Agenda item

To consider the report of the Service Lead City Development.

 

The Principal Project Manager (Development) (MD) presented the outline application for a mixed use development to provide town centre facilities comprising uses within Classes A1 (Retail), Class A2 (Financial and Professional Services), Class A3 (Cafes and Restaurants) with associated Drive-Throughs, Class A5 (Hot Food Takeaways), Class D2 (Assembly and Leisure) with associated means of access, access roads, service yards, car parking, infrastructure, public realm and landscaping (all matters reserved except access).

 

The application was a revision of the application that had been submitted in 2018 and was subsequently withdrawn (ref. 18/0076/OUT). Approval was sought for a maximum floorspace of 11,527 sq m (GEA)/11,004 sq m (GIA) comprising 8,659 sq m A1, 465 sq m A2, 1,021 sq m A3, 116 sq m A5 and 743 sq m D2. The amount of floorspace had been reduced by about 13% compared to the previous application and the applicants proposed that between 1,000 sq m and 2,789 sq m of the A1 floorspace be used for the sale of convenience goods, alongside a chemist and related goods (with or without a pharmacy) and provision made for Post Office facilities.

 

The report also detailed the key issues of the principles of the proposed development, access and impact on local highways, parking, impact on air quality, contaminated land and impact on amenity of surroundings, impact on trees and biodiversity, flood risk and surface water management and sustainable construction and energy conservation.

 

Approval was also sought for a Parameters Plan and suggested controls for the proposed floorspace had also been submitted. The access proposals showed the redesign of the existing access road to the site off Fitzroy Road. It also proposed widening the carriageway to the north in order to incorporate an island and right turn lane into the Persimmon residential development site to the north.

 

The Principal Project Manager (Development) (MD) referred to a letter of support to this application from SW Communications and a representation from the Crown Estate, requesting conditions on the basis of the other applications being refused. In addition, an objection had been received from East Devon District Council to this and the other applications because of the impact on the Cranbrook Town Centre and insufficient information on the impact on this Centre from the retail sequential test. It was noted that East Devon were yet to formally adopt a development plan document for Cranbrook.

 

The Principal Project Manager (Development) (MD) referred to the results of the assessment of the impacts in terms of both comparative goods floor space and convenience of each of the three applications and also an assessment of the cumulative impact issues of the three applications except the Police Headquarters site prepared by the Council’s external retail consultant, Avison Young. The cumulative assessment had concluded that only one of the proposed schemes should be permitted to avoid significant adverse impacts on Exeter City Centre and St Thomas District Centre. A judgement was therefore necessary on which application should be approved.

 

The recommendation for the Moor Exchange application was for approval, subject to the conditions set out in the report, as it was considered that the salient factors in making this determination should be the accessibility of the sites to the local community by sustainable modes of travel and how well the proposals serve the local community’s day-to-day needs. Due to its close proximity to housing in Hill Barton Vale and its wider mix of uses, the current Moor Exchange application was considered to be the most sustainable out of the three. It also possessed the best access to the City Centre by public transport.

 

Councillor Holland, having given notice under Standing Order No. 44, spoke on the three retail proposals in general. He raised the following points:-

 

·                     open minded about the applications but am not in favour of one or against any of the applications;

·                     initially believed that there would be six retail applications but two on the Tesco site were not forthcoming with the Police HQ site withdrawn. The 7,000 residents of St Loyes, a ward which was going through unprecedented growth, through 4,000 delivery points had been notified of all these proposals;

·                     widely recognised that ‘out of town’ retail parks may give shoppers greater convenience but they impact on retail trade in the City Centre;

·                     30,000 vehicles enter the city daily along the Honiton Road CorridorPinch points with a particularly adverse impact on the Honiton Road Junction with Wilton Way. Had Hammersons progressed their application for Middlemoor they were set to pay for the reconfiguration of the roundabout/road layout which would have helped alleviate these pinch points. Such investment is not forthcoming from the other applicants;

·                     concerned about the impact a Retail Park may have on the City Centre. At anInExeter independent showcase many City Centre independent operators expressed their concern in respect of out of town centres and sought reduced car parking charges in the Centres car parks; and

·                     expect any developer/contractor to be considerate of neighbours and seek to reduce noise and pollution with robust conditions to prevent deliveries taking place throughout the night and to ensure construction hours are limited to 8am to 6pm, Mondays to Fridays, 1pm on Saturdays and none on Sundays.

