Agenda item

This application is a resubmitted full application for the erection of a detached house within the rear garden area of 40 Fordlands Road.

This application has been brought before the Committee by Councillor Aspden in order to give the applicants, residents and Fulford Parish Council an opportunity to put forward their views at a public meeting. [Fulford]

Members considered a resubmitted full application from Mr and Mrs Poole for the erection of a two storey dwelling within the rear garden area of 40 Fordlands Road. This application was called in for consideration by the Committee by the Ward Member, Councillor Aspden.

Representations were received from the agent for the applicants. He stated that the dwelling proposed was not a house, as had been mentioned in the Officer’s report, but a dormer bungalow. He reported that there had been no objections to the application received on the grounds of residential amenity and that the closest neighbour was in support of the application.

Representations were received from a member of Fulford Parish Council. She informed Members, that the Parish Council was opposed to the application because they felt it was not an acceptable development in the Green Belt.

Members asked the agent for the applicants about the boundary of the proposed dwelling in relation to the flood zone, and how this would affect the amenity of those wanting to use the outdoor space. The agent responded that there would be a substantial area provided outside of the flood zone for this reason, and that this area included a large garden.

Members noted the concerns from the Parish Council in relation to development in the Green Belt. They also expressed concerns about the proximity of the proposed dwelling to the flood zone and problems with access to the site.

RESOLVED:             That the application be refused.

REASON:        (i) It is considered that the proposal does not represent infill development  and as such the development represents inappropriate development within the Green Belt, which by definition is harmful. The proposed dwelling would add to the accumulation of built development and it is considered that the dwelling would have a harmful impact on the openness of the Green Belt. Furthermore, the intensification of the use of the access road, the introduction of frontage car parking, the subdivision of the site by fencing and the introduction of built form to the rear of the site would result in the intensification of the development of the area which would be detrimental to the visual amenity of the Green Belt. The proposal is therefore, considered contrary to advice within Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 ‘Greenbelts’, Policy YH9 and Y1 of the Yorkshire and Humber Plan-Regional Spatial Strategy to 2026 which defines the general extent of the green belt around York with an outer boundary about 6 miles from the city centre and GB2 of the City of York Draft Local Plan Incorporating the Fourth Set of Changes-Development Control Local Plan (Approved April 2005).

(ii)               The proposed dwelling by virtue of proximity of the associated access arrangements to no. 40 Fordlands Road would be likely to detract from the amenities of the occupiers of that property, in relation to noise and disturbance and loss of privacy from a further set of associated vehicular movements and related domestic activities. This is considered contrary to advice on protecting amenity in policies GP1 and GP10 of the City of York Draft Local Plan Incorporating the Fourth Set of Changes-Development Control Local Plan (Approved April 2005).

(iii)It is considered that insufficient evidence has been submitted to demonstrate under a sequential test that, given the application site’s status as land designated as Flood Zones 2, alternative sites with a lower probability of flooding could not accommodate the proposed development. The application is considered to conflict with Annex D and Annex E of Planning Policy Statement 25 ‘Development and Flood Risk’.