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

This application relates to a housing-led mixed use development. It involves 410 new dwellings (Class C3) and 744sq.m of commercial floorspace comprising   Class A1 (retail), Class A3 (restaurant/cafe) Class B1 (business/office use), together with recreation open space and landscaping, infrastructure provision and car parking. Following recent changes to planning legislation, the Class A1, A3 and B1 uses now fall within use Class E and the title of the application has been changed accordingly.

There would be a variety of house types ranging in size and design (2 bedroom 4 person, three bedroom 4 person, three bedroom five person and three bedroom six person houses) along with 107 apartments. All would meet the Council’s approved space standards.

The development would include two blocks of apartments located along the south western boundary of the site adjacent to Varley Street, close to the junction with Holland Street, with a further two blocks fronting onto Hulme Hall Lane in proximity to Coleshill Street. The apartment blocks would be part four, part five, and five storeys in height. The rest of the site would then include the dwellinghouses, which would be either 2 or 3 storeys in height.

The layout would be in the form of a gird iron pattern of buildings with the majority of houses facing onto the street (some terraces facing the canal would face onto pedestrian routes which link to the proposed highways). Each would have a small rear garden and access to larger shared courtyard areas which would include some off street parking provision. These areas would be secured,

On street parking controlled by the use of permits is also proposed.

A range of different tenures are included, build to rent and affordable housing being delivered through a registered provider (One Manchester). Overall there would be 36 Shared Ownership, 34 Affordable Rent, 44 rent to buy and 296 Build to Rent

The proposed commercial floorspace would primarily be located at ground floor level within the apartment block fronting onto Hulme Hall, the café element of the scheme would be located at ground level facing onto the canal with a flat above.

As noted there would be a new highway network into and around the site, which would connect Hulme Hall Lane in an east west direction to Varley Street. Car parking has been provided at a provision of 310 parking spaces, 438 cycle spaces and 22 parking spaces for disabled users which are all included within the proposed development. Parking for the most part is in the form of on street bays and would be managed through a residents permit scheme.

Associated landscaping, boundary treatments, new highways with street trees, and significant site remediation is also proposed. The layout of the site incorporates seven key areas of open space each with its own distinct character butwhich would create a chain of practical and useable space for future and existing residents.

The scheme would also necessitate the provision of a number of substations within the overall site.

The Chair invited the Planning Officer to present the Item.

The Planning Officer informed the Committee that additional information had been provided within the ‘Supplementary Information on Applications’ document, previously circulated. The Committee was informed that an objection had been received from a ward councillor regarding the loss of football pitches and recreational land. As a result of concerns raised an amendment was recommended to  be made to the legal agreement to include a payment for the provision of recreational /sports facilities, with the current green space to remain in use until any new or upgraded facility becomes available. In recognising the potential for a ‘rat run’ through the development it is proposed that a further condition is added with the condition wording to be delegated to the Director of Planning in consultation with the Chair of the Planning and Highways Committee. In addition, Condition 7 of the application, referencing offsite highways works on Traffic Regulation Orders would need to be amended to reflect the additional condition. Significant alterations to the canal frontage have been proposed by the applicant and agreed by the Canals and Waterways Trust including the removal of railings and the addition of new access points and these would be subject to an amendment to the existing proposed conditions to ensure full details of accessible access points to the canal are first agreed. A number of remediation works were also proposed and contained within the supplementary information. The recommendation to the Committee remained Minded to Approve subject to the amendment to the legal agreement and the inclusion of further condition and changes to the existing conditions as outlined.

No objector attended the meeting.

The applicant’s representative addressed the Committee on the application.

The Chair invited the Committee to make comments on the application.

A member welcomed the proposal and the opportunity that it would bring to the area but expressed concern on the lack of consultation with local councillors by officers. In addition, concern was expressed regarding a potential rat run through the development which had not been identified in the report.  An assurance was sought for a physical barrier would be installed to reduce vehicle speed to protect pedestrians and better access to the Rochdale Canal for the public. The Committee was informed that there are three pitches as part of the green space and no contact had been made with Sport England on the proposal to remove the pitches. It was requested that any financial agreement be in consultation with local councillors and would benefit local residents. The proposal was welcomed for the reasons that it will provide affordable good quality housing and use a brown field site requiring significant remediation works.

The planning Officer gave an assurance that the additional condition would address the concern of a ‘rat run’ and the legal agreement would be robustly worded to address the loss of green space and provision of a new or upgraded facility. 

A member referred to the use of parking permits as part of the proposal and expressed concern that this may push parking onto existing residential areas and needed to be addressed to prevent it. Reference was also made on the lack of timely consultation with ward councillors on the application. Officers were asked to include ward councillors in the consideration of the additional highways condition.

The Planning Officer reported that the adopted roads within the controlled parking zone would subject to the existing wider controlled parking zone. Private roads would be subject to parking management measures on match days.

The applicant’s agent addressed the Committee on the application.  

Director of Planning noted the concerns of members regarding consultations and offered to bring together officers from the service areas concerned to meet with local councillors to work through and address the concerns that had been raised.

A member took issue with the statement from the applicant’s agent that local councillors had been consulted and stated that this was not the case. The Chair was requested to write to the Chief Executive to highlight the issues on consultation and involvement of local councillors arising from the application to ensure they are not repeated in future applications. 

Councillor G White made a request to move the recommendation and this was seconded by Councillor J Flanagan.

The Committee supported the recommendation.

Decision

1.     Minded to Approve – subject to a section 106 legal agreement and amendment as outlined relating to a payment towards improved /new facilities to replace the green space to be lost, a clause relating to the timing of delivery of these facilities, a mechanism to re-test the viability of the development in relation to the delivery of affordable housing, should there be a delay in the implementation of the planning permission, together with a further review prior to the occupation of the development, and to finance the future administration, enforcement and maintenance of the residents permit parking scheme. An additional condition to address the creation of a ‘rat run’ within the development and also rewording of existing proposed conditions in order that details of accessible access points to the canal are agreed, with the wording to be delegated to the Director of Planning and the Chair of the Planning and Highways Committee a subject to the additional conditions outlined in the supplementary information document.

2.     That the Director of Planning facilitate a meeting with local ward councillors and officers involved in the areas of service concerned to address issues that have been identified relating to traffic calming measures arrangements to maintain access to green and recreational space and public access to the Rochdale Canal.