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Agenda item

Planning Application CR/2021/0247/FUL - The Office, Crawley Business Quarter, Manor Royal, Northgate, Crawley

To consider report PES/373cof the Head of Economy and Planning.

 

RECOMMENDATION to PERMIT.

Minutes:

The Committee considered report PES/373c of the Head of Economy and Planning which proposed as follows:

 

Demolition of existing building and associated structures and redevelopment for storage and distribution warehouse within use class B8.

 

Councillors A Belben, Burrett, and Jaggard declared they had visited the site.

 

The Principal Planning Officer (VC) provided a verbal summation of the application which sought permission for the construction of a warehouse for business use in the Manor Royal Business Improvement District.  The Committee heard that, since the publication of the report, further discussions between relevant parties had led to amendments proposed to conditions 7, 14, 22, and 24, and the addition of new informatives 7 and 8.  The revised air quality assessment was considered acceptable with the revised costs of £47,000 and the corresponding level of mitigation measures were to be secured via the Section 106 agreement.

 

Eric Hall, the agent (TDH Estates) on behalf of the applicant, spoke in support of the application.  Matters raised included:

·       The suitability of the scheme for the intended user, which would allow for increased capacity and the creation of jobs.

·       The proposed landscaping and additional trees to be planted at the site.

·       Elements of the scheme were designed to meet BREEAM ‘excellent’ standard including water consumption, energy usage, PV panels, and electric vehicle charging points.

 

The Committee then considered the application.  The officer confirmed that the proposed parking provision exceeded the borough parking standards, and that parking and access were to be controlled by conditions.  A travel plan was also required of the applicant which would cover staff vehicles and business vehicles and encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport.

 

A query was raised regarding the suitability of B8 use buildings at the proposed location.  The officer clarified that there were not designations or limitations for specific use classes in certain areas of Manor Royal.  As the scheme was for business use the location within the Manor Royal Employment Area was appropriate and policy compliant.

 

The officer confirmed that air source heat pumps would form the main heating and cooling system within the building.  There was also provision for a potential future connection to the Crawley District Heat Network included in the design.

 

RESOLVED

 

Permit subject to the conditions set out in report PES/373c and the amended conditions and additional informatives as follows:

 

Amended conditions

 

7.The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the Travel Plan ref 2021/5819/TP02 dated July 2021 submitted with the application. Only the approved details shall be implemented.

REASON: To encourage and promote sustainable transport in accordance with Policy IN3 of the Crawley Borough Local Plan 2015 - 2030.

 

14.The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the Landscape Design Strategy dated 01.07.2021 and the Landscape Strategy Masterplan, Drawing No. LLD2252-LAN-DWG-010 Rev 04 submitted with the application.

The  approved details of the landscaping shall be carried out in the first planting and seeding season following the occupation of the building or the completion of the development, whichever is the sooner, and any trees or plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of similar size and species, unless the Local Planning Authority gives written consent to any variation. No subsequent alterations to the approved landscaping scheme are to take place unless submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall be implemented as approved.

REASON: In the interests of amenity and of the environment of the development and to avoid endangering the safe movement of aircraft and the operation of Gatwick Airport through the attraction of birds and an increase in the bird hazard risk of the application site in accordance with Policies CH3 and IN1 of the Crawley Borough Local Plan 2015 - 2030.

 

22. Immediately following demolition of the existing building and prior to any further construction works, a strategy to deal with the potential risks associated with any contamination of the site (as set out within the Phase I Desk Study Report Contaminated Land Risk Assessment dated 11 February 2021) shall be submitted to, and approved in writing by, the Local Planning Authority. This strategy will include the following components:

           1) The results of the site investigation and the detailed risk assessment and, based on these findings, an options appraisal and remediation strategy giving full details of the remediation measures required and how they are to be undertaken.

           2) A verification plan providing details of the data that will be collected in order to demonstrate that the works set out in the remediation strategy are complete and identifying any requirements for longer-term monitoring of pollutant linkages, maintenance and arrangements for contingency action.

            Any changes to these components require the written consent of the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall be implemented as approved.

            REASON: The proposed site is on a former works/engineering/industrial ground with risk of contamination on the site and to ensure that the development does not contribute to, or is not put at unacceptable risk from, or adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of water pollution or contaminated land in accordance with Policy ENV10 of the Crawley Borough Local Plan 2015-2030 and with paragraph 170 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

 

24. No solar panels shall be installed until full details, including a solar hazard glare study if required, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. No subsequent alterations to the approved scheme are to take place unless agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The scheme shall be implemented as approved.

REASON: In the interest of visual amenity and to ensure the development does not endanger the safe movement of aircraft or the operation of Gatwick Airport through interference with communication, navigational aids and surveillance equipment and glare issues in accordance with Policies CH3 and ENV6 of the Crawley Borough Local Plan 2015-2030 and the Planning and Climate Change SPD.

 

Additional informatives

 

7. The applicant is advised that the Crawley Business Quarter is a private road, therefore the Local Highway Authority is unable to sign off any works as they do not form part of the adopted highway network maintained or owned by WSCC. For this reason all reference to WSCC should be removed from the Road Safety Audit – Stage 1 contained within the Transport Assessment.

 

8. The applicant is advised that in regard to condition 14 the amount of berry/fruit bearing species proposed as part of the soft landscaping scheme does not exceed 40% of the total planting palette and is distributed across the site.

 

 

Supporting documents: