Agenda item

The application was for the erection of 30 dwelling houses at former nursery to comprise 22 affordable homes and 8 open market homes with associated gardens, landscaping, woodland, parking and access.

Members were advised of the following updates on the application:

“UPDATE

1)    The consultation response from the Urban Design Consultant (UDC) was inadvertently not included at section 5.0 of the committee report.  For completeness, the UDC raises no objection to the proposal and section 7.4 of the committee report reflects her comments. She is satisfied that the circulation, design and appearance per se is acceptable in respect to street scene and layout.  Notwithstanding this, these UDC comments do not outweigh the substantial harm to the Green Belt, identified at paragraphs 7.2 and 7.3 of the committee report.

2)    The first reason for refusal has been split into paragraphs to assist with readability, there has been other no changes to its content, see below:

“The proposal does not constitute 100% affordable housing and the applicant has failed to demonstrate the need for market housing on the site to facilitate this as a rural exception site. In any event, the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the development would meet a proven local need for affordable housing within the Parish of Chobham for local people with a local connection to the area; that the need cannot be met within the settlement boundary; and, that the development would provide affordable housing for local people in perpetuity. 

As such the proposal represents inappropriate development in the Green Belt, which is harmful by definition; and, by reason of its quantum of built form, height, scale and mass, would cause further significant harm to the openness of the Green Belt and conflict with the purposes for including land within it. 

No very special circumstances exist to outweigh this Green Belt harm and the other harm identified in reasons 2 - 4 below. The proposed development is therefore contrary to Policies CP1 and DM5 of the Surrey Heath Core Strategy and Development Management Policies Document 2012 and the National Planning Policy Framework”

3)    On the 30^th January 2020 the applicant also made the following representations in response to the publication of the committee report:

“Officers omit to mention that this site is allocated as a Rural Exceptions site in the Issues and Options paper published by the council in June 2018”

Officer’s comment

The site is recognised in the 2018 document and in the more recent Strategic Land Availability Assessment (SLAA) 2019.  The SLAA’s relevancy is fully considered at paragraphs 7.2.6 and 7.2.7 on page 19 of the committee report.  However, for the avoidance of doubt and as set out in the committee report, it is not considered that the site meets the rural exception tests.

The applicant also states that the site is: 

“…also one of the sites identified for immediate development in the council’s 5 year housing land supply paper.”

Officer’s comment

To confirm, the application site is NOT included in the 5 Year Housing Land Supply Paper.” 

The officer recommendation to refuse the application was proposed by Councillor Colin Dougan, seconded by Councillor David Lewis and put to the vote and carried.

RESOLVED that application 18/1089 be refused for the reasons set out in the Officer Report and Updates

Note 1

It was noted for the record that:

                          I.     Councillor Edward Hawkins declared that he had received various.pieces of correspondence in relation to the application.

                        II.     Councillor Victoria Wheeler had previously met the applicant 3 or 4 years ago, had attended a residents’ meeting on the application and received telephone correspondence on the application. However she had not made comment on the application.

Note 2

In accordance with Part 4, Section D, paragraph 18 of the Constitution, the voting in relation to the application was as follows:

Voting in favour of the recommendation to refuse the application:

Councillors Graham Alleway, Peter Barnett, Sarah Jane Croke, Colin Dougan, Shaun Garrett, Edward Hawkins, David Lewis, Darryl Ratiram, Morgan Rise, Graham Tapper, Victoria Wheeler, Helen Whitcroft and Valerie White.

Voting against the recommendation to refuse the application:

Councillor Cliff Betton.