Planning & Design win consent for Ménage and Tennis Court in sensitive rural location

At planning committee on Tuesday evening Jonathan spoke in favour of a new Tennis Court and Menage near Bradbourne. The new facilities are to be added to a property where the company has successfully achieved planning permission back in 2006.

The site lies on high ground close to the boundary with the Peak National Park. The site lies immediately adjacent to the approved house and outbuildings which includes four stables. Using appropriate landscaping and taking account of the slope of the land in the design of the menage a scheme was developed that meet the clients needs while protecting the wider environment. Whilst there were no objections from neighbours the Parish Council was strongly against the scheme and this triggered a referral to planning committee.

Committee members met at the site and were able to speak direct to the Parish chairman who again voiced his concerns. Enhanced landscaping proposals were presented to the meeting to allay these concerns and the changes were supported by the planning officer.

At the committee meeting that evening members supported the planning officer’s recommendation for approval subject to the additional landscaping. Notwithstanding their differences our client and the Parish Council Chairman found that they could get on well. The chairman was given a tour of the property and our client has agreed to become more involved in the parish and to support parish events.

The turn of events in the evening reminded me of the importance of community relations, particularly for new comers to an area. The Parish had drawn erroneous conclusions about our client and had reacted as much to their vision of him as to the development itself.

Get the politics of an area right and the planning process is much easier.

Approval for extension to historic cottage in Conservation Area

PDP were delighted to help secure planning consent this month for the construction of a new two storey extension to a 19th Century stone cottage in a Derbyshire Dales Conservation Area.

PDP worked alongside architects Pilkington McPhee to provide a sensitive design that met the client’s brief whilst also satisfying the requirements of planning and conservation officers.

The proposed scheme involved extending to both the rear and side of the existing cottage, in order to provide a new master bedroom, bathroom, utility and snug.

Despite the amount of additional internal space being provided, the proposed extension does not detract from the character and appearance of the existing cottage. The rear part of the extension is to replace a couple of small previous additions and will be well hidden between the back of the cottage and a large retaining wall. The side part of the extension will be set back from the front face of the building, and will have lower ridge and eaves levels, ensuring that the visual dominance of the original cottage is preserved.

A design statement was submitted with the application which examined the history of the property and its role within the Conservation Area, and assessed traditional local building practices.

After receiving the support of Council officers the application was approved under delegated powers on 15th July 2010.

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce (DNCC) Annual Golf Day

The Planning and Design Practice and Orchid IT entered a team into the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Day. The event, held on Friday the 11th June 2010 at Cotgrave Golf Club in Nottinghamshire, offered the opportunity to network with likeminded individuals, as well as the opportunity to showcase our businesses through a number of sponsorship packages.

Our team played well and finished in fourth spot, narrowly missing a trophy by just 2 stableford points. Better luck next year!

New policy regime emerging

The development industry is watching with interest as a new national planning policy regime is starting to take shape.

Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles sent a letter to all Local Planning Authorities at the end of May outlining his intention to ‘rapidly abolish regional strategies and return decision making powers on housing and planning to local councils’.

This was quickly followed by the publication in early June of a revised version of Planning Policy Statement 3 (Housing), in which garden land was re-classified from Brownfield to Greenfield, and housing density targets were abolished.

The new measures are intended to return decision making to local councils and stop unrestrained ‘garden grabbing’.

It is not yet completely clear how the changes will impact upon decision making at the local level. Although the secretary of state has announced his intention to abolish regional strategies (and the policies and housing targets that go with them), and has requested that his letter is treated as a ‘material consideration’, the formal abolition of regional strategies has yet to occur.

Certain Council’s in the local area are, at the time of writing, continuing to view development proposals on garden land within settlement boundaries favourably, given the need to meet (surviving) housing targets. Others may choose to take a harder line.

Here at PDP we will continue to monitor the situation carefully as the coalition government’s new approach continues to emerge and bed down, and will update clients of any significant developments via the monthly newsletter.

Derby's Property & Business Investment Show

Planning Design Practice exhibited at this year’s Derby Property & Business Investment Show which was held on the 11th May 2010 at Pride Park Stadium, Derby.

The show attracted the cream of Derby’s built environment sector and proved to be a huge success for everyone involved. Although many of the exhibitors talked of tough times, there was a real sense of optimism in the air that better times lay ahead. Over 200 people gathered at the show’s seminars to hear speakers from Cushman and Wakefield and the House Building Federation, as well as from sponsors Marketing Derby, Derby Cityscape and Rigby & Co.

Planning Design Practice are looking forward to exhibiting at the larger and more prestigious East Midlands Property and Business Investment Show in November 2010. We hope to see you there!

Extension to barn conversion approved

Planning Design Practice have secured planning permission for an extension to a converted barn at a site near Rotherham.

Initially, the Local Planning Authority were unhappy with the principle of an extension to the converted barn because they felt that it would result in the over-domestification of the building. However, Planning Design Practice were able to locate Ordnance Survey images of the original barn from the late 1800’s depicting a long linear single-storey extension. Planning Design Practice also put forward photographic evidence of markings on the wall of the original barn to demonstrate the existence of a former pitched roof extension.

Given this weight of evidence, the Local Planning Authority eventually accepted proposals for a substantial single-storey extension to the building. The extension was designed to appear as rural in character and appearance as possible, so as not to impact upon the rural street scene.

Construction of 3 dwellings - land adjacent to 140 Stenson Road, Derby

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.