Agenda item

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for change of use involving refurbishment and part demolition of printing works to offices and erection of 12 office units in eight 3 storey blocks with ancillary café/restaurant, car parking and public realm and Listed Building application for conversion to offices including refurbishment and part demolition of printing works

(report attached)

  Plans, photographs, graphics and samples of proposed materials were displayed at the meeting.  A site visit had taken place earlier in the day which some Members had attended

  Officers presented the report which sought permission for the redevelopment, including some demolition and some new building at the prestigious Grade 2 Listed former Alf Cooke Printworks on Hunslet Road LS10, close to the city centre.  A pre-application presentation had been made to Panel on 16^th August 2007 (minute 34 refers)

  Members were informed that the proposals would see the retention of the two main print halls and the mill building, with conversion of these elements to offices together with eight 3 storey office buildings, divided into 12 units; 114 car parking spaces, some being undercroft parking; 15 spaces being provided for people with disabilities and both permanent and temporary landscaping being provided

  The development would be constructed over 3 phases, the first phase being demolition works, phase two seeing the construction of some new building, some of the car parking and landscaping and the final phase providing the remaining buildings, car parking and tree planting, with hornbeams being considered as the species of trees to be provided

As part of the flood risk assessment it would be necessary to raise the floor level of the existing mill building which would result in some masking of the bottom tread of the spiral stair case and of the base of the columns

  A new pedestrian crossing would be provided on Hunslet Road

  Public art would be incorporated into the scheme, with this reflecting the history of the building possibly through the use of a folded paper motif, including a piece of artwork to be sited close to the Hunslet Road frontage

  Officers recommended to Panel approval of the applications as the scheme would result in the redevelopment of a brownfield site and would preserve and re-use a unique Listed Building whilst providing new employment opportunities close to the city centre and the provision of new public open space

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  whether the Listed Building would be made weathertight in the first phase

·  the highway implications of the development in view of the busy junction running close to the site and the proximity of Crown Point Retail Park which generated a significant amount of traffic

·  pedestrian access; that the footpath along the front of the site was narrow and was further limited by the pedestrian guard rails sited there

·  the need for the clock on the corner of the Listed Building to be maintained in working order

·  concerns that some of the buildings turned their backs towards Hunslet and in doing so created a barrier of ordinariness

·  the view that the quality and stature of the main building would be improved if the proposed adjacent L-blockbuilding was one storey lower

·  that the cast-iron street nameplate sited on Hunslet Road be retained

·  the provision of public art; whether this was being driven by the applicant; mixed views about the appropriateness of public art; that if this was to be provided, the need for it to complement rather than dominate the building; that details should be provided to Panel of the proposals; that the developer should be left to engage artists to design suitable public art and some concerns at the proposed steel structure to the Hunslet Road frontage

·  that the openness of the site and the provision of green spaces were welcomed

·  the possibility of re-using some of the cast-iron pillars sited in the extension which was to be demolished to replace some of the later additions to the supports in the main hall

·  concerns that a single species of tree was being proposed and that a variety of species was more appropriate, with mixed views on this as a single species could provide a balanced effect

·  the need to take account of the fact that the site was in a flood risk area and that trees requiring an arid environment were not suitable

·  that whilst a pastiche of the original building was not required, the design of the former printworks had not been as well echoed in the proposed adjacent L-block building as it could have been, particularly the details to the windows

·  the possibility of using clear material to raise the floor level to the column bases in order to preserve views of the bases

·  concerns about the noise levels as the office space would be open plan

·  that the cream paint on the rear of the building be removed

·  that the pedestrian access on the southern end of the site at Neal Place which was currently overgrown should be opened up

·  that the L-shaped building adjacent to the ornate Listed Building appeared plain by comparison and that some further detailing should be considered for this block

·  the S106 contribution should be used towards improvements at Hunslet Library

Officers provided the following responses:

·  that included in the first phase would be works to make the Listed Building weathertight

·  that the impact of the scheme had been fully considered and the view was that the highway network could accommodate the traffic flowing from the development.  Furthermore, the bulk of activity would be from Monday – Friday as office use was being proposed, so this would have limited impact on the peak week-end traffic to the Crown Point Retail Park

·  that a pedestrian crossing would be delivered in the second phase and whilst a wider footpath had been considered, this was not possible due to the need to provide for 2 lanes of traffic.  In terms of pedestrian guardrails, Members’ comments could be taken on board when considering the design of minimum width railings

·  that the approach taken had been to create modern background buildings which would respect the setting of the Listed Building and would not compete with the height, scale and detailing of the historic building

·  the quality of the proposed buildings would be maintained through the design of features such as window, eaves and entrance details and the use of sympathetic materials which would be controlled by condition

·  the eaves line of the Listed Building had been used as a guide to the maximum height of the proposed buildings in order to ensure that they remain subordinate within the setting of the Listed Building whilst delivering a viable quantum of development

·  the proposed windows to the L-block building reflected the rhythm of the windows to the listed mill although in a modern design

·  that the details of the proposed public art were only illustrative at this stage but did appear to be over-dominant as shown on the Hunslet Road frontage and that this would be reconsidered under the conditions to be attached to the approval

·  regarding the re-use of the cast iron pillars, this would be raised with the applicant although there could be structural reasons which prohibited their re-use other than as decorative artwork features

·  the re-use of the cast iron street name plate, the refurbishment of the clock and treatment of the column bases would be raised with the applicant and controlled by appropriate conditions on the listed building consent

·  that Neal Place would be opened up as part of the final phase and would create potential for enhanced links to the adjacent site if this was ever to be considered for redevelopment

·  that the proposed layout of the buildings would provide enhanced connections through the site and was not considered to turn its ‘back’ towards Hunslet to the south

·  that the proposed hornbeam tree species had been agreed with the Council’s landscape officer and was considered suitable for this relatively harsh city centre environment

·  that open plan office space was an established part of modern day office working practices and was not considered to provide an unduly noisy or unsuitable working environment

·  that it would not be reasonable to seek S106 contributions for Hunslet Library as the development would not directly impact upon it

Members continued to discuss the appropriateness of the provision of public art

  RESOLVED –

  i)  Application 07/07468/FU

To approve the application in principle and to defer and delegate final approval to the Chief Planning Officer subject to the conditions set out in the submitted report (and any others which he might consider appropriate) and following completion of a Section 106 Agreement to cover the following matters:

-  contribution to public transport improvements £137,453.20, split equally prior to commencement of phases 2 and 3

-  travel plan implementation and monitoring fee £7140, split equally prior to commencement of phases 2 and 3

-  public access throughout the site 7am-7pm Monday to Sunday in accordance with the phasing plan

-  employment and training opportunities for local people

-  management fee £2400 payable within one month from the date of completion of the S106 Agreement

In the circumstances where the Section 106 Agreement has not been

completed within 3 months of the resolution to grant planning permission the final determination of the application shall be delegated to the Chief Planning Officer

  Application 07/07469/LI

  To approve the application in principle and to defer and delegate final approval to the Chief Planning Officer, subject to the specified conditions in the submitted report (and any others which he might consider appropriate)

ii)  That details of the proposed public art be provided to Plans Panel for information