Agenda item

Erection of single and two storey building to provide clinical and administrative accommodation, car and cycle parking, service road, fencing, landscaping works, CCTV cameras, external lighting, balcony and external staircase. [Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without Ward] [Site Visit]

Consideration was given to a major full application submitted by York Health Services, NHS Trust, for the erection of a single and two storey building to provide clinical and administrative accommodation, car and cycle parking, service road, fencing, landscaping works, CCTV cameras, external lighting, balcony and external staircase.

Officers circulated the following information in an update for Members, (the full details of which are set out in the annex attached to the agenda to the report):

• Explanation of the minimum distance of the proposal from nearby properties.
• The applicants willingness to plant further trees.
• Members attention drawn to the EU Habitats Directive.
• 46 signature petition received after the Committee report was prepared.
• Additional conditions relation to the boundary wall at the southern edge of the development, use of the service road, colour of the render and redesign of the building to better fit into the surroundings.
• Further highways information including the fact that the site would generate an estimated 17 vehicle movements during the morning peak and would not have a material impact on the local highway network.

Representations in support of the application were received from the applicant’s agent. He stated that out of respect for the natural surroundings the proposal had been purposefully designed to be as low as possible. He advised the two storey element was necessary for operational reasons and that the unit would not cause on street parking issues.

Representations also in support were received from a representative of the Primary Care Trust who explained the clinical reasons for the application. He advised that nationally there is a shortage of units for female patients with a particular need in the Yorkshire area. The unit would be carefully managed with individuals coming to it for reintegration.

Representations in support were received from a local resident who felt that the tradition for good health services in York should be continued with the development of the female unit and any objections from other residents could be resolved with discussion and conditions.

Representations were received in objection from a local resident on behalf of other local residents and 100 signatories of a petition. He advised that residents did not feel a design of this size, mass and style was acceptable, especially in a Green Belt area. He also raised concerns about the impact on wildlife.

A representative of Rawcliffe Parish Council objected to the proposal on the grounds that the size, mass and scale of the development is too large. He advised that the Parish Council supported local residents objections regarding the close proximity of the site to adjacent properties.

Members then questioned a number of details of the application including:

• The 2 storey lay out of the proposed development – confirmation that the top floor would be for office use.
• Smoking area provision
• Possibility of a liaison group being set up between the hospital operator and local residents.
• Colour of the external render.
• The boundary walls
• Drainage

Officers confirmed that an informative could be added to cover construction vehicle access.

Following further discussion it was:

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

                                    Additional Condition: Notwithstanding the application details hereby approved, full details of the external fenestration treatment to be used shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority before work on site commences. Development shall thenceforth be undertaken in strict accordance with the details thereby approved.

                                    REASON:      To safeguard the residential amenity of neighbouring properties and to secure compliance with Policy GP1 of the York Development Control Local Plan.

                                    Additional Condition: Notwithstanding the application details hereby approved, full details of the external render to be used including colour and texture finish shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority before work on site commences. Development shall thenceforth be undertaken in strict accordance with the details thereby approved.

                                    REASON:      To safeguard residential amenity of neighbouring properties and to secure compliance with Policy GP1 of the York Development Control Local Plan.

                                    Additional Condition: Within six months of the extension hereby authorised being first brought into use, a scheme for the setting up and management of a liaison group, incorporating representatives of local residents, the hospital operator and other interested parties shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Once approved, the scheme shall be implemented and shall be adhered to for the lifetime of the development unless the Local Planning Authority otherwise agrees in writing.

                                    REASON: To safeguard the residential amenity of neighbouring properties and to secure compliance with Policy GP1 of the York Development Plan.

                                    Additional Informative: Transport Management Plan – Prior to the commencement of construction works on-site, the applicant shall submit a detailed plan outlining the routing of construction traffic, timing of deliveries and location of parking associated with the construction process to the Local Planning Authority.

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 impact upon openness and purposes of designation of the Green Belt, loss of allocated housing land, impact upon flood risk in the wider locality, appropriateness of the proposed design in the context of the wider street scene, impact of the proposal on traffic flow and the occurrence of on-street parking in the wider vicinity, impact upon the residential amenity of neighbouring properties, fear of increased crime and anti-social behaviour arising from the proposal, impact of the proposal upon the sylvan atmosphere of the site, and impact of the proposal upon the operation of the local property market. Very special circumstances also exist based upon the clinical need for the development, the opportunities for co-usage of existing specialist services and the pleasant woodland setting of the site which clearly over-ride the normal presumption against “inappropriate development” in the Green Belt. As such the proposal complies with Policy YH9 and Y1C of The Yorkshire and Humber Plan, policies NE1, GP15a), GP1, GP3, GP9, GB10, C1, GB1, GP4a) and H9 of the City of York Development Control Local Plan and Government Policy contained within Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 ‘Green Belts’.