Agenda item

Erection of 2 dwellings. [Acomb Ward]

Members considered a full application submitted by John Wheldon for the erection of 2 dwellings on land between 29b and 31 Beckfield Lane.

Officers updated that the address should read 31a Beckfield Lane and not 31 Beckfield Lane.  Officers also circulated diagrams showing where the sun would be on the buildings at certain times of the day.

Representations were received from a neighbour in objection to the proposed development. He said that he had lived adjacent to the site for 25 years and access to the site was via a very narrow lane. He commented on the fact that only one parking space per dwelling had been allocated and therefore there would not be any parking spaces for visitors. There was also very little turning space. He also said the applicant’s agent had not addressed the problems regarding the change in ground levels on the site. In addition he raised concerns regarding overshadowing.

Representations were also received from the applicant’s agent in support of the application and he circulated some drawings to the sub-committee to show how he had addressed some of the concerns regarding ground levels. He said that the issue to be determined is whether limited overshadowing is contrary to planning policy.

Members queried the ‘no rights of access’ mentioned in section 3.6 of the report and Officers clarified that there may be a covenant saying that there was no right of access but this was an entirely separate issue to the planning application. Officers clarified that covenants did not have any bearing on whether planning permission should be granted or not.

Some Members raised concerns about the narrowness of the lane and thought that there were too many units for the available access. Officers said that there was no policy regarding how many units could stem from a certain point of access there were only guidelines. They clarified that there had not been any objections from Highways.

Some Members were concerned that if an extra four cars were using the lane then this could lead to some major problems as the lane was so narrow. There was a real concern about vehicular access to the proposed development. Concerns were also raised regarding pedestrian access.

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

(i)                 That the application be delegated to Officers to approve the application subject to receipt of an amended plan showing reduction to the ground level of the eastern most unit, and subject to the amendment of the wording of condition 11 (HT1) to reflect the different levels of the two houses.

Reason: to establish existing ground level and therefore to avoid confusion in measuring the height of the approved development, and to ensure that the approved development does not have an adverse impact on the character of the surrounding area.

(ii)               Prior to the development coming into use, all areas used by vehicles shall be surfaced, sealed and positively drained within the site, in accordance with the approved plans.

Reason: to prevent the egress of water and loose material onto the highway.

REASON:                  That the proposal subject to the conditions listed above and the conditions listed in the report would not cause undue harm to interests of acknowledged importance, with particular reference to visual/residential amenity and highway safety. As such the proposal complies with Policies GP1, H4a and GP10 of the City of York Development Control Draft Local Plan.