Agenda item

Six storey office building with plant room above, basement parking and landscaping. [Guildhall Ward] [Site Visit]

Members considered a major full application, submitted by Queens House Joint Venture, for a six storey office building with plant room above, basement car parking and landscaping.

Officers displayed drawings of the Hungate masterplan in relation to the heights of the surrounding buildings and updated the Committee with the following information:

• The outstanding objection from the Environment Agency regarding the basement flooding protection had now been withdrawn;
• Following consultation no response had been received from the Planning Panel.

Representations in support of the application were received from the applicant’s Architect who stated that their client had been interested in providing a low energy building on this site. He confirmed that they were hoping to provide a high quality work environment, which would reach a BREEAM rating of excellent. He went on to detail how the building would provide an energy efficient working environment and include a green roof covering the footprint of the building.

Members confirmed their support for this imaginative scheme and the materials to be used and questioned the following aspects:

·        Proposed piling works and ground source heat pumps and their affect on archaeological remains;

·        Proposed method of piling to cause least vibration and disturbance for neighbours;

·        Affect on surrounding streets of the low level of car parking proposed;

·        The self cleaning attributes of the materials to be used on the outside of the building;

·        Cycle parking security.

RESOLVED:             That the application be approved, subject to the conditions listed in the report and the following additional conditions and informatives;

36           All piling operations shall be carried out using the method likely to produce the least vibration and disturbance.  Full details of the dates, times and duration of operations shall be submitted to, and agreed in writing by, the local planning authority before any piling operations are begun.  When considering piling operations regard should be given to BS 5228:1997.

37           No development shall commence unless and until details of highway improvements within the Foss Basin area have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, or alternative arrangements to secure highway improvements have been entered into with the Local Planning Authority.  The highway improvements shall thereafter be carried out in accordance with the approved scheme or with the alternative arrangements, as agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority, prior to first occupation of the development.

INFORMATIVE:

The alternative arrangements of the above condition could be satisfied by the completion of a Planning Obligation made under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by those having a legal interest in the application site.  The obligation would require a financial contribution towards the off-site highway improvements within the Foss Basin Area.  The Obligation should provide for a financial contribution calculated at £25,600, using the approved methodology within the Master Plan Study.

No occupation can take place on this site until the highway works have been completed to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority, or the financial contribution arrangements complied with. You are reminded of the Local Planning Authority's enforcement powers in this regard.

REASON:                  In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority the proposal, subject to the conditions listed above, would not cause undue harm to interests of acknowledged importance, with particular reference to the comprehensive development of the Hungate site, appearance (including impact on the nearby conservation area and listed buildings), residential amenity, sustainability, highway safety, flood risk and the preservation of archaeological deposits.

As such the proposal complies with Policies SP9, GP1, GP4, GP15, HE2, HE10, T4, T13 and T20 of the City of York Local Plan Deposit Draft.