Agenda item

To consider a position statement of the Chief Planning Officer on an application for change of use including refurbishment and extensions to two church buildings with two flats, to form offices and 20 flats and erect part four, part five storey block comprising office and 31 flats with car parking

(report attached)

  Plans, photographs and graphics including sun path diagrams were displayed at the meeting.  A site visit by Members had taken place earlier in the day

  Officers presented a position statement by the Chief Planning Officer on an application for a change of use including refurbishment and extensions to two church buildings with two flats to form offices and 20 flats and the erection of a part four, part five storey block comprising office and 31 flats with car parking.  Related Conservation Area and Listed Building applications for the demolition of Chantrell House office building and alteration to form new gate to the boundary wall at St Peter’s Church also formed part of the proposals

  Members were informed that the site was set within the Riverside Area as defined by Leeds UDP (Review) 2006 and the City Centre Conservation Area adjacent to the Grade I listed Leeds Parish Church.  The site comprised three buildings; St Peter’s Hall and St Peter’s House, both red brick late 19^th – early 20^th century buildings  and Chantrell House a red brick 1980s three storey office block, together with part of the landscaped church grounds and the parking area to the east of Chantrell House

  The proposals would see complete demolition of Chantrell House and some demolition to St Peter’s Hall and House although the most historic parts of these two properties would be retained

  St Peter’s Hall would be refurbished and extended to provide a four storey building with ground floor office and three floors of residential use comprising three and one bedroom flats together with studio flats

  St Peter’s House would be refurbished and extended to form a residential development of five storey’s and providing one bedroom and studio flats

  Chantrell House would be demolished and a new five storey block comprising offices, flats and undercroft car parking was proposed

  The proposals sought to create a ‘cathedral close’ precinct environment around Leeds Parish Church with key views of the church being retained through the existing gaps between the three properties

  Flemish Bond brickwork and glazing would be used for all three buildings with deep window reveals to allow the creation of shadow and relief on the elevations.  The extensions to the buildings and the new build element would be modern in form with flat roofs

  A minimal approach would be taken to landscaping although five trees would need to be removed around Chantrell House although the effect of this would be mitigated by the provision of six trees around the site and a contribution towards further trees on a site on The Calls.  Hard landscaping in York stone would be provided for the pedestrian routes

  The site was within a flood zone and as part of the scheme it had been proposed to break through the listed boundary wall to provide an escape route, however, it was now proposed to use an existing gateway as the escape route  Whilst the Environment Agency had objected to the initial proposals, Members were informed that comments on the revised proposals were awaited

  Concerning affordable housing provision, Members were informed that the applicant had submitted a financial viability appraisal which was still being considered.  Affordable housing of 4 units, as opposed to the expected 7 units across the whole development was proposed and this would be located in Chantrell House.  Leeds Parish Church was seeking a funding stream for repairs and maintenance to the building.  As the  Diocese would own the residential units in St Peter’s Hall and House, it was hoped that the income these would generate would provide a source of funding to help the church to continue to function as a place of worship; a source of assistance to the homeless and as an important Civic building in the city

  The Civic Architect, Mr Thorp stated that a scheme had been under consideration for many years but the inclusion of Chantrell House in the scheme had afforded the opportunity to consider a larger building on the site of what had been a large school, so reinstating the precinct to an earlier form

  To address the challenge of the presence of several different architectural languages, a simple, vertical rhythm had been chosen for the scheme

  Members commented on the following matters:

·  that the proposals for Chantrell House were contrived; overdeveloped; block-like; were too high; were too close to the Parish Church and overdominant leading to a loss of amenity to existing residents of Chantrell Court and would be out of character in the area

·  the demolition of a 1980s building with mixed views on the appropriateness of this

·  that the proposals for Chantrell House were not good enough for this high quality site, adjacent to a Grade I listed building

·  concerns about car parking in the area and the impact of the development on this

·  the flat roof design of the new building; that this prevented the use of roof space and was out of keeping amongst the surrounding pitched roofs

·  the proposals in lieu of the full affordable housing contribution; the need for consistency across the city and concerns that whilst affordable housing was for everyone, Leeds Parish Church was a Christian church in a city which contained diverse beliefs and views

The Head of Planning Services referred to the specific points in the

report on which Members’ views were sought and noted the following responses:

·  that the Panel was supportive of the extent of the demolition and alteration proposed to St Peter’s Hall and House, with the majority of Members accepting of the demolition of Chantrell House provided that its replacement was superior

·  relating to the new build elements of the scheme:

o  concerns that the design of the extension to St Peter’s Hall was not good enough given its setting

o  that the extension to St Peter’s House did not relate well to the host property and that again the quality of design was not good enough

o  the concerns set out above relating to Chantrell House

·  regarding the car parking, that concerns had been expressed on this matter

·  having noted the comments on the affordable housing contribution, The Head of Planning Services stated that rather than viewing this as funding for a church, it was more appropriate to consider this as funding for the upkeep of a Grade I listed building, which was a valid consideration as set out in PPG15

RESOLVED -  To note the report and the comments now made