Great Yarmouth Borough Council Portal
No.Condition Text
1.The application seeks a net increase of 2 residential units on the site. The scheme meets the criteria of policy H2 to be assessed as a cumulative development. This would result in 10 dwellings on the site when considered in addition to the 8 dwellings approved as part of implemented planning permission 06/21/0107/F. Policy UCS04 expects that in Caister, for schemes where 10 or more dwellings are provided that at least 20% of these are affordable units. No mechanism to secure these affordable units has been provided and it has not been demonstrated that it would be unviable or unachievable to do so. The application therefore fails to comply with Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy UCS4 which has amended Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS4.
2.The application proposed that the central doorway shall be blocked up, resulting in there being no access into the building from the front elevation. The result of this is a front elevation devoid of activity with the flats being accessed from the sides/to the rear and this would be harmful to the appearance of the building and the street scene. This is contrary to the design expectations of Policy A2 which seek to ensure that buildings face streets, with active, legible frontages. The application therefore fails to comply with Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS09 and Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy A2 along with Paragraphs 126, 130 and 134 of the National Planning Policy Framework (July 2021).
3.The application proposes parking within the front curtilage of the former police station and does not include any landscaping to break this up. This contributes to a car-dominated environment which is unnecessary for a residential use within a sustainable location and would be detrimental to the street scene. This is contrary to Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy A2 along with Paragraphs 126, 130 and 134 of the National Planning Policy Framework (July 2021).
4.The window which serves the smallest bedroom of the largest flat is poorly related to the room and would not provide adequate natural light into the room by virtue of its positioning and outlook into the courtyard. Moreover, due to the limited separation distance between this window and the window which serves the study of the smaller flat, it is unlikely to benefit from sufficient levels of privacy and could suffer from overbearing levels of overlooking. This could be oppressive for occupants of the room. The application is therefore contrary to Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS09 and Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy A2.
5.The block plan has been submitted which does indicate an area of private amenity space to the rear of the flats. It is not clear as to whether this amenity space is for each individual flat, whether this is a shared space or whether this is to be shared with the 2 flats on the first floor approved under planning permission 06/21/0107/F. As such, insufficient information has been provided to demonstrate that sufficient external amenity space can be provided and without this information the application is contrary to Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS09 and Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy A2.
6.There is no information submitted in support of the application to demonstrate where the proposed bin storage would be situated. The application form states that this would be in an area "adjacent to the building" but it has not been demonstrated that this would not be positioned near to opening windows which could be adversely affected by flies and odours, or whether this would be visible from the street which would be detrimental to visual amenity. As such, insufficient information has been provided and without this information the application is contrary to Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS09 and Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy A2.
7.The application site is located within the Orange 400m-2.5km Indicative Habitat Impact Zone and the application is not supported by an up-to-date shadow template Habitats Regulations Assessment nor the required £210.84 per dwelling GIRAMS contribution, which are necessary for the purposes of satisfying the Council's duty to avoid impacts on internationally protected site through the use of the Green Infrastructure Recreational Avoidance Mitigation Strategy (GIRAMS). As such the Local Planning Authority and the Council as Competent Authority under the Habitats Regulations cannot fully assess the additional impact, in terms of indirect and direct impacts upon the internationally-designated sites within the Borough, without satisfaction that the required mitigation would be provided. As a result, the application is contrary to the adopted Great Yarmouth Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS11 and the adopted Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 Policies GSP5 and GSP8 (2021) which seek to avoid or mitigate the cumulative potential adverse impacts to designated sites arising from development.
8.The proposal has failed to address the public open space requirements of the development, whether by on-site provision or through means to secure financial contributions towards off-site provision. As such, the impacts of the development and the pressures the development places on public open spaces have not been mitigated. The proposal is, therefore, contrary to Great Yarmouth Local Plan Core Strategy (2015) Policies CS14 and CS15 and Policies GSP8 and H4 of the Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 (2021).
9.STATEMENT OF POSITIVE ENGAGEMENT (REFUSALS): In accordance with the NPPF, in determining this application for planning permission, the Borough Council has approached it in a positive and proactive way and where possible has sought solutions to problems to achieve the aim of approving sustainable development. Unfortunately, despite this, in this particular case the development is not considered to represent sustainable or an acceptable form of development and has been refused for the reasons set out above.