 

Councillor Holland advised that he had received 43 responses to consultation with residents

 

Nick Freer spoke against the application. His comments are also covered Min. No 43 below.

 

·                     significant impact on Exeter City Centre and other centres and Cranbrook should also be considered. The Cranbrook development plan document describes the Cranbrook town centre as a sequentially preferable and more sustainable option. Cranbrook was planned to deal with Exeter growth pressures and is part of a comprehensive solution for Greater Exeter. Cranbrook Town centre is clearly available and suitable for town centre development;

·                     a similar proposal was decisively refused in August 2018 and nothing of significance has changed;

·                     officers still accept that the proposals conflict with CP19 yet consider that material circumstances dictate that consent could be granted;

·                     many of the occupiers that the scheme is intended to attract have no basis to be in a local centre;

·                     only a modest reduction in the amount of floorspace yet it remains fundamentally larger than a local or neighbourhood centre;

·                     since a year ago, the vulnerability of existing retail centres has become more not less apparent;

·                     nothing of significance has changed since August 2018 to warrant a different conclusion being drawn. Such change as has happened heightens the importance of Cranbrook and the policy status of the town centre.  It also heightens concerns regarding the vulnerability of existing centres;     

·                     the report makes one new argument - that the scheme is the most sustainable of the four applications which is a different matter to it being a sustainable or acceptable scheme given its failings and impacts across Exeter and beyond;

·                     Exeter Civic Society and the developers of the strategic site to the north unite in opposing the latest application not least because of the impacts on residents and the City’s policies;

·                     the Hill Barton Consortium have set out their reasons why the gross oversizing of the retail element has real impacts on residents adjoining the boundary of the site, for example, servicing yards, recycling facilities, air conditioning are within 15-20 metres of buildings to the north;

·                     the applicant has the ability to deliver the Oberon Road access into Hill Barton yet fails to do so. That link should be an imperative and critical infrastructure item for the Monkerton Masterplan. Permission should be refused without it or a Grampian condition imposed to require it if permission is granted.  No development should commence until the Oberon Road Link has been completed;

·                     comments consistent with those of East Devon District Council who also oppose the schemes;and 

·                     in summary, the Committee report offers no significant change in circumstance since the decision taken last year. If anything, the passage of time has reinforced the reasons to refuse.

 

He responded as follows to Members’ queries:-

 

·                     Cranbrook has existing planning permission for retail and other elements and community and employment use and a consultation on the development plan document took place between February and April 2019 with sustainability a key issue. Planning permission includes a Section 106 Agreement to bring forward 500 square metres retail units;

·                     although all authorities have not signed up to the Greater Exeter Strategic Partnership the vision for Cranbrook in the original Structure Plan Strategy was for a sustainable community for the wider Exeter area and to help meet Exeter’s housing needs; and

·                     Cranbrook’s current population is 2,000 with permission for a further 3,500, with the intention to ultimately grow to 7,800. 

 

Martin Ridgway spoke in support of the application. He raised the following points:-

 

·                     report provides a balanced consideration of the development with previous issues of concern addressed. Moor Exchange enjoys the most accessible and sustainable location with local residents and employees able to walk to the site or use public transport;

·                     sustainability credentials have been improved, including more green space, a reduction in parking spaces and more electric car charging points, pedestrian links to the south, a crossing at Honiton Road, plus a new bus connection to the north;

·                     Moor Exchange has reduced in scale and a broader range of uses introduced such as a gym, bank, newsagents, chemist and a larger food element to ensure a good balance on the site to serve the community;

·                     many retailers such as Morrisons, Lidl, Next and Boots remain committed to physical stores and to expanding their presence in Exeter. The scheme’s impact on Exeter are minimal as confirmed by the Council’s retail advisor. Moor Exchange will complement Exeter City Centre. There is a clear need for a modern retail and services hub to serve the growth in East Exeter;

·                     Moor Exchange continues to enjoy significant local business support from Exeter Science Park, Chamber of Trade and South West Communications;

·                     most of the key building blocks for Moor Exchange are already in place;

·                     CPG are one of the largest developers in the retail and mixed use sector with an impressive track record;

·                     Moor Exchange continues to have the backing of retailers and occupiers;

·                     the scheme will provide significant social benefits due to the improved mix of uses to serve the local community including widened bus lanes to Honiton Road, provision of a new bus link into the adjacent residential development, further reduction in parking numbers on site, with increased capacity for 40 electric charging points and infrastructure for more in the future together with increased cycling provision;

·                     Co-Cars and Co-Bikes believe Moor Exchange could be central to their East Exeter vision and sustainable network;

·                     there will be a new pedestrian crossing at Honiton Road and enhanced landscaping to Honiton Road frontage, a key gateway to Exeter;

·                     the much needed facilities will help to make East Exeter a more attractive place to live, locate, work and invest.520 new jobs will be created with 160 spin off jobs in the wider economy and 260 construction jobs. There will be a substantial Community Infrastructure Levy payment of £1.82 million and £1.1 million annually in business rates; and

·                     the report concludes that Moor Exchange is the most sustainable scheme.

