The Committee considered a reserved matters application (22/00675/RES) (appearance, landscaping, layout and scale) for the erection of 317 dwellinghouses (Use Class C3) on the Canalside parcel of the Oxford North site located to the south of the A40 and north-west of Wolvercote.

The Planning Officer gave a presentation and highlighted the following:

·        Section 10.90 of the report outlined that a total of 3.01 biodiversity units were expected to be delivered, based on the net gain metric in the submitted biodiversity assessment.  The applicant had subsequently re-run the metric in response to a request from the Council’s Ecology Officer, and had confirmed that the extent of the biodiversity units would be higher, at 4.63 units, once the net gain to be delivered via the brown roofs on the site had been accounted for.

·        Three further public comments had been received following publication of the officer report.  Each of the representations had raised concerns about the developer’s capacity to meet the 5% biodiversity net gain target.  Concern had also been expressed about the potential impact of noise and air quality on future occupiers, and also the adequacy of mitigation measures in terms of building design.

·        The Planning Officer clarified that the applicant was required to deliver 5% biodiversity net gain across the entirety of the Oxford North project. 5% was not required within each of the reserved matters applications.  Where there was a shortfall in the estimated net gain, as was the case with this application, this would need to be met elsewhere on the site in the later phases of the development, or delivered off-site if required.  The strategy for biodiversity enhancements as outlined by the applicant would therefore not conflict with either the legal agreement or local or national policy.

·        The Council’s Ecology Officer had recommended inclusion of a condition requiring specifications for the brown roofs to be provided.  This was in order to ensure that the brown roofs delivered the required number of biodiversity units as outlined in the biodiversity strategy.

·        The hybrid application had been subject to extensive viability testing in terms of the percentage of affordable homes to be provided.  It had established a requirement for 35% of all the homes to be delivered as affordable units; 80% of which would be delivered as socially-rented homes.  The Section 106 agreement also outlined the required mix of affordable homes, and aligned with Policy H4 of the Oxford Local Plan. The percentage of affordable homes which would be delivered on the site, and the mix of these houses, would be fully compliant with these requirements and was considered to be acceptable.

·        The buildings fronting the A40 would be of a larger scale and height, as reflected in the height parameter plan and the design and access statement accompanying the hybrid permission.  The height of the flats was considered to be commensurate with the site context and the adjacency of the buildings to the A40, as well as the sizeable scale of development on the opposite side of the road  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40