Planning – Application Comments

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Consultation Date: Mon 19 Jun 2023

Comment Date: Thu 06 Jun 2024

I refer to the request for further comment from the Local Highway Authority (LHA) on the above-mentioned application following the submission of amended information.

The LHA were previously unable to recommend in favour of the application due to the loss of existing car parking provision within the local centre car park, as well as the lack of on-site turning provision for service vehicles due to a degraded site layout.

Within the previous consultation response from the LHA, an alternative parking arrangement was identified which would reduce the parking shortfall generated by the development, including the reduction of the level of parking spaces allocated to the new dwellings to 1x space each. This would then make an additional 5x spaces available for shared use between the existing uses on site and residents at the new proposed properties during peak times, an arrangement of such which is supported in Manual for Streets (paragraph 8.3.11). In addition, the Local Planning Authority (LPA) had also identified the potential for additional parking spaces to be provided within the site, thus reducing the shortfall further.

The applicant has taken on board the advice from the LHA/LPA and the revised Proposed Site Plan now details the provision of 66x spaces within the car park for use by the general public.

However, the LHA would not accept the layout to the front of the proposed units, with the intermittent arrangement of the allocated spaces. The LHA would request that all allocated spaces are grouped together to ensure that the public, shared spaces are clearly available for use. A Further Details condition should be applied to any grant of consent which requires new drawings to be submitted to show this amended car parking layout.

The level of accessible parking bays has increased to 3x spaces which is in accordance with the advice from the LHA detailed within the consultation response dated 20/07/2023 and is therefore considered acceptable.

EV charging points are provided for each residential dwelling served with its own hardstand (2x in total), the level of which is in accordance with the requirements within the SPD. In addition, passive wiring is proposed to enable the provision of additional charging points for communal parking bays in the future.

Cycle storage for each of the proposed units is proposed. The cycle storage should be large enough to accommodate 1x bicycle per bedroom and be secured and covered.

In terms of servicing, the applicant has largely deferred back to the original site layout and therefore a suitably sized turning head is achieved to the west of the car park. Whilst the turning head adjacent to the service area for the pub remains constrained, it continues to meet the requirements within the Devon Design Guide with regard to residential estates. Therefore, it is considered that a refusal based upon inadequate servicing provision for the pub could not be sustained at appeal. As such, the former recommendation of refusal based upon lack of servicing provision has been overcome.

In conclusion, the LHA are now in a position to withdraw the previous recommendations of refusal based upon loss of parking and lack of servicing provision. Through reducing the number of allocated parking spaces for the units and therefore allowing an additional 5x spaces for shared use, as well as increasing the level of parking within the wider car park, 66x parking spaces are now available for use by the general public.

Such a level of parking is in excess of the demand observed on site by the LHA over multiple site visits to the car park. Additionally, it should be noted that within the most recent site visit, 64x cars were observed within the car park during a time in which a function was being held at the community hall. Furthermore, 2x of the vehicles were marked 'for sale' and were therefore in breach of the restrictions currently placed upon the car park which prohibit trading and the storage of vehicles.

Therefore, the LHA consider that the retention of 66x parking spaces following the proposed development could suitably satisfy parking demand associated with the existing residential uses and the uses within the local centre. The provision of this level of parking would ensure that any overspill parking onto the surrounding residential streets would be minimal.

For these reasons, the LHA would raise no in-principle objections to the proposed development subject to conditions.


Support
No objection
No objection subject to appropriate mitigation (as identified below) X
Object to application


Planning conditions:
FURTHER DETAILS
No development shall take place until an amended Site Plan has been submitted and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority which details an acceptable parking layout to the front of the proposed dwellings, including the removal of intermittent private/public bays.

Reason:
To ensure that these further details are acceptable to the Local Planning Authority and that they are in keeping with the standards of the vicinity in accordance with the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP 2019.

WHITE LINING AND CONSTRUCTION OF FOOTWAY/FOOTPATH (GRAMPIAN)
No dwelling shall be occupied until the Local Centre car park has been lined and the footway on the southern side of the bell mouth of the junction with Bampton Road and the footpath connecting through to Bampton Road on the northern side have been constructed in accordance with the approved plans.

Reason:
To enable vehicles used by occupiers or visitors to be parked off the public highway so as to avoid damage to amenity and interference with the free flow of traffic on the highway and to ensure that an appropriate and safe access is provided in the interests of public saftey, convenience and amenity in accordance with Policy DEV29 of the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP 2019.

PROVISION OF PARKING AREA
Each parking space shown on the approved plans shall be constructed, drained, surfaced and made available for use before the unit of accommodation that it serves is first occupied and thereafter that space shall not be used for any purpose other than the parking of vehicles.

Reason:
To enable vehicles used by occupiers or visitors to be parked off the public highway so as to avoid damage to amenity and interference with the free flow of traffic on the highway in accordance with Policy DEV29 of the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP 2019.

CYCLE PROVISION
No dwelling shall be occupied until space has been laid out within the site in accordance with details previously submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority for a minimum of 14 bicycles to be securely parked. The secure area for storing bicycles shown on the approved plan shall remain available for its intended purpose and shall not be used for any other purpose without the prior consent of the Local Planning Authority.

