Agenda item

Demolition of existing buildings and redevelopment  to form circa 61 one and two bed sheltered apartments for the elderly including communal facilities, access, car parking and landscaping – UPPERTON.  10 objections had been received.     

The relevant planning history for the site was detailed within the report.  The observations of the Housing Services Manager, the Specialist Advisors for Planning Policy and Strategy and Commissioning - Regeneration, the East Sussex County Council Lead Local Flood Authority (ESCC SUDS) and Adult Social Care were also summarised.

Members were advised that additional information supplied by the applicant outlined that the scheme would be constructed from Upperton Road via a new layby and crane.

The committee was advised that East Sussex County Highways department had responded as follows:

This application was for the redevelopment of a site that was previously a car showroom and workshop into a 61 room sheltered accommodation apartment block.  A Transport Assessment (TA) had been submitted as part of the application and its contents and conclusions were acceptable.  The sites central location puts it well within acceptable walking distance of public transport facilities (bus & rail) as well as the shops and services associated with the town centre location. This would limit the need of residents and visitors to travel by car.  A total of 21 parking spaces were proposed. The ESCC Parking guidelines suggested that one space should be provided per two – four units. 21 spaces was approximately one space per three units and therefore acceptable. There was also sufficient space to turn within the site.  The TA included a comparison of the number of vehicle trips the previous use and proposed use would create. The proposed use was shown to produce fewer trips than the previous use. A comparison had been carried out using the TRICS database and obtained almost the same result. As there was a reduction in trips the proposal would have a lesser impact on the highway network than previously existed.  Currently the site had vehicle accesses in both Upperton Road and Southfields Road. The proposal would remove the access from Upperton Road, apart from for pedestrians and retain the current access in Southfields Road. The continued use of the Southfields Road access was acceptable. The removal of a vehicle access from Upperton Road A2270 was considered a positive step as potential disruption to traffic flow would be removed. Utilising Upperton Road for the pedestrian access was also a positive step as the footways and crossings facilities between the site and the town centre were better than via Southfield Road.  It was noted that there was concern regarding the construction phase and the resultant large vehicle using Southfields Road. A proposal had been submitted showing a layby arrangement which could be implemented in Upperton Road which would limit the level of site traffic which would need to use Southfields Road. This proposal was acceptable in principle but details would need to be agreed. This could be controlled through the site traffic management plan which would also control site vehicle routing, etc. The suggested layout would make use of part of the footway for a loading bay.  This would need to be strengthened to accommodate the vehicle loading. The footway would need to be reinstated at the end of the construction of the building. The vehicle movements would need to be controlled by a qualified banksman and the details of the pedestrian footway would need to be finalised and agreed. Concern was raised with the proposal for just a white line to demarcate the loading bay/footway. A barrier/hoarding line would seem more appropriate to segregate pedestrians from the site.  The impact of this development on the highway network would be minimal and therefore the Highways department did not wish to restrict grant of consent subject to the inclusion of a number of additional conditions.

Mr Robertson addressed the committee, stating that he was in favour of the development, however he did have some concerns regarding the building stage and the delivery of plant and the parking availability for site staff.

Mr King, agent for the applicant, addressed the committee in response stating that a Site Manager would be available at all times. The Southfields Road access would only be required initially for the delivery of plant for no more than two days and workers would be required to use pay and display parking within the town.

RESOLVED:(By 5 votes to 2) That subject to a S106 agreement covering ‘Local Labour Initiatives’ and ‘age of resident restriction’ permission be granted subject to the following conditions: 1) Time Limit 2) Accordance with approved drawings 3) Prior to their installation all external materials submitted and approved 4) Prior to their installation all boundary treatments submitted and approved 5) Prior to first occupation refuse/recycling shall be made available to residents along with a statement for the presentation of bins on collection day 6) Prior to the first occupation buggy store shall be made available to residents 7) Prior to the first occupation the car park shall be laid out in accordance with the details 8) Demolition/construction method statement 9) No plant machinery to be used outside of the following times 08:00 – 18:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00 13:00 Saturdays and not at all on Bank or public holidays 10) Prior to commencement other than demolition hard and soft landscaping submitted and approved 11) Prior to construction of the proposed development, a drainage survey is undertaken to determine the existing surface water discharge location (s). Details of the drainage survey should be submitted to and agreed by the Local Planning Authority 12) The surface water management proposals formulated for the detailed design stage should be supported by detailed hydraulic calculations. These calculations should take into account the connectivity of the different drainage features. They should show a ‘like for like’ discharge rate between the existing and proposed scenarios during the 1 in 1, 1 in 30 and 1 in 100 (plus an allowance for climate change) rainfall events. If it is not practical to limit the runoff volume to the existing, the excess volume during a 6 hours 1 in 100 years storm should be discharged at a rate of 2 l/s/ha 13) A maintenance and management plan for the entire drainage system should be submitted to and agreed by the local planning authority before any construction commences on the site. This plan should clearly state who will be responsible for managing all aspects of the surface water drainage system. The appropriate authority for the maintenance needs to be satisfied with the submitted details 14) Prior to the construction on site , other than demolition a contaminated land assessment and associated remedial strategy is to be submitted and agreed 15) The building shall not be occupied until details of all exterior lighting have (including security lighting) have been submitted and approved 16) Before the development hereby permitted is commenced full details of all proposed extract flues, ventilation systems and meter boxes shall be submitted to and approved 17) The development shall not be occupied until a means of access for pedestrians from Upperton Road has been constructed in accordance with the approved plans 18) The development shall not be occupied until the existing accesses from Upperton Road shown on the approved plan has been stopped up and the kerb and footway reinstated in accordance with details submitted to and approved in writing by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport. These works will need to be licenced by ESCC prior to commencement 19) Prior to demolition works commencing on site a Traffic Management Scheme, including details of the loading lay by in Upperton Road shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with the Highway Authority.  This shall include the size of vehicles, routing of vehicles and hours of operation. (Given the busy nature of the approach roads the hours of delivery/ collection should avoid peak traffic flow times) 20) During any form of earthworks and/or excavations that are carried out as part of the development, suitable vehicle wheel washing equipment should be provided within the site, to the approval of the Planning Authority, to prevent contamination and damage to the adjacent roads 21) The development shall not be occupied until parking areas have been provided in accordance with the approved plans and the areas shall thereafter be retained for that use and shall not be used other than for the parking of motor vehicles.