Great Yarmouth Borough Council Portal
No.Condition Text
1.The application site is located within the designated Great Yarmouth Port and Harbour Area. Here, because of its strategic significance for the Borough's economic future, residential development is not permitted. Thereby, the principle of 9no. residential dwellings is not acceptable. The application is therefore contrary to Local Plan (2021) Part 2 Policy GY10 and Paragraph 87 of the NPPF.
2.The site is located within an area safeguarded for employment and proposes the change of use away from an employment use (B2 industrial) to a non employment, residential use (Class C3). It has not been adequately demonstrated that the site has undergone the required marketing for a sufficient and minimum period of time needed to be able to demonstrate that there are no realistic or feasible prospects for the building or site's re-use for employment generating purposes. Nor has there been any evidence submitted to suggest that, as an alternative to an entirely employment-based use, that a form of mixed use development would not be possible, as there has been no evidence of a sequential viability test being undertaken following the unsuccessful marketing of the site as required by policy CS6. As such, it has not been demonstrated that the principle of the development should be considered to be acceptable in removing the site from employment-generating use and introducing residential development as an alternative use within a defined safeguarded employment area, and therefore the application is contrary to adopted Great Yarmouth Local Plan Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS6 and Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy GSP1 and Paragraph 85 of the NPPF.
3.The application site is located within Flood Zone 3 and is therefore at high risk of flooding. The application proposes the conversion of the building and the change from a less vulnerable use to a more vulnerable use and the proposal includes the provision of habitable accommodation on the ground floor. The submitted Flood Risk Assessment shows that the buildings would flood internally by maximum of 1.36m in the 1 in 200 with climate change flood event. In the 1 in 1000 year plus climate change event the ground floor would flood by a maximum of 2.24m. No suitable mitigation measures to address this increased flood risk are proposed. The proposal therefore represents an unacceptable increase in flood risk and represents a possible risk to both property and life. The proposal is therefore contrary to Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS13, Emerging Local Plan Policy CLC2 and Paragraphs 170 and 181 of the National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024).
4.The application site is located in an area surrounded by industrial uses which are likely to generate a significant amount of noise disruption. The application is supported by a Noise Impact Assessment however the mitigation measures proposed would not contribute to creating a high quality of living accommodation and amenity for future residents, especially as the mitigation strategy depends on the expectation that the dwelling windows would not be able to be opened in order to achieve the required noise reduction; an alternative method of ventilation has not been demonstrated through the application. Therefore, future residents would be subject to levels of noise disruption which would be detrimental to their amenity and wellbeing and use of any outdoor amenity areas would likely be constrained. As such the proposal is contrary to adopted Great Yarmouth Local Plan Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS09 F and Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policies A1 and A2, Emerging Local Plan Policies HEC5 and HEC7 and paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024).
5.The combination of lack of adequate private outdoor amenity space, cramped living environment (units 8 and 9 only), inter-overlooking between the blocks and the expected noise levels from surrounding industrial uses means that future residents would not be afforded with sufficient amenity and would be subject to living in an oppressive living environment which would be detrimental to their wellbeing. The application is therefore contrary to Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS9, Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policies A1 and E6, Emerging Local Plan Policies HEC5 and HEC7, Sections BD3, BD5 and BD6 of the Great Yarmouth Design Code and paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024).
6.The proposed conversion to the industrial buildings is considered to lead to an unacceptable level of harm to the non-designated heritage asset through the inappropriate use of materials (proposed render), removal of historic joinery and installation of uvpc windows and the poor positioning of fenestration which would detract from the industrial character of the buildings. The alterations are also considered to result in poor design through the lack of rhythm and detriment to the industrial character. The application is therefore contrary to Core Strategy (2015) Policies CS9 and CS10, Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policies A2 and E5, Sections CI1, CI2 and CI4 of the Great Yarmouth Design Code, NPPF Paragraphs 135, 139 and 216 and Emerging Local Plan Policies DHE1 and DHE2.
7.The proposed dwelling's garden would be located within an area historically used for industrial processes. Given the historic uses of the site, there is potential that contamination could be present. No information has been provided in support of the application to demonstrate that the proposed gardens would be safe from contamination, or that if any contamination is present it could be appropriately remediated and made safe for future residential use. Furthermore, a potential presence of contamination could present a risk to groundwaters if construction released contaminants from the ground or mobilised them through infiltration. As such the application has not demonstrated suitable residential amenity or protection of groundwater resources, contrary to Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policies A1 and E6, and Emerging Local Plan Policies HEC6 and HEC5.
8.The application site is located within the Orange 400m-2.5km Indicative Habitat Impact Zone and the application is not supported by the required GIRAMS contribution, which is 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 cannot fully assess the additional impact, in terms of indirect and direct impacts upon the 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), Emerging Local Plan Policy NAT4 and The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
9.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) and Emerging Local Plan Policy HEC2.
10.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.