Agenda item

Officers presented the report and made the following points:

·       Classes A1 to A5 and Class D had been used rather than the classes indicated in the report since it had been submitted before the introduction of new classes

·       The Ashton Sidings Railway Land had been purchased by Homes England in 2013

·       The area had previously been a stone mason ground but had now been vacated and had been allocated for housing in the 2018 Draft Local Plan

·       The layout was determined by the vehicular access point which had been referred to by some of the objectors

·       It was predicted that at peak travel time, there would be 55 vehicles per hour travelling through the site

·       The original proposed route had been amended to provide greater accessibility for users of the site and pedestrian users

·       Proposal to increase the width of the site were complicated due to ecological issues. A bat survey had determined that there were evidence of lesser horseshoe bats foraging  and commuting across the site. Since they were particularly sensitive to disturbance, a bat corridor was proposed along the western boundary which would require low level light along the cycle path

·       The path was only 3 metres wide. The proposed removal of the  trees that would be required would be detrimental to the appearance

·       The Bristol/Bath path runs alongside the site and would provide good visibility

·       Officers proposed that the path remained but at less than 5 metres. There would be a biodiversity net gain

·       Details of the height of the development were outlined and would be 2 storeys

·       Illustrations showed the visual impact

·       The site would be visible but would be below the landscape. It was not intrusive and did not compare with bonded houses

·       Details of worst case scenarios were indicated and showed that the green hill would still be visible. Historic England was of the opinion that the view is acceptable, although they still had concerns. They felt that this was a modern response to this part of the city

·       30% of the proposed properties were single aspect and would all have significant balconies and be wheelchair accessible

·       Officers acknowledged that residents of Paxton Drive still had concerns about the loss of light and the change in outlook.

·       Officers recommended approval subject to a requirement for affordable housing with delegated authority to agree conditions

Officers responded to questions by the Committee as follows:

·       It was hoped that the landscape strategy would enable biodiversity net gains once a net gain assessment had been made to address the situation concerning the meadows

·       Sustainable Cities accepted the current proposal for a gas boiler which could be converted in future into a heat pump. However, this could be pursued with the developer if the application was agreed to establish a heat hierarchy with a view to establishing a heat pump

·       Analysis had indicated that any shading would be very limited due to the trees and distance and would primarily be in the morning

·       In relation to the concentration of dwellings per hectare, the Policies in the Core Strategy indicated that this fell within the recommendation for a high density development and therefore 81 dwellings per hectare was appropriate. This development is in a good quality environment with a large shared use space

·       The existing cycle path width was the same as the proposed width following the development

·       The most appropriate arrangement was for a separate segregated cycle facility. This was a national cycle route with shared use with pedestrians. Since there were a significant number of pedestrians in the Ashton Court Estate, the concern was that it could create a significant conflict between cyclists and pedestrians. There should be capacity to provide a 5 metre corridor from the start. Guidance for new infrastructure was that this should be a requirement where any path was used by more than 300 cyclists

·       Whilst the updated policy would seek to ensure a path width of 5 metres, the current situation on the site meant that this could not be achieved with this proposal

·       Officers could include a condition requiring a suitably ambitious strategy to investigate the provision of heat pumps on the site

·       Once the change in policy concerning biodiversity and national legislation came into force through the Environment Act, this could be taken account of in making decisions. In the meantime, officers had been advised to ensure there was no net loss until the policy comes into force

·       Any change in the cycle route would require a different scheme. However, a requirement for the developers to examine the heat hierarchy could be achieved through a condition

Councillors made the following points:

·       The shared path worked satisfactorily at the moment. The proposal for widening the path was an aspiration for the future

·       This application would not impact too badly and therefore should be supported

·       Whilst the application was not aesthetically pleasing, it had benefits

Councillor Paul Goggin moved, seconded by Councillor Steve Smith and upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED (9 for, 0 against) – that the application be approved subject to a condition requiring the establishment of a heat hierarchy with a view to establishing a heat pump on the site.

In accordance with the Code of Conduct for Councillors on Planning Issues, Councillor Olly Mead did not vote on this application as he was not present for the whole item.