Councillor Colin Cook was elected Chair of the Committee for the 2018-19 Council year.

Councillor Mike Gotch was elected Vice-Chair of the Committee for the 2018-19 Council year.

17/03258/FUL and 17/03259/LBC

Councillor Cook, as a Council appointed trustee for Oxford Preservation Trust and a member of the Oxford Civic Society stated that he had taken no part in any discussions or decision making by those organisations that may have taken place regarding these applications.

Councillor Upton, as a Council appointed trustee for Oxford Preservation Trust stated that she had taken no part in any discussions or decision making by that organisation that may have taken place regarding these applications.

17/03427/FUL

Councillor Cook, stated that both the applicant and the objector were known to him as residents in his ward but he retained an open mind about the application.

Site Address:            Oriel College, Oriel Square – see Appendix 1 for site plan

Proposal:                   Erection of new pavilion, creation of a new basement including new kitchen facilities and food lift; removal of existing kitchen and kitchen staircase, new serveries and additional dining and function spaces within Brewhouse Yard, Oriel College, with associated internal alterations. (Additional information).

Reason at Committee: The application is for non-residential development with new floor space of more than 500 square metres.

Recommendation:

West Area Planning Committee is recommended to:

a)    Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required planning conditions set out in section 12 of this report and grant planning permission; and

b)   Agree to delegate authority to the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services to:

1.    finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services considers reasonably necessary; and

2.    issue the planning permission.

The Committee considered two applications (17/03258/FUL) and (17/03259/LBC) for planning permission and listed building consent for the erection of a new pavilion, creation of a new basement including new kitchen facilities and food lift; removal of existing kitchen and kitchen staircase, new serveries and additional dining and function spaces within Brewhouse Yard, Oriel College and with associated internal alterations.

The Planning Officer and the Senior Conservation Officer presented the two reports and answered questions relating to the heritage aspects of the applications.

There were no speakers against the applications.

The following spoke in support of the applications and were present to answer questions from the Committee:

·       Simon Sharp and Neil Warner (JPPC)

·       Anna Joynt (Allies and Morrison Architects)

·       Wilf Stephenson and Richard Noonan (Oriel College)

In discussion the Committee noted the following points:

·       That very little of the original fabric of the 17^th century staircase remained and any surviving, significant historic fabric was proposed to be re-used in appropriate locations elsewhere in the scheme

·       That there were very few points in the adjacent streets where presently the views of Hall were so evident that the changes resulting from the appearance of the upper part of the new building in these views would be harmful

·       That a significant public benefit of the proposed scheme would be the provision of independent level access within the College

·       That Historic England had no objections to the applications on heritage grounds and accepted that the harm entailed by the proposals is justified as is required by paragraphs 132 and 134 of the NPPF

·       That the design of the pavilion roof, in particular its pitch and height,  was a sensitive treatment which limited its visual and physical intrusion into the adjacent street scene in Magpie Lane and would provide an improved setting for views of the medieval windows of Hall

In reaching its decisions, the Committee considered all the information put before it and acknowledged the balancing exercise between the less-than-substantial harm to designated heritage assets and the public benefits of the development, as required by the National Planning Policy Framework. The Committee agreed with the officers’ conclusion that the public benefits (as detailed in the reports) would outweigh the justified and mitigated harm.

The Committee considered that the proposal would add a high-quality, elegant piece of contemporary architecture to the built heritage of Oxford and would comply with the relevant policies of the local plan and with the NPPF.

On being put to the vote the Committee agreed with the officer recommendation.

 The West Area Planning Committee resolved to:

(a)    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

(b)    delegate authority to the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services to:

1.     finalise the recommended conditions as set out in the report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services considers reasonably  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Site Address:            Oriel College, Oriel Square – see Appendix 1 for site plan

Proposal:                   Erection of new pavilion, creation of a new basement including new kitchen facilities and food lift; removal of existing kitchen and kitchen staircase, new serveries and additional dining and function spaces within Brewhouse Yard, Oriel College, with associated internal alterations. (Additional information)

Reason at Committee: The application is to be determined in conjunction with a planning application which is for non-residential development with new floor space of more than 500 square metres.

Recommendation

West  Area Planning Committee is recommended to:

a)    Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required conditions set out in section 12 of this report and grant listed building consent and

b)   Agree to delegate authority to the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services to:

Finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services considers reasonably necessary.

The officer presentation and Committee discussion of this application for listed building consent was taken as part of the previous item.

On being put to the vote the Committee agreed with the officer recommendation.

The West Area Planning Committee resolved to:

(a)   Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required conditions set out in section 12 of the report and grant listed building consent and

(b)   delegate authority to the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services to:

1.     Finalise the recommended conditions as set out in the report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services considers reasonably necessary.

Site Address:            38 West Street, Oxford,  OX2 0BQ,

Proposal:                   Demolition of existing rear store. Erection of a single storey ground floor rear extension, with alterations to roof of existing single storey rear extension from flat to pitched. Erection of a first floor rear extension. Replacement windows. Formation of 1No. rear dormer window in association with a loft conversion. (Amended plans) (Amended description)

Reason at Committee:  The application has been called in by Councillors Pressel, Fry and Rowley due to concerns about the potential loss of light for neighbours and the impact of the proposed development on the Conservation Area.

Recommendation

West Area Planning Committee is recommended to:

a)    Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required planning conditions

b)   Agree to delegate authority to the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services to:

Finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services considers reasonably necessary.

The Committee considered an application (17/03427/FUL) for planning permission for the demolition of existing rear store and erection of a single storey ground floor rear extension, with alterations to roof of existing single storey rear extension from flat to pitched; the erection of a first floor rear extension; replacement windows and the formation of 1No. rear dormer window in association with a loft conversion.

The application had been called in by Councillors Pressel, Fry, Lygo, Chapman and Rowley due to concerns about the potential loss of light for neighbours and the impact of the proposed development on the Conservation Area.

The Planning Officer presented the report and explained that the rooflight at the rear had been reduced further in size than the amended plans and that no consultation had been carried out on this most recent slight reduction in the size of the rooflight because it was very minor in nature and had been requested by officers.

Tara Howard (neighbour) spoke against the application. 

Richard Thurston (applicant) spoke in favour of the application.

The Committee asked questions of the officers about the details of the application. The Committee was satisfied with the arguments presented in the report with regard to the impact on the Conservation Area and the potential loss of light for neighbours. 

The Committee discussion focussed on the glazing in the single storey kitchen/dining extension and its impact on the privacy of the neighbour at 37 West Street as well as on the current (and any future) residents of 38 West Street. Notwithstanding the planning officers’ opinion (as set out in paragraph 10.11 of the report) that the proposed glazed element was not materially different to the existing arrangement in terms of privacy the Committee felt that it was reasonable to require an element of obscured glazing in the single storey kitchen/dining extension.  

On being put to the vote a majority of the Committee agreed to include an additional condition requiring an element of obscured glazing in the single storey kitchen/dining extension.

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

On being put to the vote the Committee agreed with the officer recommendation.

The West Area Planning Committee resolved to:

a)     Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the 4 required planning conditions detailed in section 12 of the report and the addition of a further planning condition relating to the provision of obscured glazing in the single storey kitchen/dining extension;

b)     delegate authority to the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services to:

1.     Finalise the recommended conditions as set out in the report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services considers reasonably necessary.

To approve as a true and accurate record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2018.

The Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2018 as a true and accurate record.

Items for consideration by the committee at future meetings are listed for information. They are not for discussion at this meeting.

The Committee noted the list of forthcoming applications.

The Committee will meet at 6.00pm on the following dates:

The Committee noted the dates of future meetings.