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A decision made (05/05/2009) regarding: Planning Application - Bristol Villa, Georgetown Road, St. Saviour.

Decision Reference: MD-PE-2008 - 0257			Application Number: P/2007/1815 (If applicable)
Decision Summary Title :	, Bristol Villa, Georgetown Road, , St. Saviour, ,		Date of Decision Summary:		14.11.08
Decision Summary Author:	Chris Jones		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)		Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Bristol Villa, Georgetown Road, , St. Saviour, ,		Date of Written Report:		22.6.08
Written Report Author:	Chris Jones		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)		Public
Subject: , Bristol Villa, Georgetown Road, , St. Saviour, , Demolish existing shed. Construct 1 No. new flat with store and utility below. Construct balconies to existing flat and dwelling to south elevation. Amended balcony details to new dwelling. REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION. AMENDED PLANS RECEIVED.
Decision(s): The planning application was presented to the Ministerial meeting on 4th July 2008 where it was deferred pending a Ministerial Site Visit prior to the formal decision being taken. The Minister visited the site on 15th August 2008 and after further consideration of the issues involved, resolved to APPROVE the planning application subject to the proposed development being of high quality design and being constructed in granite.
Reason(s) for Decision: Permission has been granted having taken into account the relevant policies of the Approved Island Plan together with other relevant policies and all other material considerations, including the consultations and representations received. Conditions 1. The development shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the deposited plans and drawings no. 4541/07 Rev B (States Reference No. P 2007 1815 Drawing D) date stamped received 28.8.08 except as required to meet the terms of Condition 2 below. 2. Notwithstanding the details indicated on the submitted drawing no 4541/07 Rev B (States Reference No. P 2007 1815 Drawing D) date stamped received 28.8.08, the walls of the new development shall be granite faced, sample details of which and sample details of all the materials to be used in the construction of the new development (to include rainwater guttering, down pipes and slate roof with Jersey verges) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Minister for Planning and Environment before any development first commences on site. The approved scheme shall be implemented in full and shall be retained and maintained as such. 3. No development shall take place until detailed plans and sections of the proposed windows and doors at a scale of 1:20 together with details of proposed finishes have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Minister for Planning and Environment. The approved scheme shall be implemented in full and retained and maintained as such. 4. The car parking spaces indicated on the submitted approved drawing shall be provided before the development hereby approved is first brought into use and shall thereafter be retained free of any impediment to their designated purpose. Reasons 1. For the avoidance of doubt and in accordance with the requirements of Policy G3 of the Adopted Island Plan 2002. 2. To safeguard the character and appearance of the area and in accordance with the requirements of Policy G3 of the Adopted Island Plan 2002. 3. To protect and enhance the appearance of the building and the area in accordance with the requirements of Policy G3 of the Adopted Island Plan 2002. 4. In the interests of highway safety and in accordance with the requirements of Policy G3 of the Adopted Island Plan 2002.
Resource Implications: None
Action required: Notify Agent, Applicant and all other interested parties
Signature:		PLeg / PT Initials		Position: Minister for Planning and Environment
Date Signed:				Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Planning Application - Bristol Villa, Georgetown Road, St. Saviour.

Application Number: P/2007/1815

Request for Reconsideration Report

Site Address	Bristol Villa, Georgetown Road, St. Saviour.

Requested by	Mr. M Le Fevre	Agent	Morris Architects

Description	Demolish existing shed. Construct 1 No. new flat with store and utility below. Construct balconies to existing flat and dwelling to south elevation. Amended balcony details to new dwelling. REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.

Type	Planning

Original Decision	REFUSED

Conditions
Reasons	1. The proposed development does not provide sufficient space to enable a vehicle to turn on the site, access the highway in a forward direction and to park in the manner indicated on the submitted layout plan. Accordingly, the proposal is contrary to Policy G3 of the Adopted Island Plan 2002. 2. The proposed development by virtue of its design (form, materials and detailing), fails to contribute positively to the adjoining residential properties or the area within which it is located. Accordingly, the proposal is contrary to Policies G2, G3 and H8 of the Adopted Island Plan 2002. 3. The proposed development would be an unacceptable over development of the site, resulting a scheme which is cramped, has an unacceptable built relationship with the adjoining residential properties and provides insufficient private amenity space for the occupants. Accordingly, the proposal is contrary to Policies G2, G3 and H8 of the Adopted Island Plan 2002.

