section 10 – ‘Appraisal’ of the submitted report