Agenda item

5b.

23/00828/FUL Construction of a ground floor rear extension and first floor rear extension, conversion of existing property to 4no. flats. Construction of a dormer window at the front elevation and construction of a bow window

 

51 Belswains Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 9PW 

 

The Chair informed Members that Cllr Birnie was now unable to attend tonight; therefore, the supporting speaker could not invoke the right to speak.

 

The Case Officer, Heather Edey introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee as it was call-in by Councillor Birnie –raising concerns on the grounds that the development provides insufficient parking

and would increase traffic, being harmful on highway/pedestrian safety grounds .

 

It was proposed by Councillor Patterson and seconded by Councillor Maddern to DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL.

 

Vote:

 

For:      9          Against:           3          Abstained: 1

 

Resolved: That planning permission be DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL.

That planning permission be DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL subject to an appropriate assessment in accordance with article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive and securing a mitigation package to avoid any further significant effects on the Chilterns Beechwood Special Area of Conservation (SAC) through financial contributions secured by legal agreement.

 

Condition(s) and Reason(s):

 

 1.        The development hereby permitted shall begin before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

            Reason:  To comply with the requirements of Section 91 (1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by Section 51 (1) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

 2.        No construction of the superstructure shall take place until full details of both hard and soft landscape works has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  These details shall include:

·         all external hard surfaces within the site;

·         other surfacing materials;

·         means of enclosure;

·         soft landscape works including a planting scheme with the number, size, species and position of trees, plants and shrubs; and

·         minor artefacts and structures (e.g. refuse and bike storage units, etc.).

           

            The planting must be carried out within one planting season of completing the development.

            Any tree or shrub which forms part of the approved landscaping scheme which within a period of 5 years from planting fails to become established, becomes seriously damaged or diseased, dies or for any reason is removed shall be replaced in the next planting season by a tree or shrub of a similar species, size and maturity.

            Reason:  To improve the appearance of the development and its contribution to biodiversity and the local environment, as required by saved Policy 99 of the Dacorum Borough Local Plan (2004) and Policy CS12 (e) of the Dacorum Borough Council Core Strategy (2013).

 3.        Should any ground contamination be encountered during the construction of the development hereby approved (including groundworks), works shall be temporarily suspended, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority, and a Contamination Remediation Scheme shall be submitted to (as soon as practically possible) and approved in writing by, the Local Planning Authority. The Contamination Remediation Scheme shall detail all measures required to render this contamination harmless and all approved measures shall subsequently be fully implemented prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved.

            Should no ground contamination be encountered or suspected upon the completion of the groundworks, a statement to that effect shall be submitted in writing to the Local Planning Authority prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved.

            Reason: To ensure that the issue of contamination is adequately addressed to protect human health and the surrounding environment and to ensure a satisfactory development, in accordance with Policy CS32 of the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy (2013).

 4.        Prior to the first use of the development hereby permitted the vehicular access shall be provided and thereafter retained at the position shown on the approved plan drawing number S-10 01 to a maximum of 5.4 metres (4 dropped kerbs and 2 risers) in accordance with HCC Dropped Kerb: Terms and Conditions. Prior to the first use of the development hereby permitted arrangement shall be made for surface water to be intercepted and disposed of separately so that it does not discharge onto the highway carriageway.

            Reason: To ensure satisfactory access into the site and avoid the carriage of extraneous material or surface water onto the highway in accordance with Policy 5 of Hertfordshire's Local Transport Plan (Adopted 2018).

 5.        The new windows at ground and first floor level in the side elevation of the building facing towards neighbouring property 49 Belswains Lane hereby permitted shall be non-opening, (unless the parts of the window which can be opened are more than 1.7 metres above the floor of the room in which the window is installed), and permanently fitted with obscured glass with a minimum of privacy level three.

            Reason:  In the interests of the residential amenities of the occupants of the adjacent dwellings in accordance with Policy CS12 (c) of the Dacorum Borough Council Core Strategy (2013) and Paragraph 130 (f) of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021).

 6.        The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans/documents:

            Design and Access Statement by Windsorpatania Architects (dated 25th February 2023)

            S-10 Rev 01

            S-11 Rev 01

            S-12 Rev 01

            S-13 Rev 01

            S-14 Rev 01

            S-15 Rev 01

            S-01 Rev 01

            Reason:  For the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of proper planning.

 

Informatives

 1.        Planning permission has been granted for this proposal. The Council acted pro-actively through early engagement with the applicant at the pre-application stage which lead to improvements to the scheme. The Council has therefore acted pro-actively in line with the requirements of the Framework (paragraph 38) and in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) (Amendment No. 2) Order 2015.

 2.        CONTAMINATED LAND INFORMATIVE

            Informative: Identifying Potentially Contaminated Material

            Materials or conditions that may be encountered at the site and which could indicate the presence of contamination include, but are not limited to: Soils that are malodorous, for example a fuel odour or solvent-type odour, discoloured soils, soils containing man-made objects such as paint cans, oil/chemical drums, vehicle or machinery parts etc., or fragments of asbestos or potentially asbestos containing materials. If any other material is encountered that causes doubt, or which is significantly different.

            Informative: Introduction of Soft Landscaping or Amenity Areas

            Any soils, whether imported or site-won, to be used in the provision of soft landscaping and amenity areas should be chemically suitable (un-contaminated) for the intended end use and meet the requirements of BS3882:2015 and BS8601:2013.

            Informative:

            The safe and secure occupancy of the site, in respect of land contamination, lies with the developer.

            The above conditions are considered to be in line with paragraphs 174 (e) & (f) and 183 and 184 of the NPPF 2021.

