Agenda item

Recommended for Approval.

Mrs Jones and Mr Risby addressed the Committee in objection to the application.  Mr Unwin spoke for the application.

The Director of Neighbourhood Services recommended that, in respect of application 3/14/0739/FP, planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report now submitted.

The Director referred Members to the additional representations summary.  He stated that it was for Members to consider the various issues raised by the application. Officers were of the view that policy supported the commercial reuse of buildings of this nature.  Officers felt that, on balance, this application could be supported.

Councillor K Warnell, as the local ward Member, stated that the change of use from a car show room open from 9 am to 5 pm to a take away operation from 11 am to 11 pm seemed perverse in what was now an increasingly residential area.

Councillor Warnell commented that the proposed change of use opposite a pedestrian crossing and on a busy feeder road in the form of Rye Street would be detrimental to the amenity of local residents.  He queried the exact meaning of the applicant’s intention to store the delivery mopeds on site and he felt that he would be failing the residents of his ward if he supported this application.

Councillor N Symonds agreed with the points made by Councillor Warnell and she had noted the comments made by Bishop’s Stortford Town Council.  She objected to the comment made by the supporting public speaker regarding objectors commenting from outside Hertfordshire.  She confirmed that all of the e-mails she had received had been from local residents.

Councillor Symonds expressed concern that a take away in this location would be dangerous for pedestrians who used Bryan Road as a cut through to Grange Paddocks and she was also concerned as Rye Street was a dangerous and busy road.  She concluded that the application was not within the town centre and would have a detrimental effect on the conservation area of Bishop’s Stortford.

Councillor M Wood supported all of the points made by Councillors K Warnell and N Symonds and he was concerned in particular in respect of the effect of the application on the amenity of the residents of Bryan Road and Northgate End.

The Director reminded Members that the issue of the number of representations and where these came from was less relevant than the issues that had been raised.  Members were reminded that planning policies supported the reuse of commercial buildings and Members must consider whether the change of use was so unacceptable as to be harmful.

The Director advised that Hertfordshire Highways had not objected to the application and Officers felt that the additional pedestrian and vehicle traffic would not be unacceptable in this location.

Members should consider whether the proposed activity was sufficiently harmful to justify a refusal of planning permission.  Members were reminded that the whole town centre was within the Bishop’s Stortford Conservation Area and, as this was not a historic building, the impact on the conservation area would be benign.

Councillor N Symonds proposed and Councillor K Warnell seconded, a motion that application 3/14/0739/FP be refused on the grounds that the proposed development would result in a harmful impact on residential occupiers in the vicinity of the site by virtue of additional activity, noise and general disturbance and the application was therefore contrary to policy ENV1 of the East Herts Local Plan Second Review April 2007 and the National Planning Policy Framework.

After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.  The Committee rejected the recommendation of the Director of Neighbourhood Services as now submitted.

RESOLVED – that, in respect of application 3/14/0739/FP, planning permission be refused for the following reasons:

1.           The proposed development would result in a harmful impact on residential occupiers in the vicinity of the site by virtue of additional activity, noise and general disturbance.  It would thereby be contrary to policy ENV1 of the East Herts Local Plan Second Review April 2007 and the National Planning Policy Framework.

Summary of Reasons for Decision

In accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2012 (as amended).  East Herts Council has considered, in a positive and proactive manner, whether the planning objections to this proposal could be satisfactorily resolved within the statutory period for determining the application. However, for the reasons set out in this decision notice, the proposal is not considered to achieve an acceptable and sustainable development in accordance with the Development Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.