Agenda item

Demolition of the existing buildings and construction of 19 affordable homes together with associated parking, access and landscaping.

Public Participation:

·       Clive Durrant – spoke in objection to the application

·       Matt Holmes – Agent – spoke in support of the application

·       Cllr Julia Ford, West Lavington Parish Council – spoke in objection to the application

Nick Clark, Senior Planning Officer introduced the report which recommended that planning permission be approved, for reasons detailed in the report, for the demolition of the existing buildings and construction of 19 affordable homes together with associated parking, access and landscaping.

The officer advised that the principle of redevelopment of the site is supported both by the Wiltshire Core Strategy and the West Lavington Neighbourhood Plan. The main concerns raised by objectors relate to the loss of a dedicated development for elderly accommodation, impacts in terms of traffic, neighbour amenities and the character of the area. The site is currently vacant and there is little apparent prospect of it being brought back into use in its current form. There will be a change in the residential character of the site, particularly in terms of the replacement of bungalows with 2-storey buildings. The development will continue to provide affordable housing, including housing suitable for the elderly. The proximity of the development will be noticeable to neighbours and there will also be some increase in vehicle movements resulting from the development. The impacts however are assessed as not being material in the context of the site and would not support refusal of the application.

The officer explained that his conclusion is that the scheme is considered to accord with the development plan policy and is acceptable, therefore planning permission is recommended subject to the conditions set out in the report.

In response to technical questions asked by the Committee, the officer was unable to supply information about the residents who previously occupied Hedges House; the use of solar panels were not detailed in the application plans; the existing dwellings were felt to be too small for future occupancy and not appropriate for modern living standards.

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

The unitary division member, Cllr Dominic Muns spoke in objection to the application. Cllr Muns asked the Committee to consider the visual impact, the relationship to adjoining properties, design (bulk, height, general appearance), environmental and highway impact and the ‘loss of the current property status (supporting elderly residents) in favour of young families catered for as part of the 50 houses going into Lavington Lane site.

In response to issues raised during public participation and the Unitary Member statement, the planning officer explained that the road junction served a number of dwellings in the vicinity of the site and highways did not raise any objections in relation to this; detail about elderly accommodation is set out in the Neighbourhood Plan, which also comments on affordable homes; the planning application refusal in the vicinity of the application site related to an application for a proposed glamping site in an adjacent field and therefore of a dissimilar nature to this application.

So that the Committee had something to debate Cllr Brian Mathew proposed a motion to refuse the application, with reasons in relation to heigh and massing, that the application was contrary to Core Policies 51 and 57, and Policy NE2 of the West Lavington Neighbourhood Plan, and the application would fail to provide housing for the elderly – contrary to Core Policy 46.

A debate followed where Members commented on the need for elderly housing in the West Lavington area and the visual impact of the proposals on the eastern side of the site.  

At the conclusion of the debate, it was

Resolved:

That Planning Permission is refused for the reasons stated below:

1.    By reason of the height and massing of the development at the eastern end of the site (plots 14 to 19) the development would impose upon and harm the landscape setting of the village and the sense of openness between the recreation ground to the north of the site and the farmland to the south. As such the proposal fails to demonstrate a high quality of design that is appropriate to the local context or that would make a positive contribution to the character of the area, contrary to Wiltshire Core Strategy Core Policy 51  and Core Policy 57 and policy NE2 of the West Lavington Neighbourhood Plan.

2.    The development would fail to provide sufficient housing for the elderly contrary to the aims of Wiltshire Core Strategy Core Policy 46 and the West Lavington Neighbourhood Plan.