Site address:                   Unit 1 & Unit 2, Botley Road, Oxford, OX2 0HA

Proposal:                        External and internal alterations to provide single Class A1 retail use (amalgamation of Units 1 and 2), new shop front, insertion of mezzanine floor, erection of sprinkler tanks and pump house, siting of chiller and cold storage units, limited variation in permitted range of goods to enable sale of food and drink from up to 250 sq.m. net for consumption off the premises, provision of ancillary garden centre and cafe.  

Recommendation:

The West Area Planning Committee is recommended to:

1.     approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required planning conditions set out in section 12 of the report and grant planning permission; and

2.     agree to delegate authority to the Head of Planning Services to:

·       finalise the recommended conditions as set out in the report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning Services considers reasonably necessary.

·       Finalise the recommended legal agreement or unilateral undertaking under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in the report, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in the report (including to dovetail with and where appropriate, reinforce the final conditions and informatives to be attached to the planning permission) as the Head of Planning Services considers reasonably necessary; and

·       complete the section 106 legal agreement referred to above and issue the planning permission.

The Committee considered an application (20/01314/FUL) for planning permission for external and internal alterations to provide single Class A1 retail use (amalgamation of Units 1 and 2), new shop front, insertion of mezzanine floor, erection of sprinkler tanks and pump house, siting of chiller and cold storage units, limited variation in permitted range of goods to enable sale of food and drink from up to 250 sq.m. net for consumption off the premises, provision of ancillary garden centre and cafe.

The Planning Officer presented the report and made the following verbal updates:

·         All references in the report should be to an on-site café

·         The Council’s Flood Officer had spotted an omission of any reference to a sprinkler tank and pump room in the documentation and a new condition to require the flood risk assessment to be updated was recommended

·         Proposed removal of Conditions 10 and 11

·         The technical information that had been requested by Thames Water would be dealt with at building regulations stage.

The Committee noted the planning officers’ advice that although this was classed as a major development it was primarily about changes to the interior of the existing buildings and that there was minimal change to the external landscaping and footprint of the buildings. Therefore it would be unreasonable and disproportionate to seek to impose conditions which required improvements to the existing flood risk mitigation under Local Plan Policy RE3.

The Committee expressed reservations about the removal of Conditions 10 and 11 and noted that the objections raised by the County Council, as the lead Flood Authority statutory consultee, were still in place.

In light of these concerns, and notwithstanding the planning officers’ advice that this was a matter of professional judgement on the part of the flood experts,   the Committee considered the merits of a deferral of the application to seek further information from the County Council on this matter.

A proposal to defer the application to enable further consultation on matters pertaining to drainage and surface water run-off was moved and seconded.

On being put to the vote, the West Area Planning Committee resolved to defer consideration of application 20/01314/FUL for the following reason:

To enable further consultation on matters pertaining to drainage and surface water run-off between Oxford City Council as the Local Planning Authority and Oxfordshire County Council as the Lead Flood Authority consultee.