The Committee considered an application (23/00516/FUL) for demolition of existing building; erection of a three storey building to create a community hall (Use Class F2(b)) and 2 x 2 bed flats (Use Class C3); and provision of bin and bike store at The Annexe, Madina Mosque, 2 Stanley Road, Oxford.

The Planning Officer gave a presentation and highlighted the following:

·        The proposal sought the demolition of the existing annexe and replacement with a three storey building adjoining the rear of the mosque.  It would be constructed from red brick to match the existing and would incorporate an asymmetrical pitched roof with rooflights so that the upper floor was partially set within the roof space.

·        The proposed replacement annexe would provide a new community hall at ground floor level and 2 x two-bedroomed flats at the first and second floor levels, accessed externally from a replacement metal staircase which would also continue to provide a fire escape from the main mosque building at the rear.

·        A number of late objections to the proposal had been received.  These had mainly related to amenity, parking and highway safety considerations which were covered in the officer report.

·        The officer recommendation was to grant planning permission for the reasons set out in the report and subject to the conditions set out in the report.

Michael Scholar of the Iffley Road Residents’ Association spoke against the application.

The Committee asked questions about the details of the application which were responded to by officers and the applicant.  The Committee’s discussions included, but were not limited to:

·       The first floor and second floor windows would be a distance of approximately 12m from the boundary with no. 4 Stanley Road which is considered acceptable in planning terms, compared with a current distance of approximately 14m.  The ground floor would have a shorter distance to the boundary (approximately 10m) as the building was larger at the ground floor than at the first and second floors.  However, as the ground floor looked towards the existing boundary treatments there was not considered to be any issue with overlooking.

·       The main mosque building contained existing flats at the upper floors which were used as houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs).  The proposal for the additional two flats which formed part of this application were not considered to comprise over-occupation of the premises, as they related to two different parts of the application site.

·       In terms of cycle storage, the application would include six Sheffield stands for the dwellings, and a further six for the community hall; this would require clarification within conditions 8 and 9.

·       A Committee Member commented that the existing situation appeared to be having a serious impact on neighbours arising from parking issues and questioned whether the new community hall would result in an increase in parking on the surrounding roads.  The applicant responded that it was not expected that this would be the case as the majority of users would be from the immediate community who lived within a walking distance of 20 minutes from the mosque.  Officers clarified that the Highway Authority had raised no objection to the proposal, subject to conditions.

·       Whilst the application was considered to be acceptable on planning grounds, a Committee Member commented that the applicant had a social responsibility to ensure that expansion of the facilities at the mosque did not give rise to a deterioration in community relationships arising from issues relating to road use in the surrounding narrow streets.

On being proposed, seconded and put to the vote the Committee agreed with the officers’ recommendation to approve the application subject to the conditions set out in the report.

The Oxford City 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 grant planning permission; and

2.                 delegate authority to the Head of Planning and Regulatory 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 and Regulatory Services considers reasonably necessary.