Decision details

The Committee received an application for full planning permission.

The application sought approval for mixed use development comprising ground floor retail (use Class A1), with non-speculative student accommodation scheme of 26No. bedrooms on the upper floors to be occupied by Abbey College, along with car and cycle parking, following demolition of existing buildings on site.

The Committee received a representation in objection to the application from a resident of Cambridge Place.

The representation covered the following concerns:

       i.          Referred to speaking notes and photos tabled at committee.

     ii.          The application failed to provide adequate off-street parking as per Local Plan Policy 3/7.

   iii.          Vans could not use the covered parking area as the roof would be too low.

   iv.          Vehicles would find it difficult to access the parking area and would block the street when entering/leaving it. This would lead to a conflict between traffic and pedestrians.

    v.          The development would need a lot of maintenance, leading to lots of service vehicle trips and therefore parking space issues.

   vi.          The application did not meet Highways Authority visibility splay requirements.

 vii.          Referred to Local Plan Policy 8/9 regarding Commercial Vehicles and Servicing.

Mr McKeown (Applicant’s Agent) addressed the Committee in support of the application.

Councillor Walsh (Petersfield Ward County Councillor) addressed the Committee about the application.

The representation covered the following concerns:

       i.          Thanked the Agent for making some amendments in response to resident’s comments, but some changes were still required.

     ii.          Referred to Local Plan Policies 3/7 and 8/9.

   iii.          Cambridge Place is a narrow one vehicle wide access road off an arterial route.

   iv.          The new development would take away a waiting area to provide a parking space.

    v.          Medium and large vehicles would have difficulty accessing Cambridge Place, causing traffic flow issues.

   vi.          Referred to Highways Officer comments and suggested these reflected the current situation rather than a future one with the application in place.

The Committee:

Unanimously resolved to reject the officer recommendation to approve the application.

Unanimously resolved to refuse the application contrary to the officer recommendation for the following reasons:

The use of the proposed parking area would require significant manoeuvring of vehicles within Cambridge Place and the visibility splay is restricted.  This would be likely to compromise the safety of users of Cambridge Place, therefore the development is contrary to policy 8/9 of the Cambridge Local Plan 2006.

The proposed development would result in a poor entrance for future occupants in terms of conflict with servicing vehicles and in terms of the lack of a legible, safe and attractive entrance and would therefore be contrary to Cambridge Local Plan (2006) policies 3/4, 3/7 and 3/12.