Planning – Application Comments

Consultation Date: Wed 10 Jan 2024

Consultation Date: Wed 10 Jan 2024

Consultation Date: Wed 10 Jan 2024

Consultation Date: Wed 10 Jan 2024

Consultation Date: Wed 10 Jan 2024

Consultation Date: Wed 10 Jan 2024

Consultation Date: Wed 10 Jan 2024

Comment Date: Fri 16 Feb 2024

PLYMOUTH CITY COUNCIL CONSULTEE COMMENTS FOR A PLANNING APPLICATION.

PRE-APPLICATION SUMMARY
PLANNING APPLICATION: 23/01764/MOR
ADDRESS: Service Station, Blandford Road, Plymouth PL3 6HT
DESCRIPTION: Pre-application for re-development of site to provide 8 no new apartments and associated car parking and refuse storage

CASE OFFICER: Macauley Potter (Planning Officer)
Development Management, PCC Strategic Planning & Infrastructure, Floor 2 Ballard House PL1 3BJ

CONSULTEE: Gary Lester (Transport Officer)
PCC Strategic Planning & Infrastructure, Transport Planning Team, Floor 2 Ballard House PL1 3BJ

Date: 15th February 2024

PRE-APPLICATION COMMENTS:
The Local Highway Authority (LHA) would comment as follows on this pre-application enquiry, for the re-development and change of use of the application site, to provide eight in number new apartments. Comprising of 6 x 3-bedroom and 2 x 1-bedroom apartments. Along with six in number car parking spaces within the largely open-fronted undercroft ground floor of the building, along with cycle and refuse storage.

A previously unimplemented consent for the whole of the Efford Service Station and garage site is incidentally noted. Consent for the re-development of the site with 7 dwellings (3 houses + 4 flats), under application 07/01741/OUT. But this latest proposal relates to just the previous Filling Station /Car Sales portion of the site only.

The application site in Blandford Road is situated in a mixed-use residential area, and close to the local shopping centre in Torridge Way. Torridge Way provides a range of local services, including a school, Library, Doctors Surgery, pharmacy, shops, and takeaways. Where there are also bus services, and Bus Stops.

Referring to the Councils Joint Local Plan (JLP), the application site is an unallocated 'Windfall site', therefore any development would be expected to fully meet the Councils SPD planning guidance.

The wider site known as Efford Service Station, once operated as a Filling Station and Vehicle Repair Garage. When the Filling Station use discontinued, that part of the site became a Car Sales Forecourt, with that use also apparently now discontinued. However, the Vehicle Repair Garage business remains in use, offering vehicle repairs, servicing, MOT's, and tyres. With the application site itself being the former Filling Station, and then Car Sales forecourt area only. That although no longer in operation, is at times apparently used for car parking associated with the repair garage, and vehicle parking also occurs on part of the soft landscaped margin along the back south, and east side, of the site. Although at least part of the soft landscaped margin seems to be needed as part of the apartment block proposal and site.

Blandford Road is a Classified Road, therefore cars parking within the site on the ground floor of the building, would need to be able to turn within the application site, to enter and leave in forward gear. However, there would seem to be insufficient space to accommodate parking and turning as shown on the 'Proposed Site Plan' drawing.

From the proportions of the 'Proposed Site Plan' it appears that two of the six car parking spaces shown, at least one space at each end of the building (east & west - if not also the two adjacent space), would be altogether impractical and unusable for car parking. Given that the drawing shows approximately four metres of clearance in front of the two end parking spaces, between any parked car, and the short length of the front wall of the building. (Incidentally, the parking spaces are show obstructed further by a Bike Store on one side, and Bin Store on the other). Whilst the other four parking spaces in the row (2 each side of the lift and stair well) would only have five and half metres of clearance in front of them, between a car parked in a space, and the front (north) boundary line of the application site itself. By comparison, referring to Manual for Streets, paragraph 8.3.51, six meters of clearance is generally needed to be able to manoeuvre in and out of a car parking space at ninety degrees. Therefore, the proposed car parking spaces are considered impractical and unusable to accommodate car parking.

