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

The Committee had undertaken a site visit in the morning prior to the start of the meeting.  This application related to the erection of a four storey building to form 10 self-contained flats, with associated undercroft car parking.

This was an application for the erection of a four storey building which provides undercroft car parking for eight vehicles at ground floor, with an additional car parking space to the rear of the building to provide nine spaces in total for ten residential units. The building would provide four one bedroom apartments at first floor, two one bedroom apartments and one two bedroom apartment at both the second and third floor.

The land is currently vacant, historically, it has had garages on the site which have been demolished. Immediately to the west of the site is an electricity substation to be retained, further to the west lies a day nursery accommodated in a former public house. To the north and south of the site lie residential properties in this predominately residential area. To the east lies a commercial parade with residential accommodation above that serves the residential area.

Following negotiations revised drawings have been received which result in:

·         Alterations to the material palette;

·         An increase in the separation distances to surrounding property;

·         Obscure glazing to address the perception of overlooking;

·         Accommodation of level access to the site;

·         Alteration to addressing security concerns raised by Greater Manchester Police;

·         The retention of the right of access to the property to the rear;

·         Provision for a disabled car parking space;

·         Facilities for electronic vehicle charging;

·         An internal cycle store;

·         More accessible waste storage area away from sensitive receptors; and

·         Inclusion of tree and shrub planting.

At the meeting the officer gave a report on the key issues that had been raised at the site visit that morning. Concerns had been raised about possible views from side facing windows and oblique views into neighbouring domestic properties and gardens. To address those an additional condition was suggested that would require a revised design of the relevant windows so they were obliquely angled away from the neighbouring properties. The officer indicated that the applicant was content with that proposal. Concerns about the draining of the site were already addressed by proposed conditions in the officer’s written report, and the draining of neighbouring shops was being taken up with those appropriate. Access to a property to the rear was going to be retained.

Councillor Andrews, a local ward councillor, addressed the committee. He welcomed the proposed condition to secure the oblique windows, as that would alleviate some of the local concerns about the application. He questioned whether the rear windows should also have obscure glazing. He also spoke of the draining problems in the area and acknowledged that those were not site-specific but a general problem with the that part of the ward. There remained some concerns about the amount of car parking being proposed and whether that was sufficient to provide for visitors as well as residents, and the extent of dis-amenity to neighbours that might arise during the construction. He did, however, also acknowledge that there was an extant planning permission for another development on the site that was much more objectionable, and that these proposals were a considerable improvement on that earlier consent.

A representative of the applicant then addressed the meeting. She explained all the ways that these proposals were a considerable improvement over the extant scheme. A priority in the development of the plans had been to minimise the impact on neighbouring properties.,

The officer confirmed that one of the proposed conditions, condition 3 in the printed report, required obscure glazing of the rear windows.

The committee commended the applicant and their architect for the way they had responded to concerns and objections and their willingness to amend the design to address that issues had been raised. With the addition of a condition on the oblique windows the committee noted that other matters that had been raised were already covered by the conditions proposed in the report.

Decision

To approve, subject to the conditions and reasons set out in the report and to a further condition requiring the side windows to be of an oblique design so as to avoid overlooking of neighbouring properties.