Site address:                  Rhodes House, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RG

Proposal:                         Demolition of Lodge buildings, garden works buildings, existing hard landscaping on Ramparts and internal elements. Refurbishment, alteration and extension of existing building, including external glazing over internal courtyards, insertion of en suite bathrooms and lifts, and extension to existing basement to provide residential, teaching and office accommodation with associated structural works. Erection of replacement Lodges and single storey garden room. Creation of underground accommodation and sunken courtyard within the grounds (east) to provide additional residential en suite bedrooms. Erection of a single storey glazed pavilion building (with new basement) within the grounds (west) to provide additional teaching and office accommodation. Erection of new gardeners outbuildings. New landscaping of garden and Ramparts; removal and re-instatement of boundary walls; removal and reinstatement of front ramps; and provision of cycle parking. (Amended description) (Additional and amended plans and supporting information). 

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 conditions set out in section 12 of the report and grant listed building consent.

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.

The Committee considered an application (20/00166/FUL) for planning permission forthe demolition of Lodge buildings, garden works buildings, existing hard landscaping on Ramparts and internal elements. Refurbishment, alteration and extension of existing building, including external glazing over internal courtyards, insertion of ensuite bathrooms and lifts, and extension to existing basement to provide residential, teaching and office accommodation with associated structural works. Erection of replacement Lodges and single storey garden room. Creation of underground accommodation and sunken courtyard within the grounds (east) to provide additional residential ensuite bedrooms. Erection of a single storey glazed pavilion building (with new basement) within the grounds (west) to provide additional teaching and office accommodation. Erection of new gardener’s outbuildings. New landscaping of garden and Ramparts; removal and re-instatement of boundary walls; and provision of cycle parking.

The Planning Officers presented the report and gave the following verbal updates:

·                Public benefits: officers have agreed with the Applicant to secure the public benefits (Public Access and Public Art Strategy) via a legal agreement and therefore condition 29 was not needed. The Legal Officer said that this legal agreement would apply to both the planning application and the application for listed building consent.

·                Condition 23 Biodiversity: officers believe that improvements in the biodiversity for the location could be delivered to achieve a 5% net gain and that the condition could be re-worded accordingly.

Dr Elizabeth Kiss, representing the applicant, spoke in favour of the application.

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

The Committee discussion centred on, but was not limited to, the following points:

• Rotunda staircase – it was noted thatthe officer report presented a clear justification for the proposed Rotunda staircase as the least harmful way to ensure the optimum viable use of the building.  In view of the fact that the Rotunda has a very high level of both architectural and historic significance the Committee considered whether the decision on the detailed design of the staircase should be referred back to the committee.  On balance the Committee concluded that this should be the responsibility of Planning Officers in consultation with Historic England and that only if they could not reach agreement should the matter be brought back to the Committee (Condition 25). 
• Cycle parking – it was noted that the Highways Authority (HA) had raised an objection to the development on the basis of the proposed amount of cycle parking, which is below the requirement in the Local Plan, and on the fact that there were no delivery areas shown which may result in deliveries occurring on street which would not be acceptable in this location. Planning Officers confirmed that this objection remained and that the options to increase the cycle parking on site were constrained by the listed status of the buildings and gardens.  The Committee expressed serious reservations about this shortfall and failure to comply with the Local Plan.  In response Planning Officers undertook to work with the Applicant and the Highways Authority to try to seek a balanced solution which would deliver an increase in the amount of cycle parking without compromising the listed status of the site, but stated that there was no guarantee that the final level of cycle parking would be policy compliant. 

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

After debate and on being proposed, seconded and put to the vote and with the Chair exercising his casting vote, the Committee agreed with the officer’s recommendation, as amended above, to approve the application.

The West Area Planning Committee resolved 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 as amended above (inclusion of a 5% biodiversity target in condition 23 and the removal of condition 29), and grant planning permission subject to:

·       the satisfactory completion of a legal agreement under section.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers to secure the planning obligations set out in the recommended heads of terms given in the oral presentation; and

2.    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 and to decide whether to refer the discharge of condition 25 to the Committee if Officers in consultation with Historic England consider this to be necessary;

·       liaise with the Applicant to seek a greater quantum of cycle parking on the site if this is considered by the Head of Planning Services to be both possible and appropriate;

·       finalise the recommended legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in the oral presentation, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in the oral presentation (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.