Agenda item

Demolition of existing building and construction of a part two, part six-storey mixed use building providing 1,802m2 of B1(a) office floorspace over basement, ground, first and second floors and 10 residential flats (three x 1-bedroom, six x 2-bedroom, one x 3-bedroom) above.

(Planning application number: P2016/4533/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         The Planning Officer informed Members that item was deferred at the meeting of the Committee on 18 July 2017 for three reasons which the applicant had now addressed. Members were advised that the applicant had submitted responses from the Design Review Panel (DRP), an amended daylight sunlight report and a Fire Strategy.

·         The meeting was informed that 2 letters of objection had been received, one from a resident who is registered to speak and 2 letters from local Member of Parliament raising issues of overlooking, privacy, daylight/sunlight and light pollution. The local MP has requested if further amendments could be made to overcome overlooking issue.

·         Members were informed that feedback from DRP was positive and they were impressed with the quality of the materials proposed especially with the special bricks. Also Members were advised that applicant had received a letter from the fire authority confirming their satisfaction with the proposals safety strategy.

·         With regards to the impact of the daylight loss, the Planning Officer advised that fewer windows actually failed the test as compared to the original officer assessment in the July report and that the applicant had visited 5 neighbouring flats to confirm the room sizes and layouts and submitted an amended daylight/sunlight assessment.

·         Objections raised by neighbouring residents included concerns regarding overlooking, the scale of the scheme, whether the new case officer been passed the previous letters of objection, whether the windows were numbered correctly in the amended daylight/sunlight report and that officers had not visited their apartments to assess the impact of the proposal on resident’s amenity.

·         In response the applicant’s agent informed Members that the proposal would provide a higher quality, more accessible and more employment space than the existing buildings currently offered. They clarified the addresses of the flats that had been visited and the window numbering in the daylight/sunlight report

·         Members were concerned about the level of overlooking from the offices to nearby residents and Cllr Fletcher proposed a motion to amend condition 9 to alleviate the privacy concerns by providing obscure glazing to all south facing windows to the rear elevation.  This was seconded by Councillor Khan and carried.  

·         Members were concerned about the hours of use of the terrace and potential noise pollution concerns arising from the use of the roof terraces and Cllr Kay proposed a motion to limit the hours of its use from 09:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday.  This was seconded by Councillor Nicholls and carried.

RESOLVED:

That planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report and the amended conditionsand subject to the prior completion of a Deed of Planning Obligation made under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 securing the heads of terms as set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report.