Site address:                   East Oxford Community Centre, Princes Street, Oxford, OX4 1DD

Proposal:                         Partial demolition, refurbishment and extension to the community centre and erection of 12 residential dwellings formed of 7 one-bedroom and 5 two-bedroom apartments, with associated access and landscaping. (Amended Plans)

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 subject to:

·       the completion of a 21 day consultation period (closing on 10^th December 2020) required due to the submission of amended plans.

·       confirmation from the Lead Local Flood Authority that they remove their objection following the review of amended documents.

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

·       consider and deal with any further representations received during the remainder of the consultation period including deciding whether it is necessary to refer the application back to the committee prior to issuing the permission and to add any conditions required in connection with those representations;

·       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

·       issue the planning permission.

The Chair took this item next.

The Committee considered an application (20/00994/CT3) for planning permission for the partial demolition, refurbishment and extension to the community centre and erection of 12 residential dwellings formed of 7 one-bedroom and 5 two-bedroom apartments, with associated access and landscaping. (Amended Plans)

The Planning Officer presented the report and made the following corrections to the published report for application 20/00994/CT3:

·         HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998 – should read: “Officers have considered the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998 in reaching a recommendation to approve this application”.

·         SECTION 17 OF THE CRIME AND DISORDER ACT 1998 - second sentence should read: “In reaching a recommendation to grant planning permission…”.

The Planning Officer recommended the removal of the parking permit informative and to replace it with the following condition:

The development hereby permitted shall not be occupied until the Order governing parking at the application site has been varied by the Oxfordshire County Council as highway authority to exclude the site, subject to this permission, from eligibility for resident's parking permits and residents' visitors' parking permits unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To ensure that the development does not generate a level of vehicular parking which would be prejudicial to highway safety, or cause parking stress in the immediate locality, in accordance with policy M3 of the Oxford Local Plan.

The Planning Officer also advised that the recommendation to approve the application in the report be made subject to the prior completion of a planning obligation with the County Council to secure the amendment of the Traffic Regulation Order governing parking permits.

The Planning Officer reported that the Lead Local Flood Authority had not yet formally removed their objection but that they had agreed with the principle of the sustainable urban drainage within the submitted Drainage Strategy.

The Planning Officer clarified that officers had considered the impact of the development on the Brewdog public house non-designated heritage asset whose architectural significance is partially derived from the siting of the building on the corner of Cowley Road and Princes Street. Officers concluded that due to the siting of the proposed extension and residential building, and minor changes to the existing East Oxford Community Centre building, there would be no harm to this heritage asset.

Hagan Lewisman (OCC officer), representing the applicant, spoke in favour of the application.

The Committee asked questions of the officers and public speakers about the details of the application and noted the following points:

• there was no residential access to the flat roof formed by the set back of the upper floor of the residential block  as it was not an amenity space
• the gardens at the rear would be for use of all occupants not just those with direct access; this was intended to be a community space to be managed by the residents; the rear gardens and other communal amenity spaces would be subject to Condition 17: Landscape Management Plan
• the blank façade at the rear elevation did face onto some residential properties but at an angle and at sufficient distance; the choice of sympathetic materials would be secured by condition
• the accommodation for existing tenants on the first floor would be refurbished

• all of the units were accessible dwellings

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, the Committee agreed with the officer’s recommendation to approve the application, subject to the removal of the parking permit informative, the addition of a new condition on parking and the requirement for a planning obligation with the County Council to secure the amendment of the traffic regulation order.

The West Area Planning Committee resolved to:

1.    approve the application for the reasons given in the report subject to the completion of a planning obligation with the County Council to secure the amendment of the traffic regulation order governing the site to exclude the site from eligibility for residents’ and visitors’ parking permits and the required planning conditions set out in section 12 of the report together with an additional condition on parking and the deletion of the informative on parking and subject also to:

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

·         issue the planning permission following the satisfactory completion of a planning obligation with the County Council as referred to above.