Agenda item

Residential development of up to 57 dwellings together with new vehicular accesses onto Parkfields and Quakers Road, parking, pedestrian links, areas of public open space and landscaping (outline application; details relating to access)

Public Participation:

·       David Dawson - spoke in objection to the application

·       David Fellows – spoke in objection to the application

·       Simon Handy – agent – spoke in support of the application

·       Cllr Richard Oliver OBE – Devizes Town Council spoke in objection to the application

Andrew Guest, Head of Development Management presented the report which recommended that the Head of Development Management be authorised to grant planning permission, subject to first the completion of a S106 agreement within 6 months of the resolution date and subject to conditions detailed in the report.

The officer stated that the main considerations in this application are, firstly, the principle; and then detailed matters including highway safety, visual amenity, ecology, heritage impact, and residential amenity.

The officer advised that the site comprises c. 2.53 ha of mainly open land located on the north side of Devizes, within its defined ‘Market Town’ limits of development. The larger part of the site can reasonably be described as an enclosed field, although with some central small tree groups and a hard-surfaced area on its east side (former tennis courts, long-term dis-used). On its north side the site also includes sections of Parkfields road, including three ‘islands’ of open space. The site is generally level. To the south-east side of the site is London Road (A361). To the south side is Quakers Road, with the Wiltshire Police Headquarters beyond. To the south -west side is The Trinity Primary School. To the west, north and east sides is Parkfields road and a footpath link to London Road, with residential properties beyond. The site is enclosed by fencing and/or hedgerows with existing access gates from Parkfields. In planning policy terms the site lies within the limits of development of Devizes ‘Market Town’. The site has no specific land use designation.

The report detailed the responses to the consultation and representations received. It was noted that the application has been the subject of two rounds of public consultation. On both occasions Devizes Town Council has raised objections. The first consultation round generated 94 representations (all objections). The second consultation round generated 45 representations (all objections). All representations – first and second round – remain relevant to the determination of the application.

In response to technical questions asked by the Committee the officer explained that in comparison to other roads in the vicinity, the application site was adequate for its purpose, although it would be widened in part from c. 4.5m to 5m; Existing green verges would be used to construct new footpaths; it was confirmed that the green space through the centre of the development would be sufficient to sustain the resident badgers and bats; road access to and from the site was double width to accommodate cars in both directions.   

Members of the public then had the opportunity to present their views, as detailed above.

A statement objecting to the application from the unitary division member, Cllr Laura Mayes was circulated to the Committee prior to the meeting and read out by the Head of Development Management during the meeting.

In response to issues raised during public participation and the Unitary members statement, the Head of Development Management reminded the Committee that the application was an outline application and the plans attached to the report were illustrative and may not reflect the final design; the site was in a sustainable location with bus stops within easy walking distance; Wiltshire Council Highways did not object to road capacity not in terms of technical aspects of the scheme; the drainage strategy had not received any objections; and the photographs displayed in the slide presentation at the meeting had not been tampered with.

So that the Committee had something to debate the Chairman proposed a motion to grant the application, with conditions detailed at pages 46-52 of the agenda, as per the officer recommendations.

A debate followed where Members expressed concerns about the application in its outline form. Comments were made about the site access and congestion from the number of delivery vans; concern that communities are encouraged to prepare neighbourhood plans and one of the representations refers to the application being contrary to the Devizes Area Neighbourhood Plan which encourages brownfield development on smaller sites to satisfy required housing targets (the Head of Development Management explained that the application complied with the Neighbourhood Plan and referred to page 38 of the agenda pack and Policy H2); Proposal to have only one access onto the site (the Head of Development Management reminded the Committee that they had to consider the application before them, and two access road were necessary due to the green ‘lung’ constraints in the middle of the site); the application goes against the spirit of the Neighbourhood Plan; concern about additional traffic on London Road; access onto Parkfields; the negative impact on the badgers sett and food supply; and challenges during school drop off and pick up times.

The vote for granting the application was lost with one member in favour of the motion and five against. Therefore, a further motion was proposed to refuse the application on the grounds detailed below. The vote for refusing the application was won five in favour of the motion and one against.

At the conclusion of the debate, it was

Resolved:

That planning permission is refused for the following reasons:

1.    The proposal would lead to an increase in vehicular movements in Parkfields and Parkfield Terrace, this as a consequence of the additional houses planned to be accessed from these roads. By reason of the unusual layout of these roads and their relatively narrow carriageway widths (notably in Parkfield Terrace), the additional traffic would lead to increased danger and inconvenience to all users of these roads, to the detriment of highway safety. This is contrary to Core Policies 57(xiv) (‘Ensuring high quality design and place shaping’) and Core Policy 61 (‘Transport and new development’) of the Wiltshire Core Strategy.

2.    The application site is known to support an active badgers sett. By reason of the limited size and position of the proposed ‘green lung’ within which the badger sett is planned to be incorporated, the proposal would have a detrimental impact on the badgers and their environment. This is contrary to Core Policy 50 (‘Biodiversity and geodiversity’) of the Wiltshire Core Strategy