Agenda item

 

5b.

23/01599/FUL

Demolition of existing bungalow and construction of replacement dwelling. Construction of garden annexe and workshop renovation works.

Woodside, Icknield Way, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 5HJ

 

Councillor Patterson declared an interest and confirmed that he will not be taking part in the discussion or voting.

 

The Case Officer, Heather Edey introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee due to contrary views of the Parish Council.

 

Parish Councillor Robert Farrow spoke in objection to the application.

Russell Bates and Michelle Gregory spoke in support of the application.

 

It was proposed by Councillor Maddern and seconded by Councillor Guest to GRANT the application.

 

Vote:

 

For:  8            Against: 0                    Abstained: 2

 

Resolved: That planning permission be GRANTED.

It is recommended that permission be granted.

 

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 development (excluding demolition/ground investigations) shall take place until details of the materials to be used in the construction of the external surfaces of the development hereby permitted have been submitted and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details. Please do not send materials to the Council offices. Materials should be kept on site and arrangements made with the Planning Officer for inspection.

            Reason:  To ensure satisfactory appearance to the development and to safeguard the visual character of the area in accordance with Policies CS11 and CS12 of the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy (2013).

 

 3.        Prior to first occupation of the replacement dwelling and granny annexe hereby approved, 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;

            - minor artefacts and structures (e.g. refuse or other storage units, etc.); and

            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 2 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).

 

 4.        The windows at first floor level in the both of the side elevations of the replacement dwelling hereby permitted shall be permanently fitted with obscured glass with a minimum of privacy level three and 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).

            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), Saved Appendix 3 of the Local Plan (2004) and the National Planning Policy Framework (2023).

 

 5.        The granny annexe hereby permitted shall not be occupied at any time other than for purposes ancillary to the residential use of the dwelling known as Woodside and shall not be independently occupied.

            Reason:  For the avoidance of doubt and to ensure that the use of the development remains ancillary to the use of the main dwellinghouse without allowing the intensification of residential accommodation within the site in accordance with the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy (2013) and the Dacorum Borough Local Plan (2004).

 

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

            Location Plan

            8009-01

            8009-02

            8009-03 Rev B

            Preliminary Bat Roost Assessment by Chase Ecological Consulting (dated 9th October 2023)

           

            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 positive engagement with the applicant during the determination process which led 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.         If bats, or evidence for them, are discovered during the course of roof works, work must stop immediately and advice sought on how to proceed lawfully from an appropriately qualified and experienced Ecologist or Natural England to avoid an offence being committed.

 

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.         CONTAMINATED LAND INFORMATIVES

Contaminated Land Informative 1:    

In the event that ground contamination is suspected or encountered at any time when carrying out the approved development it must be reported in writing immediately to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) with all works temporarily suspended until a remediation method statement has been agreed. This is because the safe development and secure occupancy of the site lies with the developer. 

           

Contaminated Land Informative 2:    

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 from the expected ground conditions advice should be sought and the LPA informed