Agenda item

In respect of application numbered S/19/095/RA (Demolition of existing buildings and erection of 149no. residential units and associated works, Former George Gay Gardens Kelham Close, Park South, Swindon) the Committee considered: -

          Name                                 Address/Organisation

          Councillor Cathy Martin       Cabinet Member for Housing and Public    Safety                            

          Robert Walder                     On behalf of the Applicant

          Patrick Herring                    Parish Council

          Councillor Bazil Soloman      Ward Councillor

Councillors John Ballman, Malcolm Davies, Paul Dixon, Steph Exell, Nick Martin, Jane Milner-Barry, Stan Pajak, Jim Robbins, Vera Tomlinson and Peter Watts spoke in respect of this application.

Submissions in support of the application can be broadly summarised as:

·       That 149 residential units would replace 86 units being demolished (including 50 at George Gay Gardens already demolished under prior approval) giving a net increase of 63 units.

·       The development would provide a mix of one and two bedroom flats and one, two, three and four bedroom houses.

·       The development would also provide a mix of units for rent, for shared ownership and market rental high quality housing to meet local need.

·       The principal of residential use of the brown field site was well established with its previous usage being residential and was situated within the existing urban area with a presumption for approving residential development.

·       The site was sustainable and well situated for public transport and parking provision was well above requirement for a development of its size with provision for electric vehicle charging and adequate cycle provision.

·       No objection had been received from Highway Officers to the application.

·       The application would deliver an appropriate number of units for the site, making efficient use of the land with around 60 units per hectare.

·       The design of the development was acceptable given the orientation, shape and nature of the site.

·       Whilst the size of some rooms had been raised as a concern they were broadly in line with the recent development of the former Royal British Legion site in Penhill and some other urban developments within the Borough; it was noted that the National Space Standards had not been adopted by the Planning Authority and the rooms meet the requirement for funding from Home England.

·       Refusal of planning permission on the basis of an un-adopted policy when the development was supported by a Government Agency would not be a sound decision.

·       There were no objections from the Council’s Environmental Health team with sound and air quality issues having been addressed as part of the scheme design.

·       There would be a loss of trees, however the applicant had attempted to retain as many as possible given the maximisation of design for units and car parking; the scheme once constructed would have a longer lifespan than the trees being lost; and there would be mitigation in the form of on and off-site planting of trees.

·       A detailed landscaping plan, required under condition 3 of the application, would address planting locations and species of new trees to be planted.

·       The applicant had undertaken an ecological appraisal that had not highlighted any protected species on the site following the demolition of George Gay Gardens and an Environmental Management Plan was required under condition 12 and would ensure a biodiversity gain on site.

·       Mitigation for on-site open space would be secured in writing and the final approval would be subject to an agreed financial contribution.

·       The new housing units would replace units that were either approaching the end of their life or had gone beyond it and would be constructed in a more sustainable manner than existing units.

·       During consultation in 2017 the local community was generally supportive of the scheme.

·       The development would provide both affordable housing and a gateway into the town.

·       Bedrooms and living spaces had been designed to allow maximum space with a smaller hallway to compensate and met the requirement of Homes England and the living spaces in flats were above National Space Standards and were comparable to homes being registered on the open market in Milton Keynes.

·       The living room space and kitchen space were both light and well ventilated and living space was generally cross ventilated to make them both light, airy and comfortable to live in with double glazing and acoustic windows on the road side and the blocks of flats had misting systems.

·       The scheme had good storm water drainage and a wildlife corridor.

·       The scheme would offer a catalyst for regeneration in the area maximising the development of the site with high quality housing improving the quality of homes in the area in a modern sustainable scheme.

·       The scheme supported Swindon’s Pledge to ensure there was housing option in the Borough including affordable housing and the option to rent or buy.

·       The design team had worked closely with a number of consultees so the development was designed and revised to meet their expectations in a number of key design factors.

·       The gain of 63 units from a brownfield site should be welcomed.

·       The application complied with the current Local Plan and National Space Standards had not been adopted within the Local Plan and would be considered as any other application would be.

Submissions opposing the application can be broadly summarised as:

·       The smaller size of some of the rooms proposed by the application.

·       There would be a significant loss of trees, from eighty established trees to four, and the loss of key specimens on site which would not be fully compensated for by offsite planting.

·       The application did not provide sufficient on-site open space with no children’s play equipment being provided on-site.

·       The funding of play equipment in other adjoining areas did not adequately address the lack of play facilities within the development.

·       There was currently a shortage of parking in Park South which adjoined the proposed development so it was vital that the development was self-sufficient in parking provision and offered an appropriate amount of disabled parking provision.

·       The development was spoilt by not adhering to a number of standards that the Planning Authority and Planning Committee had adopted when the Council should be an exemplar developer.

·       The size of rooms and dwelling, especially three bed houses fell short of national standards or barely met those standards.

·       The National Planning Policy Framework standards and Guidance should have been a starting point of the development not an aspiration and it appeared that a pre-2013 template had been used in error.

·       Given the layout of plots it should be a relatively simple task to increase the size of the three bedroom units.

·       The plan only provide 10% of the parking permitting Electric Vehicle Charging which given plans to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles in the coming twenty years was short-sighted with some homes being over 100 metres from an electric vehicle charging space and did not comply with the proposals in the current Parking Standards Consultation documentation.

·       All parking spaces should have smart electric vehicle charging points, allowing energy to be transferred to the national grid.

·       The design did not maximise the opportunity offered for a sustainable development to help the Borough reduce its carbon footprint.

·       The Council was not taking the opportunity as a developer, using its own land, to build zero carbon housing nor should it be putting in gas boilers when the Government was to ban new gas boilers from 2025.

·       Swindon should follow Exeter City Council in building its own properties to the passivhaus housing standard and following the lead of other Local Authorities such as Nottingham and Enfield in sustainable housing including ground source heat pumps.

·       An Environmental Impact Assessment had not been undertaken and Policy DE2 (Local Plan Sustainable Construction) had been left off the list of relevant policies.

·       The Council should aspire to meeting the Parker Morris Standards for Housing even though they had been abolished in 1980 and any standards below the National Space Standards was unacceptable, if legal.

·       That if a development permitting houses under National Space Standards were permitted it would act as a potential precedent in the future.

·       Sections 150 and 151 of the revised NPPF appeared not to have been addressed in the application submitted in order to reduce the effect of the development on climate change.

Resolved - That the Head of Planning, Regulatory Services and Heritage be authorised to grant planning permission subject to the conditions set out in the report together with any amendments, omitted or additional conditions as may be necessary and written confirmation from the Applicant to secure the affordable housing provision and the open space contributions.