Agenda item

Demolition of existing garages and erection of two houses with garages plus the provision of a passing space adjoining The Clays (amendment to 17/07414/FUL).

Public Participation:

Mr Fred Davis spoke in objection to the application.

Mr John Williams spoke in objection to the application.

Miss Rada Tintor spoke in objection to the application.

Mr Paul Oakley, Agent, spoke in support of the application.

Ian Myhill of Market Lavington Parish Council spoke in objection to the application.

The Planning Officer, Ruaridh O'Donoghue, introduced a report which recommended that planning permission be granted, subject to conditions, for the demolition of existing garages and the erection of two houses with garages plus the provision of a passing space adjoining The Clays (amendment to 17/07414/FUL).  Key issues were stated to include; the principle of residential development on the site; impact upon neighbouring residents; impact on the conservation area, and impact upon highway safety/parking arrangements.

The main issue to be considered was whether the proposal had now overcome the Committee’s reason for refusal on highways grounds in respect of the previous application at its meeting on 2 November 2017. The applicant had amended the plans to include a passing bay to try to address this issue.

Attention was drawn to the late observations, which were summarised by the officer.

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. In response to questions, the officer clarified that The Clays is a Bridleway, so is designated for use by horses, pedestrians and bicycles; there are no vehicular access rights. However, there are at present cars using the bridleway - 6 or 7 properties currently use it for access. It was confirmed by the officer that no complaints have been received regarding unauthorised use of The Clays, so residents either have a demonstrable private right to use The Clays or have not caused a nuisance that has been reported. The officer also advised that the garages currently on the site pre-date some of the houses so the applicant may well be able to demonstrate a right of access. It was further confirmed that the granting of planning permission does not give applicants a vehicular right of access.

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

In response to public statements the planning officer stated that a condition was proposed requiring the submission and approval of a construction method statement to ensure that safe vehicle access by construction vehicles can be achieved. 

A debate followed, whereby the main issues raised included access and parking. Some members felt that, although a small improvement had been made to the application through the addition of a passing bay, it was not felt that this was sufficient to overcome the previous highway refusal reason. It was also raised that there was evidence of other problems, including damage to local buildings and emergency vehicles not being able to gain access due to parking problems in the area, and that parking rules were not currently being obeyed and subsequently enforced. Concerns were raised that the construction of these properties would make the situation worse. However, some members felt that changing the site’s use from garages to residential would result in a reduction in traffic and that the narrowness of the lane restricted speed. Therefore, conflict with other Bridleway users would be reduced and they were in support of the application.

During the debate Cllr Richard Gamble proposed a motion to refuse planning permission, against officer recommendation, for the same reasons as the original application as it was considered that the addition of the passing bay did not go far enough in addressing the highway safety concerns previously raised. This was seconded by Cllr Chris Williams.

Following debate, the Committee voted on the motion to refuse, and it was:

Resolved:

To refuse planning permission for the following reason:

1.    The Clays is a bridleway (MLAV24) with a definitive width of just 3 metres across its entire length.  It is unsuitable, by reason of its narrow width and poor quality surfacing, to provide safe and suitable access to the development or to accommodate the additional vehicular movements associated with it. This would cause conflict with users of the bridleway, including cyclists and pedestrians.  Furthermore, the proposed layout is such that the development cannot be readily serviced by vehicles, in particular Plot 1.  The proposal would therefore be contrary to Core Policy 61 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy, which requires that proposals are capable of being served by safe access to the highway network, Core Policy 57 (vi) of the Wiltshire Core Strategy, which requires that development should take account of a site's characteristics and relate effectively to the immediate setting and the wider character of the area, and paragraph 32 of the National Planning Policy Framework, which requires that safe and suitable access to the site can be achieved for all people.