Great Yarmouth Borough Council Portal
No.Condition Text
1.The proposed dwelling is of a poor overall standard of design and would consequently appear as an incongruous addition within the street scene, failing to fit in with the prevailing character and pattern of development and urban grain of the area by virtue of the cramped layout of the proposed subdivided plot and the detailing and fenestration arrangements and appearances proposed. The proposal would also cause harm to the prevailing residential postwar character of the area through the loss of a visual gap within a prominent position in the street scene, clearly visible form the public realm. The proposed development would therefore fail to comply with the adopted Great Yarmouth Local Plan Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS9 and Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy A2. The proposal fails to accord with the guidance provided within the Great Yarmouth Design Code SPD (2024), sections BD3, BD6, BD7, CI1 and CI4.
2.The proposed dwelling would fail to provide an acceptable standard of residential amenity for the future occupants by virtue of the sub-standard provision of overall floor area within the dwelling, for example being noticeably smaller than the expectations set out in the nationally described space standards, and being unable to demonstrate compliance with the accessible and adaptable homes standards of Building Regulations M4(2). Furthermore, the cramped and awkwardly shaped plot would also fail to provide an acceptable provision of external amenity space for the future occupants, specifically the rear garden which fails to address both area and design expectations. The proposed development would therefore fail to comply with the adopted Great Yarmouth Local Plan Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS9 and Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policies A1 and A2(f). The proposal fails to accord with the guidance provided within the Great Yarmouth Design Code SPD (2024), sections BD3 and BD6.
3.The application proposes to discharge foul water into the mains sewer, but no information has been provided to set out the surface water drainage strategy for the development, and no evidence has been provided to justify that it is not possible to deal with surface water in accordance with the drainage hierarchy. Discharging surface water to the mains sewer is the least preferable method, particularly in Great Yarmouth Borough where combined sewers are already at capacity and often flood. The application therefore fails to comply with Policy I3 which states that surface water connections to the main sewer should only be made in "limited circumstances where there are no feasible alternatives". The application has not demonstrated that infiltration-based solutions are not feasible as required by Core Strategy policy CS13(c), and therefore presents a risk of contributing to increased flooding to the property and surrounding area. The development is therefore contrary to Core Strategy (2015) policy CS13(c) and Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policy I3(b).
4.Biodiversity Net Gain applies to the development in the absence of the development meeting any exemption status. The proposal therefore fails to demonstrate that the development will deliver any ecological enhancements as well as the minimum 10% increase in biodiversity value of the onsite habitat. The proposal is therefore contrary to the requirements to enhance biodiversity and ecological value at the site, as required by Policy CS11 of the Great Yarmouth Local Plan Part 2 (2021), and fails to address the national requirements to demonstrate how the development will quantify its net gain provision and thereafter be able to follow the BNG hierarchy.
5.The proposal has failed to address the public open space requirements of the development, whether by proposing on-site provision or through means to secure financial contributions towards off-site public open space 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).
6.The application site is located within the green 2.5km to 5km Indicative Habitat Impact Zone and therefore has the potential to result in significant impacts on designated ecological sites through cumulative recreational pressures arising from new development. Whilst the application is supported by an up-to-date shadow template Habitats Regulations Assessment - 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) - the application is not supported by the required financial mitigation to offset any in-combination impacts on designated ecological sites, and nor has the application proposed any means to secure that provision. As such the Local Planning Authority and the Council as Competent Authority under the Habitats Regulations cannot be satisfied that the required mitigation will be provided to suitably address the impacts of the development relating to designated sites. Therefore, the application is contrary to the Core Strategy (2015) Policy CS11 and Local Plan Part 2 (2021) Policies GSP5 and GSP8, and Emerging Local Plan Policy NAT4, and does not comply with The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.
7.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 although as the principle of development is not considered acceptable, information to overcome the other reasons for refusal have not been requested and the application has been refused for the reasons set out above.