Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Planning Services.

(Report circulated)

The Head of Planning Services presented the application for planning permission for a detached building to provide a hotel comprising of 170 rooms, conference facilities, restaurant/bar, ancillary offices, alterations to vehicular access to provide lay-by on Western Way and delivery area off Russell Street, parking and associated works.

The proposal would be over 7 storeys with a basement level accommodating conference rooms. A recent Hotel study had identified a need for additional accommodation within the city. There was no parking proposed as it was in a city centre location close to parking and public transport links. A lay-by was proposed in the front of the building as a drop-off point and there would be 34 cycle spaces.

The materials to be used were render and brick and it was proposed that the windows would be of a high impact paired design and they would be alternately projecting.

The Area Working Party had raised the question of sustainable energy generation. The applicant had responded that items such as solar panels/wind turbines and wood chip boilers would be considered at the detailed design stage of the building. The applicant had also made a statement in regard to their operational environmental policy in which they recognised the environmental responsibilities that they carried on behalf of their guests, employees and the community.

The Head of Planning Services stated that the recommendation was for approval subject to a Section 106 agreement, the conditions in the circulated report and additional conditions regarding an Energy Assessment and contaminated land.

Members welcomed this proposal and felt that it was in an ideal city centre location and would improve the immediate vicinity of the surrounding area.

RESOLVED that planning permission for a detached building to provide hotel (Class C1) comprising 170 rooms, conference facilities, restaurant/bar, ancillary offices, alterations to vehicular access to provide lay-by on Western Way and delivery area off Russell Street, parking and associated works be approved subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement in respect of access arrangements, accommodation works (including relocation of the signal controlled crossing) and landscaping works on the Western Way frontage, together with arrangements for future maintenance of the works, payment by the developer of the cost of any new or revised traffic orders and a contribution towards public art and the following conditions:

1)         C05  -  Time Limit - Commencement

2)         C15  -  Compliance with Drawings

3)         C17  -  Submission of Materials

4)         C12  -  Drainage Details

5)         Prior to the development being occupied, or at such other time as may be agreed by the Local Planning Authority in writing, a sustainable drainage solution such as a soakaway, designed and constructed in accordance with Building Research Establishment Digest 365; or a Sustainable Urban Drainage System, in accordance with Construction Industry Research and Information Association Document 522 for surface water disposal shall be installed and the system shall be maintained effective at all times thereafter. Clean surface and roof water shall be kept separate from the foul drainage system. Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: In order to reduce surface water runoff in a catchment area where flooding occurs.

6)         C35  -  Landscape Scheme

7)         C57  -  Archaeological Recording

8)         The development hereby approved shall not commence until details of the proposed finished floor levels and overall ridge heights of the building in relation to an agreed fixed point or O.S datum have been submitted to, and been approved in writing by, the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: In the interests of the visual amenities of the area and the residential amenities of the occupants of surrounding properties.

9)         No development shall take place until a Wildlife Plan which demonstrates how the proposed development will be managed in perpetuity to enhance wildlife has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority.  Thereafter the development shall be carried out entirely in accordance with the approved plan.

Reason: In the interests of protecting and improving existing, and creating new wildlife habitats in the area.

10)       No part of the development hereby approved shall be brought into its intended use until the visibility splays, on-site parking, turning, loading and unloading facilities and associated landscaping have been provided in accordance with the requirements of this permission. Thereafter the said facilities shall be permanently retained for those purposes at all times unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: In the interests of public safety and to ensure that adequate facilities are available for the traffic attracted to the site.

11)       In accordance with details that shall previously have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority, provision shall be made within the site for the disposal of surface water so that none drains onto any County Highway.

Reason: In the interests of public safety and to prevent damage to the highway.

12)       No part of the development hereby approved shall be commenced until adequate areas have been made available within the site to accommodate operatives' vehicles, construction plant and materials during the construction period in accordance with a detailed Construction Management Plan that shall previously have been submitted to, agreed and approved in writing by the Local Authority.

Reason:  In the interests of public safety and to avoid obstruction of and damage to the adjoining highway.

13)       Prior to the commencement of the development hereby approved a scheme of phasing for the implementation of the development shall be submitted to, and be approved in writing by, the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To ensure that the development is implemented in a logical and appropriate manner in the interests of the amenity of the area

14)       Prior to the commencement of the development hereby approved details of all plant and machinery associated with the building and its use shall be submitted to, and be approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The submitted information shall include details of the siting, appearance and noise levels associated with the equipment.

Reason: In the interests of the visual amenities of the area and the residential amenities of the occupants of surrounding properties.

15)       Notwithstanding condition no 2, no work shall commence on site under this permission until full details of the following have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority and the following shall thereafter be provided in accordance with such details:

a) details of refuse storage facilities

Reason: Insufficient information has been submitted with the application and in the interests of visual amenity.

16)       Construction work shall not take place outside the following times: 8am to 6pm (Mondays to Fridays); 8am to 1pm (Saturdays); nor at any time on Sundays, Bank or Public Holidays.

            Reason: In the interests of residential amenity.

17)      No development shall begin until an Energy Assessment of the proposal, and a scheme for generating a proportion of the predicted energy requirement of the development from on-site renewable sources, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved scheme shall be implemented before the hotel is brought into use and shall thereafter be maintained so that it provides the required level of generation.

Reason: In the interests of sustainable development.

18)       No development shall take place on site until a full survey of the site has taken place to determine the extent of contamination of the land and the results together with any remedial works necessary have been agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The building(s) shall not be occupied until the approved remedial works have been implemented and a remediation statement submitted to the Local Planning Authority detailing what contamination has been found, and how it has been dealt with, together with confirmation that the site is in such a condition as to be suitable for the proposed use.

Reason: In the interests of the amenity of the occupants of the building(s) hereby approved.

In the event that the Section 106 agreement is not completed within 6 months of the date of this committee meeting, authority be delegated to the Head of Planning Services to Refuse permission for the reason that in the absence of a Section 106 agreement, inadequate provision is made for access arrangements, accommodation works and landscaping works on the Western Way frontage, their future maintenance, payment by the developer of the cost of any new or revised traffic orders and public art.

(Report circulated)