Issue - meetings

Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.

Mr Charles Reppke, Head of Governance and Law, outlined the hearing procedure and invited anyone who wished to speak at the meeting to identify themselves and once that process had been completed the Chair invited the Planning Department to set out their recommendations.

PLANNING AUTHORITY

Mr Gove, Senior Planning Officer, spoke to the terms of the report, referring to a number of presentation slides showing the location of the development site, including the masterplan for the overall Housing Allocation.  Scottish Water had no objections to this proposal and the Area Roads Manager had no objections subject to conditions detailed in the report.  West of Scotland  Archaeology Service had no substantive archaeological issues and Historic Scotland had no comments to make.  Two letters of objection had been received and a petition with 75 names opposing the proposal and Mr Gove summarised the issues that had been raised.  One letter of support had also been submitted by Councillor Robert Macintyre since the report had been published. 

The application site is located within the settlement of Port Bannatyne and is part of Housing Allocation (ref: H/AL 1/5).  At the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee in November 2011, Members decided to introduce a protocol for dealing with applications proposing the development of part(s) of a Potential Development Area or Housing Allocation.  This has resulted in a masterplan being produced by Stewart Associates for the whole of the housing allocation, which has been subsequently advertised for public consultation purposes.  There were no representations received in respect of this public consultation.  It is considered that the submitted masterplan demonstrates how the allocated site could be developed in the future in a satisfactory manner and that the current application for three dwellings would not interfere negatively with the overall vision for the site.

The proposed development relates to the erection of three detached dwellinghouses in an area of land covering 0.38 hectares.  The site is located to the west of the property known as ‘Annieslea’ and is presently wooded.  The proposal would involve the formation of a separate access for each plot onto an existing private access road.  The dwellinghouses would be two storey in height and would have a self-coloured white and light grey contrast acrylic render with translucent grey timber cladding.  The roofs would be natural slate whilst the fenestration would be dark grey timber. Connection is proposed to public services.  The application site is part of a larger housing allocation with the consequence that the principle of residential development is supported.  The site itself is somewhat divorced from the built-up part of the Conservation Area and has two existing dwellinghouses located to the east.  The High Road through Port Bannatyne runs parallel to the northern boundary of the site; however, as noted at the site inspection, there is a bank of woodland between the site and High Road which means that the development would only be glimpsed through the trees.  It is considered that the detached nature of the dwellinghouses and their two-storey scale would not be out of place having regard to the neighbouring properties.  The use of render, timber cladding and natural slate is also considered to be appropriate.

There will be an inevitable loss of some trees on the site (a total of 27).  However, the trees to be lost are poorly formed, self-sown specimens of mainly birch and sycamore which have become established in the formerly more open, landscaped grounds of the hotel following its demolition.  Although the wooded character of the site will be affected when immediately passing the site, the site is well screened on the lower (northern) side by more established woodland, while the submitted masterplan indicates that the bulk of the more extensive woodland above the development will be retained.  Consequently, the impact of the development on the woodland cover will be much reduced from wider and more public viewpoints, such as across Kames Bay.  Furthermore, the development proposes the planting of 13 heavy standard trees with a mixture of Birch, Ash and Beech which will help assimilate the proposed dwellings into the landscape.

The site forms part of housing allocation H/AL 1/5 which has an indicative capacity of 17 units with 25% affordability.  The submitted masterplan shows an increase to 19 units with four units of affordable housing being identified at the western edge of the allocated site. In this respect, and having regard to the contents of the masterplan, the current proposal for 3 units need not prejudice the eventual contribution of affordable housing within the wider allocated site.  Furthermore, the Council’s Housing Needs & Demand Assessment has demonstrated a significant surplus of social housing on the Isle of Bute.  Under these circumstances, the insistence of a contribution towards affordable housing from this small development would only serve to inhibit a welcome private sector housing development in the current economic climate.

The site is served by a 300m road that leads from Gortans Road and which serves three existing dwellinghouses.  The access road will require upgrading due to its poor surface and it is likely that a number of passing places will require to be formalised. In this regard, it is proposed to attach a suspensive condition that requires a programme of works to be agreed and undertaken prior to the commencement of development on the site.  The Area Roads Manager has also mentioned that a ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ scheme should be introduced for the complete length of Gortans Road with signage defining the extent of the adopted carriageway.  The developer would be responsible for the fees and costs relative to this traffic calming scheme.

Having due regard to the Development Plan and all other material considerations, it is recommended that, subject to the outcome of this discretionary hearing, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions, reasons and informative notes detailed in the report.

APPLICANT

Mr Brian Stewart of Stewart’s Associates presented his case of behalf of the Applicant.  He referred  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3