Agenda and minutes

Councillor Cat Arnold – illness

Councillor Alan Clark - personal

Councillor Brian Parbutt – personal

Councillor Andrew Rule – personal

Councillor Malcom Wood - illness

Councillor Michael Edwards informed the Committee that he intended to speak as a ward councillor to agenda item 4a, ‘8 separate parcels of land around Arkwright Walk and Blackstone Walk, Nottingham’ (minute 45), and as such he would withdraw from the meeting following his presentation and prior to and for the duration of the Committee’s consideration of the application.

Of the meeting held on 19 October 2016 (for confirmation)

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2016 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Prior to the Committee’s consideration of the application and with the Chair’s agreement, Councillor Michael Edwards made a verbal representation in his capacity as Ward Councillor, which is summarised as follows:

At the early stages of the proposals a vision was presented that Arkwright Walk would again become an attractive pedestrian and cycle route both into the City and from the City’s railway station towards the large sporting venues around Trent Bridge. With this in mind, agreement was given for some sound buildings to be demolished to enable a ‘statement entrance’ to be created at each end of Arkwright Walk.

It is understood that following concerns raised during consultation, design revisions have been made to the proposed design of the apartments which are intended to act as the ‘statement entrance’, including a variation in brick colour and lightening the appearance of the balconies. However, the design still appears very square, chunky and uninteresting with little effort to include decoration and the balcony supporting columns remaining brick squares.

Whilst the proposed design of the houses is welcomed, the Committee is asked to consider if proposed design for the apartments provides a suitably handsome appearance as a ‘statement entrance’ to the area.

Rob Percival, Area Planning Manager, presented application 16/01999/PFUL3  by BM3 Architects on behalf of Mr Peter Shambrook for planning permission to erect 112 new dwellings, comprising of 78 houses and 34 apartments and associated parking.  The application is brought to Committee because it concerns a major development of significant local interest.

Rob Percival delivered a brief presentation which included plans, aerial and street level photographs and computer generated images (CGIs) of the current sites and how the completed elements of the application were expected to appear.

The Update Sheet provided an amended recommendation.

Councillor’s comments included:

(a)  The design of the proposed houses is attractive, charming, inviting and generally welcomed;

(b)  The design of the apartment buildings is troubling and even disappointing, particularly those proposed at the Northern end of Arkwright Walk. Although the appearance of the balconies has been slightly softened, the overall appearance is rather harsh / brutal, too stark and needs further consideration;

(c)  Consideration should be given to prevent the houses becoming Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). Also that the ground floors of the three storey units should be active to prevent a barren appearance in a residential area;

(d)  It is recognised that statement buildings were requested but the proposed design of the apartments is a very different contemporary architectural language to the rest of the development;

(e)  Regarding the apartments at the northern end of Arkwright Walk, the design needs to be altered to enhance the corner of the building and better respond to this junction between Meadows Way and Arkwright Walk;

(f)  The Committee should be realistic in their design expectations with regard to land values on Arkwright Walk. However, even the latest proposals for the apartments are too ‘block–like’ and radical work is required to soften their appearance;

(g)  The housing CGIs indicate that there is no provision for boundary treatment beyond the planting of shrubs. This needs to be revisited and boundaries clearly identified. Shrubs require maintenance and act as an unsightly litter trap which could be a particular issue for a route that will be regularly used to access the sports grounds. Walls and railings or pillar and panel fencing should be considered as a standard requirement for all houses.

RESOLVED to

(1)  grant planning permission following the resolution of outstanding design issues and subject to the conditions listed in the draft decision notice at the end of the report, to include an additional condition confirming that the use of the  dwellings falls within Use Class C3;

(2)  delegate the power to determine the outstanding design issues to the Chief Planner in consultation with the Chair, Vice Chair and opposition spokesperson;

(3)  delegate to the Chief Planner the power to determine the final details of the conditions.

Martin Poole, Area Planning Manager, presented application 16/01856/PFUL3 by Savills on behalf of Red Kangaroo for planning permission for change of use from B1/B2/B8 (employment) to D2 (assembly and leisure), a trampoline park.

The application is brought to Committee because if approved, the decision would result in a significant departure from the policies of the Development Plan.

