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

This application was for the erection of a 12 storey building to create a 212-bedroom hotel (Use Class C1) with ancillary facilities at ground and first floor level and associated servicing, disabled car parking, drop-off area, public realm and hard landscaping works, with access from Pollard Street.

The application site measured 0.11 hectares in a prominent position on Great Ancoats Street. The site is part of a larger area of surface parking and is surrounded by a timber knee rail and vegetation.  Vehicle access to the site is from Pollard Street. The site is bounded by Great Ancoats Street, a 5 storey office building and 7 storey hotel, and apartment buildings ranging from 4 to 8 storeys. 

The Planning Officer drew the Committee’s attention to the late representation that had been submitted regarding an update made to Condition 2 of the recommended planning conditions.

The applicant’s representative was present at the meeting and addressed the Committee on the proposed development.

There were no objectors to the application present at the meeting.

The Chair invited members to ask questions and comment on the application.

A member in welcoming the application, referred to the arrangements proposed for disabled parking (two spaces had been allocated) and questioned if this was adequate in view of the number of staff to be employed at the hotel and guests who may have a disability and require a disabled parking space.

The Planning Officer reported that the site is located within the city centre and subject to planning policies that seek to promote sustainable means of transport and discourage car usage. The development site is in a central and highly sustainable location within easy access to buses, trams and trains. The Committee was informed that there is a permission on the site for a larger development than that proposed in the application. The application seeks to make the most efficient use of the site with some landscaping included. If required, discussions could be arranged with the proprietor of an adjoining car park site to arrange for additional car parking spaces in addition to the two disabled spaces proposed.

The member, in noting the response, reiterated that point that there is a need for additional disabled parking spaces to those proposed to prevent people with limited mobility from being disenfranchised and on that basis the member would be minded to refuse the application until this issue had been satisfactorily addressed.

Members referred to the need for colour images within the agenda papers for planning applications rather than black and white images provided to help members to better understand the proposal and the surrounding area.

The Planning Officer reported that the images for all planning applications were available in colour on the planning portal accessed through Council’s website. Black and white images are used in printed agendas for all Council committees.

 The Chair stated that he would speak to the Chief Executive on the use of colour images within reports before the next meeting of the Committee. 

A member referred to the information provided within the application and questioned if this was sufficient to make an informed decision on the application.

The Director of Planning stated that the reports submitted to the Committee are written with a sufficient level of information and detail to enable committee members to understand a proposal and make an informed decision.

The members concluded that the application required further consideration to address the concerns raised regarding disabled parking spaces and requested that the Director of Planning bring a further report to the next meeting to address the concerns with potential reasons for refusal.

Decision

The Committee is minded to refuse the application for the reasons that the proposed two disabled parking spaces are not sufficient for the size of the proposed development in view of the number of potential visitors and workforce.