Agenda item

Demolition of Existing Buildings to Facilitate the Mixed Use Development of the Site to Provide 61 Residential Units, Two Commercial Units of B1 Use, One Retail Unit, and Associated Car Parking.

The presentation and discussion relating to this application was included with the previous application on the agenda – S/2003/1016.

The Chairman moved Officer’s recommendation for APPROVAL in line with Officer’s recommendation; this was seconded by Cllr Hewitt.

The motion was not carried.

Cllr Devine moved the motion for REFUSAL against Officer’s recommendation for the reasons as set out in the decision below.

This was seconded by Cllr Tomes.

Resolved

That application 16/07192/FUL was REFUSED against Officer’s recommendation for the following reasons:

1.    The precautionary approach adopted by The National Planning Policy Framework is that the overall aim of decision-makers should be to steer new development to Flood Zone 1 and a 'Sequential Test' must be undertaken to see whether there are alternative lower risk sites that could accommodate the development. The proposal is for a 'more vulnerable' form of development proposed within Flood Zone 2/3. The NPPF makes clear that such development should be located in Flood Zone 1 unless it can be demonstrated that no such sites are available.

The council can demonstrate that there is a readily available and deliverable 5-year supply of housing land in Flood Zone 1, the zone of least risk, within the Local Planning Authority area to meet the housing development needs of the area. South Wiltshire has 5.69 years of deliverable housing land supply and therefore there is no urgent or immediate need for further housing to be permitted on this site to meet strategic requirements.

The applicant has not demonstrated that the site should be brought forward for housing development ahead of other sites in Flood Zone 1. The proposal would

therefore represent an unacceptable form of development with particular regard to its flood zone location, the flood vulnerability of the residential development and the sequential test of the NPPF, NPPG and contrary to Core Policy 67 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy.

2.    The applicant has provided a viability assessment dated the 7th April 2016 which outlines the applicants case that the proposed development is not considered to be viable to provide the required contributions for affordable housing and other infrastructure contributions. The local planning authority's assessment of this document indicates that there is scope to provide some contributions towards infrastructure requirements associated with the site.

Therefore the proposed development, does not make provision for 40% affordable housing on site as required by core policy 43 of the Adopted Wiltshire Core strategy nor does it make provision for other infrastructure requirements including contributions towards the cost of a traffic regulations order to control parking on the estate, Education contributions towards primary and secondary school education in the area, on site public art contribution or contribution towards waste and recycling as required by core policy 3 of the adopted Wiltshire Core strategy.

3.    The site is located in the historic market town of Wilton and will be served by several narrow access roads. The development would result in significant traffic generation which would utilise the existing access points. Traffic generated by this residential development is likely to result in 24 hour use of the site on an ad hoc basis by residents to the detriment of the amenity of neighbouring residential properties situated on these access roads, as such the proposal is considered to be contrary to policy CP57 (vii) of the Wiltshire Core strategy.

Councillors Westmoreland, Clewer and Hewitt requested their dissent of the decision noted.