 

He responded as follows to Members’ queries:-

 

·                     Metrobank have expressed an interest in occupying a bank unit and a potential post office facility would be earmarked for another unit but which would benefit from parcel pick-ups etc. from neighbouring stores;

·                     the reduction in floor space will have a positive impact on the nearby Air Quality Management Area; and

·                     the applicant works with a large number of retailers across the country who are committed to on-going schemes and these close relationships should ensure early occupation of the Moor Exchange units. This is not a speculative scheme and is the most advanced of the other proposals.

 

Members expressed concerns that the overall scale of the proposal was not suitable for the area and considered that a purely Local Centre was preferable for the neighbouring residential development and the wider area that local residents would require access to smaller convenience stores for small items and not an out of town Shopping Centre. It was noted that Avison Young had calculated the impact of the revised proposal on the City Centre as 2-3% reduction for both convenience and comparison goods, representing £40/50 million spend compared with the total city centre spend of £720 million. The retail consultant also advised that, of the total floor space of 120,000 sq ft, it had been estimated in November 2018 that 9,700 sq ft had been vacant. It remained a concern therefore that there would be an adverse impact on the vitality and viability of the City Centre.

 

Members referred to the objection from Environmental Health on air quality grounds, one Member referring to the particular problems that increased traffic flow would have on the Heavitree Road Corridor and in particular East Wonford Hill, suggesting that smaller units such as a qym would lead to repeated journeys. The increased traffic would also impact adversely on the Wilton Way roundabout, another Member asking why the County Council had not sought Section 106 contributions to improve the roundabout from this applicant or the other two before the Committee. 

 

Responding to Members’ queries, the retail consultant advised that St Thomas had been used as a comparator centre as there was some overlap in the nature of trade such as at Exe Bridges and that other centres in the city were of low level impact. He also stated that a centre on Moor Exchange was likely to both rotate spend away from some other centres as well as increasing overall retail spend in the city.

 

The Service Lead City Development advised that the retail impact assessment had shown minimal impact on the city centre also advising that there was little likelihood that a developer would bring forward a local centre in the Pinhoe/Monkerton area. He also referred to the changes to the scheme with units now identified for potential occupation by a bank, gym, pharmacy and post office and to the potential for differing floor space utilisation by identified traders such as Next rather than direct transfer/duplication of existing assets of theirs in the city.

 

In respect of the representations made suggesting that the Cranbrook Town Centre should be included in a sequential assessment for the proposed scheme. The Council had not required this for the 2014 application and it had not been questioned by the Inspector or Secretary of State. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework defined a town centre as an area defined on the local authority’s policies map, including the primary shopping area and areas predominantly occupied by main town centre uses within or adjacent to the primary shopping area. This was not the case with the Cranbrook Town Centre at the current time.

 

RESOLVED that planning permission for outline application for a mixed use development to provide town centre facilities comprising uses within Classes A1 (Retail), Class A2 (Financial and Professional Services), Class A3 (Cafes and Restaurants) with associated Drive-Thru's, Class A5 (Hot Food Takeaways), Class D2 (Assembly and Leisure) with associated means of access, access roads, service yards, car parking, infrastructure, public realm and landscaping (all matters reserved except access) be REFUSED for the following reasons:-

 

1.    the proposal does not accord with Core Strategy Policies CP19 and CP8, as it is not a local centre due to its scale, particularly the quantum of Class A1 and A3 uses, taking into account the definition of local centres in the Glossary in the Core Strategy; and

 

2.    the proposed would have an adverse impact on air quality within the Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) of East Wonford Hill, where pollution levels are exceeding the objective level at residential properties and the proposed mitigation is unquantified and insufficient, The proposal therefore conflicts with Policy EN3 of the Exeter Local Plan First Review and paragraph 181 of the NPPF.