Agenda item

To consider the report of the City Development Manager.

The Principal Project Manager (Development) (MH) presented the application for the approval of details for 54 dwellings, public open space, landscaping and associated highways and drainage infrastructure, i.e. for reserved matters of layout, scale, appearance and landscaping (Pursuant to outline planning permission granted on 27th April 2016, reference 14/2066/01).

The Principal Project Manager reported that details of the surface water drainage scheme would need to be submitted for approval in line with a condition of the outline consent and that cycle storage would be provided for either within garden sheds or garages of those units which had them.

The City Development Manager set out the background to the Inspector’s decision upholding the appeal over the original committee refusal at outline stage and the implications for the City’s overall housing supply and on the assessment of the impact on the “Topsham Gap”.

Members were circulated with an update sheet - attached to minutes.

Mrs Neal spoke against the application. She raised the following points:-

• objectors are concerned with what precisely Topsham will end up with in the field next to the Rugby Club.Please reject and back up with rock-solid reasons why it is not an appropriate development for this site; 
• the original outline application was approved on the basis of the housing element being age-restricted with small, one or two bedroomed houses suitable for single elderly people or elderly couples. Even if all 55 houses had subsequently been occupied by couples, the total number of new Topsham residents would have been only 110;
• the total number of bedrooms proposed for all the housing on this site is now 171, and many of these will be double bedrooms. This represents an increase in the head count of future residents of at least 50% than that originally outlined;
• if luxury family homes are provided the number of cars per household will also go up;
• the Planning Inspector noted in his report that the “mix of Care Home and Assisted Living and age-restricted dwellings, together with 19 affordable housing units” carried significant weight with him when he decided to uphold the appeal. If the applicant does propose such a fundamental change in basis, should this matter be processed under the Reserved Matters procedure? The original basis of the approval should be robustly implemented;
• the amount of affordable housing included in this proposal appears to be insufficient.Of the 54 dwellings applied for, only 11 dwellings are now designated as “affordable units” (although the Design and Access Statement mentions 13). Exeter City Council normally recommends that 35% of a development be devoted to affordable housing and therefore the figure should be 18 or 19 dwellings;
• Topsham has a particularly acute housing affordability issue. Any developments undertaken in the town should concentrate on affordability for the benefit of local people; and
• the developers should not be permitted to minimise their responsibility to provide policy-compliant levels of Affordable Housing.

She responded as follows to Members’ queries:-

• representing the Topsham Society and some 650 members of the Save Topsham Gap group all of whom are very concerned about this development;
• the surface water system has insufficient capacity to serve the proposals without risk of overspillage onto Exeter Road, the applicant having failed to address this deficiency referring to surface water being discharged to ground (soakaway) or, if this is not practical, being discharged to public sewer - these are not viable. Any approval should require either that surface water should be retained on site or that a Planning Obligation is made for the developers to contribute to an upgrade of the existing infrastructure; and
• although a sum of £850,000 will be provided by the developer which will potentially lead to additional social housing City wide this may not necessarily benefit Topsham residents.

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

• Burrington Estates Ltd. are an Exeter based property company recently having won an NHBC quality award;
• development will provide two, three and four bedroom homes and a community of varying tenure and social groups. A social rented element will provide 13 affordable homes. There will be a financial contribution towards off-site provision in lieu of the shared ownership element of the affordable housing;
• the development will cater for a variety of people as the age restriction has been removed which will also facilitate first time buyers;
• parking and garage provision exceeds standards;
• widespread consultation was undertaken held at the Topsham Rugby Club and included local Councillors;
• should ground conditions be unsuitable forsoakaways, the contingency approach would be to substitute the soakaway crates withunderground surface water attenuation tanks incorporating a controlled discharge rate to thepublic surface water sewer. This approach is inaccordance with the approved Flood Risk Assessment. Foul sewage will be connected to thepublic foul sewer network. South West Water have confirmed that there issufficient capacity in the network to accommodate the drainage associated with thisdevelopment.

He responded, as follows, to Members’ queries:-

• no longer pursing the age restricted option as the market would be unfavourable as certain individuals would be unable to secure mortgages; and
• houses will be a mix of two and two and a half storey, that is, with a room in the roof.

The recommendation was for approval, subject to the conditions as set out in the report.

RESOLVED that, subject to the completion of a Deed of Variation to the existing legal agreement covering the matters of the age restriction on occupancy and affordable housing matters, planning permission for details for 54 dwellings, public open space, landscaping and associated highways and drainage infrastructure, i.e. for reserved matters of layout, scale, appearance and landscaping (Pursuant to outline planning permission granted on 27th April 2016, reference 14/2066/01) be APPROVED, subject to the following conditions:-

(1)        All conditions imposed on application number 14/2066/01 are hereby reiterated in as much as they relate to the development and have yet to be discharged in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason - To safeguard the rights of control by the Local Planning Authority in respect of the reserved matters.

(2)        The development hereby permitted shall not be carried out otherwise than in strict accordance with the submitted details received by the Local Planning Authority on 23^rd June and 14th September 2017 including drawing nos. PL01, PL03 Rev A, PL04 Rev B, PL05 Rev A, PL06 Rev A, PL07 Rev A, PL08 Rev A, PL10 Rev A, PL17 Rev B, PL18 Rev A, PL12, PL14, PL15, PL20, PL21, PL22, PL23, PL24, PL25, PL26, PL27, PL28, PL29, PL50, 450/01, 450/02 Rev A, 450/03, 450/04 Rev A and 450/05 Rev A as modified by other conditions of this consent.

Reason: In order to ensure compliance with the approved drawings.

(3)        Samples of the proposed bricks to be used in the construction of the dwellings hereby approved shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority. No brick shall be used until the Local Planning Authority has confirmed in writing that its use is acceptable. Thereafter the materials used in the construction of the development shall correspond with the approved samples in all respects.

Reason – in the interests of the visual amenities of the area.          

(4)        The development hereby approved shall be completed in accordance with detailed information demonstrating the finished floor levels and overall ridge heights of the proposed dwellings in relation to existing ground levels and properties surrounding the site.

            Reason: To ensure that the relative heights of the proposed dwellings in relation to prevailing surrounding land levels and existing properties is acceptable in terms of visual and amenity impact.

(5)        Prior to the commencement of the construction of any individual dwelling comprised in this application details of proposed bat/bird bricks to be incorporated into the building fabric of the buildings shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Thereafter the development shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details.

            Reason: To enhance the ecological interest of the site in line with guidelines set out in the Council’s adopted Residential Design SPD.