The site lies on Stenson Road on the south west side of Derby about two miles from the city centre, 140 is a large semidetached Victorian Villa. The property benefits from a large side garden which used to contain a tennis court. The next property along the street is 146 Stenson Road.
When the Street was first developed and numbered it was taken that this ‘plot’ would be used for 142 and 144 Stenson Road. The development proposal now before Derby City Council is for three dwellings, two on the road frontage with a dormer bungalow behind. The outline application shows two large detached houses on the frontage, detailed design of all three dwellings is reserved for later consideration.
The key issues relating to this development are:
1. Trees
2. Access
Two large Copper Beech trees are located on the road frontage. These are important to the street scene and must be retained. Gaining access while retaining these trees and providing the necessary visibility splays and road widths without harming the trees have proved to be very difficult. Various options were considered but in the end widening the existing access was seen as the only way to achieve the access improvements and protect the trees.
Agreement has now been reached with highways and with the Council’s tree officer and a decision from the Council is expected within days.
This is currently a brownfield site as it is classed as garden land. Proposed changes to planning legislation proposed by the Coalition will make garden land ‘green’ land with a presumption against development. This raises an interesting question in relation to the development of urban sites. Locations such as this were originally envisaged as being developed. The history of this site is unusual, and the application addresses the anomaly of the past. This site should be development; its development lowers pressure on Greenfield sites on the edge of the city and provides homes in a location well served by facilities and amenities. Councils have always had the power to protect existing low density developments from infilling using local plan policies. This power could easily be used more widely without a change in the status of garden land.
When the Street was first developed and numbered it was taken that this ‘plot’ would be used for 142 and 144 Stenson Road. The development proposal now before Derby City Council is for three dwellings, two on the road frontage with a dormer bungalow behind. The outline application shows two large detached houses on the frontage, detailed design of all three dwellings is reserved for later consideration.
The key issues relating to this development are:
1. Trees
2. Access
Two large Copper Beech trees are located on the road frontage. These are important to the street scene and must be retained. Gaining access while retaining these trees and providing the necessary visibility splays and road widths without harming the trees have proved to be very difficult. Various options were considered but in the end widening the existing access was seen as the only way to achieve the access improvements and protect the trees.
Agreement has now been reached with highways and with the Council’s tree officer and a decision from the Council is expected within days.
This is currently a brownfield site as it is classed as garden land. Proposed changes to planning legislation proposed by the Coalition will make garden land ‘green’ land with a presumption against development. This raises an interesting question in relation to the development of urban sites. Locations such as this were originally envisaged as being developed. The history of this site is unusual, and the application addresses the anomaly of the past. This site should be development; its development lowers pressure on Greenfield sites on the edge of the city and provides homes in a location well served by facilities and amenities. Councils have always had the power to protect existing low density developments from infilling using local plan policies. This power could easily be used more widely without a change in the status of garden land.
No comments:
Post a Comment