Agenda item

We considered the report of the application and late correspondence which was

recommended for approval subject to the 16 conditions, as outlined in the report.

 

The Member for Thornwell, Chepstow attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair, as his ward adjoins the site, and outlined the following points:

 

·         The proposed development is not sustainable for the environmental impact this will have on the town. Traffic congestion is affecting the health of people living on Hardwick Hill. 

 

·         A question was asked as to how many cars would be using the site on a daily basis.

 

·         How many children are expected to be attending local schools from the site? Capacity currently exists for 100 pupils. The Member for Thornwell considered that potentially there could be 600 children requiring education living in dwellings on the site.

 

·         The Member expressed concern that there is no reference to the flood alleviation scheme contained within the maps of the site. Concern was expressed that there was a risk of flooding to some properties that would be located on the proposed site.

 

·         Concern was expressed that the affordable housing provision was located in a specific corner of the site rather than being dispersed across the site.

 

In response to the issues raised by the Member for Thornwell, the following points were noted:

 

·         The outline and the principle of acceptability of the proposed development has been fully reviewed by Welsh Government and Monmouthshire County Council’s Highways Department and has been approved up to 450 houses.

 

·         This application is looking at the scale and design of the buildings and the layout of the development.

 

·         Access and traffic issues have previously been approved.

 

·         In terms of the education contributions, this had been considered as part of the previous planning application for outline planning consent. Education services had been consulted at that time and it had been identified that there was a surplus of 115 spaces in the area.  Therefore, no contributions were needed for any educational requirements.

 

·         Flooding issues have been reviewed.  Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has been consulted.  None of the dwellings would be located on a C2 flood plain.

 

·         In terms of affordable housing provision, it would be more beneficial to put the 1.5 acres of affordable land in one location to create economies of scale and to provide more affordable homes.  If the affordable housing site was split in to two areas, namely, 1 acre and 0.5 acres, this would reduce the number of affordable homes that could be provided. The detail of the affordable housing provision with regard to the number of affordable housing units will be subject to a further reserve matters application.

 

Zoe Aubrey, Planning Manager at Barrett David Wilson Homes, attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair and outlined the following points:

 

·         In terms of the children’s nautical themed area, at its closest point it is at least 12 metres from the fence and thicket. The fence will be at least 1.2 metres high and the thicket will be 2 metres wide and will be allowed to grow naturally up to 1.5 metres with viewing points.

 

·         In relation to flooding, the applicant had spent considerable time identifying the location of the hedge and thicket.  This is useful from a health and safety perspective and is also required to prevent public access onto the salt marshes.  The applicant did not want this to be located in an area that was subject to regular flooding.  It is now located above the high tide line in an extreme event.

 

·         With regard to the employment land area, as part of the outline application, there was a small area of land that was located within the C2 floodplain.  However, there is a planning condition that requires the applicant to raise that area of land out of the C2 floodplain allowing development to be undertaken on that area of land. When these works have been completed, the applicant will apply to NRW to amend the flood mapping to confirm that area is no longer affected by C2 flooding.

 

·         As the number of Housing units have reduced to 345 there will be a requirement of up to 85 primary school places.  Therefore, there will be no issue in terms of education capacity caused by the proposed development.

 

·         The wider benefits of the proposed development will create in the region of 860 direct, indirect and induced jobs contributing an additional £52M to gross value added.  Approximately £5.6M towards additional local spends in the local economy whilst delivering a significant amount of open space on this proposed development.  There will be up to 30 new affordable houses delivered. In terms of the employment area, this could accommodate up to 400 jobs.

 

The Head of Planning, Housing and Place Shaping informed the Committee that two parcels of land had been secured on the site totalling 1.5 acres of serviced and remediated lands. It had been agreed with the applicant that putting the 1 acre and the 0.5 acre together made better sense in obtaining efficient use of the land.  The detail of the affordable housing provision will be presented to Planning Committee in a future application.  The number of affordable units will be in the region of 20 – 25 due to the size of the plot.

 

The local Member for St. Mary’s, Chepstow, also a Planning Committee Member, outlined the following points:

 

·         The work of officers should be commended who have managed to negotiate with the applicant a multi-use coastal path, play areas that will integrate into the town and the lower end of Garden City will be opened up allowing residents access to the waterside. However, the proposed development is still lacking in what had been originally promised.

 

·         Overall, the proposed development, though not a flagship development, will benefit the residents of Chepstow.

 

Having considered the report of the application and the views expressed, the following points were noted:

 

·         The proposed development is sympathetic to the area.

 

·         Commercially, the proposed development will improve the prosperity of the area as well as providing much needed market housing and affordable homes.

 

·         The proposed development is an important opportunity for the town.

 

·         The coastal path will be easily accessible and the riverside area will be improved.

 

·         The design and variety of the buildings complements the history of the site.

 

·         Information about the heritage of the site will be located at various points on the site.

 

·         In terms of the recreational aspect, the site has been designed to provide an open space to be adaptable and be a multi-generational space.

 

·         In response to questions raised in respect of the highways issues in the Chepstow area and the need for a construction management plan, it was noted that this was a detail considered at the outline consent stage.  Therefore, the outline planning consent is extant. The outline consent is the planning permission.

 

·         The outline planning consent contains a requirement for the applicant to undertake a viability study.

 

·         The construction management plan has been submitted as a separate planning application. This has been approved by the Highways Department. The construction management plan has been agreed with the developer.

 

·         With regard to the interpretation boards, the Local Planning Authority will have control over the naming of the streets which could incorporate the heritage of the site.

 

·         With regard to the affordable units and their maintenance, it was noted that the 1 acre and 0.5 acres of land being located on one area would allow for more affordable homes to be built.  The housing association would then manage and maintain that area.

 

·         In response to questions raised regarding Green Infrastructure (GI) and conditions 7 and 11, it was noted that with regard to GI, the developer’s GI officer had a different opinion to the local Authority. However, the information contained within the report was considered to be acceptable by the Planning Department. In terms of the GI management plan, there will be time triggers with a view to looking at the longer term over a period of 5, 10, 20 years’ time.  In terms of the verges and potential parking, officers can liaise with the developer regarding this matter with a view to obtaining approval via the delegation panel.

 

It was proposed by County Councillor D. Dovey and seconded by County Councillor M. Feakins that application DC/2019/00001 be approved subject to the 16 conditions, as outlined in the report and subject to the changes in the conditions, as outlined in late correspondence.

 

Upon being put to the vote, the following votes were recorded:

 

For approval              -           12

Against approval      -           0

Abstentions               -           1

 

The proposition was carried.

 

We resolved that application DC/2019/00001 be approved subject to the 16 conditions, as outlined in the report and subject to the changes in the conditions, as outlined in late correspondence.