Agenda item

Further to minute 59 of the Plans Panel East meeting held on 27^th August 2009, where Members deferred consideration of the application for additional information, to consider a further report of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for the erection of a replacement retail store (class A1) with covered and surface car parking, new petrol filling station and landscaping

(report attached)

  Further to minute 59 of the Plans Panel East meeting held on 27^th August 2009 where Panel deferred consideration of an application for the demolition of the existing Tesco and Homebase stores at 361 Roundhay Road LS8 and the erection of a replacement A1 retail store with covered and surface car parking, a new petrol filling station and landscaping, Members considered a further report

  Having not been present for the whole presentation on 27^th August, Councillor Congreve reiterated his decision not to participate in the debate or voting on this application

  Plans, photographs, drawings, artist’s impressions and graphics were displayed at the meeting

  Officers presented the report and outlined the information Members had requested at the previous meeting, this being:

·  further information on highways and the implications of the proposed high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane

·  sustainability issues

·  public consultation on public realm enhancements in Oakwood

The Chair informed Members that these were the issues which would

be considered at the meeting

  Members were informed that in respect of the HOV lane, this had been planned regardless of the Tesco proposals and that Officers were satisfied that the HOV scheme would work with or without the Tesco development

  The access proposals for the petrol filling station were considered to be acceptable and larger queuing capacity was being provided for than existed at the Seacroft store, where such problems had occurred

  In relation to sustainability, the proposals incorporated several sustainable design features; provided cycle parking and improvements to bus stops in the area

  The impact of the proposals on the Oakwood District Centre had been considered and it was accepted that Tesco would directly compete with some shops, but many of the units in the District Centre were specialist shops with Officers of the view that there would not be a significant impact on existing businesses

  The applicant had provided details of the impact of supermarkets on existing retail centres, with the conclusion being that the presence of large supermarkets had resulted in positive effects for existing retailers

  Concerns continued to be raised by the proprietor of the existing petrol filling station and the impact of the proposals on this, however it was reiterated that the BP filling station fell outside of the S2 centre and such concerns could not be regarded as a material planning consideration

  Regarding consultation on the type of public enhancements which the local community would like to see, several proposals had come forward; the most popular being the refurbishment of Oakwood clock.  Whilst some of the suggestions could not be carried out, ie re-paving of private forecourts as this involved third party land, the applicant had increased the public realm contribution which would now be £300,000 which provided increased scope to deliver a range of improvements

  Officers reported the receipt of further representations, these being:

·  a petition objecting to the proposal with 158 signatures

·  7 letters of objection (some of these from previous objectors)

·  further comments and clarification on issues by Councillor Lobley

·  an objection letter sent to all Panel Members

·  an objection letter sent to the Chair of the Plans Panel

·  a letter handed to the case officer earlier in the day

Members commented on the following matters:

·  whether a mezzanine floor was included in the proposals

·  whether the proposals did comply with PPS1

·  concerns at Tesco’s level of commitment to and involvement in the local area in view of a lack of response to requests for the company to attend a local jobs fair

·  whether any further public consultation on the proposals had been undertaken by Tesco since the last meeting

·  the need for community art to be provided and for the Ward Members, Leeds Civic Trust and local residents to be involved in this

·  that swift boxes should be provided, in consultation with the Council’s Nature Conservation Officer

·  the public realm improvements and need to link the site with the Oakwood District Centre which could be achieved by repaving, finger posts etc

·  the size of the building and concerns this was too large

·  that the proposed petrol filling station would have an impact on the existing BP garage

·  the increased footfall in Rothwell Town Centre and the new shops which had emerged since a large supermarket had opened there last year

·  that the sale of some products by Tesco would be restricted

·  that the Homebase store currently had the benefit of an unrestricted A1 consent and that the proposals provided the opportunity to limit the sale of some goods

Officers provided the following responses:

·  that the proposals did not contain details for a mezzanine floor but that the building was large enough to accommodate this.  Although it would be possible for a small mezzanine floor to be constructed under permitted development rights, anything of significance would require planning consent

·  that the proposals did comply with PPS1 ‘Delivering Sustainable Development’; that the development was in a sustainable location with good access to public transport; included cycle provision and was close to residential developments.  Although it could be argued that demolishing two buildings and erecting one building was not sustainable, the counter argument was that the existing buildings were no longer suitable for modern retailing

·  that the approved minutes of the Plans Panel East meeting held on 27^th August 2009 had not required the applicant to consult further on their development proposals

Detailed discussion ensued on the possibility of a mezzanine floor

 being required at some stage, with the following comments being made:

·  that the development could significantly increase in size and that such a situation had occurred in Batley and York

·  that if this occurred, imposing conditions restricting the sale of some goods would not be sufficient to prevent a significant adverse impact on the Oakwood District Centre

·  that the proposed building could accommodate a mezzanine floor and if that was not Tesco’s future intention, the building could be lowered and create less of an impact on the area

·  the possibility of removing permitted development rights on the current application

The Head of Planning Services who was in attendance stated that

conditions 16 and 17 of the submitted report set out restrictions on the amount of net retail floor space and the amount of retail floor space for comparison goods.  These conditions could be worded so as to be clear that further retail floor space was not being permitted and that condition 18 could be strengthened by inclusion of the words ‘prevent and prohibit’.  Whilst noting the comments made regarding a mezzanine floor, it was not possible to make a planning decision on the basis of possible future development and Members were advised to restrict their consideration on this issue to whether the size of the building as shown was acceptable

  An amendment to condition 15 regarding the use of the car park was proposed as was the request for the explicit removal of permitted development rights in respect of a mezzanine floor

  Members considered how to proceed

  Councillor Parker, who had been absent at the 27^th August 2009 meeting and had not attended the briefing did not take part in the discussion or voting on this application

  Following an equality of votes for and against, the Chair used his casting vote

  RESOLVED -  That the application be granted subject to the conditions set out in the submitted report, an amendment to condition 15 to specify that the car park would be freely available for use by shoppers at Oakwood District Centre together with Tesco shoppers; an amendment to condition 18 to include the words ‘ prevent and prohibit dry cleaners, post office and travel agents instead of ‘restrict’, additional conditions withdrawing permitted development rights in respect of a mezzanine floor and details of a scheme of nature conservation to be submitted and approved which would include bird boxes for swifts, additional consultation with regard to how public realm money would be spent and the completion of a legal agreement to include the following obligations

i)  public transport infrastructure contribution (£319,241 – index linked)

ii)  metro/bus stop upgrade and relocation (£46,000 – index linked)

iii)  travel plan and travel plan monitoring fee (£4,500 – index linked)

iv)  training and employment of local people

v)  contribution of £300,000 (index linked) towards public realm enhancements to Oakwood District Centre (which would be used for enhancement of pavements between the store and other shops, lighting and landscaping)

(Following consideration of this item, Councillor Nash resumed her seat in the meeting)