Agenda item

To consider the report of the Assistant Director: Planning and Implementation, (copy enclosed, Members’ Update to be circulated)*.

Following the Officer’s presentation, the Chairperson opened the floor for debate.

Councillor S J N Morgan proposed that the application be approved in accordance with the Officer’s recommendation. This proposal was duly seconded and agreed.

RESOLVED that the application be APPROVED subject to the applicant entering into a legal agreement pursuant to Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) to secure a necessary financial contribution towards Essex Coast Recreational Disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy and subject to the following conditions:

1          The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

2          The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the approved plans as shown on the decision notice.

3          No works above ground level shall take place until written details of the proposed materials to be used in the development hereby permitted have been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The development shall be carried out using the materials and details as approved.

4          No development above slab level shall take place until details of all hard and soft landscape works and means of protecting the existing hedges at the site that are to be retained during the course of development have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The soft landscape works shall be carried out as approved within the first available planting season (October to March inclusive) following the occupation of any part of the development hereby approved unless otherwise agreed in writing by the local planning authority. If within a period of five years from the date of the planting of any tree or plant, or any tree or plant planted in its replacement, is removed, uprooted, destroyed, dies, or becomes, in the opinion of the local planning authority, seriously damaged or defective, another tree or plant of the same species and size as that originally planted shall be planted in the same place, unless the local planning authority gives its written consent to any variation.

The hard landscape works shall be carried out as approved prior to the first use / occupation of the development hereby approved and retained and maintained as such thereafter.

5          No works above ground level shall take place until details of the siting, height, design and materials of the treatment of all boundaries including existing hedging, gates, fences, walls, railings, piers, and treatment around the car parking area, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The boundary treatments as approved, specifically including the treatment around the car parking area and the boundary treatment along the southern boundary separating the site from the neighbour at no.7 Cherry Blossom Lane, shall be constructed prior to the first occupation of the development to which it relates and be permanently retained as such thereafter.

6          The existing hedgerows and trees along the northern and eastern boundaries of the application site shall be protected during the construction of the development.

7          No development works above ground level shall occur until details of the surface water drainage scheme to serve the development shall be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The agreed scheme shall be implemented prior to the first occupation of the development. The scheme shall ensure that for a minimum:

1) The development should be able to manage water on site for 1 in 100 year events plus 40% climate change allowance.

2) Run-off from a greenfield site for all storm events that have a 100% chance of occurring each year (1 in 1 year event) inclusive of climate change should be no higher than 10/ls and no lower than 1/ls. The rate should be restricted to the 1 in 1 greenfield rate or equivalent greenfield rates with long term storage (minimum rate 1l/s) or 50% betterment of existing run off rates on brownfield sites (provided this does not result in a runoff rate less than greenfield) or 50% betterment of existing run off rates on brownfield sites (provided this does not result in a runoff rate less than greenfield).

You are advised that in order to satisfy the soakaway condition the following details will be required:- details of the area to be drained, infiltration rate (as determined by BRE Digest 365), proposed length, width and depth of soakaway, groundwater level and whether it will be rubble filled.

Where the Local Planning Authority accepts discharge to an adopted sewer network you will be required to provide written confirmation from the statutory undertaker that the discharge will be accepted.

8.         No works above ground level shall take place until details of the foul drainage scheme to serve the development has been submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The agreed scheme shall be implemented prior to the first occupation of the development.

9.         Prior to first occupation of the development, the onsite vehicle parking shall be provided as shown on drawing no. 23.667 02 Rev E, including a minimum of two offstreet parking space for the dwelling hereby approved. Each parking space shall have dimensions in accordance with current parking standards. The vehicle parking areas shall be retained in the agreed form at all times.

10        All mitigation and enhancement measures and / or works shall be carried out in accordance with the details contained in the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (ACJ Ecology, November 2022), as already submitted with the planning application and agreed in principle with the Local Planning Authority prior to determination.

11.       Prior to the commencement of any works above slab level, a Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy for protected and Priority species shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The content of the Biodiversity Enhancement Strategy shall include the following:

a) Purpose and conservation objectives for the proposed enhancement measures;

b) Detailed designs or product information descriptions to achieve stated objectives;

c) Location, orientations, and heights of proposed enhancement measures by appropriate maps and plans;

            d) Persons responsible for implementing the enhancement measures;

            e) Details of initial aftercare and long-term maintenance (where relevant).

The works shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details prior to occupation and shall be retained in that manner thereafter.

12.       If external lighting is proposed, prior to occupation, a lighting design scheme for biodiversity shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall identify those features on site that are particularly sensitive for bats and that are likely to cause disturbance along important routes used for foraging; and show how and where external lighting will be installed (through the provision of appropriate lighting plans, drawings and technical specifications) so that it can be clearly demonstrated that areas to be lit will not disturb or prevent bats using their territory. All external lighting shall be installed in accordance with the specifications and locations set out in the scheme and maintained thereafter in accordance with the scheme. Under no circumstances should any other external lighting be installed without prior consent from the Local Planning Authority.

13.       Prior to the first occupation of the dwellings hereby permitted, the window in the southern elevation of Plot 2, proposed to serve a bathroom, and the windows to serve each cloakroom on the southern elevation of Plot 1 and the northern elevation of Plot 2, shall be glazed with opaque glass to Pilkington privacy level 5 and comprise a non-opening design with the exception of a top hung fanlight (which shall be at least 1.7m above internal floor level) and shall be retained as such thereafter.