Erection of Visitor Centre comprising cafe/restaurant, tasting room and bar for distillery and public conveniences (Use Class A3).

The Committee considered a report detailing an application for planning permission to erect a visitor centre comprising cafe/restaurant, tasting room and bar for distillery and public conveniences (Use Class A3) at Oxford City Council Depot, South Park, Cheney Lane, Oxford.

 

The Planning Officer presented the report, setting out the background to the application and the professional advice from officers.  The existing use of the depot site is a distillery which has been granted planning permission. The proposed development of the visitor centre and other amenities will support the distillery bringing the listed threshing barn back into use.  She explained that the red outline on the site map extended into South Park to include the area where additional landscaping, seating area and hoggin path would be. This area would be open to all users of the park and would remain part of South Park.  It had been included as part of the application because the applicant was paying for the additional work to be done.

 

The Planning Officer circulated a list of new comments received, and officer updates to the Committee since the application had been called into the Planning Review Committee (attached as minute 32).

 

She made the following comments on the representations received:

 

·         The listed threshing barn is not currently in use because of its close proximity to the resident dwelling. Pre-application discussions are ongoing with Environmental Health.

·         Policy HE8:  Important parks and gardens is not a relevant policy as South Park is not a historic park or garden.

·         Light pollution on a dark sky site. Any impact will be mitigated by not allowing lighting between midnight and 5am.

·         The development will actually increase the amount and variety of greenery on the site. The Ecology officer believes the development will have no adverse impact on the wildlife corridor.

·         Loss of trees outside the depot boundary is an agreement with the Council’s Parks department and is not controlled by planning.

·         The Council’s archaeologist believes there is no need for an archaeology assessment on the site.

·         The triangular development (to the SE corner of the site) has since been removed from the application site.

·         There is no enclosure included in the application beyond the existing depot site boundary.

·         Officers have changed their recommendation to read “to grant planning permission subject to the approval of the conditions and no objections being received from Historic England”

 

The following people spoke against the application: Laura Hollitzer and Peter Edmunds (local residents) and Cllr Tom Hayes (ward councillor for St Clements).

 

Tom Nicholson and Tagore Ramoutar (applicants), Juliet Burch and Paul Semple (agents) and Debbie Dance (Oxford Preservation Trust) spoke in support of the application.

 

The Committee asked questions of the officers and public speakers about the details of the application.

 

The Committee discussion noted, but was not limited to, the following points.

 

·         The site is an allocated development site and restrictions on lighting hours will reduce the impact of light pollution in the Park.

 

·         The Ecologist has reviewed the application and is satisfied the development will have little impact on wildlife.

 

·         The design of the building evolved from discussions at a CABE Design Review who are independent of Council. They recommended a statement building design rather than a smaller pastiche.

 

·         Landscaping will include native and specialised plants in raised beds. There will be more plants introduced than are currently on the site.

 

·         Parking spaces will predominately be used for pre-arranged visits and for the shuttle service. The Highways Authority is happy with the number of parking spaces. The parking has been moved away from the listed building.

 

·         Several paths have been planned to create ease of access to pedestrians and easy access to the public toilets. Details of the landscaping is included in condition 11, the use of paths can be included in these discussions with the applicant

 

·         The Human Rights Act and the Crime and Disorder Act are legal requirements for planning officers to consider when considering planning applications. How much weight members give them is up to individual members.

 

·         The Equalities Act applies to all planning applications but there are no rights that are affected by material planning consideration in this application.

 

·         The applicant is not leasing the park land included in the red outline on the site plan. This land remains open space and park land, but the landscaping of it will be paid for by the applicant – hence the inclusion of it in the site plan.

 

·         No land outside of the depot land will be fenced or screened off.

 

·         The Council’s Ecologist has reviewed the proposal and the ecological value of the site is limited due to the lack of greenery in the site and quality of the existing hedge. The proposal is to open up the area and plant more which will improve the wildlife.

 

·         It is intended that the kiosk will sell ice creams, tea and coffee etc not alcohol.

 

·         The sale of alcohol is not a material planning consideration. It will be dealt with by the Licensing Authority.

 

·         The City Council’s Archaeologist has reviewed the proposal in relation to council records and considered this in relation to previous uses of the sites. They concluded that no archaeological assessment is necessary.

 

·         The shuttlebus from Broad St to South Park will run 2-3 distillery tours a day. It is being proposed to make it easier for tourists to get to and from the Park and to discourage the use of cars.

 

·         A travel plan is a condition of the application which will consider the route and management of this bus.

 

·         There is no loss of public space; the application will enhance the people’s enjoyment of public space.

 

·         Landscaping on park land will be accessible to all.

 

·         Additional signage informing the public of their right to use the landscaped area will be included as an informative.

 

·         Having more people in the area will add to the vitality of the space and will make the area safer and less likely to experience anti-social behaviour.

 

·         An additional condition for waste management plan to control litter will be added.

 

·         Planning officers noted members suggestions for additional  signage in the rest of South Park

 

In reaching its decision, the Committee considered all the information put before it.

 

The Planning Review Committee resolved to grant planning permission subject to the following conditions, informative and no objection being received from Historic England:

 

Conditions

1.    Development begun within time limit

2.    Develop in accordance with approved plans    

3.    Samples in Conservation Area - Headington Hill

4.    Contaminated Land 1

5.    Contaminated Land 2

6.    Travel Plan – to be made clearer

7.    Construction Traffic Management Plan

8.    Cycle Parking

9.    Drainage Compliance 1

10. Drainage Compliance 2

11. Landscape plan required – to include path designs

12. Landscape carry out by completion

13. Landscape hard surface design – tree roots

14. Landscape underground services – tree roots

15. Tree Protection Plan (TPP) 2

16. Arboricultural Method Statement (AMS) 2

17. Biodiversity enhancements

18. Roof detailing

19. Railing and gate detail

20. Furniture details

21. Lighting details – to include concerns about biodiversity and restrict the lighting hour.

22. Noise – mechanical plant

23. Machinery – restricted hours

24. Hours of use

25. Waste Management Plan – details of control of litter.

 

Informative

1. Clear signage and demarcation of landscaped area in South Park to inform the public that it’s a public space.