Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies were received from Councillor Ibrahim.

Councillor Woolf substituted for Councillor Ibrahim.

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 B1 and B2.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2021 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Demolition of existing building and erection of a replacement building for use in connection with the adventure playground and other community uses, erection of refuse facilities and associated works.

(Planning application number: P2021/1874/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         The officer advised that there was an inaccuracy in Paragraph 5.4 which stated that the application site was close to St Mary Magdalene Conservation Area when it was not close to any Conservation Area.

·         A member asked about the lifespan of a Category C tree and was advised by the applicant that it was about 10 years. He also advised that the tree had structural defects and it was not possible to keep the tree and provide the necessary accessibility to the building.

·         In response to a member’s question about community use, the planning officer confirmed that the proposal would provide facilities for community use, space for holding public meetings and it would also be used as a polling station.

·         In response to a member’s concerns about the proposed corrugated metal cladding, the planning officer advised that the site was not in a conservation area and there were no heritage impacts. The building was ancillary to public space. The applicant stated that the materials had been chosen following consultation and workshops and colours were chosen after discussions on colour therapy. The building would be environmentally and thermally efficient and had achieved BREEAM excellence at the planning stage.

·         In response to a member’s question as to whether additional windows had been considered for the front of the building, the applicant stated that toilets and services would be located at the front of the building and this limited the number of windows but allowed for more interaction and openness between the adventure playground space to the rear and activities carried out within the building.

Councillor Picknell proposed a motion to condition an additional tree of substantial size be planted on the site and officers to consider whether more tree planting could take place to ensure canopy cover on the site was generous. All trees planted were to be watered, tended and the ground around them mulched. This was seconded by Councillor Woolf and carried. The wording of the condition was delegated to officers in conjunction with the Chair.

RESOLVED:

That following consideration of the case officer’s report (the assessment and recommendations therein), the presentation to Committee and submitted representations, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report and the condition outlined above.

Proposed infill extensions to the existing building at first, second and third floors, creation of a fourth floor, creation of external terraces at fourth floor, erection of acoustic screening for external plant area above new fourth floor level, refurbishment and recladding of the existing building and associated works.

(Planning application number: P2020/3542/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         The planning officer stated that the application was subject to a S106 agreement.

·         In response to members’ questions about daylight/sunlight breaches to BRE guidance, the planning officer clarified that student accommodation was considered to be quasi-residential due to the non-permanent accommodation it provided. It was stated that BRE Guidance was guidance and some flexibility could be applied. BRE guidance prioritised living rooms rather than bedrooms. Although there were transgressions, they were not considered to be of such extent to warrant refusal.

·         Members considered that student accommodation should be given a higher priority under BRE guidance.

·         A member asked whether there was plant on top of the building and was advised that this would be the case but it would be set back and there would be no significant views of the plant.

RESOLVED:

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

MINUTE 80

CORNWALLIS ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND, 17 CORNWALLIS ROAD, LONDON, N19 4LP

Additional Conditions:

Condition: Planning permission is only hereby granted for the removal of the Horse Chestnut tree as shown on drawing no. PHP COR 01 100 Rev P1 (Existing Ground Floor Plan).  All other trees shall be retained unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Notwithstanding the drawings and information approved, prior to first occupation of the hereby approved community building a replacement tree planting plan shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority and approved in writing. The tree planting plan shall identify:

a)   A minimum of 3 replacement trees that shall be container grown, heavy standard nursery trees.  At least one of these trees shall have a minimum stem girth of 14-16cm and two of these trees shall have a minimum stem girth of 12-14cm. These 3 trees shall be planted within the Cornwallis Adventure Playground / Public Open Space.

b)   A further 3 replacement trees shall also be planted either within the Cornwallis Adventure Playground /Public Open space or within 200m of the boundary of the application site, within the public highway (locations to be agreed prior to planting with the Local Planning Authority) on the tree planting plan(s).

c)    The position, size and species of the replacement trees are to be shown on a submitted tree planting plan which should also be accompanied by a maintenance / management plan (including watering schedule) to cover a minimum period of 5 years. The maintenance/ management plan shall be submitted and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to any planting taking place.

d)    Details of soil preparation, staking, irrigation and maintenance of the trees shall also be submitted and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to any planting taking place and shall comply with the recommendations contained within BS8545 (2014) Trees: From Nursery to independence in the landscape.

e)   To help the establishment of new trees an irrigation tube or root bag shall be installed at the time of planting as this will help to direct the water to the roots located beneath.

The 6 replacement trees are to be planted within twelve months of the removal of the existing Horse Chestnut tree.  The trees shall be maintained and managed in accordance with the agreed Tree Planting Plan details for a minimum 5 year period.

To confirm compliance with this condition a photo of the planted trees should be submitted to the planning tree officer via planning (planning@islington.gov.uk ) quoting the relevant application planning reference. Suitable species for this location could include the following tree species:Silver Maple (Acer saccarinum), Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and/or Italian alder (Alnus cordata).

Reason: To ensure the continued amenity and environmental benefits provided by the trees and the planting of an appropriate species and to secure an appropriate degree of amenity and biodiversity replacement to the Horse Chestnut tree to be lost, including appropriate replacement canopy cover.

Condition: No retained tree shall be cut down, uprooted, destroyed, pruned, cut or damaged in any manner during the development phase and thereafter within 5 years from the date of occupation of the building for its permitted use, other than in accordance with the approved plans and particulars or as may be permitted by prior approval in writing from the local planning authority. 

Reason: Required to safeguard and enhance the character and amenity of the area, to provide ecological, environmental and bio-diversity benefits and to maximise the quality and usability of open spaces within the development, and to enhance its setting within the immediate locality in accordance with Policy DM 2.3 and DM 6.5, policies G1, G5 and G7 of the London Plan, policies G1 and G4 of the emerging Local Plan. 

Informative: 

The following British Standards should be referred to:  

a.    BS: 3882:2015 Specification for topsoil  

b.    BS: 3998:2010 Tree work – Recommendations 

c.    BS: 3936-1:1992 Nursery Stock - Part 1: Specification for trees and

shrubs 

d.    BS: 4428:1989 Code of practice for general landscaping

     operations (excluding hard surfaces) 

e.    BS: 4043:1989 Recommendations for Transplanting root-balled trees 

f.     BS: 5837 (2012) Trees in relation to demolition, design and

construction - Recommendations 

g.    BS: 7370-4:1993 Grounds maintenance part 4. Recommendations for

     maintenance of soft landscape (other than amenity turf). 

h.    BS: 8545:2014 Trees: from nursery to independence in the landscape -

Recommendations 

i.     BS: 8601:2013 Specification for subsoil and requirements for use