Agenda item

Reserved Matters application for 65 no. dwellings with all matters to be considered including access, appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale on approved planning application 13/03894/OUT (Revision Description 22 April 2022)

Land to the West of Northern 4x4 Centre, West End Garage, Thropton, Morpeth, Northumberland

T. Lowe – Principal Planning Officer introduced the application with a PowerPoint presentation and gave the following updates to the committee:

·       In some paragraphs of the report, it referred to the “emerging NLP”, that was a mistake and wherever this was in the report, the policies referred to were the adopted policies of the adopted NLP and the officer assessment was made using the adopted policies of the adopted NLP.

·       A number of late representations were received and were circulated to members prior to the meeting. The contents of the late representations had been addressed within the report and members had had the opportunity to view all objections.

M. Adams spoke in objection to the application, and gave members the following information:

·       The National Planning Policy Framework 2021 stressed good design of the built environment and that developments should be visually attractive and sympathetic to local character and poorly designed developments should be refused.

·       The Northumberland Local Plan stated that the design of any new development should make a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness and respect its surroundings.

·       The proposed development site was an 8-acre, greenfield area in open countryside, outside the Thropton settlement boundary and any development would be visually intrusive, as it would be viewed from the main road.

·       The size, scale and density of the urban-style estate development were totally unsuitable for the beautiful rural setting.

·       It would increase a small village by 40%

·       The proposed house designs were uniform boxes using different brightly coloured brick and tile finishes and were in stark contrast to the natural sandstone buildings that lined Thropton’s main street.

·       The small housing estate of Wreigh Burn Fields were mainly bungalows, set well back from the road with gardens and boundary hedges. In contrast many of the new houses were two storey and would tower over the bungalows and conservatories along their western boundary and were not in keeping in scale, design or appearance.

·       The application was an unimaginative, unsympathetic, unsustainable development clinging onto the back of a dubious, out of date application.

Councillor N Tuckey spoke on behalf of Thropton Parish Council and gave the following information:

·        The total number of existing planning proposals in Thropton should be considered as a unity, as plans should fit in with the long terms aims of the village and its population within the setting of the County Councils development plan.

·       Thropton had an aging population, and a growing population of elderly widows living alone

·       Developments from the previous 25 years, had been occupied by retired people.

·       Thropton needed more affordable housing and houses to rent.

·       There would be a total of 96 new dwellings, including a recently approved development, a 50% increase in the village.

·       The average household in Thropton owned 2.7 cars, with the update of electric cards, the Parish Council queried where all of the charging points would go.

·       The Parish Council objected to this application.

N. Turnbull spoke in support of the application and gave the committee the following information:

·       Ascent Homes welcomed the conclusion of the Officer’s Report including that all procedures were followed correctly in respect of the submission.

·       The proposed number of units was reduced from 79 to 65, which had allowed developers to incorporate a significant amount of green space throughout with a variety of sustainable drainage features throughout the site.

·       The scheme offered a number of public benefits including: the provision of affordable homes; increase in population supporting existing services; the provision of a bus turning circle within the village and s278 works securing improvements to the immediate locality such as a bus stop and a new footpath.

·       There were no statutory consultee objections to the proposal and the development would provide 65 homes in a desirable location.

·       22% affordable housing would be provided.

Following members questions to the planning officers, the following information was provided:

·       The application was valid, and the reserved matters was to be considered only.

·       Street lights would be dealt with by the street adoption process.

·       The development sits within the settlement boundary for Thropton.

·       The number of houses and size of units was acceptable.

·       The reserved matters application was submitted in time to keep the application valid.

·       A condition to make the road-facing units to be of natural stone could be added to the planning permission.

·       The X14 bus services the area.

·       There were no play facilities for children in the development.

·       Condition 16 in the report includes the provision for Electric Vehicle Charging Points.

·       The principal of residential development was established at Outline and any reason for refusal should be based on the matters reserved by condition

Councillor Thorne proposed to accept the officers recommendation with a condition that all properties adjacent to the road, the elevation abutting the road to be of a natural stone appearance with plot numbers to be specified, with exact wording delegated to officers in conjunction with the chair of planning. This was seconded by Councillor Castle.

Councillor Thorne explained that he was sympathetic with the objectors and that the application was originally submitted before the new Local Plan was adopted but as the application was a reserved matters application, there was no planning reasons to refuse the application, this was agreed by Councillor Castle and Councillor Hardy.

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 6, AGAINST; 1, ABSTAIN; 1

RESOLVED that the application be GRANTED in line with the conditions set out in the report and a further condition that all properties adjacent the road, the elevation abutting the road to be of a natural stone appearance with plot numbers to be specified, with exact wording delegated to officers in conjunction with the chair of planning.

Councillor Renner-Thompson and Councillor Watson returned to the meeting.