Agenda item

Further to minute 24 of the City Plans Panel meeting held on 25^th October 2012, where Panel received a pre-application presentation on proposals for the expansion of the White Rose Shopping Centre, to consider a further report of the Chief Planning Officer setting out the current position in respect of the following applications:

1 White Rose Shopping Centre

Application 13/01640/OT – Outline application for part demolition and alteration of existing buildings and erect extensions to form new and enlarged retail units , Class A1, A3, A5, D2 (cinema); alterations to existing and creation of new public realm and landscaping, alterations to existing vehicular access and creation of new vehicular, pedestrian, service access; alterations to car park configuration, together with infrastructure and associated works

2 Land South of White Rose Shopping Centre

Application 13/02684/FU – Demolition of existing buildings and re-development of site for use as car parking, with improvements to access, landscaping works and enhancements, new culvert to Cotton Mill Beck and upgrading of existing pedestrian crossing and associated works

(report attached)

  Further to minute 24 of the City Plans Panel meeting held on 25^th October 2012, where Panel received a pre-application presentation on proposals for the expansion of the White Rose Shopping Centre, Members considered a further report of the Chief Planning Officer on the proposals together with details of the current position on a related application for the demolition of existing buildings and re-development of an area of land sited in the Green Belt, for use as a staff car park for the White Rose Centre (WRC)

  Plans, photographs and graphics were displayed at the meeting.  Members had visited the site prior to the meeting

  Officers outlined the proposals for the WRC which were to extend two existing stores, create three new retail units, a multi-screen cinema – up to 12 screens, restaurant units and remove an existing coach park and provide an area of public open space

  Whilst the proposals would result in the loss of 670 car parking spaces, the related application was to provide a staff car park and would involve the demolition of the existing buildings and improvements to the appearance of the site, whilst providing improvements to highway safety through the access arrangements proposed

  Members were informed of the main issues which were still being considered in respect of the proposals, these being:

·  retail and out of centre issues; that a Sequential Test and Impact Analysis had been submitted and were being considered by the Council’s independent retail consult

·  that objections from the three neighbouring Local Authorities had been received regarding the impact of the proposals on their centres

·  that the cumulative impact of the proposals had to be considered in relation to the proposals for introducing retail uses at Thorpe Park and the impact both of these could have – if approved – on planned development in the City Centre, particularly the Victoria Gate development and the proposals for the second phase of that scheme.  The Chief Planning Officer stated that the retail impact assessment would be at the core when it came to assess these proposals in view of the other retail schemes coming forward

·  whether extensions to existing stores had a different impact as opposed to the creation of new, separate stores and the introduction of a new offer into the WRC

·  highways issues; the proposals for some improvements to the bus station but the need to consider public transport links to the WRC from further afield and for longer hours; the loss of a high level of parking, with no re-provision for shoppers, with the approach being to create an off-site staff car park; the need to make this attractive for staff to use and to understand what further measures would be proposed in the event that the parking proposals were not as successful as envisaged.  There would also be a need to link the two proposals by condition to ensure neither element could be brought forward in isolation

·  pedestrian access and the need for improved links, particularly from the adjacent office park

·  job creation, with around 1,000 new jobs being created through the construction and post-construction phases; that discussions were ongoing with Employment Leeds and the need to ensure local employment was achieved

·  that as a Green Belt site the proposal for the staff car park was inappropriate development and therefore the applicant had to demonstrate that ‘very special circumstances’ existed to outweigh the intrinsic harm to the Green Belt caused by the proposals

·  the design of the car park and the need to ensure safety of staff using it, especially late at night

A small number of representations had been received at this stage and whilst there was support for the local jobs and investment the expansion would create, concerns at its impact and the need for the proper tests and analysis to be carried out had been raised

Members discussed the proposals and commented on the following matters:

·  the anticipated increase in customers if the scheme was approved and where the expected additional shoppers would be coming from

·  the use of public transport and whether people would be likely to use this to travel to the centre, particularly to undertake major shopping

·  how it could be ensured that staff were not using the more remote parts of the WRC car park, rather than a dedicated staff car park further away

·  whether the proposals would lead to car park charges being implemented at the WRC.  Members were informed that there were no proposals to introduce a charge for parking at the WRC

·  the need to ensure that, if approved, there was sufficient and safe staff parking during the construction of the WRC extensions, with the possibility of the car park being ready in place before this.  On this matter, the Chief Planning Officer stated that whilst it was right for this to be considered, there was currently surplus car parking spaces at the WRC; that the staff car park was proposed on a Green Belt site, which required careful consideration and that it was important to ensure there was no overspill, whilst at the same time ensuring that not too much car parking was being provided too early

