Agenda item

To consider a report by the Chief Planning Officer which sets out details of a major application for Build to Rent residential development of 7-22 storeys with 349 apartments, landscaping, basement parking and associated works at land off Marsh Lane, Saxton Lane and Flax Place, Leeds, LS9 8HE

 

 

(Report attached)

The Chief Planning Officer submitted a report which set out details of an application for a build to rent residential development of 7 – 22 storey’s with 349 apartments, landscaping, basement parking and associated works to land off Marsh Lane, Saxton Lane and Flax Place, Leeds, LS9 8HE.

 

Members visited the site prior to the meeting.  Site photographs and plans were displayed and referred to throughout the discussion of the application.

 

Planning Officers addressed the Panel, speaking in detail about the proposal and highlighted the following:

 

·  Site/ location/context

·  The proposal is to erect 2 buildings (A & B) separated by public realm which provides a permeable route for pedestrians from Saxton Lane to the south, through to Railway Street to the north and then on through the railway arches to the Marsh Lane/ Shannon Street development area and Quarry Hill

·  Building (A) steps from 18 to 20 to 22 floors in height, Building (B) steps up from 6 to 12 and then up to 18 storeys at its highest point and is an open U-shaped in plan

·  The two buildings are 20m apart at their nearest point at first floor level, then rising to 25m and 35m at the upper levels

·  Built to rent development, 349 apartments, 1 ,2 and 3 beds, all apartments meet Nationally Described Space Standards

·  Residential facilities in both Blocks A & B comprising community, work and event space, plant, refuse and bicycle storage areas.

·  Vehicular access via a ramp to a basement parking area taken from Flax Place

·  53 parking spaces, including 3 disabled spaces, 5 electric changing points to be provided and 15 motorcycle spaces

·  Public realm through the centre of the site would be a mix of hard and soft landscaping containing trees in raised planters. There is also an apron of land fronting Marsh Lane which would be given over to grass containing wind mitigation features supplemented by landscaping

·  Public realm would be a managed space with concierge

·  Steps/ ramp up to centre space

·  Materials – Metal frame with brickwork and masonry, punched window openings, with mixed palette of complementary brick tones to be used across both buildings

·  Extensive wind testing, wind mitigation measure including the provision of perforated wind panels

·  Affordable housing provision (15 units) following submission of a financial viability assessment

 

Members raised the following questions to officers:

 

·  The site had been the subject of a wind tunnel study, which direction does the wind come from

·  5 Electric Vehicle Charging Points (EVCP) are to be provided in the basement of the building, given that the city has declared a climate emergency could more EVCP’s be provided 

·  What was envisaged would be the situation when all parking spaces in the basement of the building were occupied in terms of further parking for occupiers

·  Could further clarification be provided about the affordable housing provision

·  Was there good connectivity from the site to the city centre

·  Could further details be provided about the design of the wind mitigation features

·  Was the applicant providing all necessary planning obligations  and sufficient public space

·  Where was the affordable housing to be located

·  When does the applicant envisage development would commence

·  Members queried once again if there were any proposals to reopen the former Marsh Lane Railway Station and also the railway arches to enhance connectivity, suggesting there was general support from Members for both

·  Members queried the use of trees in planters and types of tree species proposed

 

In responding to the issues raised, Planning Officers/ applicant representatives said:

 

·  Members were informed that the prevailing winds emanate from a south westerly direction. Issues arise here due to the wind travelling between the railway viaduct and the tall buildings.  The height of the buildings proposed would also result in wind hitting the high structure and being forced downwards.

·  Wind testing had identified a potential issue around the base of the buildings resulting in a requirement for a range of wind mitigation measures on site and provision of a wind mitigation screen off-site adjacent to the railway viaduct to the north west of the site.

·  The applicant’s agent confirmed that the developers would be willing to install the EVCP infrastructure for all 53 parking spaces, with 5 EVCP’s to be operational upon first occupancy of the building and with the possibility for others to become operational as the need arises.

·  Members were informed that following a review of a viability appraisal by the District Valuer (DV), the DV had concluded that the applicant could not afford the full policy compliant requirement of 7% of the total number of units being provided as affordable housing, the applicant should provide 4.23% (15 units).

·  The Legal Officer confirmed that, while this may not be fully policy compliant, it is a situation where that then has to be weighed against all other aspects of the scheme as a material consideration.  In the balancing exercise, it is for Members to determine what weight is given to that point of the proposal not being fully policy-compliant in respect of affordable housing.

·  Members were informed that connectivity from the site to the City Centre was good. The scheme allowed a new 24 hour public route to be realised through the site. Heading in a northerly direction pedestrians would pass through the railway arch to the existing pedestrian crossing, which provides a link to the Quarry House complex.  In addition, there is the possibility for a potential footbridge across to the Quarry House complex in the future. There was also possible connectivity to the south with delivery of further developments.

·  Members were informed that the final designs for the wind mitigation features would be controlled by planning condition but example designs were provided to indicate their likely visual impact.

