Agenda item

Further to minute 52 of the Plans Panel City Centre meeting held on 3^rd December 2009 to consider a further report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for alterations and extension to form offices and A3/A4 bar restaurant development and erection of 5 storey office block with basement car parking and public landscaped area and Conservation Area Application 08/05309/CA for demolition of the Mission Hut and 28 The Calls Leeds

(report attached)

  Further to minute 52 of the Plans Panel City Centre meeting held on 3^rd December 2009 where Panel considered a report of the Chief Planning Officer on a mixed use, riverside development at 14-28 The Calls, Members considered a revised application

  Plans, photographs, graphics and a sample board were displayed at the meeting.  A site visit had taken place earlier in the day which all Members had attended

  Officers presented the report and stated that this brownfield site was  the last major, undeveloped riverside site in the city centre  and comprised buildings which were largely vacant and inefficiently used.  It was noted that there was an extant permission on the site for a mixed-use residential, office and A3 development which had been granted in 2007

  Details of the planning history of the site were provided as were details of the revisions which had been made to the scheme following Members’ previous comments, these being:

·  a further reduction in the projection of the Atkinson building

·  alterations to the glazing and louvres on the elevation alongside 32 The Calls to create a more solid format with a design which echoed that of the Warehouse Hill building

·  replacement of the blue brick with a rustic red/blue brick

·  refinement of the fenestration on the Warehouse Hill building

·  the introduction of railings along the river’s edge

Members were informed of a factual error in the report which should

state the provision of 5, not 3, disabled parking spaces in the basement car park

  In respect of a public transport contribution, Members were informed that a sum of £115,627 would be provided and that the S106 agreement was being drafted for this

  Members were asked to approve application 08/05307/FU in principle; defer and delegate final approval to the Chief Planning Officer and to approve the Conservation Area application

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  the height of the buildings and concerns that the Warehouse Hill building was overdominant and did not refer to surrounding buildings

·  whether the development was likely to proceed

·  the need for further explanation for the condition in respect of a S106 agreement which had not been completed within 3 months of the grant of planning permission

·  that this was an historic area and whether a museum would be included to display artefacts found in the area

·  that the waterfront should be more widely used than a spill out area for bars and restaurants and that to maximise the number of people who would use the site, other recreational uses ie for boating, including mooring of boats, fishing and some water sports should be considered

·  that the inclusion of railings along the riverside was welcomed in view of the recent tragedies which had occurred

·  the need for increased soft landscaping which could include some treatment to the blank walls

·  the need to include species of trees which were suitable in this location

·  the need for further information on the pyramid area in the corner of the site

·  concerns whether this would be an attractive, vibrant riverside space

·  concerns that the verticality of the Warehouse Hill building did not provide references back to warehouse vernacular, despite the assertions in the report

·  the weathering of the proposed copper elements and that this should be treated to prevent oxidisation

·  the need for the site to be developed quickly to provide much needed employment opportunities

·  the possibility of continuing the cobbled Crown Street behind the Corn Exchange across the Loop on The Calls, adjacent to the site access

·  that the white-painted window frames of 24-26 The Calls should be painted in a  dark colour

·  concerns at the riverside glazed frontage of the Atkinson  building which was redolent of a 1960s office block and the need for a more elegant approach rather than the proposed fenestration

·  whether the appearance of the height of the Warehouse Hill building could be reduced to minimise its visual impact on the adjacent warehouse building and longer distance views

·  the need for adequate signing for the proposed pedestrian crossing

·  that a pedestrian crossing could spoil the outlook and whether an alternative option would be to reduce the speed limit to 20mph on this stretch of The Calls

Officers provided the following responses:

·  that the Warehouse Hill building was located on the bend of the river and Officers felt that the height could be reinstated on this bend, however by looking at the detail of the roof and modifying the plinth, this could help to reduce the apparent scale of the building and produce a building more in character

·  that the hope was by granting planning permission it would result in early construction as it would enable the applicant to market the site

·  that the benefit of the condition relating to the completion of a S106 agreement within 3 months was to enable a decision to be made at the end of that time without it having to come back to Panel, so giving the LPA greater flexibility to move applications on at the end of a 3 month period

·  that a condition had been included which required full archaeological recording of the site but that Officers would speak to the applicant about the possibility of incorporating a museum on the site

·  that the public space which would be created would provide the opportunity for anyone to use this, not solely office workers, residents or patrons of the bars and restaurants

·  that additional soft landscaping could be included although there could be some constraints especially the inclusion of trees, due to these being sited above car parking areas

·  that the pyramid area was to be contemplative space

·  that the copper cladding would be treated so as not to weather

·  acceptance that the glazed frontage of the Atkinson Building should be reconsidered

·  that further discussions would be undertaken with the applicant in respect of the highway crossing and the possibility of using granite blocks to take the load of the loop traffic.  Whilst this would be more costly, it would be of a higher quality.  The Panel’s Highways representative stated this would also need to be considered by Highways Maintenance to check the appropriateness of using this sort of treatment across the Loop

·  that a speed limit of 20mph on this part of The Calls was not possible as the phasing of traffic lights was based on a speed of 25mph

The Panel noted the recommendation contained in the submitted report

and considered how to proceed

  RESOLVED-  To defer determination of the application until the August meeting and that the Chief Planning Officer be asked to submit a further report setting out additional information on the following matters only:

·  landscaping provision

·  highways issues in respect of the design and position of the pedestrian crossing

·  the apparent height of the Warehouse Hill building

·  the detailing of the base of the Warehouse Hill building

·  the detailing of the frontage of the Atkinson building