Determined by	Delegated Refused

Date	07/03/2008

Zones	Built-Up Area

Policies	G2 – General Development Considerations G3 – Quality of Design G15 – Replacement Buildings G16 – Demolition of Buildings BE2 – Proposals in the Town of St. Helier H8 – Housing Development within the Built-Up Area WM2 – Construction and Demolition Wastes Plan

Recommendation

Maintain Refusal

Comments on Case	In support of the proposal, the applicants’ agent has confirmed the following: The Planning Department has failed to provide a fair resolution to the proposal submitted when considering the amount of pre-application advice, negotiation and time involved in determining the application. We believe that the Department had ample opportunity to inform the applicant of any concerns it may have during the planning process in order to adjust the scheme to accord to its requirements in terms of vehicle accessibility, design and amenity space. Previous planning officer advice in early 2007 suggested that a single flat would be likely to be acceptable. This was due to the mass and scale of the proposal, but also the parking requirement and the amenity space. To overcome this comment and to satisfy planning officer concerns, it was proposed that the existing house, Bristol Villa, would be adapted from a five bed to a three bed dwelling, hence reducing the requirement for car parking for this dwelling. Therefore as far as the site is concerned as a whole, together with the proposed new flat, when taking into account the existing flats on site, there is no increase in the number of bedrooms and therefore no increase in the potential car parking provision i.e. there is a status quo in terms of site density and car parking. Accordingly, the submission of this planning application was the culmination of pre-application advice and despite a number of requested amendments to the proposals during planning officer consideration of the application the proposal was subsequently refused under officer delegated powers. There are concerns about the delays incurred in reaching this decision and the lack of communication from the Department offering the opportunity for the applicants’ agent to consider trying to overcome the concerns listed in the reasons for refusal. (The list of times and dates relating to the consideration of the application are listed in the accompanying applicants’ agents letter). The applicant was more than willing to adapt the design and to try and resolve the car parking and amenity issues to accord with the requirements of the Planning Department and this could have been carried on, rather than receive a refusal of planning permission. The responses to the above are as follows: A number of discussions were held with the applicants’ agent during the consideration of the planning application and the originally submitted plans were subsequently amended to try in order to try and secure a scheme which would be considered acceptable, given the constraints of the site. Ultimately, a decision has to be made on the submitted proposals and after due consideration of all the issues involved, the application was determined under officer delegated powers where it was resolved to refuse the application for the reasons stated. Pre-application advice in 2007 involved the Planning Department considering a number of options out forward by the applicant. One of the suggestions was for the demolition of the existing shed/workshop and the construction of 1no. 2 bed apartment or 2no. 1 bed apartments. In responding to the options raised, the Planning Department’s informal response was that a 2 bed unit should not be pursued as it would lead to a cramped form of development of the site in terms of size ands scale. The preferred option was for a 1 bed flat given the reduction in requirements for car parking and amenity. This advice was given without prejudice to the submission of any formal planning application. The submitted proposals indicated a 2 bed flat. The application site is outside the boundaries of the town as defined in the current white paper for development proposals within the town centre, which is currently out for an extended consultation period and as a consequence of this, the proposal must be considered using the advice contained in Planning Policy Note No. 3 on car parking and No. 6 on new housing development specifications. When the overall development on the site is correlated, it can be confirmed that there is a shortfall of 2no. car parking spaces and the two existing two bed ground and first floor flats in Bristol Villa have a shortfall in the required levels of amenity space. In this respect, the requirement is 30m² of amenity space. The ground floor flat has only 20m² and the first floor flat has 23m². Notwithstanding the shortfalls referred to above, the land available for the 7no. car parking spaces indicated is also restricted, exacerbated by the location of brick piers to serve the new flat and the under croft entrance. As a consequence of this, a number of the spaces indicated will not be able to be utilised at the same time given problems of turning and manoeuvring in the small space available for this purpose. It is accepted that the existing two storey shed/workshop structure to be demolished is in a poor state of repair and does little to enhance the character and appearance of the area and as a consequence, there would be no objections to its demolition. However, it is considered that the design of the proposed replacement two storey residential unit, does not by way of its form, massing and materials; positively contribute to the character and appearance of the area.

Recommendation	Maintain Refusal

Reasons	As Before.

Background Papers	1:2500 Site Plan Letter from applicants’ agent dated 3.4.08 in support of the proposals which includes Planning Department Pre-Application advice letter dated 4.1.07.

Endorsed by		Date