Agenda and minutes

Councillor Picknell welcomed everyone to the meeting. Members of the Committee and officers introduced themselves and the Chair outlined the procedures for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of substitute members.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a) Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b)  Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c)   Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or  your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d)   Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e)   Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f)    Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g)   Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

The order of business would be as per the agenda. Item B4 - Unit 4, Roman Way Industrial Estate, 149 Roman Way had been withdrawn by the applicant so would not be considered at the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2021 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Retrospective Change of use from a retail unit to a restaurant/cafes (Class E); the installation of mechanical plant (extractors and air conditioning unit) on the rear roof of the building; installation of an air conditioning unit in the rear garden; and a single storey rear extension to the building including installation of rooflights. Retention of existing shopfront alterations with use of the front tables and chairs and external alterations to rear elevation including installation of rooflights.

(Planning application number:P2020/1364/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         A member raised concern that it did not appear that the applicant had liaised with the upstairs neighbour to address concerns about anti-social behaviour and noise in the front outdoor seating area. The applicant stated that this area would be managed well, there were a limited number of seats and there would be no vertical eating or drinking permitted.

·         Concerns were raised about the additional waste that would be generated by a restaurant with 60 covers. Officers stated that there were two collections daily Monday-Saturday so there should not be a significant impact.

·         In response to an objector’s concerns about existing drainage issues which would be exacerbated by the scheme, the planning officer stated that drainage was not a material planning consideration on an application of this scale.

·         A member stated the importance of not putting oil down drains and the applicant advised the disposal of oil would be managed properly.

·         In response to concerns about potential noise and odour from the proposed extraction equipment, the planning officer stated that a noise report had been submitted and was considered acceptable and the commercial odour team considered the proposed extraction equipment as sufficient. Also, if the equipment was changed, a new planning application would be required to be submitted.

·         The Chair stated that the usual conditions for an application in a residential area had been applied.

RESOLVED:

That following consideration of the case officer’s report (the assessment and recommendations therein), the presentation to Committee, submitted representations and objections provided verbally at this meeting, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report.

Change of use of building from A1 use (retail with ancillary residential) [876sqm] to Class E (office with production rooms), external minor alterations to include replacement entrance door, cycle parking, window replacements; replacement of existing winter garden at first floor level, installation of 2x mechanical plant and associated screened plant enclosure at roof level, courtyard alterations and associated works. [RECONSULTATION- following additional details on this application notably the submission of a draft

Operational management plan).

(Planning application number: P2020/1700/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         The planning officer advised that an extra condition on Class E –restricted uses (compliance) had been added to the proposed list of conditions.

·         In relation to ten people being permitted to work out of hours at any one time, a member asked about the practicalities of this. The applicant advised that if staff were working through the night they would probably start work at the end of the working day and finish in the morning. They would not be entering and leaving the premises all through the night. They also would not be doing this every night, it was in place to permit flexibility.

·         Members welcomed the productive dialogue that had taken place between the applicant and neighbours and thanked the officers for enabling this.

·         A member commented that the premises was well suited to this type of business and it was the kind of small business that was encouraged in Islington.

RESOLVED:

That following consideration of the case officer’s report (the assessment and recommendations therein), the presentation to Committee, submitted representations and objections provided verbally at this meeting, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report.

Erection of roof extensions at fifth and sixth floor levels; erection of roof top plant room to include mechanical plant; formation of terrace at sixth floor level; installation of mechanical plant at second floor level; erection of infill front extensions at ground floor level; and associated external alterations including façade repair, landscaping at ground floor and erection of cycle store.

(Planning application number: P2020/3454/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         In response to concerns raised about light pollution and potential light sensor problems, the planning officer stated that the wording of the existing condition could be strengthened. However it would only apply to the new elements of the building. If light sensors were referenced in the conditions and were not working, this could be reported and enforcement action could be taken.

·         In response to a member’s suggestion that green roofs be added to the wider property to improve the sustainability of the application, the planning officer advised that this would require the submission of a further planning application.

·         A member stated that there were no concerns from design officers and the neighbouring amenity impacts were relatively small with small transgressions in terms of daylight/sunlight impacts.

·         The scheme was broadly policy compliant.

·         A member welcomed the mosaics on the existing building being fully restored.

Councillor Clarke proposed a motion to strengthen the wording of Condition 9 and also include the requirement for light sensors to be used. This was seconded by Councillor Poyser and carried.

RESOLVED:

That following consideration of the case officer’s report (the assessment and recommendations therein), the presentation to Committee, submitted representations and objections provided verbally at this meeting, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report with the Condition 9 amended as outlined above, the wording of which was delegated to officers in consultation with the Chair.

This application was withdrawn by the applicant so was not considered at the meeting.

MINUTE 165

GATE HOUSE, 1 ST JOHN’S SQUARE, LONDON, EC1M 4DH

AMENDED CONDITION 9: Details of measures to adequately mitigate light pollution from any areas of glazing within the 5^th and 6^th floor roof extension hereby approved the approved roof extension shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to occupation of the development.

These measures could include (but are not limited to):

-        Lighting strategies that reduce the output of luminaires closer to the

         facades;

-        Light fittings controlled through the use of sensors;

-        Timers;

-        Low level lighting;

-        Details on glare and direction.

Measures shall also include details and/or a strategy to overcome breakage to ensure that any malfunction to the proposed mitigation would not be at the harm to the amenity of neighbouring occupiers.

The approved mitigation measures including those to overcome malfunction shall be implemented strictly in accordance with the approved details and shall be permanently maintained thereafter into perpetuity.

REASON: In the interests of the residential amenities of the occupants of adjacent residential dwellings.