Agenda and draft minutes

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Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest they might have in respect of business on the agenda if they had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. None were declared.

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Webcasting of Public Meetings

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During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme on general matters within the remit of the Planning Committee A.

Gwen Swinburn commented on the planning application process and questioned why names and addresses were published online in relation to this, she also expressed that information within reports should not be amended once published.

The Committee noted that Councillor Pavlovic, Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities, was investigating the issues raised with Officers.

This item invites Members to determine the following planning applications:

Members considered a schedule of reports of the Head of Planning and Development, relating to the following planning applications, outlining the proposals and relevant policy considerations and setting out the views of consultees and officers.

Conversion and redevelopment of site to provide 120no. dwellings (use class C3) and ancillary communal space, to include new build dwellings, demolition of modern extensions and ancillary building and associated car parking, landscaping and other works (phased development) [Fishergate Ward]

Members considered a major full application for conversion and redevelopment to provide 120 dwellings and ancillary communal space, including new build dwellings, the demolition of modern extensions and ancillary building and associated car parking, landscaping, and other works.

The Development Manager gave a presentation on the application and outlined that the application included a mixture of listed and unlisted buildings.

The Development Manager, and Principal Officer, Development Management, noted that roof terraces and balconies to be introduced to the South West Wing building had been proposed for suitable places and had been chosen carefully, and that development of new-build housing included 23 dwellings, including 5 houses which were larger. The listed coach house building was to be converted for some of these.

In response to questions from members, the Development Manager confirmed that:

·        As Heslington Road narrowed, there would be conditions applied by Highways creating a priority system, and the main entrance to Heslington Road was outside of the site.

·        There was no noticeable reduction in grass spaces across the site, and there was to be a variety of cycle storage spaces, including some shared-use cycle storage when basement storage was not possible.

·        There would be no change to the public’s access to the burial grounds, and public access would be possible across Thief Road and Heslington Road.

·        Conditions within the plans regulated the requirement of disabled parking. The plans stipulated 30 parking spaces for visitors.

Members were provided with an update in which the Principal Officer Development Management amended the officers’ recommendations by including a condition to make sure that the results from an arborical culture survey, requiring tree protection and detailing information of nesting birds during construction, were adhered to.

Public Speakers

Geoff Beacon spoke in objection to the application and suggested that the proposed dwellings were only directed at affluent people, and he raised concerns that the application did not adhere to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 which placed an obligation on Local Authorities to plan for sustainable development.

Martin Ford spoke in support of the application on behalf of the Trustees of the Retreat and stated that the retreat provided mental health services, but that the buildings were too old to deliver the care that they needed to offer, and needed a new use. He reported that the Retreat had experienced financial losses, and that the sale of the land would provide security for the future of the charity.

In response to questions from members, Martin stated that the Retreat had confidence in the new development to champion the history of the charity following construction.

Richard Lawrence and James Woodmansee (the Applicant) spoke in support of the application and stated that the designs of the development had been made in consultation with Council Officers and different interest groups, and that their finances had been assessed as suitable to dealing with the upkeep of land. He highlighted that the process to get this far had been very thorough to ensure high standards for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113a

Internal and external alterations to include conversion and redevelopment of site to provide dwellings and ancillary communal space, demolition of modern extensions and ancillary buildings, with associated landscaping works [Fishergate Ward]

Members considered a Listed Building Consent application for internal and external alterations to include conversion and redevelopment of the site to provide dwellings and ancillary communal space, demolition of modern extensions and ancillary buildings, with associated landscaping works. It was resolved:

That delegated authority to be given to the Head of Planning and Development Services to:

i)             Determine the final detail of the planning conditions and planning obligations below.

ii)            Refer the application to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Application Government under the requirements of Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and should the application not be called in by the Secretary of State, then APPROVE the application subject to planning conditions.

[The meeting adjourned from 7:44pm until 7:54pm]

Demolition of existing buildings, alterations to 'The Married Quarters Building' and erection of new buildings to provide 101 residential dwellings (Use Class C3), 139 sqm of commercial, business and service floorspace (Use Class E) and 150 sqm of community floorspace (Use Class F1/F2) with associated open space, landscaping, access, parking and ancillary development [Fishergate Ward]

Members considered a Major Full Application for the Demolition of existing buildings, alterations to 'The Married Quarters Building' and erection of new buildings to provide 101 residential dwellings (Use Class C3), 139 sqm of commercial, business and service floorspace (Use Class E) and 150 sqm of community floorspace (Use Class F1/F2) with associated open space, landscaping, access, parking and ancillary development.

The Development Manager gave a presentation on the application, and it was reported that: Block 6 of the application had been omitted, and that access for bin lorries had been improved in order to allow bin lorry access throughout the development.

In response to questions from members, the Development Manager confirmed that bin lorries would need to drive through the gates along the roads one by one, and gated areas could act as turning points.

Members were provided with an update in which the Principal Officer Development Management advised that changes to the recommendations had been made following legal advice, it was proposed that references to money from conditions: 4, 21, and 23 be removed. It was also proposed that condition 14 be amended in so far that they are redrafted to align with advice received from Ecology Officers, and that condition 22 be amended to correct admin errors in the original wording that was used.

Public Speakers

Denise Craghill spoke in support of the application and stated that this application was proposed to go beyond low energy use buildings, and made low-carbon living possible. She advised that the highest number of new build dwellings as possible should be affordable homes.

Councillor Whitcroft, councillor for Fishergate Ward, spoke in support of this application and stated that the proposed dwellings would support nearby local services, and that having 80%-100% of the homes affordable was a step in the right direction for City of York Council.

The Chair exercised his discretion to allow Geoff Beacon to speak as Mr. Beacon had not been included on the registered speakers list due to an administrative error. He spoke in support of the application and stated that efforts to control car parking would result in lower car use, and support decarbonisation.

Sophie Round, Housing Delivery Programme Manager, spoke in support of the application on behalf of City of York Council (the Applicant). She stated that this application was an amended proposal to an application that had already been approved. She advised that people were prioritised above cars in this application and that more than 300 cycle spaces were included within the proposal.

In response to questions from members, Sophie confirmed that:

·        Investigations were ongoing to decide if a micro residents’ parking scheme would work on this scale.

·        Bollards would deter drivers from proceeding up the road to places they could not access.

·        Results from community consultation showed there was a lack of community centres in the area, and investigations were ongoing to consider how these could operate.

·        The development would be a mixture of affordable and shared ownership homes.

·        As the development would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 115.