Agenda item

Erection of 1no. Dwelling [Rural West York Ward] [Site Visit]

Members considered a full application by Mr and Mrs Reynolds for the erection of a detached dwelling on land adjacent to Cherry Tree Cottage.

Officers at the meeting reminded Members of the relevant policies and guidance in respect of applications in the Green Belt, in particular paragraphs 87 and 89 of the NPPF.  Members were advised that the further points raised by the applicant in additional papers had been considered and in Officers’ view did not amount to ‘very special circumstances’ as defined in paragraph 87 of the NPPF.

The applicant spoke in support of his application, expressing surprise that the site was not considered to be previously developed land (PDL) due to the existing buildings upon it and the previous farmhouse.  He circulated a number of additional papers to members of the sub-committee (as referred to in the Officer’s update), stating these had been sent to Officers previously but had not been uploaded to the system.

In response to Members’ questions, Officers advised that:

·        The farmhouse previously on the site had been demolished in 1950, so was not considered relevant to the issue of PDL.

·        The site was considered to be land adjacent to, not in the curtilage of, Cherry Tree House.

·        A key issue was the impact on openness; the proposed 8m high building would have a greater impact than the single storey buildings currently on the site.

Members debated the proposals in the light of Officers’ advice and the comments of the applicant and a number of them expressed support for the application; however, a formal motion to that effect was not moved.

Cllr Flinders then moved, and Cllr Shepherd seconded, that the application be refused.  A vote was taken and 6 members voted for the motion and 4 voted against.  It was therefore

Resolved:  That the application be refused.

Reasons:   1.      The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt that would, by definition, be harmful to the Green Belt.  The application site makes a positive and significant contribution to the openness of the Green Belt to the south east of Nether Poppleton and assists in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment, encouraging urban regeneration and preventing neighbouring towns from merging into one another.  There has been no compelling case made for ‘very special circumstances’.  Whilst the scheme would result in the removal of temporary buildings on the site, it would not offer significant benefits that would clearly outweigh the identified harm to the Green Belt.  Therefore, the proposal is considered to be contrary to paragraphs 87 to 89 of the National Planning Policy Framework, the retained policies YH9(C) and Y1(C1 and C2) of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Spatial Strategy and Policy PN1 of the Upper Poppleton and Nether Poppleton Neighbourhood Plan.

                   2.      Insufficient information has been submitted with the application to demonstrate that an acceptable means of surface water drainage can be achieved in this location.  As such, the proposed development would conflict with paragraph 103 of the NPPF, which states that the Local Planning Authority should ensure that flood risk is not increased elsewhere.  In addition, by virtue of the lack of information, the proposal conflicts with Policy GP15a ‘Development and Flood Risk’ of the City of York Development Control Local Plan (2005) and Section 4.1.c of the City of York Council Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (2013).