·  the need for adequate lighting of the staff car park, with Officers advising that there would be a condition requiring the submission of a car park management plan to enable these concerns to be addressed

·  that the proposals were for a massive expansion of the floorspace and that the onus was on the developers to show that this would not have an impact, with the view being that this had not been done

·  that the concerns of Morley Town Council Planning Committee had not been addressed and that the developer’s approach had been to mount a publicity exercise and garner support for the scheme

·  the likelihood that the application could be called in by the Secretary of State

·  that the proposed leisure uses would bring in more people who would then stay for longer, thereby having a greater impact on the car parks in the WRC

·  that at certain times, i.e. weekends, Bank Holidays and close to Christmas, the existing car parks at the centre were full, with queuing traffic then building up on to Dewsbury Road and that even taking into account the creation of a staff car park, the overall level of  customer parking at the centre would be less

·  the number of buses which ran past the site per hour and that a system could be introduced to enable staff to travel by bus from the more remote car park and access the WRC via the bus station

·  that improved evening bus services to the WRC were needed as there were gaps in provision from areas of the city in relative close proximity to the site

·  that the siting of a staff car park on a Green Belt site was not too great a concern in this case as the area was particularly degraded, although there were mixed views on the loss of an area of Green Belt

·  that the creation of a car park in isolation might help increase trade at the WRC as during peak times, many shoppers drove away from the centre when it was clear that the car parks were full

·  that the development of the WRC had led to the creation of traffic problems in the local area, particularly on the Ring Road to the site and on the A653 and at what point Highways Officers would feel that capacity had been reached

·  that the previous proposals for decked car parking should be re-introduced

·  that there was a need for the developers to do more to encourage public transport use to the WRC

·  the importance of ensuring local employment and to welcome the training initiatives the proposals would bring

The Chief Planning Officer stated that the traffic impact of the

proposals would be very carefully assessed and that the jobs; investment; expansion of bus services and training would go hand in hand and was the kernel of the whole judgement of the application

In response to the specific points raised in the report, the Panel

provided the following comments:

·  regarding the proposal to increase the level of floorspace and introduce a new cinema use at the WRC, the view was expressed that currently the case for this had not been proved, whereas some Members felt this might be acceptable but it would be subject to further retail assessments to understand the impacts and the benefits

·  regarding assurances to be sought from the developers in terms of ensuring that the principal elements of the retail proposals were delivered as extensions to the existing large anchor stores and preventing their subdivision in the future in order to protect planned investment in Leeds City Centre and adjoining local authorities, Members required a legal agreement for this

·  that more research was needed to satisfy Members there would be no further significant impact on the local highway network as a result of the development, particularly at peak periods, e.g. Christmas and on match days

·  that an integrated approach to the development of the bus station to serve the WRC and the neighbouring office park, together with associated improvements to infrastructure and footpath links was supported, however the difficulties this posed when dealing with a de-regulated bus industry had to be realised and there was a need to fully understand the interventions proposed to drive modal changes.  Members also supported the provision of improved bus services to local labour market areas with high levels of unemployment, as identified in the South Leeds Investment Strategy, such as Middleton Park, Beeston and Holbeck and Morley and that Churwell also needed to be included

·  that the request for further detailed and specific information as set out above was supported and the need for an overall review of all bus services which ran past and through the WRC was called for

·  the information and proposals for cyclists should be incorporated

·  that it was too early to comment on the parameter plans

·  that high quality design was required

·  to note the planning obligations set out in the report and that a car sharing plan could be considered as part of the S106 Agreement

·  that the developers should provide a financial viability statement in support of their case as to why a decked car park solution was not possible and why Green Belt land needed to be used

·  that in terms of restricting the use of the land for car parking to prevent its further development in the future, that this must be tied down tightly to ensure there were no loopholes

·  that the provision of a management plan for the car park and pedestrian routes to the centre, setting out measures to encourage its use by staff and ensure their safety and security in using these areas must be provided

·  regarding the impact of the proposed car park on the character of the area, Members welcomed the retention of the hedegrows and trees

·  in terms of security of the car park and for staff using this area late at night, that more assurances were needed of the measures to be put in place and that consideration should be given to allowing staff to walk through the WRC after it closed to the public, rather than requiring them to walk outside late at night

·  to bear in mind that it would be the cinema and restaurants which would be the most important in terms of generating additional traffic and leading to extra pressure on car parking

RESOLVED -  To note the report and the comments now made