Agenda item

PROPOSAL: Redevelopment and conversion of Almsbury Farm Barns to provide a mixed residential and commercial development, comprising circa. 900sqm of Class E commercial floor space and 18 new residential units including demolition of non-historic portal framed barns and the provision of new car parking, landscaping and associated infrastructure.

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION: Delegated permit.

40.7          This application was for redevelopment and conversion of Almsbury Farm Barns to provide a mixed residential and commercial development comprising circa. 900sqm of Class E commercial floor space and 18 new residential units including demolition of non-historic portal framed barns and the provision of new car parking, landscaping and associated infrastructure.

40.8          The Development Management Team Manager (East) advised that the application site was located to the south of Vineyard Street, Winchcombe, wholly within the Winchcombe Conservation Area, and incorporated the Grade II listed Almsbury Farmhouse and the adjacent Grade II listed farm buildings, currently in a derelict condition. The site was also within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Adjoining, but not within the site, the land immediately to the north was within Flood Zone 3; however, the site itself was within Flood Zone 1.  The site also adjoined and comprised a very small part at the extreme south of the application site - not proposed for development - which fell within the Sudeley Historic Park and Gardens.  The application proposed the redevelopment and conversion of Almsbury Farm Barns to provide circa. 900 sqm of Class E commercial floor space and the provision of 18 residential units which involved the conversion of the listed buildings to four dwellings and the construction of 14 new build residential dwellings.  An assessment of the main material considerations was set out within the Committee report and a number of key harms and benefits had been identified.  In terms of the principle of residential development, the application site was located adjacent to Winchcombe, which was identified as a Rural Service Centre in the Joint Core Strategy hierarchy and was recognised by Joint Core Strategy Policy SP2 as a location where dwellings would be provided to meet the identified housing needs of Tewkesbury Borough; however, the site was located outside the existing built up area of Winchcombe and was not allocated for housing through the development plan or the Winchcombe and Sudeley Neighbourhood Development Plan. It was therefore necessary to consider whether there were any material considerations which indicated that a decision should be made other than in accordance with the development plan.  In terms of the principle of commercial development, the Winchcombe and Sudeley Neighbourhood Development Plan allocated this site for new or expanded uses which included Class E use. The policy also referred to the use of this site as a mixed use to include residential to support the commercial proposals.  Given the site constraints, Officers had worked collectively with the applicant over the past two years to negotiate a scheme that would have an acceptable impact upon its sensitivities. This included a re-design of the new buildings to have a more appropriate impact upon the historic buildings and their setting and the reduction of residential units. One of the main areas of concern was the intensification and impact upon the road network, given the existing traffic issues along Vineyard Street. This was the only objection raised by the Town Council and the applicants had worked closely with County Highways to ensure that the impacts would be limited by providing highways improvements along this road.  No objections had been raised by any statutory consultees, other than Historic England, and whilst the site was located outside of the settlement boundary, it was considered to represent sustainable development on the edge of a rural Service Village and would deliver important commercial provisions to Winchcombe.  With this in mind, and given the current position regarding the Council’s five year housing land supply, although there was some harm arising from the conflict with the spatial housing policies, significant weight should be given to the provision of sustainable housing where none of the identified harms would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits in the overall planning balance.  It was therefore recommended that authority be delegated to the Development Management Manager to permit the application, subject to any additional/amended planning conditions; and the completion of Section 106 legal agreements.

40.9          The Chair invited the applicant’s agent to address the Committee.  The applicant’s agent indicated that those Members who had been on the Planning Committee for a long time would be well aware of the history of this site.  Almsbury Farm Barns was an incredibly important site, located close to the main tourist entrance of Sudeley Castle and framing its important historic setting between the town and Sudeley.  The site comprised a range of stunning Grade II listed Cotswold stone barns, which were of the highest standard of historic and architectural quality; however, they were now disused and a long-term viable use needed to be found to restore them to their former glory.  The site also included a number of modern portal framed barns that were in a poor state of repair and were harming the heritage value of the site and the setting of Sudeley’s parkland – it was included within the Winchcombe and Sudeley Neighbourhood Development Plan as an allocation site for that reason, supporting its conversion for redevelopment.  The Winchcombe and Sudeley Neighbourhood Development Plan designation envisaged support for commercial, care and residential type uses.  This proposal comprised a mix of small-scale commercial and residential uses and therefore fitted squarely with the Winchcombe and Sudeley Neighbourhood Development Plan aspirations for the site.  Winchcombe Town Council had stated its support, in principle, for the scheme on that basis.  The conversion of the historic barns has been sensitively handled and the new build elements that replaced the non-historic barns amounted to a significant visual improvement. The new builds comprised a range of Almshouse type terraces and four separate family homes of Cotswold and barn-like design. The surfacing and building materials and finishing were truly of the highest quality and far exceeded that of standard schemes elsewhere.  The applicant’s agent indicated that they had worked positively with the Council’s Planning and Conservation Officers to secure a scheme that everyone was happy with.  The Conservation Officer recognised the importance of bringing this historic site back in to viable use and County Highways was happy with the access and parking arrangements for the site. A balanced approach had to be taken between maintaining highway standards and protecting the heritage value of the site. Winchcombe Town Council’s existing concern over parking on Vineyard Street had also been resolved via the requirement for a traffic management scheme, the full detail of which was to be secured by condition.  The Council’s consultees were satisfied in terms of ecology, flood risk and drainage, landscape, arboriculture and amenity and the scheme would secure Biodiversity Net Gain well in excess of the future 10% requirement.  The applicant’s agent stated that, in over 20 years of dealing with planning applications on either side of the fence in Tewkesbury Borough, this was one of the most special and positive developments that he had the pleasure to be involved with.  The opportunity to bring this gateway site back into viable use; restore its heritage barns; and replace buildings that were of no merit with Cotswold vernacular design was so important for the town. The community wanted a solution for this site once and for all, and this was certainly it. 