Reason:
In order to promote cycling as an alternative to the use of private cars in accordance with Policy DEV29 of the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP 2019.

ELECTRICAL VEHICLE CHARGING PROVISION
No dwelling shall be occupied until space has been laid out within the site in accordance with the approved plans for the provision of EV charging points. The electrical vehicle charging points shown on the approved plan shall remain available for its intended purpose and shall not be used for any other purpose without the prior consent of the Local Planning Authority.

Reason:
In order to promote sustainable modes of transport in accordance with Policy DEV29 of the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP 2019.

CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN
The development works hereby proposed shall not commence until there has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP). The said CTMP shall be submitted prior to the commencement of the development works and shall include details relating to the detailed programme of works, details of construction vehicle movements including number, type and size of vehicles; construction operation hours; routes being used by construction vehicles and contractors parking arrangements. The highway works hereby proposed shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the approved CTMP.

Reason:
To ensure that the traffic impacts associated with the construction phase of the works does not lead to adverse impacts upon the operation of the Local Road Network in accordance with Policy DEV29 of the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP 2019

HIGHWAY DILAPIDATION SURVEY
No works shall commence on-site until the applicant has undertaken a highway dilapidation survey in consultation with the Local Highway Authority. The survey shall assess the existing condition of all highway infrastructure which will be impacted upon through the construction activities associated with the development hereby approved. This shall also include routes to and from the site being used by construction traffic.

Reason:
To ensure that any damage to the existing highway infrastructure arising from the construction of the proposed development is properly recorded and addressed by the developer on completion of the works in the interests of the safety of all users of the highway in accordance with Policy DEV29 of the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP March 2019.

INFORMATIVE: PUBLIC HIGHWAY APPROVAL
This planning permission does not authorise the applicant to carry out works within the publicly maintained highway. The applicant should contact Plymouth Highways for the necessary approval. Precise details of all works within the public highway must be agreed with the Highway Authority and an appropriate Permit must be obtained before works commence.


The proposed development has been considered in accordance with the Councils current Development Plan Policies and having regard for the National Planning Policy Framework.



Abbie Perry

Transport Planning Officer
Officer authorised to sign on behalf of the
Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure

04/06/2024

Comment Date: Tue 30 Apr 2024

I refer to the request for further comment from the Local Highway Authority (LHA) on the above-mentioned application following the submission of amended information. The LHA are still unable to support the development and therefore the recommendation of refusal is maintained.

Site Layout:
A revised Site Layout has been provided which details a new parking layout to allow an increase in the number of parking spaces proposed from 58 to 61.

It should be noted that, as part of comments previously submitted by the LHA, 2x spaces needed to be removed from the main entrance to the local centre due to the need to maintain emergency access. Therefore, the LHA considered that the previous iteration of the scheme was only able to provide 56x parking spaces. Such an amendment has been applied and so the parking layout has been amended to essentially provide 5x additional parking spaces within the remaining area of the car park.

A number of changes have been applied to the site layout in order to increase the parking supply at the site, including:

- Reductions to the width of the main access road between spaces 32 and 58.
- Reductions in the length of soft landscaping adjacent to spaces 58 and 32.
- Reduction to the width of the footpath adjacent to space 58.
- Reductions in width to the access road between spaces 8-22.
- Reductions in width to the access road between spaces 1 and 2.
- Reductions in the space between space 1 and the soft landscaping adjacent.
- Reduction in the level of soft landscaping between spaces 40 and 41.
- The removal of 2x proposed trees formerly located within the parking row to the north of the site.
- An increase in the number of disabled parking bays from 2 to 4 (in accordance with comments previously provided by the LHA).

Such amendments appear to allow an increase to the number of parking spaces from 56 to 61.

However, due to the re-positioning of spaces 1-7 northwards to seemingly allow the creation of an additional disabled parking bay (space 7), and the reduction in width of the access road serving these spaces at the northern end, there is now insufficient reversing space to allow access/egress into spaces 1 and 2. Therefore, these 2x parking spaces should be discounted from the overall total, resulting in 59x spaces being provided.

These amendments also now render the proposed turning head adjacent to the servicing area for the pub impractical for any business use and would only allow standard vehicles to turn. As stated within previous comments: 'The Proposed Site Plan indicates that a suitably sized turning head is achieved to the west of the car park, however the geometry of the turning head adjacent to the service area for the pub remains constrained. However, the turning head would meet the requirements within the Devon Design Guide with regard to residential estates. Notwithstanding this, it should be noted that the turning head remains constrained and would likely dissuade larger service vehicles from using it, leading to additional, longer reversing manoeuvres which should generally be avoided. Whilst a refusal reason based upon inadequate servicing provision for the local centre and pub could not be sustained, it is clear that the proposed development would degrade the provisions for servicing at this site.'

The LHA considered that the proposed turning head would be constrained and lead to undesirable reversing movements by larger vehicles through the car park. However, as it would meet the geometry of a residential turning head (as detailed within the Devon Design Guide), and as another suitably sized turning area was available within the car park, the LHA considered that a recommendation of refusal based on the lack of suitable servicing provision could not be sustained but acknowledged that the proposed layout would degrade the provisions for servicing at the site.