            Guidance on how to assess and manage the risks from land contamination can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-contamination-risk-management-lcrm

 3.        ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INFORMATIVES

            Working Hours Informative

            Contractors and sub-contractors must have regard to BS 5228-2:2009 "Code of Practice for Noise Control on Construction and Open Sites" and the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

            As a guideline, the following hours for noisy works and/or deliveries should be observed: Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 5:30pm, Saturday, 8am to 1pm, Sunday and bank holidays - no noisy work allowed.

            Where permission is sought for works to be carried out outside the hours stated, applications in writing must be made with at least seven days' notice to Environmental and Community Protection Team ecp@dacorum.gov.uk or The Forum, Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1DN.  Local residents that may be affected by the work shall also be notified in writing, after approval is received from the LPA or Environmental Health.

            Works audible at the site boundary outside these hours may result in the service of a Notice restricting the hours as above.  Breach of the notice may result in prosecution and an unlimited fine and/or six months imprisonment.

            Construction Dust Informative

            Dust from operations on the site should be minimised by spraying with water or by carrying out of other such works that may be necessary to supress dust. Visual monitoring of dust is to be carried out continuously and Best Practical Means (BPM) should be used at all times. The applicant is advised to consider the control of dust and emissions from construction and demolition Best Practice Guidance, produced in partnership by the Greater London Authority and London Councils.

            Waste Management Informative

            Under no circumstances should waste produced from construction work be incinerated on site. This includes but is not limited to pallet stretch wrap, used bulk bags, building materials, product of demolition and so on. Suitable waste management should be in place to reduce, reuse, recover or recycle waste product on site, or dispose of appropriately.

Air Quality Informative

           

            As an authority we are looking for all development to support sustainable travel and air quality improvements as required by the NPPF. We are looking to minimise the cumulative impact on local air quality that ongoing development has, rather than looking at significance. This is also being encouraged by DEFRA.

            As a result as part of the planning application I would recommend that the applicant be asked to propose what measures they can take as part of this new development, to support sustainable travel and air quality improvements. These measures may be conditioned through the planning consent if the proposals are acceptable.

            A key theme of the NPPF is that developments should enable future occupiers to make "green" vehicle choices and (paragraph 35) "incorporates facilities for charging plug-in and other ultra-low emission vehicles". Therefore an electric vehicle recharging provision rate of 1 vehicle charging point per 10 spaces (unallocated parking) is expected. To prepare for increased demand in future years, appropriate cable provision should be included in the scheme design and development, in agreement with the local authority.

            Please note that with regard to EV charging for residential units with dedicated parking, we are not talking about physical charging points in all units but the capacity to install one. The cost of installing appropriate trunking/ducting and a dedicated fuse at the point of build is miniscule, compared to the cost of retrofitting an EV charging unit after the fact, without the relevant base work in place.

            In addition, mitigation in regards to NOx emissions should be addressed in that all gas fired boilers to meet a minimum standard of 40 mg NOx/Kwh or consideration of alternative heat sources.

            Invasive and Injurious Weeds - Informative

            Weeds such as Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogsweed and Ragwort are having a detrimental impact on our environment and may injure livestock. Land owners must not plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild any plant listed on schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Developers and land owners should therefore undertake an invasive weeds survey before development commences and take the steps necessary to avoid weed spread. Further advice can be obtained from the Environment Agency website at https://www.gov.uk/japanese-knotweed-giant-hogweed-and-other-invasive-plants

 4.        HIGHWAY INFORMATIVES

            HCC as Highway Authority recommends inclusion of the following Advisory Note (AN) / highway informative to ensure that any works within the highway are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Highway Act 1980:

            AN 1) Construction standards for new/amended vehicle access: Where works are required within the public highway to facilitate the new or amended vehicular access, the Highway Authority require the construction of such works to be undertaken to their satisfaction and specification, and by a contractor who is authorised to work in the public highway. If any of the works associated with the construction of the access affects or requires the removal and/or the relocation of any equipment, apparatus or structures (e.g. street name plates, bus stop signs or shelters, statutory authority equipment etc.) the applicant will be required to bear the cost of such removal or alteration.

            Before works commence the applicant will need to apply to the Highway Authority to obtain their permission, requirements and for the work to be carried out on the applicant's behalf.

            Further information is available via the website: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/highways-roads-and-pavements/changes-to-your-road/dropped-kerbs/dropped-kerbs.aspx or by telephoning 0300 1234047.

            AN 2) Storage of materials: The applicant is advised that the storage of materials associated with the construction of this development should be provided within the site on land which is not public highway, and the use of such areas must not interfere with the public highway. If this is not possible, authorisation should be sought from the Highway Authority before construction works commence.

            Further information is available via the website: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/highways-roads-and-pavements/business-and-developer-information/business-licences/business-licences.aspx or by telephoning 0300 1234047.

            AN 3) Obstruction of public highway land: It is an offence under section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 for any person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way to wilfully obstruct the free passage along a highway or public right of way. If this development is likely to result in the public highway or public right of way network becoming routinely blocked (fully or partly) the applicant must contact the Highway Authority to obtain their permission and requirements before construction works commence. Further information is available via the website: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/highways-roads-and-pavements/business-and-developer-information/business-licences/business-licences.aspx or by telephoning 0300 1234047.

            AN 4) Road Deposits: It is an offence under section 148 of the Highways Act 1980 to deposit mud or other debris on the public highway, and section 149 of the same Act gives the Highway Authority powers to remove such material at the expense of the party responsible. Therefore, best practical means shall be taken at all times to ensure that all vehicles leaving the site during construction of the development are in a condition such as not to emit dust or deposit mud, slurry or other debris on the highway.

            Further information is available via the website: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/highways-roads-and-pavements/highways-roads-and-pavements.aspx or by telephoning 0300 1234047.