Incidentally, were this or a similar proposal to proceed, then to safeguard pedestrian movements along the fronting footway in Blandford Road, some form of physical boundary treatment would be required along the front boundary, such as a dwarf wall. Which would afford inter-visibility between an emerging car and a pedestrian walking along the footway. Whilst at the same time, to avoid conflict with pedestrians, would restrict the width of the vehicle entry/exit point to ensure that any emerging car could not use the whole length of the fronting public footway for reversing and turning movements.

Referring to the Councils SPD planning guidance as a starting point, the indicative number of car parking spaces needed to serve the proposed eight apartments, (comprising of, six, three-bedroomed, plus, two, one-bedroomed apartments) would be 14 in number car parking spaces. By comparison, and notwithstanding the proximity of the application site to local services, the application insufficiently offers just six parking spaces (less than 50% provision, and an indicative shortfall of eight spaces). Moreover, as explained above, all six of the proposed car parking spaces are considered unsuitable and impractical for parking use and would be unable to properly serve the parking needs of the apartments.

The Councils planning guidance for car parking standards (par 8.6) stresses the importance of developments avoiding adverse impacts of inadequate parking, such as excessive on-street parking or illegal parking, and to protect the amenity of surrounding residential areas, and ensure safety of the highway network. It also advises (par 8.7) that, any application that proposes a lower or higher level of parking will be required to provide evidence to justify this proposal. In which regard it is considered that the proposed car parking provision would fail to meet the council's guidance and policy expectations.

Due to the associated sub-division and partitioning of the wider Efford Service Station site, any proposal would need to properly demonstrate that following any sub-division the two parts and uses would be able to satisfactorily function independently of each other without causing detriment or harm. Where it seems that parts of the apartment block application site may still be needed to serve the existing Garage Business, giving concerns over the associated loss of operational car parking there.

Hence the need to demonstrate that both, the proposed apartment block, and the Vehicle Repair Garage would both be properly served with car parking and turning within each separate part of the site. And that the Vehicle Repair Garage would subsequently not be left with insufficient space or capacity to meet its operational and parking needs, result in overspilling out onto Blandford Road. Therefore, the LHA would suggest that should an associated full planning application be submitted, then it is considered that parking and turning arrangements at the Vehicle Repair Garage business would also need to be demonstrated to meet the Councils planning standards. Recommending that the Vehicle Repair Garage business is also included as part of the application site (perhaps within a blue-line), which would likely need to be subject of planning conditions, to protect and secure adequate provisions for car parking and turning for the garage business.

Adequate and appropriate, Electric Vehicle Charging Points, Cycle Parking/Storage, and Refuse Bin Storage, would be needed in accordance with the Councils SPD guidance.

SUMMARY:
The proposal would sub-dived and partition the overall wider Efford Service Station site into two separate parts, with the existing Vehicle Repair Garage business on one part, and the application site with proposed apartment block on the other. However, as considered above, the application details apparently indicate that this 'windfall site' is of insufficient size to properly accommodate the proposed development of the apartment block within the constraints shown (and likely insufficient to properly accommodate both uses at the same time) to meet the Councils planning standards. Therefore, the Local Highway Authority is unable to support the proposed development.


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

Comment Date: Tue 30 Jan 2024

Blandford Rd EDG23.001.FRSR.063.pdf

Comment Date: Fri 26 Jan 2024

The Economic Development (ED) team recognises that the proposed development will result in the loss of commercial space. We would request the applicant to confirm the net loss of employment space that would result from the proposal being delivered.

It is likely that the ED Team will seek mitigation should the net loss of employment space exceed 1,000sqm. Any mitigation sought will be used to support local projects that enhance / increase the employment space offering in the city, thereby supporting Policy Dev 14 of the JLP.

In line with Policy Dev 14 of the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan (JLP) - Maintaining a flexible mix of employment space - ED would seek confirmation from the applicant that the commercial space that will be lost has been effectively marketed for a reasonable period of time, to demonstrate that the proposed change of use has resulted from a lack of demand for the space.