Martin Poole delivered a brief presentation which included plans, aerial and street level photographs and highlighted to the Committee that this is an unusual situation where the site straddles the administrative boundaries of Nottingham City Council and Broxtowe Borough Council.

The Committee were informed that although the site has been promoted and marketed widely as class B1/B2/B8 use, it has remained vacant for 2 years and advertised for 3. The applicant has demonstrated that no other suitable premises were available, in preferable locations, within the applicant’s ‘catchment area’ to the North of the City. The majority of the site sits within the administrative area of Broxtowe Borough Council which has a less restrictive policy for the area and is likely to approve the separate application that has been submitted to it. There is potential for up to 52 jobs to be created by the establishment of the business.

The Update Sheet, supplied as a supplement to the agenda, provided further information and a revised recommendation to ensure that the provision of a travel plan by the applicant is enforceable.

Councillors commented as follows:

(a)  It is unfortunate that the site is not easily accessible to citizens who do not have use of a car and who rely on public transport. This excludes key areas of population from accessing the facility, restricting use to citizens with vehicles. There are suitable sites within the City, including the Meadows, which are near to town centres and can be accessed by all citizens. ;

(b)  A balance is to be considered and it would be beneficial for the building to be brought back into use and provide jobs in the area.

RESOLVED , subject to no additional material matters being raised in response to the press notice advertising the development as a departure from the Local Plan, to:

(1)  grant planning permission subject to the conditions listed in the draft decision notice at the end of the report, to include an amendment as follows to condition 2 to improve clarity and ensure that the provision of a travel plan is enforceable:

‘The use hereby permitted shall not be carried on unless within 3 months of the development hereby permitted becoming operational, an updated Travel Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The Travel Plan shall set out proposals (including targets, a timetable and enforcement mechanism) to promote travel by sustainable modes which are acceptable to the local planning authority and shall include arrangements for monitoring of progress of the proposals. The Travel Plan shall be implemented in accordance with the timetable set out in that plan unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority’;

(2)  delegate the power to determine the final details of the conditions to the Chief Planner.

Councillor Michael Edwards abstained from voting on the application.

Rob Percival, Area Planning Manager, presented application16/02044/PVAR3 made by Mr Anton Lang on behalf of Mr Ian Pole to remove condition 1 of planning permission reference 15/00925/PVAR3 to enable permanent use of the premises as a taxi office.

The application is brought to Committee as it is considered to be sensitive given the previous level of public interest.

The application site has been subject to two previous temporary permissions to enable the impact of the business to be assessed once the tram and station improvement works had been completed.

Councillors commented that the business has adhered to the previous permissions and there is no evidence of it causing an adverse impact in the area.

RESOLVED to

(1)  grant planning permission following the expiry of the consultation period

and subject to no material objections being received, for the reasons set out in the report, subject to the indicative conditions substantially in the form listed in the draft decision notice at the end of the report;

(2)  delegate the power to determine the final details of the conditions to the

Chief Planner.

Report of the Chief Planner

Alice Ullathorne, Heritage Strategy Officer, presented the report which asks the Committee to consider and approve for consultation the criteria and selection process for designating Locally Listed Heritage Assets within Nottingham and whether to invoke ‘Article 4’ to enable further protection.

To date, approximately 800 sites in Nottingham have been designated as heritage assets by Historic England. However, there are an estimated 530 sites which do not meet Historic England’s criteria but which are locally considered to be of historic value, mainly proposed by the Civic Society.

In creating a Local List of heritage assets and invoking ‘Article 4’, any listed assets are not awarded any specific protection but due consideration and officer assessment of the impact on the heritage asset will be required at an early stage of planning applications as per paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2012.

Councillor’s commented as follows:

(a)  The proposal is welcomed;

(b)  It’s good to see that many other Local Authorities across the country have adopted Local Lists and the process has proved effective;

(c)  Caves, which continue to be found in the City and are of historic importance, (nearly 560 have been found to date) should be considered for inclusion on the local list.

RESOLVED to approve:

(a)  the proposed Local List criteria and selection process for non-designated Heritage Assets for consultation;

(b)  as part of the consultation,  to ask for views as to the desirability of an Article 4 direction to further protect non-designated heritage assets.