Site address: 253 And 255-257 London Road, Headington, Oxford, Oxfordshire

Proposal: Demolition of the existing semi-detached building and outbuildings. Erection of a part three, part four-storey apartment block with basement to create 6 x 4 bed, 2 x 3 bed and 1 x 2 bed HMO flats (Use Class C4). Provision of private amenity space, 1no. short-stay car parking bay, bin and cycle stores and associated landscaping. (Amended plans and additional reports).

Reason at Committee: This application was called in by Councillors Smowton, Jupp, Smith, Miles, Gant and Sandels, to allow the committee to consider whether the form, scale, character and appearance of the proposed building constitutes high-quality design.

RECOMMENDATION

Oxford City Planning Committee is recommended to:

1.    Refuse the application for the reason given in paragraph 1.1.2 of this report and to delegate authority to the Head of Planning Services to:

•       finalise the reason for refusal including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Head of Planning Services considers reasonably necessary.

2.    The recommended reason for refusal is as follows:

•       The proposal due to its scale, massing, form, and detailed design would result in an overly bulky and prominent form of development which would fail to appropriately respond to the context of the site, appearing as an alien feature within the streetscene, causing harm to the predominantly low scale domestic townscape character of the area. The proposal would not create or enhance local distinctiveness, it would not respond appropriately to the site and character of the area, nor would it be an innovative design which would enhance the identity, character and setting of the area. As such the proposal would be considered contrary to Policies DH1 and RE2 of the Oxford Local Plan, Policies GSP4, CIP1 and CIP3 of the Headington Neighbourhood Plan, as well as the NPPF.

The Committee considered an application for the demolition of the existing semi-detached building and outbuildings, erection of a part three, part four-storey apartment block with basement to create 6 x 4 bed, 2 x 3 bed and 1 x 2 bed HMO flats (Use Class C4), provision of private amenity space, 1no. short-stay car parking bay, bin and cycle stores and associated landscaping (Amended plans and additional reports).  

The Planning Officer gave a presentation outlining the details of the location and the proposal. This included site photos and existing and proposed elevations and plans.  

·       The application sought planning permission for the demolition of the existing buildings at 253, 255 and 257 London Road and the erection ofa part three, part four-storey building, with associated works to create nine flats intended for use as houses of multiple occupation. 

·       The siteis locatedon the corner plot between London Road and Barton Road within Headington. To the west, there is Headington district centre, designated as an area of change and a transport hub as allocated in the Oxford Local Plan, and to the east the Headington roundabout, which leadsout of the city. The site itself was not an allocated site for development and was situated 500 metres outside the boundary of the district centre.  

·       The development was deemed unacceptable due to its scale, massing, form and detailed design. In particular thepredominantly flat roof design, use of materials, inclusion of a basement with an underground garden, and verticalfenestration detailing were considered to result in a bulky and prominent form of development. This would fail to appropriately respond to the site’s context, appearing dominant on the street and causing harm to the predominantly low-scale, domestic character of the surrounding townscape. The proposal would neither enhancelocal distinctiveness,nor adequately respond to the sites character.The proposal is therefore considered harmful to visual amenity and an overdevelopment of the site which would not result in a high-quality development contrary to the NPPF, National Design Guide, policies DH1 and DH7 of the Oxford Local Plan and policies CIP1, CIP3 and GSP4 of the Headington Neighbourhood Plan. 

Adrian James (Agent) spoke in favour of the application. 

The Committee asked questions about the details of the application which were responded to by the officer.  

On being proposed, seconded, and put to the vote, the Committee agreed with the officer’s recommendation to refuse the application for the reasons listed on the report  

The Oxford City Planning Committee resolved to: 

1.    Refuse the application for the reason given in paragraph 1.1.2 of this report and to delegate authority to the Director of Place and Regulation  to: 

·   finalise the reason for refusal including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Director of Place and Regulation  considers reasonably necessary. 

2.    The recommended reason forrefusal is as follows: 

·   The proposal due to its scale, massing, form, and detailed design would result in an overly bulky and prominent form of development which would fail to appropriately respond to the context of the site, appearing as an alien feature within the streetscene, causing harm to the predominantly low scale domestic townscape character of the area. The proposal would not create or enhance local distinctiveness, it would not respond appropriately to the site and character of the area, nor would it be an innovative design which would enhance the identity, character and setting of the area. As such the proposal would be considered contrary to Policies DH1 and RE2 of the Oxford Local Plan, Policies GSP4, CIP1 and CIP3 of the Headington Neighbourhood Plan, as well as the NPPF.