Issue - meetings

Demolition of existing detached house and construction of Two houses and Three flats.

Description

Demolition of existing detached house and construction of two houses and three flats.

The Committee received a report seeking to build two houses and three flats with direct access to West Street, Ewell Village and bounded by Gibraltar Recreation ground to the north west of the site. The development would accommodate parking spaces on the site and it was proposed that the parking demand would be accommodated by this.

The report outlined paragraphs 7 and 8 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Members were encouraged to view the proposed development in terms of sustainable development i.e. in terms of economic, social and environmental impact. The Standardised Method of Housing Need that required the Borough to build 695 dwellings per year was also emphasized and the Council’s commitment to maximising the five year land supply.

It was acknowledged that the proposed development would optimise the density of the site. Members deliberated the balance between potential less than significant harm to the character of a conservation area and the benefits associated with the provision of an additional five dwellings.

The Committee noted that an application for the site had been considered at its meeting on 17 November 2019 but had been refused by the Committee on two grounds. The Committee considered that the application in front of it at this meeting provided mitigation for one of those two grounds (parking standards), but not the other (that its scale, massing, bulk and detail would fail to preserve or enhance the character of the Ewell Village Conservation Area).

Decision

Planning permission is REFUSED for the followings reason:

(1)          The design of the development by reason of its scale, massing, bulk and detail would fail to preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Ewell Village Conservation Area, resulting in less than substantial harm to the designated heritage asset. The development does not achieve public benefits that outweigh the harm and adverse impacts of the scheme when assessed against the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework taken as a whole. The proposal is contrary to the NPPF, policies DM8, DM9, and DM10 of the Development Management Policies Document 2015 and CS5 of the Core Strategy 2007