Issue - meetings

This report is a result of an appeal that has been submitted against non-determination of planning application ref: 17/00976/FUL.  In order to express the Council’s views to the Planning Inspectorate, Members are asked for their recommendation.

Description

Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of 9 properties (3 x 2 bedroom and 6 x 3 bedroom) with associated works.

Decision

The reasons set out for refusal in the report were agreed by the Committee as the Council’s position in defending the appeal.

Reasons for refusal:

(1)            Due to its design, siting, bulk and scale, plots 4 & 5 of the proposed development would have a harmful impact on the privacy and outlook of and would appear overbearing to the neighbouring occupants at No. 89 Chessington Road contrary to Policy CS5 of the Core Strategy (2007) and Policies DM10 and DM16 of the Development Management Policies (2015).

(2)            Insufficient information has been submitted with the application to demonstrate that the proposal would not be harmful to bats with the result that the proposal would fail to comply with Policy CS3 of the Core Strategy (2007) and Policy DM4 of the Development Management Policies (2015).

(3)            The close proximity of the proposed buildings (particularly at Plots 4 and 5) to the large Ash and Sycamore, is likely to have an adverse impact on the living conditions of the occupants of the proposed houses, and is therefore likely to result in future pressure to remove or heavily prune trees to the detriment of the visual amenity of the locality. Furthermore, due to the separation distance retained between Plots 3 and 9, the development would result in potential root damage to trees as during the construction of the proposed dwellings. The application is therefore contrary to the requirements of Policies CS1 and CS5 of the Core Strategy (2007) and Policies DM5, DM10 and DM12 of the Development Management Policies (2015).

(4)            The application proposal would have an unacceptable layout with parking spaces adjacent to Plot 1, which would cause significant harm to the amenities of the potential occupants of the proposed dwelling by reason of noise and disturbance, contrary to CS5 of the Core Strategy (2007) and Policies DM5, DM10 and DM12 of the Development Management Policies (2015).

(5)            Due to the proposed layout, the front windows of the proposed dwellings sited at Plot 7, Plot 8 and Plot 9 would be located in close proximity to rear gardens and to a lesser extent habitable windows of the dwellings at Plot 1, Plot 2 and Plot 3, which would cause overlooking. This would harm the privacy of the potential future occupants with the result that the proposal would fail to comply with Polices DM10 and DM12 of the Development Management Policies (2015).