Agenda item

(Copy Herewith)

The Senior Planning Officer submitted a report on behalf of the Head of Planning and elaborated thereon. The Committee heard that the site was some 0.74 hectares of green space that was close, but not adjacent to, the Kingsthorpe Local Nature Reserve. It was stated that a landscape assessment, that took the conservation area into consideration, had been carried out and that further reports would need to be submitted in due course. It was noted that the stone wall at the front of the site was not of historic value despite its appearance. Members were informed that a new access from Mill Lane was indicated in a central location, with the existing field access to be closed. It was further noted that the 5 dwellings would contribute to the Council’s 5-year housing supply. Furthermore, the Committee were referred to two additional representations contained in the Addendum.

Mr David Linnell, the resident of Kingsmoor House, addressed the Committee. He stated that the proposed development would impinge upon the River Valley Green Space and to allow the development would be counter intuitive, contravening JCS BN5 – The Historic and Environment and Landscape. He further noted that the application contradicted National Planning Policy Framework paragraph 17, as in his view, there were other, more suitable, brown spaces available and that this would set a dangerous precedent for further development on green spaces. He stated that the housing deficit does not outweigh other considerations. He stated that the presence of badgers and other wildlife could not be denied. Mr Linnell finished by stating that the development would pose a loss of amenities for neighbouring properties.

Councillor Sally Beardsworth, as Ward Councillor, addressed the Committee, echoing earlier statements made by Mr Linnell. She noted that any green space in the town was valuable and once lost, was never regained. She further noted that any significant development in the area would make the improvement project in Kingsthorpe impossible to implement. She stated that Kingsthorpe was already prone to flooding and that any further development would only exacerbate the problem. Although the site itself was not in a flood zone, it was a soakaway and as such, would cause problems to the immediate area if it were to be developed. Councillor Beardsworth ended by noting that although there were no objections from NCC Highways Authority, she saw the 40mph limit on a very busy stretch of road as a potential danger to both cyclists and pedestrians.

Mr Jonathan Weekes, of BSH Projects Ltd, addressed the Committee on behalf of the applicant. He noted that extensive investigation had already taken place regarding the benefit of development versus harm and that the impact was considered to be neutral. Environmental and Arboricultural surveys had been received and raised no objections. He also noted that it was an outline application and that development could go ahead with no loss of amenities and that the site was presently private with no access to the public. Any development, Mr Weekes stated, would be subject to schemes to make sure that flooding would be no worse than at present. Regarding Highways concerns, there was excellent visibility from either side of the access road.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Senior Planning Officer stated that the area was within the Brampton Arm of the River Nene and that the site itself had been identified in the Northampton Green Infrastructure Plan. It was also noted that the Northampton Local Plan 1997 was not an up to date document, however, some policies within the document were material to the application. The Committee were informed that changes in Planning policy and the requirement for the Council to demonstrate a 5-year housing supply resulted in a change in circumstances as per the report that justified Officers’ recommendations for approval.

The Committee welcomed the comments and agreed that there were no Planning reasons to refuse this application. Several members did voice concerns about the number of houses that might be built on the land and the potential intrusiveness to neighbouring properties, but those concerns, among others, were covered by the conditions in the report; the size and proximity of any houses on the development would be subject to further reserved matters applications and consultation.

RESOLVED:

That the application be APPROVED subject to the conditions as set out below and for the following reason:

The proposed development would contribute towards the Borough's 5-year housing supply and would cause less than substantial harm to the setting, of Kingsthorpe Conservation Area. The proposed development would not have undue impact on neighbour amenity, flood issues, biodiversity and highway safety. The development was therefore in conformity with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework, Policies H1, BN1, BN2, BN5, BN8 & S10 of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy and Saved Policy E20 and E26 of the Northampton Local Plan.