Site address: Bertie Place Recreation Ground And Land South West of Wytham Street, Oxford 

Proposal:Erection of 31 affordable residential dwellings, with associated public open space, multi-use games area, childrens play area, access and landscaping (Amended Plans) 

Reason at Committee: Major Development

RECOMMENDATION

Oxford City 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 this report 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 which are set out in this report; and  

2.    Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Planning and Regulation to: 

·       Finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary and 

·       Finalise the recommended legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in this report, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in this report (including to dovetail with and where appropriate, reinforce the final conditions and informatives to be attached to the planning permission) as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and  

·       complete the section 106 legal agreement referred to above and issue the planning permission. 

Site address: Bertie Place Recreation Ground And Land South West of Wytham Street, Oxford

Proposal: Erection of 31 affordable residential dwellings, with associated public open space, multi-use games area, childrens play area, access and landscaping (Amended Plans)

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 this report 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 which are set out in this report; and

2.    Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Planning and Regulation to:

·       Finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary and

·       Finalise the recommended legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in this report, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in this report (including to dovetail with and where appropriate, reinforce the final conditions and informatives to be attached to the planning permission) as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and

·       complete the section 106 legal agreement referred to above and issue the planning permission.

The Committee considered an application for the erection of 31 affordable residential dwellings, with associated public open space, multi-use games area, childrens play area, access and landscaping (Amended Plans) 

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

• Since the publication of the report, written submissions in the form of posters and a survey were published online, circulated to Planning Committee Members and displayed in the Town Hall this evening. 
• The Planning Officer noted that Condition 17 had been amended to remove the reference to statutory Biodiversity Net Gain, as the application had been submitted before the regulations came into place. Additionally, paragraph 3.2 of the report referred to the legal agreement on the provision of affordable housing. The applicant had requested a staircasing arrangement allowing a minimum initial share of 10%, increasing to a maximum of 100% ownership.
• The proposal was a full planning application for the erection of 31 affordable residential dwellings with public open space, a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA), children’s play area, access and landscaping. The proposed use of the existing recreation ground had attracted significant local objections around loss, re-provision, or enhancement of open space and play facilities. Comments from Environment Agency, Oxfordshire County Council, Sport England, Thames Valley Police, Thames Water and others contributed to assessments against local and national planning policy. However, the recommendation was that the scheme be approved after balancing all the relevant material planning considerations, particularly the adopted Local Plan site allocation for housing, provision of affordable housing and the city’s need for new homes.
• Officers concluded that the lack of a 5-year housing land supply, site allocation, the benefits of delivering the allocated housing site and affordable homes outweighed the identified harms. The scheme was in broad compliance with the adopted Local Plan and National Planning Policy Guidance.
• It was therefore recommended that the Committee resolve to grant planning permission for the development proposed subject to the completion of a legal agreement to secure the affordable housing and the conditions listed in the report.

Councillor Muddiman and Kaddy Beck spoke against the application.

Stuart Moran spoke in favour of the application.

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

• Concerns were raised regarding whether the Thames Valley Police (TVP) objections had been fully addressed. The Planning Officer noted that, while not all the objections had been addressed, the applicant had gone a long way towards addressing concerns. However, concerns remained regarding the location of the MUGA, which would be closer to existing and proposed homes, potentially leading to disturbances and antisocial behaviour. The Planning Officer acknowledged that these impacts had been carefully considered in the report but could not be fully mitigated. She noted that this formed part of the overall planning balance between harms and benefits. The Development Management Service Manager added that the report contains a full section on crime and safety, outlining which TVP concerns had and had not been addressed.
• Questions were raised regarding the air source heat pumps and whether an informative could be added encouraging them to be reversible. The Planning Officer advised that the technology exists, but details of the proposed heat pumps had not yet been provided. A condition requiring all details of the heat pump scheme was already proposed and she confirmed that an informative could be included.
• Questions were raised about the Homes England grant and whether the affordable housing provision would change if the grant funding was not available at 100%. The Development Management Service Manager explained that any proposed change to the housing mix a new application would return to committee for consideration, noting that 50% affordable housing would remain policy compliant. An informative was requested by the Committee to cover this eventuality.
• Questions were raised to the objector about alternative nearby locations for a larger MUGA. The objector noted that there was a play area at Fox Crescent with a kick-about facility, but it was smaller than Bertie Place.
• Concerns were raised regarding compliance with Policy G5. The Planning Officer explained that, although the application site is currently open space, it is allocated for development under Policy SP32 and is not identified on the Policies Map as protected open space under Policy G5..
• Concerns were raised around the footbridge and access arrangements. The Planning Officer advised that, if members wished to ensure the existing bridge was closed and removed, Condition 43 could be amended to secure its removal.
• Questions were raised regarding the flood evacuation plan and whether it had been updated following the revised flood mapping by the EA. The Planning Officer confirmed that the submitted evacuation plan was dated from 2023 and had not been prepared using the latest flood mapping. However, a condition was proposed requiring a new flood evacuation plan to be submitted and approved.
• Concerns were raised around the extent to which emerging policies, including reprovision policies such as G1, could be taken into account. The Planning Officer advised that the relevant draft policies were subject to significant unresolved objections and therefore could be afforded little weight at this stage, as they may change through the Local Plan examination process. The Development Management Service Manager stated that, while the emerging policy recognised constraints associated with reprovision, it did not materially strengthen the position and the site remained allocated for housing to help meet identified housing needs.
• Questions were raised regarding natural surveillance around the MUGA. The applicant advised that landscaping design would incorporate natural surveillance and acknowledged the concerns raised by TVP. They noted that the proposed trees around the MUGA would be relatively small and would not obstruct views. The applicant confirmed that further detailed design work would be undertaken to address TVP conditions and minimise opportunities for crime and antisocial behaviour.

On being proposed, seconded, and put to the vote, the Committee agreed with the officer’s recommendation to approve the application for the reasons set out in the report and subject to conditions including the additional points raised in discussions relating to informatives, changes to conditions 17 & 43 and a legal agreement to secure the provision of 22 units of social rent accommodation (11 one bedroom, one 2 bedroom and ten 3 bedroom). As well as the provision of nine 2 bed shared ownership units. The shared ownership units to be eligible for staircasing from 10% up to 100% home ownership.

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 this report 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 which are set out in this report; and

2.    Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Planning and Regulation to:

·       Finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary and

·       Finalise the recommended legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in this report, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in this report (including to dovetail with and where appropriate, reinforce the final conditions and informatives to be attached to the planning permission) as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and

·       complete the section 106 legal agreement referred to above and issue the planning permission.