Proposal: Full Planning Permission for the comprehensive redevelopment to provide residential use (Class C3) for 24 units (8 Affordable), with landscaping, car parking and associated works.

Thorpe ward councillors addressed the Committee on the history of the site and the steps taken by the Thorpe Neighbourhood Forum following the removal of Thorpe Village from the green belt as part of the forthcoming Local Plan with the early adoption of a neighbourhood plan.

Members had previously expressed a preference for considering the site in its entirety rather than a proportion of it, however this application covered a significant proportion of the site and was the first application with an appropriate density and layout to be presented on the site. 

Ward Member praised both the planning officers for their hard work, and the new developer for its ongoing dialogue with ward Councillors and residents to achieve the best outcome for the site.

It was added that whilst flats and maisonettes were not part of the original vision for the site, their design was in-keeping with the character of the surrounding area.  The Head of Planning agreed to a Member request to add a condition to prevent additional accommodation within the roof space.

There was some concern from Members about rights of way and access to public footpaths during the construction phase, and whilst officers acknowledged that part of the footpath was currently impassable, agreed to add an additional informative to ensure that footpaths would remain open throughout the construction phase wherever feasible.

Committee discussed the provision of affordable housing as part of the scheme, and the Head of Planning advised that the six affordable housing units would be clustered rather than pepper-potted as part of the scheme.  This was relatively common on schemes of this limited scale for operational reasons as this made management of the affordable housing more practical. Additionally the units were to be similar in appearance to the rest of the development and as such this was considered the most appropriate option.

In response to a Member’s query about accessibility, the Head of Planning confirmed that the scheme had met the minimum requirements to ensure accessibility, however disability access was predominantly a building control requirement, so in the event of the scheme being approved it would still have to meet with regulations to ensure the appropriate accessibility.  

Members noted that a lot of work had gone in to this scheme and that it had now reached a suitable high quality broadly in line with the vision of the Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan.

Resolved that –

The HoP was authorised to grant planning permission subject to:

                           i.         The completion of a Section 106 legal agreement

                          ii.         Planning obligations 1-4

                        iii.         Planning conditions 1-19

                        iv.         Informatives 1-13

                          v.       Further planning condition that ensures that no accommodation is allowed to be built into the roof space of the maisonettes.

                        vi.       Additional informative to keep the footpaths open throughout the construction phase.

                       vii.       Addendum notes.

Mr Spencer Doran, an objector, and Mr Matthew Pigot, agent for the applicant, addressed the Committee on this application.