As the proposed access road adjacent to spaces 1 and 2 has been narrowed to approximately 4.2m, the turning head would fail to meet the residential standards which require a minimum of 4.8m in width. As such, any larger vehicles needing to access the pub's servicing area would now have no choice but to rely on the turning area notated on the Proposed Site Plan and reverse along the full length of this access road.

However, as a result of the re-positioning of spaces 18-22 further north-eastwards to allow the creation of space 29 and the reduction in width of the access road serving the spaces at the southern end of the site, the remaining turning area is now considered of insufficient size to allow larger service vehicles to turn without potential conflict and override of spaces 21 and 22.

When applying and assessing the proposed turning area against the dimensions required for a residential turning head, which is a relaxed standard in this instance, the turning area fails to meet the required geometry. A minimum of a 6m radii on bends is required when applying residential standards in order to accommodate larger service vehicles such as refuse vehicles and a fire tender. Due to the re-positioning of parking bays, the revised layout fails to provide a 6m radii between the two arms of parking rows and would therefore not allow larger service vehicles to turn without conflict with parking spaces, such as those labelled 21 and 22. As a result, these spaces are considered impractical for use and could not be considered a contribution to the parking supply at the site. Therefore, they should be discounted from the revised total, resulting in 57x parking spaces being provided.

In view of the above, the accepted level of parking provision at the site following the submission of the amended layout would be 57x spaces which is an increase of 1x space from that previously considered within the LHA's former comments. It is not considered that an increase in the levels of re-provided parking by 1x space is enough to overcome the concerns previously raised by the LHA with regard to the loss of parking and resultant impacts on overspill parking in the area. Therefore, the recommendation of refusal based upon the loss of parking is maintained.

However, following the review of the amended site layout and after discussions with the planning officer over the issues relating to parking provision, an alternative arrangement has been identified in order to reduce the level of parking shortfall between the levels of parking proposed and that observed on-site by the LHA.

The LHA are mindful of paragraph 8.3.11 of Manual for Streets which details the benefits of providing unallocated car parking for developments. In terms of mixed-use development, it advises that the use of unallocated parking can cater for parking demand from non-residential uses which will tend to peak during the daytime when residential demands are lowest.

In view of this advice within MFS, it would be considered appropriate for the allocated parking proposed for new dwellings to be reduced to 1x space per unit, providing an additional 5x parking spaces for public use. Such a level of car parking is considered sufficient in view of the reduced levels of car ownership within the area. If these parking spaces were unallocated in the same way that the existing residential parking provision is, then it would allow shared use during peak operational times of the local centre and potentially provide some mitigation with regard to the levels of overspill parking generated during these times.

Should this option be pursued by the applicant, then the number of parking spaces available for use would increase from 56 to 61. Furthermore, the LPA have identified the potential for an additional 3-6 spaces to be created within the main car park which would increase the parking supply at the site to between 64 and 67 spaces which would meet or exceed the level of demand observed on site by the LHA during peak times over 3x separate weekends.

Subject to the above-mentioned changes regarding allocation of car parking along with the creation of further spaces within the car park being agreed and implemented, it is the view of the LHA that there would be a sufficient level of car parking provided on-site to meet demand. This in-turn would ensure that the level of any overspill car parking onto surrounding residential streets would be minimal.

However, it should be reiterated that the current site layout does not adequately provide for servicing provision and therefore this would need to be addressed, alongside the increase to parking levels at the site, in order for the recommendation of refusal to be withdrawn.

Recommendations:

Support
No objection
No objection subject to appropriate mitigation (as identified below)
Object to application X

If 'object' on what grounds?

Reasons for refusal:
LOSS OF CAR PARKING:
The proposal will result in the loss of the existing off street car parking spaces serving the Leigham Local Centre and adjacent residential properties. The applicant has not demonstrated that these spaces are no longer required and the proposal could therefore lead to further vehicles parking on street, giving rise to conditions likely to cause: -

a) Damage to amenity;
b) Prejudice to public safety and convenience;
c) Interference with the free flow of traffic on the highway.

The proposal(s) are therefore contrary to Policy DEV29 of the adopted Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan adopted March 2019.

LACK OF ON-SITE TURNING PROVISION
No adequate provision has been made within the site in order to allow a larger service vehicles to turn so that they can enter and exit the highway in a forward gear. The lack of such provision is likely to result in vehicles having to reverse back out onto a busy classified road (Bampton Road) giving rise to conditions likely to cause:

(a) Prejudice to public safety and convenience;
(b) Interference with the free flow of traffic on the highway;
(c) Unwarranted hazard to vehicular traffic.

The proposal(s) are therefore contrary to Policy DEV29 of the adopted Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan adopted March 2019.


The proposed development has been considered in accordance with the Councils current Development Plan Policies and having regard for the National Planning Policy Framework.



Abbie Perry

Transport Planning Officer
Officer authorised to sign on behalf of the
Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure

19/04/2024