Agenda item

Recommended for Approval.

Joanne Dieguez addressed the Committee against the application.  David Smith spoke for the application.

The Director of Neighbourhood Services recommended that, in respect of application 3/12/1040/OP, outline planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report now submitted.

The Director referred Members to the comments detailed in the additional representations schedule.  Councillor S Bull, as the local ward Member, referred to the inevitability of development on this site and he praised the considerable amount of work carried out by the applicant on this application.  Councillor Bull referred to the 9% decrease in the volume of the proposed storage and distribution centre.  He stated however that he remained concerned about the HGV movements to and from the site.

Councillor Bull praised the applicant for reducing the visual impact of the application by substituting the proposed multi storey car park with a surface level car park.  He expressed concern however, that the access was still from London Road as opposed to access only from the existing roundabout.  He stated that he would like the application to be implemented with the minimum possible disruption for residents.

Councillor M Newman referred to the heavy traffic flows on the A10 between Royston and Buntingford.  He commented that the traffic to and from this site should be controlled by conditions so that the peak flows were outside of the rush hour periods.

Councillor Mrs R Cheswright stated that, although situated on the edge of Buntingford, this site was close to a large number of residential dwellings.  She expressed concerns over the height of the proposed development and referred to the likelihood of traffic problems resulting from 600 people accessing and leaving the site.

Councillor E Bedford reminded Members that this site had always been a depot and the size of the proposed development was a commercial decision based on the viability of the application.  He stated that the impact of the traffic movements was exaggerated as there would be an element of car sharing and some staff might well cycle to the site or arrive on foot.  He concluded that the impact of the application in terms of investment for the local economy was a very important factor to consider.

The Director acknowledged that the buildings proposed by the applicant would be visible but Members were reminded that there were already buildings on the site with a height of 22.5 metres.  Officers were satisfied however, that there was sufficient space around the site to mitigate the impacts of the development.

Members were advised that that overall floor space would be less than the existing buildings but there would be an increase in volume and height.  The Director stressed that Hertfordshire Highways had not objected to the application and had pointed out that the traffic movements would be less than the movements that could occur if the site was utilised with the existing use.

The Director concluded that the impact on London Road had been assessed as acceptable via the TRICS database by Hertfordshire Highways and the applicants’ transport consultant, on the basis that not everyone would work on site every day.

In response to queries from Councillor Mrs R Cheswright regarding HGVs being restricted from using London Road and also in respect of noise during demolition works, the Director advised that conditions 16, 25 and 29 should mitigate these areas of concern.  The Director referred to the applicant’s Noise Assessment, which acknowledged that there were potentially significant short term effects of noise during the demolition and construction phases of the proposed development.

Councillor A Burlton referred to the need for such buildings to be of a certain height to incorporate the technology required to ensure that distribution centres operated efficiently.  He sympathised with residents’ concerns but stated that there should not be any overlooking as the sides of the building would very likely be sheet metal.  He also referred to the economic benefits of the development, in particular the 300 jobs that would be created.

After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, the Committee supported the recommendation of the Director of Neighbourhood Services as now submitted.

RESOLVED – that in respect of application 3/12/1040/OP, outline planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report now submitted.