Agenda item

11.1  36C338A - Ysgol Henblas, Llangristiolus

11.1    36C338A – Full application for the erection of a dwelling and detached garage on land opposite Ysgol Henblas, Llangristiolus

The application is reported to the Planning and Orders Committee as the applicant works within the County Council’s planning function. The application has been scrutinised by the Monitoring Officer as required under paragraph 4.6.10.4 of the Council’s Constitution.

The Planning Development Team Leader reported that following receipt of an amended plan in relation to the siting of the detached garage, the publicity process was repeated with the latest date for the receipt of representations being the 2nd August, 2016. At the time of the writing of the report, two letters of objection and five letters of support had been received. The Officer confirmed that a further letter of objection had been received and that objectors to the proposal raise issues as regards the suitability of proposal within the village of Llangristiolus in terms of scale and affordability. It is the Officer’s view that the construction of the proposed dwelling is considered acceptable in this location; the proposal is compliant with policy and will not have a detrimental impact on the amenities of adjoining properties. There is already outline consent on the application site.  The recommendation is therefore to approve the application.

Councillor Victor Hughes referred to an issue of overlooking and sought clarification of the guidance with regard to separation distances and bedroom windows. Speaking as a Local Member Councillor, Victor Hughes referred to a letter of objection submitted by the occupant of the adjacent property in which concerns regarding the access and visibility splay and the water retention of the plot particularly at times of heavy rainfall are highlighted. Llangristiolus is an area where underlying rock is very close to the ground surface. Councillor Victor Hughes referred to a porosity study commissioned by the applicant and said that the test was undertaken in dry conditions. It is also proposed that a soakaway pit is to be sited in the wettest area of the site at the boundary wall with the objector’s property. Councillor Victor Hughes said that the landowner had opposed a previous application in 2009 by a neighbour on a site nearby because the site was historically susceptible to flooding and he quoted from the correspondence submitted at the time. He also referred to an e-mail dated May, 2015 by an Officer from the Council’s Drainage Section requesting details of the arrangements to dispose of surface water. In light of this information, Councillor Hughes said that he believed the drainage issues have not been adequately addressed and he proposed that determination of the application be deferred until such time as these issues along with concerns regarding the access have been resolved. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Vaughan Hughes.

The Planning Development Team Leader confirmed that the applicant had commissioned a report by professional consultants in relation to porosity and that the porosity test was carried out on 2nd January following a period of wet weather. The report complies with BRE Digest 365 and has been scrutinised and accepted by the Council’s Officers as a valid assessment. Building regulations Part H do provide a hierarchy of options for addressing drainage matters so there are measures available for dealing with potential drainage issues on the site. It is also possible for the Committee to impose a Grampian condition as part of consent to request that the applicant submits full details of the drainage scheme prior to work commencing on site. There is already an access on site as well as outline consent for a dwelling; the application as presented does not add to the traffic situation and represents an amendment to a proposal to erect a single dwelling where there is already outline consent for a single dwelling. The Highways Authority recommends conditional approval.

The Highways Officer said that the Highways Department had considered the application at outline stage and he confirmed that the proposal is compliant with national standards and that it was acceptable from a Highways perspective. However, Highways Officers would be happy to discuss the matter with the Local Member if he was of the belief that further improvements could be made.

It was resolved to defer determining the application to allow further discussions to take place with the applicant with regard to highways and drainage issues.