Agenda and minutes

Councillor Cheryl Barnard – other Council business

Councillor Graham Chapman – other Council business

Councillor Azad Choudhry - unwell

Councillor Sally Longford - unwell

Councillor Mohammed Saghir – on leave

None.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Graham Chapman as Vice-Chair for the 2019/20 municipal year.

Minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2019, for confirmation

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The application is brought to the Committee at the request of the local Ward Councillor who has raised valid planning concerns. Prior to the Committee’s consideration of this item and with the permission of the Chair, Councillor Adele Williams addressed the Committee in her role as a Ward Councillor and made the following points:

(a)  objections have been raised by neighbouring residents to the development as they feel its style to be too dark and monolithic, that the loss of morning light will be exacerbated by the materials to be used and that its industrial style will not sit well in the existing streetscape;

(b)  the development abuts the pavement with little outside space providing low standards of amenity space for proposed residents and having a negative impact on neighbouring residents’ amenity. There were also concerns that a proposed balcony overlooks a neighbouring property.

A copy of an email sent to Ward Councillors noting the concerns of five residents was included in an update sheet, which was circulated at the meeting and appended to the agenda published online.

Martin Poole, Area Planning Manager, introduced application number 18/02206/PFUL3 for planning permission by Buckenham & Co. LTD (Mr Stuart Buckenham) on behalf of Orchard Homes (Mr Tianqi Guo), for a proposed two bed dwelling. Mr Poole indicated that a previous (larger) application had been refused for the site in 2016 but that the current application was felt to have addressed the previous reasons for refusal and that whilst the proposed building is distinctive it was felt to be of good architectural design.

The following points were discussed:

(c)  the site has an area of 94m² and is formed of a large brick flat roofed workshop and a separate semi-detached hipped roof garage. The site is part of a larger garage court with additional flat roofed garages situated to the north. The site is situated on a residential street with dwellings situated to the north, east and west. To the south east of the site is a green GRP building housing an electrical sub-station with a large tree to the front of it. The site is generally flat and the workshop forms part of the existing boundary with No. 14 Devonshire Crescent to the north;

(d)  the current workshop building is not in character with the streetscape, and the proposed dwelling has been carefully considered in terms of size and scale. Whilst the proposed colours and materials appear dark and monolithic, and the proposed building had small windows and blank walls these matters could be dealt with by way of condition and had to be considered in the context of the existing buildings on the site;

(e)  there was no conformity of architectural style in the area;

(f)  it was not considered that the proposal would result in significant overlooking of neighbouring properties;

(g)  there were no fundamental objections to a building of this size and scale and the concerns around the blank walls, lack of fenestration and materials could be addressed via further discussions with the applicant and conditions.

RESOLVED to delegate power to determine the application to the Director of Planning and Regeneration, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-Chair, opposition member and Councillor Lauren O’Grady.

Martin Poole, Area Planning Manager, introduced application number 19/00659/NFUL3 for planning permission by Franklin Ellis Architects on behalf of Nottingham City Council Major Projects, for construction of new build 7 storey commercial office accommodation with associated external works.

A list of additional information, amendments and changes to the item since publication of the agenda was included in an update sheet, which was circulated at the meeting and appended to the agenda published online. This update sheet included a recommendation change, alterations to the proposed conditions of the draft decision notice, and further information provided by the applicant in relation to the sustainability and environmental performance of the building.

The application was brought to the Committee as it is a major application which is on a prominent site where there are design and heritage considerations. The following points were discussed:

(a)  the vacant application site comprises an area of approximately 0.5ha, and is located to the south of Nottingham Station. Immediately to its northern boundary is 1a Arkwright Walk and the Tinkers Leen. Cutting through the site is the NET tram bridge, whilst further to the east are the developments known as Picture Works and Station House. To the south is a hard landscaped area which has a number of trees within it, and the NET line which runs to the Meadows and beyond. The western boundary of the site is formed by Arkwright Street;

(b)  the building would be located to the western edge of the site and would front onto Arkwright Street. The building tapers in width, at its widest point it would be approximately 30m and 21m at its narrowest. It would be approximately 71m long and would have a maximum height of 34.29m. There would be a brick frontage facing onto Arkwright Street and the elevation facing onto the NET line would be fully glazed. Facing onto Crocus Place the building would be partially brick as it turns the corner to Arkwright Street and it would be fully glazed at its other corner. A mixture of brick and metal cladding is proposed along its northern elevation. The lower part of the building would have a plinth that is proposed in a different material;

(c)  following concerns by Historic England the long view from Carrington Street has been reconsidered. The Planning Authority was comfortable that the massing does not adversely impact on the Station clock tower but it was felt that some revision was required to the materials and design of the northern and western elevations which the applicant was happy to engage with;

(d)  discussions had taken place with the applicant around the use of the Crocus Place square and conditions have been included in the update sheet to require details of street furniture and planters to assist activation of this square. This must be a safe space and mitigate against anti-social behaviour;

(e)  concerns were raised from the neighbouring property at 1a Arkwright Street, to the north of the site, around loss of light to the flats in this building. The former building on the application site was of similar height to 1a Arkwright Street and was in closer proximity. Although the new building would be taller, it would be further away than the buildings that previously existed, and overall it was considered that the proposed building’s impact on the amenity of the occupiers of the adjacent building will be acceptable;

(f)  the building will have a BREEAM rating of ‘very good’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’ for sustainability. The applicant has given a commitment to explore all viable and deliverable opportunities to make the building as sustainable and future-proof as it can be. The applicant will work with Energy and Planning colleagues on the detailed construction and operational designs for the building;

(g)  following some concerns raised around the design of the Arkwright Street elevation, the Committee was presented with two alternatives of a more uniform design. The Committee preferred the original design to the alternatives as they found it to be have more variation and visual interest;

(h)  the route down Arkwright Street will grow in importance for pedestrians as the route through Arkwright Walk is opened up. The route down the side of the building must remain inviting to pedestrians and be well lit. It was also suggested that a bus stop be located outside the building;

(i)  the City Council has recently made a commitment to become the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028. This planning application meets the planning policy which requires buildings to achieve a minimum of a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating, but discussions are ongoing with the applicant around achieving a higher rating.

RESOLVED to:

(1)  approve the application in principle but to delegate the power to grant planning permission to the Director of Planning and Regeneration, subject to conditions substantially in the form of those listed in the draft decision notice (and further amendments in the update sheet) and subject also to him being satisfied upon receipt of amended plans showing satisfactory revised details of the northern and western elevations of the building;

(2)  delegate power to determine the final details of the conditions and also the final detail of the north and west elevations to the Director of Planning and Regeneration;

(3)  prepare a letter to the applicant on behalf of the Planning Committee, from the Chair and Director of Planning and Regeneration, to communicate the Committee’s strong view that the commitment for the applicant ‘to explore all viable and deliverable opportunities to make the building as sustainable and future-proof as it can be’ must be upheld.