Agenda item

To consider a report by the Chief Planning Officer which sets of details of an application which seeks the erection of 437 dwellings with new roads, open space, landscaping, drainage and associated works at Radial Park, Manston Lane, Leeds, LS15 8ST

(Report attached)

With reference to the meeting held on 10^th October 2019 when Members received a detailed position statement in respect of the application, the Chief Planning Officer now submitted a report seeking agreement of the proposals in principle.

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 to construct 437 dwellings (29 different house types)

·  Creation of new roads, 3 new access routes, open space provision, drainage and associated works

·  Building heights predominantly 2 and 3 storeys

·  Amended window features

·  Materials plan

·  Sustainability condition to include some photovoltaic cells

The Planning Officer reported the receipt of additional representations from Ward Members who had: expressed a need to avoid a blandness to  the design of the houses, good design of the street scenes was required, it was important that an off-site payment for replacement sports facilities within the Ward was pursued, the future of the Barnbow Sports and Social club was a key consideration and must be included within the Section 106 Agreement, the heritage aspects as described in the report were welcomed, and the unresolved highways issues must, in the first instance, be agreed with Ward Councillors before any recommendation to defer and delegate to officers would be acceptable.

Further representations had also been received from two local residents who had identified the following issues: the minimum separation distance standards must be applied, there were anti-social behaviour issues from nearby Housing Association properties and a resultant need for affordable housing to be ‘pepper-potted’ throughout the site, there was a lack of permanent retail provision included within the Masterplan, there was no clear benefit to the provision of a link road to Maggie Barker Avenue,  there were no direct links across the railway line to the proposed Green Park, and the construction methods and materials proposed for use were not sufficiently advanced in terms of ensuring carbon reduction and contributing towards climate change mitigation.

Members raised the following questions to officers/ applicant’s representatives:

·  The provision of photovoltaic cells was included on some houses but not all, could a condition be added requiring the infrastructure for photovoltaic cells to be included on all properties

·  Could more sustainable building materials and an overall sustainable building approach, in terms of construction methods, be considered

·  The proposed house types appeared to be very bland and uninteresting, could further thought be given to a more modern/ interesting house types design similar to those at the Thorpe Park development

·  It was disappointing that there was no accessible housing provision on site  and the application as a whole was not in accordance with recently adopted Core Strategy Policy H10

·  The provision of only 2 bungalows was unacceptable on a site of this size

·  Was there any heritage proposals for remembering the former activities on the site during its use as a munitions factory

·   What was the proposed timescale for completion of the development

·  Could speed tables be provided within the site to reduce both vehicle and cycle speed, particularly at the access point from Manston Lane

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

·  In order for conditions to be added they needed to be necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms. In this case there was no planning policy requirement for all houses to be built with photovoltaic cells. Therefore officer advice is that such a condition would fail the legal tests and should not be added

·  Policies regarding environmental sustainability credentials can be met in a variety of ways by developers, be this via use of low-carbon materials, inclusion of photovoltaic cells on properties etc.  A mixture of approaches had been proposed here, such that existing policy requirements are met

·  Members were informed that the modern house type design at the Thorpe Park development replicated the modern design of the nearby Business Park, the Radial Park design was more traditional so as to ensure links / sympathetic design maintained in relation to the nearby Belway and Avant development sites

·  Members were informed that the report before Members dealt with the outstanding issues remaining following Members consideration of the earlier Position Statement. Providing accessible and adaptable dwellings does increase build-out costs and also requires additional space, which could adversely impact on the overall viability of the scheme, a matter which was considered at the time of the Position Statement

·  Provision of accessible and / or adaptable dwellings has to be balanced against other planning considerations, such as the provision of affordable housing on-site – which Members had previously considered should be a priority on this development site due to the reported viability position

·  Members were informed that the two bungalows had been provided at the request of Members, with the presence of bungalows on a development proposal of this nature in fact being rare

·  All dwellings will have electric vehicle charging points

·  The Planning Case Officer said the WWII Pill Box on Austhorpe Road would be retained but the former tank factory was a relatively modern building with limited heritage interest, such that it had been demolished in its entirety and nothing historical remains on site.

·  Members were informed that road names on the development will serve as a remembrance to the munitions’ workers that lost their lives at the site, as has been the case on the Belway development. There was also a scheduled monument nearby remembering the workers of the munitions factory and Members were keen to ensure the future of the Barnbow Sports and Social Club was secured to retain this additional historic link

·  The applicants representative said the development should be complete within a period of 4 - 5 years

·  The LCC Highway Officer confirmed that some speed tables could be considered near the entrances to the site and the junctions with the cycle routes

In offering comments Members raised the following matters:

·  One Member expressed the view that “this was a boring development with boring house types – Where’s the ambition”

·  The majority of Members expressed disappointment with the design of the house types suggesting they were too bland and uninspiring and could further design work be undertaken

·  Could further discussions take place with a view to achieving an increase on the number of photovoltaic cells

·  A number of Members expressed concern about the lack of accessible housing and requested if the issue could be revisited.

·  Unresolved highway issues require the agreement of Ward Councillors

It was suggested by a number of Members that the application be deferred to look again at the concerns raised by Members

The Chair thanked the developers for their attendance and contribution, commenting that there appeared to be a number of concerns raised by Members which required further discussion.

RESOLVED – That the application be deferred, to return to Panel for consideration at a later date following further discussion/ negotiations having been undertaken with the applicant concerning:

·  Alternative design solutions of the house types

·  An increase in the provision of photovoltaic cells or adaptability of properties to incorporate cells at a later point

·  Accessible housing provision

·  Unresolved highway issues

·  Incorporation of additional elements linking the development to its former use (and heritage significance of the same)