Agenda item

Fort Pitt Ward

Construction of a detached dwelling with associated garden to rear and parking to front accessed via Scotts Terrace - demolition of existing garage to rear.

Discussion:

This item was moved up the agenda to enable consideration earlier in the meeting, due to a Ward Councillor being present.

The Senior Planner outlined the application in detail for the construction of a detached dwelling with associated garden to rear and parking to front, accessed via Scotts Terrace - demolition of the existing garage to rear.

The Senior Planner clarified that in condition 5, a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) would be submitted before any construction works were undertaken. 

With the agreement of the Committee, Councillor Campbell addressed the Committee as Ward Councillor and raised the following concerns:

• Adjoining properties in Maidstone Road had been notified of the public Site Notice, however, residents in Scotts Terrace were not aware.  A Public Site Notice had been secured onto a garage handle, but it had become detached.  It was considered that sufficient notice had not been given to neighbours.
• Scotts Terrace was a very narrow street with only one access road to it, as the other access road had been blocked off.  It was very close to a school with a high volume of traffic. 
• There were currently two disabled parking bays and concern was raised for emergency vehicle access and visitors parking.
• Although a CEMP would be in place, there was no confidence that residents would still be able to access Scotts Terrace with construction work taking place.

The Committee discussed the planning application noting the points raised by the Ward Councillor. 

The Chief Planning Officer, following a request for a site visit, explained that a Committee site visit should only be undertaken to gain information that Members could not get from the officers report, the officer’s presentation or street view.  The Committee considered that enough information had been given, so in this instance, a site visit was not necessary.

The Senior Planner confirmed that the carpark at the end of Scotts Terrace was for the residents of the flats only and not the properties along Scotts Terrace.

Members were concerned with how narrow Scotts Terrace was, the volume of vehicles from the local school and visitors parking.  The Chief Planning Officer clarified that there would be no loss of on-street parking as other residents would not have been able to park in front of the garage.  Two off-road parking spaces had been provided which complied with Medway’s Parking Standards.

The CEMP would advise that any construction vehicles, accessing the site, would be from Maidstone Road and not Scotts Terrace.  An informative would be added to the decision notice which would state that, although there may be some occasions when deliveries would need to come via Scotts Terrace, the delivery of the majority of materials and storage of those materials would come via Maidstone Road.

The CEMP would also cover the hours construction works could take place and would state that no deliveries took place during school picking up and dropping off times.   A contact number for the construction office would be available for residents and the construction company would be encouraged to communicate with residents and Ward Councillors to inform them of any issues and progress.  

The Chief Planning Officer advised Members that the notification and consultation was in accordance with Medway’s adopted practices. A Site Notice was posted and individual notification letters would only be sent to adjoining properties and not to the whole of Scotts Terrace.  Residents were able to make comments and nine objections had been received.

Decision:      

Approved with conditions 1 to 15 as set out in the report for the reasons stated in the report.  The final wording of the informative to go on the decision notice setting out what would be necessary for the CEMP would be in consultation with the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Opposition Spokesperson.