Planning – Application Comments

Consultation Date: Wed 06 Oct 2021

Consultation Date: Wed 06 Oct 2021

Consultation Date: Wed 06 Oct 2021

Comment Date: Fri 05 Nov 2021

With only 14 car parking spaces serving the site, the removal of the condition which restricts the number of wedding guests to no more than 30 does give the Highway Authority some cause for concern in respect of potential demand for car parking exceeding supply.

In my highway consultation response to the previous application reference was made to a potential maximum of 50 guests based on the 14 spaces which equates to 1 space every 3.5 guests. Whilst this number was reduced to 30, the principle of weddings having up to a maximum of 50 guests was considered acceptable by the Highway Authority. However it is not currently clear from the information provided what the maximum number of guests would be were this condition to be removed?

Reference has been made to the use of the existing public car park at Jennycliff. This remains one of the most popular recreational car parks in the City, often being parked to capacity at weekends both in the summer and in the winter (particularly in the summer when more weddings are likely to be taking place). The use of this car parking cannot, in any way, be relied upon to provide car parking for St Annes House (policy stipulates that development should be self-sufficient in its' own car parking needs).

By increasing the number of guests attending weddings at the venue and without adequate off-street car parking to meet the demands associated with such, removal of the proposed restrictions on numbers could lead to on-street car parking problems along Jennycliff Lane leading to highway safety issues. On this basis I would have to recommend this application for refusal for the reason stated below:

Inadequate Provision of Parking
The removal of the condition restricting the number of guests would lead to demand outweighing supply in terms of the availability of car parking serving St Annes House. This is likely to lead to vehicles associated with weddings/events having to park on the public highway on Jennycliff Lane which would interfere with the free flow of traffic on the local road network and give rise to conditions likely to be detrimental to public and highway safety which is contrary to the adopted guidance contained within the Supplementary Planning Document (July 2020) and Policy DEV29 of the Plymouth and South West Devon JLP (March 2019).

Comment Date: Mon 01 Nov 2021

The Natural Infrastructure Team are currently not commenting on applications of this type.