Agenda item

To consider application UTT/23/2119/FUL.

The Senior Planning Officer presented an application for the erection of 2 no. semi-detached dwellings with associated access, parking and landscaping.

He recommended that the application be approved, subject to the conditions outlined in section 17 of the report.

There was also an additional proposed condition for a lighting scheme to the west side of the plot, starting from the south-western corner of the unit 1 building to the north-western corner of plot 1.

In response to questions from Members, officers clarified the following:

·       A Construction Management Plan could be implemented to ensure that the adjacent pathways were not obstructed at any time during the development’s construction phase.

·       The application site was an informal open space and not designated public open space or part of the protected open spaces’ network. As such, policies LC1 and ENV3 of the Local Plan and policy SW17 of the Saffron Walden Neighbourhood Plan were not applicable.

·       There was no mechanism in which a green space could be designated as a public open space, based on usage or maintenance over time alone.

·       The proposal was compliant with the Nationally Described Space Standard.

·       There was a dispute regarding the ownership of the land at the north-end of the plot. For this reason, the fence line would not be brought to the end of the plot.

Members discussed:

·       No objections had been raised by the Statutory Consultees, including Saffron Walden Town Council.

·       There were concerns over the potential loss of the land as a public open space.However, as the application site was not designated public open spaceit was not protected by the provisions of the Local Plan or the Saffron Walden Neighbourhood Plan

·       The issue around ownership of the land to the north of the plot was ongoing and out of the control of the Committee as a non-planning matter.

·       To prevent anti-social behaviour, a condition could be applied for a lighting scheme to be applied on the east, north and west sides of the development as the development would create darker footways due to the necessary use of close boarded fencing for the private gardens and due to the size of the proposed dwellings. 

·       There was a lack of evidence in the original planning permissions for the wider estate to outline the rationale as to why the green space had been left, and why it was not designated as a Public Open Space.

·       Neighbourhood Plans could be used in future to enhance and protect pre-existing green spaces.

·       The design of the houses was similar to the surrounding area.

Councillor Loughlin proposed that the application be approved, with the additional conditions:

·       A lighting scheme for the east, west and north sides of the site

·       Construction Management Plan

This was seconded by Councillor Sutton.

RESOLVED: that the Director of Planning be authorised to grant permission for the development subject to the items outlined in section 17 of the report and the additional conditions listed above.

A written statement from Councillor C Fiddy was read out against the application.

T Cannon (Agent) spoke in support of the application.

Meeting ended 14:38