·  The wind mitigation would be a combination of soft landscaping with trees and high hedges; some artificial trees and screens; and there is likely to be a canopy required at an upper-level of the building to resolve the issues with down-draft highlighted.

·  Limited car parking spaces will be provided within the development.  Occupancy of which will be managed and controlled by the building’s operators.  If all are occupied within the development, then there will be no further parking provision.  The local area is subject to widespread on-street parking controls. £20,000 is also being sought from the developer to fund TROs to extend parking controls where necessary to further limit the potential for adverse conditions arising from on-street parking in the vicinity of the site.  In addition, the site is within walking distance to public transport facilities and city centre services and so it is unlikely that the proposed level of car parking would result in adverse conditions on the highway.

·  Members were informed that the obligations within the Section 106 Agreement were policy compliant, fairly and reasonably related to the development, and necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms.

·  The existing public open space provided as part of the scheme was being given ‘in kind’ and is deemed acceptable in place making and connectivity terms. There is no planning policy requirement to provide public open space if a site is less than ½ hectare in size in the city centre, such that this proposal is policy compliant.

·  The affordable housing units would be located throughout the scheme and would reflect pro-rata the mix of residential unit types in the overall development. This was a build to rent scheme so there was flexibility within the scheme in terms of the exact location of the discounted units. 

·  The affordable housing units would be provided in an appropriate proportion to the other units forming part of the development, in terms of the number of 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units.

·  The applicant envisages that they will be on-site in Quarter 1 of 2020, subject to permission being granted.

·  The City Centre Team Leader confirmed there were currently no proposals to provide a rail halt in this location. The Chief Planning Officer said the current focus for rail halts was at: Thorpe Park, White Rose and the Airport, Marsh Lane was not part of the strategic plan or part of proposals identified as a priority by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), working in conjunction with Network Rail. However he would raise the matter with WYCA.

·  Officers confirmed that some of the Plaza trees would be in the ground, but others will be in planters.  For those in planters, the depth of soil would be sufficient for them to become established. The Chair requested that the proposed list of trees to be used be provided to Councillor Nash for her attention. 

 

In offering comments Members raised the following issues:

 

·  In general, Members were supportive of the application commenting that it was a suitable site for the proposed development, it was a good design and it would bring employment opportunities to the area.

·  There was some concern about the extent of the wind mitigation features, it was suggested that these may detract from the overall appearance of the building and / or make some spaces unusable in practice by occupiers on a daily basis. As a result their detailed design needs to be controlled and their effectiveness needs to be tested at post installation stage.

·  Members expressed the view that an additional condition be included requiring that the infrastructure for the EVCP for all 53 parking spaces be provided, with the understanding that 5 EVCP’s would be operational upon first occupancy of the building and the possibility remaining for others to become operational as the need arises.

·  A number of Members suggested that the Affordable Housing Policy requirement of 7% of units being provided as affordable housing should not be set aside, querying the costings and evaluation submitted in the applicant’s viability report.  The DV clarified for Members on this point that the costings and viability submitted by the applicant had been verified.

·  In general, Members welcomed the regeneration of the Richmond Hill area with significant development having taken place.  Increased connectivity of and better public transport provision to the area generally would further aid reduction of social isolation.

·  A number of Members suggested that WYCA now need to review their position about the future use of the former Marsh Lane Railway Station

·  One Member questioned if there was the demand for a Railway Station at Marsh Lane.  However, a number of Members did express the view that the addition of a rail halt at Marsh Lane would be positive – particularly given the significant number of developments now being progressed in this area.

·  It was noted that the Chief Planning Officer would liaise further with transport planning colleagues, and potentially WYCA, to ascertain what stage had been reached in any ongoing discussions regarding reopening of the rail holt.

·  One Member expressed concern about air quality in this location, with the hope that air quality would be monitored post-development to ensure concerns had been adequately addressed in this regard.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(i)  That the application be deferred and delegated to the Chief Planning Officer for approval subject to the conditions specified at Appendix 1 of the submitted report with the inclusion of an additional condition requiring that the infrastructure for the electric vehicle charging points (EVCP)  53 in total, be provided in the basement of the building, 5 EVCP’s to be operational upon first occupancy of the building, others to become operational as the need arises (and any others which he might consider appropriate) and following the completion of a Section 106 Agreement to include the following obligations:

 

•   15 Affordable housing units to be provided on site (see   paragraph    9.10)

•   Public access to open space area to be accessible 24 hours

•   Contribution towards legible Leeds wayfinding (£32,000)

•   Contribution to changes to TRO’s (£20,000)

•   Contribution for loss of on street car parking spaces (£36,000)

•    Residential Travel Plan Fund including a contribution towards   the proposed footbridge over Marsh Lane (£87,337.25)

•   Travel Plan review fee (£4,494)

•   Employment and training opportunities

 

(ii)  In the event of the Section 106 Agreement having not been completed within 3 months of the resolution to grant planning permission, the final determination of the application shall be delegated to the Chief Planning Officer.