Agenda item

To consider a report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for part demolition of existing buildings and erection of three terraced houses with parking

(report attached)

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

  Officers presented a report which sought approval of the partial demolition of existing buildings and the erection of three terraced houses with parking at 13-15 Parkside Road, Meanwood.  The application site incorporated a stone building and associated yard, together with No.17 Parkside Road, with the driveway of this property being incorporated into proposed parking for the new development whilst still providing parking for No. 17 Parkside Road

  Members were informed that the site needed developing however Leeds Civic Trust had objected to the application, with concerns being raised about the loss of the stone building which was felt to have some historic value.  Members were advised that the site was not within a Conservation Area and the stone building was not Listed

  Clarification was sought on the property affected by the proposals for the driveway.  The Panel’s Lead Officer confirmed this was No.17 Parkside Road and that there had been an error on the drawings which indicated the property affected was No. 14 Parkside Road

  Members were also informed that the applicant owned part of the adjoining stone building which was marked on the plan as additional residential accommodation.  If this was existing residential use, the LPA would not have control over that refurbishment.  It was reported that there had been anti-social behaviour on the site and that the refurbishment of this additional element might address this problem

  The Panel heard from a local resident who was also speaking on behalf of a number of neighbours and who highlighted concerns with the application which included:

·  the heritage value of the buildings; that these formed part of the Fosse estate and comprised quality stone and many attractive features

·  overdevelopment

·  lack of parking for No.13 Parkside Road

·  minimum amenity requirements were not being met

·  that 4 bed properties were being proposed so families with children could reasonably be expected to occupy these dwellings

The Panel then heard representations from the applicant’s agent who

provided information to Members, which included:

·  the amount of time spent on bringing the scheme forward

·  that the heritage argument was not accepted

·  that the issue of on-street parking was addressed by the scheme

·  confirmation that the property affected by the driveway proposals was No. 17 Parkside Road

·  that a garden space would be provided

·  that the option existed for the site to be returned to commercial use

Members discussed the application, with the main issues raised

relating to:

·  restricting the development of the roofspace to Plot 1 as a living space to avoid further intensification of the site.  The Panel’s Lead Officer advised that a condition could be included to restrict the roofspace of Plot 1 from being used for habitable accommodation

·  the nature of the concerns raised by a Ward Member

·  issues of overlooking

·  concerns the proposals represented overdevelopment and that two dwellings might be considered more appropriate

·  the loss of amenity

The Panel considered how to proceed

RESOLVED -  To defer determination of the application for one cycle

due to concerns regarding overdevelopment and overlooking and to request further negotiations take place to see if a scheme could be put forward with a reduced height, reduced number of dwellings and which addressed the issues of overlooking, and for a further report to be brought back to Panel for determination of the application