Agenda item

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for detached house within grounds of Boston Spa Methodist Church

(report attached)

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

  Officers presented the report which sought approval for a detached house within the grounds of Boston Spa Methodist Church.  Members were informed that the proposal formed part of a wider project to improve the access arrangements and internal configuration of the church, with these works forming a separate application which was currently being considered by Officers.  The scheme before Panel was a revision of a larger scheme which had been submitted originally and was felt to better respect the setting of the nearby Listed Church and the Conservation Area

  The access and parking arrangements were outlined, with Members being informed that parking provision was from a shared driveway into the site, with a number of other residences, offices and a doctor’s surgery.  Whilst Highways Officers had raised concerns about aspects of the proposals, Planning Officers were of the view that one additional dwelling would not lead to significant harm to highway safety and that this was also balanced against the applicant’s need to fund improvement works to the adjacent church

  If minded to approve the application, two additional conditions were suggested, these relating to provision of further details of the access and that the driveway to be of a no dig construction

  The Panel discussed the application, with the main issues raised relating to:

·  the maximum number of dwellings served off a private drive, which was stated as being five in the Street Design Guide

·  that the Street Design Guide policy requirements were not included in the policy section of the report

·  that the access arrangements were not policy compliant in relation to the number of dwellings off a private drive, but were being put forward for approval.  Members were informed that the policy regarding the number of dwellings served off a private drive was not being ignored; the objectives of that policy, including highways safety had been taken account and weighed up against other elements in this case.  Members were concerned that the submitted report did not provide sufficient detail on this matter

·  the likely outcome at appeal if the application was refused on highways grounds, with the Head of Planning Services stating the Council could find it difficult to defend in this case

·  the design of the dwelling and how this would relate in context to the historic Ebor Way.  The Panel was informed that the section of the Ebor Way which contained the site had been taken into account when considering the design proposals submitted by the applicant and that a clean-cut building which made use of the views to the river was proposed, rather than replicating features of other buildings within the locality.  Concerns remained about the design of the dwelling in this location

·  the impact of the proposals on the garage at 203 High Street and what measures could be taken.  Members were informed that a condition was proposed which would require the submission of existing and finished ground levels

·  the associated proposals for the church; that both applications should be considered side by side and the lack of a binding link between these two applications to justify the enabling development of the application before Members

·  concerns that Ward Members had not been kept informed of changes to the application

The Panel considered how to proceed

A proposal to defer determination of the application for Officers to

assess the application for the works to the church was made, seconded and voted upon.  Following an equality of votes, the Chair used her casting vote against the motion to defer.  A proposal to accept the Officer’s recommendation to approve the application was made, seconded and voted upon.  Following an equality of votes, the Chair used her casting vote

  RESOLVED -  That the application be granted subject to the conditions set out in the submitted report, plus additional conditions requiring the driveway to be of a no dig construction; further details regarding the design of the driveway and a method of construction to prevent possible subsidence of the existing garage at 203 High Street