Agenda item

            That planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report of the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) and subject to the applicant entering into a Section 106 obligation/Unilateral Undertaking to provide the following:-

a.         Payment of £49,028 towards educational provision/improvements (toilets) for Croes Atti Primary School;

b.         Contribution of £1,100 per dwelling in lieu of on-site open space provision to fund improvements to the adjacent play area at Croes Atti Lane.

If the obligation pursuant to Section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as outlined above) is not completed within six months of the date of the committee resolution, the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) be given delegated authority to REFUSE the application. 

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) in respect of this application which had been the subject of a site visit on 21^st March 2016.  The usual consultations had been undertaken and the responses received detailed in the report.  Additional comments received since the preparation of the report were circulated at the meeting. 

            The officer detailed the background to the report and explained that this was an outline application with all other matters except access reserved for future consideration.  The site had had a number of industrial uses and the main issues for consideration related to archaeological implications of the development, flood risk and highways.  The site lay within flood zone C2 and there was a pond located to the west of the site.  A flood consequences assessment had been submitted with the application and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had no objections to the proposals subject to conditions relating to surface water and finished floor levels.  On the issue of archaeology, Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) had advised that the site fell within an area of high archaeological sensitivity and it was therefore considered that due to the brownfield nature of the site, it would be reasonable to condition any archaeological investigations to part of the reserved matters submission in order to inform the proposed layout. 

On the issue of access, it was proposed to create one access point to the centre of the site frontage to serve the proposed residential development and this had been accepted by Highways who had not submitted any objections to the proposals subject to the imposition of conditions as set out in their response.  Welsh Water had objected to a new connection in this location into the foul network as there was insufficient capacity in the existing network.  However, there were a number of businesses on this site which had connections into the network which would be replace those flows; calculations could be undertaken at the reserved matters stage.  Concerns had been raised about the impact on the residential amenity and any detailed layout would need to take account of the adjacent dwelling Rubern to ensure that there was no detrimental impact in terms of overlooking and to achieve a layout and design that was in scale with the adjacent property.  The Section 106 obligation related to educational contributions for Croes Atti Primary School and a contribution in lieu of on-site open space provision to fund improvements to the adjacent play area at Croes Atti Lane.         

            Councillor Ian Dunbar proposed the recommendation for approval which was duly seconded.  He said that Highways had provided assurances on highway issues and screening would be considered at the reserved matters stage to ensure that the neighbouring property was not overlooked. 

            The Local Member, Councillor Rita Johnson, raised concern about the nearby reservoir which was higher than the ground level of the site which was in a known flood risk area.  She quoted from Planning Policy Statement 25 which indicated that developments in such areas should be avoided where possible and suggested that this development was not required due to the large housing development nearby.  She explained that the A548 had been closed in the past because of flooding and felt that building additional properties in this area was likely to increase the risk of flooding.  Councillor Johnson felt that hedgerow in the area would assist in reducing the risk of flooding but raised concern that the removal of hedgerow in the area for the creation of this and other developments would further increase the risk of flooding.  She said that the site had always been for light commercial use and it was still a busy working site.  She felt that it was important to protect and promote local jobs, not lose them for additional housing which was not needed in this location. 

            Councillor Owen Thomas referred to the last sentence in the comments from CPAT which indicated that, in their opinion, the application should not be determined until the archaeological resource had been properly evaluated.  Councillor Richard Jones said that both CADW and CPAT had commented on the archaeological history of the site which he felt should be considered by Members in their determination of the application.  Councillor Chris Bithell agreed about the archaeological importance of the site and suggested that a condition be included for an archaeological watching brief to ensure that if there were any historical signs on the site that they were to be preserved, photographed and commented on.  Councillor Mike Peers felt that the current use of the site as a small industrial enterprise should be taken into account as it provided local employment.  Councillor Richard Lloyd felt that the area was suitable for housing but referred to the comments of Welsh Water who had raised concerns about incidents of flooding in the area and had raised objection to the application.  He asked if it was appropriate to include a ‘grampian-style’ condition that work could not commence on the site until improvements had been made to the sewerage system. 

Councillor Gareth Roberts concurred that this was a site of archaeological importance and spoke of the need to ensure that investigations on the site were carried out.  Councillor David Roney referred to the issue of flooding and felt that increasing the amount of concrete in the ground would increase the risk of flooding and suggested that building should not take place on this site or on the nearby site where 700 houses were proposed to be built.  Councillor David Cox indicated that photographs of the archaeological site had been taken approximately 15 years ago and suggested that a report on the archaeological investigations on the site should be prepared.  Councillor Derek Butler referred to the 19 conditions on the application and said that the request from CADW for scheduled ancient monument consent should also be conditioned.  In referring to the concerns raised by Welsh Water about flooding in their consultation response on page 166, Councillor Marion Bateman sought assurance that mitigation would be put in place at the reserved matters stage.  Councillor Ray Hughes queried how the finished floor levels requested by Natural Resources Wales to alleviate the flood risk would be managed.  He felt that the application should be refused due to concerns about the drainage issues in the area. 

            In response to the comments made, the officer indicated that a flood consequences assessment had been submitted as part of the application.  The site was not an allocated employment site and the proposal for residential development was on a sustainable location and was in accordance with policy.  She felt that it was not necessary to include a condition for the scheduled ancient monument consent and referred Members to condition 6 about the requirement for an archaeological investigation to take place prior to the reserved matters submission.  The officer explained that the site was a brownfield site and advised that the comments of Welsh Water indicated that a further assessment of the sewer network would be required to consider the impact of the development on the sewerage network; this could be investigated at the reserved matters stage. 

            The Planning Strategy Manager advised that the suggested hydraulic modelling assessment work by Welsh Water would be at the expense of the developer and would determine the capacity and whether any improvement works were required.  On the issue of the archaeological history of the site, he reminded the Committee that development of the site could not commence until an archaeological assessment had been carried out. 

            RESOLVED:

            That planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report of the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) and subject to the applicant entering into a Section 106 obligation/Unilateral Undertaking to provide the following:-

a.         Payment of £49,028 towards educational provision/improvements (toilets) for Croes Atti Primary School;

b.         Contribution of £1,100 per dwelling in lieu of on-site open space provision to fund improvements to the adjacent play area at Croes Atti Lane.

If the obligation pursuant to Section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as outlined above) is not completed within six months of the date of the committee resolution, the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) be given delegated authority to REFUSE the application.