Agenda item

Rainham North

Application for approval of reserved matters being appearance, landscaping, layout and scale pursuant to planning permission MC/16/2051  - A sustainable urban extension comprising up to 300 new dwellings (of a range of sizes, types and tenures, including affordable housing), including public open and amenity space, together with associated landscaping, access, highways (including footpaths and cycleways), parking, drainage (including a foul water pumping station), utilities and service infrastructure works (all matters reserved except for points of access) - resubmission of MC/15/0761. 

Discussion:

The Head of Planning outlined the planning application in detail and informed the Committee that since despatch of the agenda, the agent had requested that details, including the company name of the agent and the applicant be added to the report and this information was therefore set out on the supplementary agenda advice sheet.

He reminded the Committee that this application was for reserved matters as the principle of providing a development of up to 300 dwellings at this site had been approved at the outline application stage.

The Head of Planning outlined the types of properties to be provided within the development and the phasing of the open space and landscaped areas.

With the agreement of the Committee, Councillors Carr and Potter addressed the Committee as Ward Councillors and drew attention to the following concerns:

·         This development is unsustainable and will impact on the highway and result in a loss of open space in Rainham.

·         Works at the junction at the top of Otterham Quay Lane should be undertaken before the dwellings are occupied.

·         Concerns that the court parking will not be used and residents will park outside their own properties.

·         There should be additional conditions covering an Environmental and Waste Management Plan.

·         Concern as to the air quality in Rainham as a result of the development. 

In response to Ward Councillors’ concerns about Waste Management, a Member sought an assurance that the proposed development complied with the Council’s Waste Management Policy for new developments and he suggested that this should be a standard condition on all future planning applications for new developments.

In response to the points raised, the Head of Planning advised that the proposed conditions were that applied to the outline planning permission. However, if the Committee was minded to approve the reserved matters application and, if there was not a condition covering Waste Management, he be granted delegated authority to add this additional condition.

He also advised that the issue of air quality had been considered at the outline application stage and it was considered that the inclusion of landscaping and trees within the development would help with air quality along with proposed condition 6 which included provision of electric charging points.

In response to the Ward Councillors’ concerns that the court parking would not be used, the Head of Planning advised that the parking courts were intended for use by residents living in the flats within the development.

In response to concerns as to the requirement for works to be undertaken at the Mierscourt Road junction, the Head of Planning advised that Section 106 funding for these works had been approved from both this scheme and from another nearby development. He did not have information to hand as to the likely timescales for these works but would provide this information outside of the meeting.

A Member sought clarification as to the split of affordable housing and the Head of Planning advised that this would be 60% affordable housing and 40% shared ownership.

Decision:

Approved with conditions 1 – 7 as set out in the report for the reasons stated in the report and an additional condition to cover Waste Management to be added by the Head of Planning under delegated powers if required.