40.10        The Chair indicated that the Officer recommendation was to delegate authority to the Development Management Manager to permit the application, subject to any additional/amended planning conditions and the completion of a Section 106 Agreement, and he sought a motion from the floor.  A Member sought clarification as to whether Community Infrastructure Levy would be payable and confirmation was provided that it was.  The Member indicated that the chevron parking in Vineyard Street was problematic and the gap had narrowed over time as vehicles had got larger; it was a particular issue for refuse vehicles which could get blocked in due to indiscriminate parking – this was something which was regularly discussed at Town Council meetings.  He asked whether County Highways would be happy to address this by putting parallel parking down one side and retaining chevron parking along the other.  In response, the County Highways representative confirmed that County Highways had considered the parking configuration and, as outlined on the Additional Representations Sheet, attached at Appendix 1, a condition had been included to require a traffic management scheme to restrict parking along Vineyard Street to allow two vehicles to pass to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to commencement of development.  He reiterated that no details had been agreed at this stage and County Highways wanted to have a further conversation with the Town Council in terms of what the final scheme would look like.  In response to a query as to whether the trees had Tree Protection Orders (TPOs), the Development Management Team Manager (East) indicated that to his knowledge they did not but the site was within a Conservation Area which was protected in its own right and Officers had requested additional details in relation to that.  Another Member sought clarification as to what was covered by Class E use type and was informed that it could be a broad spectrum but, in this case, would be limited, by condition, to Class E9(g) – uses which can be carried out in a residential area without detriment to its amenity: i) an office to carry out any operational or administrative functions, ii) the research and development of products or processes, or iii) any industrial process – and E9(c) – for the provision of the following kinds of services principally to visiting members of the public: i) financial services, ii) professional services (other than health or medical services) or, iii) any other services which it is appropriate to provide in a commercial, business or service locality.

40.11        A Member expressed disappointment that there were no affordable units on site and she asked how the offsite contribution for affordable housing provision calculation of £99,000 had been reached.  The Development Management Team Manager (East) advised that the calculation was based on information provided by the applicant’s agent to the Housing team and the Legal Adviser confirmed that the Housing team applied a technical formula which calculated a sum equivalent to need on site.  The money would go into the pot to be utilised for affordable housing within the administrative area of the Council.  Another Member noted that the new dwellings had chimneys and asked if it was intended they would have working fireplaces, thereby producing pollution, or if they would be decorative.  In response, the Development Management Team Manager (East) advised that he did not have a direct answer but he imagined they would be for woodburners and he clarified that any pollution would be dealt with by building control legislation.

40.12        It was proposed and seconded that authority be delegated to the Development Management Manager to permit the application in accordance with the Officer recommendation.  The proposer of the motion indicated that the site had stood vacant as a farm for many years in a very beautiful area and it was necessary for something to be done to it.  He was of the view that the proposal was a good design which would fit well with the local architecture and would be a welcome addition to the entrance to the town.  The seconder of the motion shared this view and congratulated Officers on finding a solution for this particular site.  A Member indicated that Vineyard Street was the starting point for several walks around the town and surrounding area but it was not pedestrian friendly; he noted that consideration had been given as to how the vehicular traffic might move but not to pedestrians and he was concerned that narrowing the access would increase the amount of traffic and impact negatively on pedestrians.  The Development Management Team Manager (East) advised that, should Members be supportive of the Officer recommendation, a condition for improvement to verges for walking would be attached to the planning permission.  The representative from County Highways advised that Vineyard Street currently had shared use by pedestrians and vehicles and, although undesirable, there was no record of any incidents in the area.  There were footways either side of the street but the application proposed improvements to the verges between both access points so pedestrians could move away from the shared surface area.  Double yellow lines being introduced along Vineyard Street would allow cars to pass and improve visibility in the event of pedestrians walking along the road. 

40.13        Upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED           That authority be DELEGATED to the Development Management Manager to PERMIT the application, subject to any additional/amended planning conditions and the completion of a Section 106 Agreement.