Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made by Members.

The Principal Project Manager (Development) (HS) presented the application for reserved matters of the layout, scale, appearance of the buildings, the means of access thereto and the landscaping relating to the new Bus Station (Parcel B) and Street C: Pedestrian Access (Parcel Y).

The application was for the reserved matters of Access, Appearance, Landscaping, Layout and Scale, outline planning permission having been granted by the Council on 20 January 2016. Further applications for reserved matters in respect of P (Paris Street) and C (Commercial uses) would be considered separately and these were anticipated to be received shortly.

Application for approval of reserved matters in respect of Parcel L (ref. 16/0891/02) was the subject of another report (Min. No. 80 below refers).

Members were circulated with an update sheet - attached to minutes – setting out an amendment to condition 1.

Mr Crawley spoke against the application. He raised the following points:-

• speaking on behalf of the Exeter and District Bus Users Group; 
• no comments to make on appearance and landscaping and believe that the Design Team have come up with a building that looks in keeping with the general surroundings and provides a welcoming enclosed concourse for waiting passengers;
• turning to the layout and scale of the site, it is not believed that there has been enough thought given to the difficulties arising from the approach for vehicles off a steep incline and the placing of terminal facilities on site. The absence of a second floor for bus company staff has created a much reduced area available for public amenities. The bus apron has several layover bays on the Cheeke Street side into which buses can reverse. Ask that no bollards are placed where buses can hit them but, instead, a raised kerb is inset far enough for the longest rear overhang of a bus to pass over before its rear wheels hit the kerb;  
• access to the site raises a number of issues. There are reservations about the steep approach that buses have to take when entering the site from Cheeke Street, then the added difficulty of buses using Bays 1 and 2 in particular, having to make an awkward manoeuvre to line up with the departure gate. Daylight tests with cones on level ground attempt to provide an assurance that this will work okay but the situation will be very different on a dark winter’s day when raining. This is after drivers have ascended a slope which it is hoped will have all-weather grip to prevent loss of traction before they are confronted by buses on bays 2 or 3 trying to reverse directly into their path! The proposed layout offers only the length of the steep incline for buses to queue, with others tailing back onto Cheeke Street. This will cause congestion back onto Paris Street roundabout, and delay other city bus services ascending Cheeke Street; 
• pedestrian access and egress from Cheeke Street to and from Street C on the plan is by way of 23 steps  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

To consider the report of the Assistant Director City Development.

The Principal Project Manager (Development) (HS) presented the application for reserved matter details of the layout, scale, appearance of the buildings, the means of access thereto and the landscaping relating to St Sidwell's Point Leisure Centre (Parcel L).

The application was for the reserved matters of Access, Appearance, Landscaping, Layout and Scale, outline planning permission having been granted by the Council on 20 January 2016. Further applications for reserved matters in respect of P (Paris Street) and C (Commercial uses) would be considered separately and these were anticipated to be received shortly.

He confirmed that the landscaping provision in the front of the Leisure Centre would include wildflower planting to enhance the biodiversity of the site and complement the Exeter Wild City initiative.

Mr Bryant spoke in support of the application. He raised the following points:-

• the Leisure Centre has a gross internal floor area of 6,100m² which is within the outline approval requirement for leisure centre use. The mass steps up from Paris Street moving north as identified in the approved parameters plans and the pitched roofs don’t exceed the levels at each step identified in the outline approval. It is two stories tall to Paris Street maximum datum height 53.6m and three stories to the new pedestrian street maximum datum height 62.3m; both within the approved parameters; 
• the leisure centre is designed to passive house energy standards that are far higher than best practice and the BREEAM energy requirements identified in CP15; minimising energy loss whilst maximising solar gain are identified in DG2, both are central to the passive house approach. The leisure centre is designed to facilitate connection to a future district heating system when it becomes available as identified in CP13;
• the leisure centre is at a strategic city gateway and therefore accorded particular significance in the bus station supplementary planning guidance, plus in CP17, which sets out the quality of design expected. In response to the specific location, the design steps up from the Paris Street roundabout in a similar way to the wider streetscape reducing the immediate bulk against the footpath whereas the distant views from the top of Heavitree Road show the whole building, in line with the strategic nature of the gateway site;
• the design helps repair the existing urban fabric on this important approach into the city with particular emphasis on the gateway quality of the site and studies are included in the application showing the positive urban impact of the development from the surrounding streets. The use of a number of different materials and a strong articulated building form ensures that these views retain interest and that there is a hierarchy of scale through the use of materials of differing modules and texture. This palate picks up on the Princesshay west development closest to the cathedral;
• large areas of glazing provide highly active façades to Heavitree Road and Paris Street, plus to the new retail development and bus station. These glazed areas act as shop windows for the activities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.