The Committee considered an application (21/01645/FUL) for the demolition of 2no dwelling houses (use class C3); erection of 1no four storey building to provide school boarding accommodation (use class C2) including a 2-bedroom masters flat, and 1no two storey building to provide 2no 2-bedroom dwelling houses (use class C3); provision of vehicular and cycle parking and bin storage; and closure of existing northern vehicular access onto A40 at 472 – 474 Banbury Road, Oxford.

Julian Philcox, agent and Oliver McGovern, on behalf of the applicant, spoke in favour of the application.

The Principal Planning Officer presented the report.  The Committee heard that the applicant’s agent had requested that application be deferred to the February Committee in order to allow Councillors and members of the public more time to review the amended plans.  Officers did not consider this to be necessary: the amended plans had been uploaded on 14 January 2022 ahead of the publication of the committee report on 17 January 2022.  An extension of time to determine the application, until 2 February, had previously been agreed.

Members of the Committee asked questions of officers about the details of the application.

In discussion the Committee noted that the application represented a very different proposal to that which been granted permission in May 2020.  The application now before the Committee was considered to represent over-development which would result in sub-standard dwellings.  In response to a suggestion that determination of the application might be deferred to allow time for further information to be provided to mitigate some of the reasons for refusal, such as those relating to air quality, tree damage or the bicycle racks, officers responded that this would not be sufficient to address the principal concerns about the development.  Deferral would therefore not be of benefit to the applicant.

In reaching its decision, the Committee considered all the information put before it and noted the reasons for refusal as detailed in the officer report.

After debate and being proposed, seconded and put to the vote, the Committee agreed with the officer’s recommendation to refuse the application.

The Oxford City Planning Committee resolved to:

1.             refuse the application for the reasons considered fully in the report and stated to be:-

1.      The application site would be overdeveloped by virtue of the scale, mass and height of the boarding house, proposed to be developed on the same site as 2no. dwellings. Taken cumulatively, the quantum of development on site represents an overdevelopment with two buildings that do not relate appropriately to one another. The proposal fails to make the best and most efficient use of land. The quantum of development and insufficient separation distances between the buildings would lead to an unacceptable level of overlooking, loss of privacy, insufficient daylight and overbearing impact on the occupants of the proposed dwellings and therefore, the proposal would conflict with section 11 of the NPPF and policies RE2, RE7 and H14 of the Oxford Local Plan 2036.

2.      The scheme incorporates constrained two-tier cycle parking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64