Agenda item

Agenda item

122464/FO2019 - Land at Junction of Honford Road and Broadoak Road, Manchester

The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is attached.

Minutes:

The application was for the erection of 2 no. 4 bedroom bungalows and 1 no. 2 bedroom bungalows with parking, gardens and amenity space. The bungalows were to be built for occupation by households that included a permanent wheelchair user. The application site was approximately 0.3 hectares in size and consisted of a semi-circular area of informal open space enclosed by Broakoak Road and Honford Road that was mainly a maintained grass lawn area and a small number of mature trees. Once the development was complete about a third of the open space would still be available and some of the existing tress would be retained.

 

Further representations submitted by the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing explained that a 198 signature petition had been received suggesting revision of the plans for this site and another. They also summarised representations the applicant had made regarding the submitted Open Space Assessments of this site. A further letter of objection from a local resident about the loss of green space was also reported.

 

A local resident spoke in opposition to the scheme. She described the work done to capture the views of residents, and the concerns they had expressed about the loss of green space, the loss of important play space for children, and the potential harm to the mental health of local residents that would arise from those losses. She stressed how much the green meant to the local people and how they would like to see it being used in the future as a village green and community garden.

 

The meeting was also addressed by Councillor T Judge, who also spoke against the proposal. He also stressed the importance of the green space as a community asset and opposed its loss to housing. He felt that the scheme was contrary to policy SP1 in that it would not make a positive contribution to neighbourhoods of choice; and also contrary to policy H1 as he felt that the design and density of the scheme would not contribute to the character of the local area.

 

A representative of the applicant then spoke to the committee. She explained these homes built would be socially-rented adapted bungalows for disabled people. These was very high demand in the area for adapted and accessible housing that was designed for use by wheelchair users. She explained the intention that these bungalows would help meet that demand and so free-up other social housing in the area for occupation by other families on the housing waiting list. She spoke of the work that the Wythenshawe Community Housing Group does in the community and its support for environmental, health, and social wellbeing of the communities it operates within.

 

Members of the committee debated the social benefit of more adapted housing for disabled peoples and the loss of part of the green space and the potential impact that could have on the local community. They raised possible traffic calming needs and highways considerations and the officer responded to those. The committee then agreed that the application should be supported.

 

Decision

 

To approve subject to the conditions and reasons set out in the report.

Supporting documents: