Agenda and minutes

The following sites were inspected before the meeting:

At this point, members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Gillies declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in Plans Items 4b and 4c (Former NER Headquarters, Station Rise, York) as he was a Director of Visit York.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 24^th April 2008.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the meeting held on 24^th April 2008 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered their wish to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is by 5pm the day before the meeting. Members of the public can speak on specific planning applications or on other agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

To register please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of this agenda.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme on general issues within the remit of the Committee.

This item invites Members to determine the following planning applications:

Members considered a schedule of reports of the Assistant Director (Planning and Sustainable Development) relating to the following planning applications, outlining the proposals and relevant policy considerations and setting out the views and advice of consultees and officers.

Erection of pedestrian/cycle bridge over the River Foss (resubmission) [Guildhall Ward]

Members considered a full application, submitted by Hungate (York) Regeneration Ltd for the erection of a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the River Foss (resubmission).

Representations were received in support of the application, from the architect who said that the site was very constrained from an engineering point of view. The southside of the river bank had many services which caused difficult and the northside of the river bank was constrained by the proposed new buildings. A number of different bridge designs were considered but due to various constraints a suspension bridge was the only option.

The agent for the applicant was in attendance to answer questions.

Members asked what the gradient of the bridge’s deck would be and the architect responded 1:14. It was noted that 1:20 was the recommended gradient for wheelchair use but this was unobtainable due to various constraints on the surrounding land.

Members noted that the Countryside Officer had raised concerns regarding the possibility of bats and birds flying into the cables. Members asked the architect how he had addressed these concerns. He responded that the scheme had been changed to reduce the girth of the mast and that as much as possible had been done to address the Countryside Officer’s concerns.

Members agreed to delegate to the Chair, Vice-Chair and opposition spokesperson the feasibility of whether it would be appropriate for the lighting on the bridge to be dark-sky compliant.

RESOLVED:             That the application be approved subject to the conditions detailed in the report and the following amended condition:¹

                                    Amended Condition 7:         Large scale details of the items listed below shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to the commencement of the development and the works shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

-         Scheme for lighting the bridge (to be dark sky compliant) and surrounding area to highway standards

-         The surface treatment including friction strips

-         Measures to prevent vehicular access across the bridge including siting

-         The design of the area where the bridge ramp meets Navigation Road including a package of surface treatment/signage and lining

Reason:  So that the Local Planning Authority may be satisfied with these details

REASON:                  The proposal, subject to the conditions detailed in the report and the amended condition above, would not cause undue harm to interests of acknowledged importance, with particular reference to visual and residential amenity, wildlife preservation, highway safety and access to the river corridor, navigational capacity of the river and flood risk. As such the proposal complies with Policies GP1, T3, NE2, NE8 and L4 of the City of York Local Plan Deposit Draft.

Change of use of offices (Class B1) to hotel (Class C1) including erection of 6 storey rear extension, formation of decking over car park, placement of external ventilation equipment and internal and external alterations [Micklegate Ward]

Members considered a major full application submitted by Acropolis Hotels Ltd for the change of use of offices (Class B1) to hotel (Class C1) including the erection of a 6 storey and single storey rear extension, formation of decking over the car park, placement of external ventilation equipment and internal and external alterations.

The case officer presented Members with the following recent history in connection with the site:

The building was previously owned by York Investors LP who purchased the building in 2005. At that time tenants were moving out of the building, which could not compete with other office space on offer in the City. A firm of architects were appointed to look into enhancing the office space to make the building more competitive. After discussions with City of York Council’s conservation officers and English Heritage it was concluded that more open plan space could be accommodated above the ground floor. The building would then be able to provide around 68,000 sq ft of space. Lawrence Hannah Skelton were approached to aid in marketing the premises and in their opinion, despite the upgrading, it would be probable that the interest in the building would predominantly come from small users and it was unlikely that there would be a taker for a large open plan office.

The case officer updated that condition 7 in relation to landscaping and external lighting had been amended. This is detailed in the resolution below.

A representative of Visit York presented his comments to Members and these were as follows:

·        The opportunity for a top quality, five star hotel in York is an exciting one for the York economy, which the key tourism stakeholders in the City strongly support.

·        A top quality hotel will add further strength to the City’s tourism product offer. Currently there is no five star hotel in York or North Yorkshire.

·        In terms of economic benefits, the hotel is expected to create 250-300 jobs. There will be a significant skills and training requirement for such an establishment which would be addressed through colleges and other local sources.

·        An additional 50-60 jobs will be created due to the multiplier effect.

·        The hotel would open up opportunity for high spending British and overseas visitors particularly in relation to conference events.

·        In a City location, close to a railway station, there is a great opportunity to attract the higher spend European visitors via the Channel Tunnel link from St Pancras international.

Representations in support of the application were received from the architect who said that the building would lend itself very easily to the proposed change of use. The applicants were proposing to focus on retention, restoration and replication of the existing building details.

Representations in support of the proposals were also received from the agent to the applicant who said that the building was architecturally important. In recent years many of the office tenants had left due to an increase in maintenance costs and the difficulty in adapting the building for the requirements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

conversion of building to hotel including erection of 6 storey and single storey rear extension, formation of terrace over car park and placement of external ventilation equipment [Micklegate Ward]

Members considered an application for Listed Building Consent , submitted by Acropolis Hotels Ltd, for internal and external alterations in connection with the conversion of a building to an hotel including the erection of a 6 storey and single storey rear extension, formation of terrace over a car park and placement of external ventilation equipment.

RESOLVED:             That the application be approved subject to the conditions detailed in the report and the following amended condition.¹

No development shall take place until there has been submitted and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority a detailed landscaping scheme for the garden area which shall illustrate lighting, hard (including confirmation of brickwork to the retaining wall) and soft measures, including the number, species, height and position of trees and shrubs to be planted. 

This scheme shall be implemented within a period of six months of the completion of the development.  Any trees or plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species, unless alternatives are agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason:  So that the Local Planning Authority may be satisfied with the variety, suitability and disposition of species within the site.

REASON:                  In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority the proposal, subject to the conditions listed, would not cause undue harm to interests of acknowledged importance, with particular reference to the special historic interest of the listed building.  As such the proposal complies with Policy HE4 of the City of York Local Plan Deposit Draft.

This report requests that a draft appraisal of the Fulford Village Conservation Area be approved for public consultation.

Members considered a report which requested them to approve a draft appraisal of the Fulford Village Conservation Area for public consultation.

The village is experiencing increased pressures, such as traffic travelling into York through the village from the south and increased development pressure, which conflict with its village character. It is therefore considered appropriate to fully appraise the area to ensure that its special character is not compromised.

Local authorities also have a duty (under Section 69) to review their conservation areas from time to time. An important part of the review process is a reassessment of the conservation area boundary.

Members agreed to e-mail any further consultees to the report author so that these could be incorporated into the consultation process. Suggestions for further consultees included the Fishergate Ward and Heslington Ward Councillors.

RESOLVED:            

1.      That Members approve the Draft Fulford Village Conservation Area Appraisal for use as a consultation document.

2.      That Members approve the consultation method proposed in paragraphs 12 and 13 of the report.¹

REASON:                  The document has adopted a rigorous approach to the assessment of the Fulford Village Conservation Area and it is in accordance with relevant guidance documents. The boundary review has been carried out in accordance with the Planning (Listed buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and it has adopted relevant criteria as set out in PPG15 and the latest guidance documents from English Heritage. The proposed consultation is based on previous practice.