Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 6 April and 18 May 2023 as accurate records.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held Thursday, 6 April 2023 and Thursday 18 May 2023 were agreed as accurate records.

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

There were no disclosures of a pecuniary interest not already registered.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

There was none.

To consider the accompanying reports by the Director of Planning & Strategic Transport:

Demolition of existing detached dwelling house and replacement 4 new semi-detached dwelling houses with associated landscape and parking.

Ward: Purley and Woodcote

Recommendation: Grant permission

Demolition of existing detached dwelling house and replacement 4 new semi-detached dwelling houses with associated landscape and parking.

Ward: Purley and Woodcote

The officer presented details of the planning application and in response to members’ questions explained that:

• One of the issues that the developers had sought to address was that the permission was initially granted for two detached houses with a door at the front and either a side or rear door. The proposed development still appeared as a detached house and there would need to be signage to show where the front door was located.
• There were no specific policies which required the main entrance to be located on the front elevation of a property.
• There was design guidance from the Greater London Authority (GLA) which specifies that access and communal entrances had to be legible.

John Power spoke in objection to the application, Paul Lewis spoke in support of the application, and the Ward Member Councillor Samir Dwesar addressed the Committee with his view on the application.

After the speakers had finished, the committee began the deliberation, during which they raised the following points:

• The approved application against which members were comparing the current application to was decided by officers under delegated authority and the level of objections did not meet the threshold which would require the application to be brought before the committee.
• It was reasonable to assume that there was a general acceptance from residents on Oakwood Avenue of the previous application.
• The proposed development was slightly smaller but would see a net gain of three family homes.
• The proposed development was similar to the development in the application that had previously been approved.
• Oakwood avenue largely consisted of detached properties and the design of the proposed development was of two detached properties. 
• The garden space exceeded requirements.
• The front gables were in keeping with other properties on Oakwood Avenue.
• The plans had been changed to accommodate six parking spaces which made up for the lack of garages on site.
• The floor space in the properties was above the minimum size standards.
• The proposed development had a poor-quality design.
• The two semi-detached houses should both have front doors, rather than main entrances at the side of the property.
• There was concern about the safety of the side doors.

The substantive motion to GRANT the application based on the officer’s recommendation was proposed by Councillor Parker. This was seconded by Councillor Fraser.

The motion to grant the application was taken to a vote and carried with five Members voting in favour, no Members voting against, and one Member abstained their vote.

The Committee RESOLVED to GRANT the application for the development at 14 Oakwood Avenue, Purley, CR8 1AQ.

Demolition of the existing dwelling and erection of a terrace of 3 two storey dwellinghouses with accommodation within the roof with associated landscaping, refuse storage, car and cycle parking.

Ward: Kenley

Recommendation: Grant permission

Demolition of the existing dwelling and erection of a terrace of 3 two storey dwellinghouses with accommodation within the roof with associated landscaping, refuse storage, car and cycle parking.

Ward: Kenley

The officer presented details of the planning application and in response to members’ questions explained that:

• Officers had recommended a condition which required details of the landscaping.
• Officers would usually ask for the inclusion of trees with a suitable level of maturity, this usually means the trees that were planted were 2-4m in height.
• The tree officer would recommend the implementation of the largest trees possible that could flourish on the site.
• There was a policy which protected rear gardens from sideways overlooking and so there were no sideways facing windows proposed that would overlook the gardens.
• The overlooking would only occur at the rear of the property.
• As the proposed development was deeper than number 11 there would be part the garden at number 11 which would not be overlooked.
• There would be some loss of light however this issue would need to be weighed up against the benefits of the development of new housing.
• The visual gap between the buildings was 4.6m.
• The physical gap between the buildings on ground level was 3.4m.
• The building was set in from the boundary by 2m, this would then create a 1.2m wide path.
• The hedge would be maintained as it would provide a buffer at ground level.

Stuart Prior spoke in objection to the application and Councillor Ola Kolade addressed the Committee with his view on the application. After the speakers had finished, the committee began the deliberation, during which they raised the following points:

• Attempts had been made to make the development look like a detached property.
• There were highway safety concerns on Welcomes Road as it was a narrow country lane.
• The proposal of five parking spaces in an area with a PTAL rating of 2 was not ideal.
• A condition should be introduced to maintain the hedge between the proposed development and the neighbouring property.
• The proposed development helped to address the housing need in the local area.
• There was a net loss of trees which was not ideal.
• The consideration of provisional cycle storage on site was appreciated.
• There were concerns regarding traffic on welcomes road.
• The property was set far enough back from the road to limit the impact the design would have on the street scene.
• The design and layout of the properties could prove to be detrimental to the local area in future.

The substantive motion to GRANT the application based on the officer’s recommendation was proposed by Councillor Fish. This was seconded by Councillor Fraser.

The motion to grant the application was taken to a vote and carried with four Members voting in favour, no members voting against, and two members abstained their vote.

The Committee RESOLVED to GRANT the application for the development at 13 Welcomes Road, Kenley, CR8 5HA.