Agenda item

The Committee considered an application under Regulation 3 of the Town and County Planning General Regulations 1992 for planning permission for the proposed construction of a two-storey science park building together with associated car parking and landscaping to replace the existing Dytecna buildings at Malvern Hills Science Park, Geraldine Road, Malvern, Worcestershire.

 

The report set out the background of the proposal, the proposal itself, the relevant planning policy and details of the site, consultations and representations.

 

The report set out the Planning Development Control Manager's comments in relation to the local economy, landscape character and appearance of the area, residential amenity including lighting, scale, design, noise, adjacent bridleway and construction works, water environment, traffic and highway safety, ecology and biodiversity and the Malvern Hills AONB and SSSI.

 

The Planning Development Control Manager concluded that the proposed building would accommodate office and research and development. The proposed building would provide flexible 'grow-on' space to retain established tenants and allow for future growth within the existing Science Park. The Planning Development Control Manager was satisfied that the proposal was in accordance with Policy SWDP 8 and Policy SWDP 52 of the Draft South Worcestershire Development Plan and was therefore acceptable.

 

The Planning Development Control Manager considered that the design of the scheme was in keeping with and would complement the existing buildings within the Malvern Hills Science Park complex; was satisfied that the scale of the proposed building would not dominate the site and considered that the proposed development, particularly the non-shiny roofing materials used would not have a significant adverse visual impact on the views from the Malvern Hills AONB and on the immediate character and appearance of the area in accordance with Policy SWDP 21 and SWDP 23 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.

 

The Planning Development Control Manager did not consider that the proposal would have a significant impact on the residential amenity of any of the neighbouring residential properties, in accordance with Policy SWDP 21 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.

 

Subject to the imposition of conditions relating to drainage, the Planning Development Control Manager was satisfied that the proposal would not have any adverse impact on the water environment, in accordance with Policy SWDP 28 and SWDP 29 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan. 

 

The Planning Development Control Manager was satisfied that there would be no adverse impact on highways safety and that the proposal offered genuinely sustainable travel choices in accordance with Policy SWDP 4 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan and was therefore acceptable.

 

The Planning Development Control Manager was satisfied that the proposal would not have an adverse impact on ecology and biodiversity, subject to conditions as recommended by the County Ecologist, in accordance with Policy SWDP 22 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.

 

The Planning Development Control Manager considered that the design of the proposed development would not have a significant adverse impact on the views to and from the Malvern Hills AONB or on the SSSI, in accordance with Policy SWDP 23 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.

 

Taking into account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies SWDP 1; SWDP 2; SWDP 3; SWDP 4; SWDP 5; SWDP 7; SWDP 8; SWDP 21; SWDP 22; SWDP 23; SWDP 25; SWDP 28; SWDP 29; SWDP 31; SWDP 38; SWDP 52 and SWDP 53 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan, it was considered the proposal would not cause demonstrable harm to the interests intended to be protected by these policies or highway safety.

 

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

 

·         This was an important development for the county providing employment in the high technology field. The proposed development was modern, lower in height and a great improvement on the existing building. The objections to the proposal had already been addressed and permission should be granted

·         In response to a query about the adherence to conditions relating to tree planting and street lighting, the representative of the Planning Development Control Manager stated that the Planning Monitoring Officer would be responsible for ensuring that the conditions attached to the permission would be monitored effectively

·         Concern was expressed that not enough was being done to provide vehicle charging points that provided affordable electricity to encourage people to use electric cars. The Planning Development Control Manager advised that the purpose of the proposed condition was to enable the provision of vehicle charging points. The affordability of these charging points was a site management issue

·         In response to a concern expressed about the energy off-set arrangements for the building, the Planning Development Control Manager stated that the design ethos of the building had been based on Passivhaus principles to be as energy efficient as possible. The SWDP only required energy off-set for buildings over a certain size which was the case for this proposal. Members could request the inclusion of a condition to comply with this policy if they so wished

·         The proposal strengthened the Council's technology strategy and plans and would help keep and attract highly skilled graduates to the local area. The building was designed to be thermally efficient. The parking concerns expressed by local residents were legitimate

·         The Travel Plan needed updating to reflect the fact that buses did not stop on Geraldine Road. The nearest bus stop was 10 minutes walk away in Barnards Green.  

 

RESOLVED that planning permission be granted for the proposed construction of a two-storey science park building together with associated car parking and landscaping to replace the existing Dytecna buildings at Malvern Hills Science Park, Geraldine Road, Malvern, Worcestershire, subject to the following conditions:

 

a)    The development enures for the benefit of Worcestershire County Council only;

 

b)    The development must be begun not later than the expiration of three years beginning with the date of this permission;

 

c)    The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the details shown on submitted Drawing Numbers: BW10115L/A050.002 Rev 0; BW10115L/A/050.001 Rev 0; BW10115L /A120.005 Rev 0; BW10115L A/120.010 Rev 0; BW10115L/A/100.010 Rev 0; BW10115L A/140.005 Rev A; BW10115L A/100.030 Rev 0; BW10115L/A/90.005 Rev 0; BW10115L/LS/01 Rev 0 and BW10115L/LS/02 Rev 0, except where otherwise stipulated by conditions attached to this permission;

 

d)    Notwithstanding any indication of the materials, which may have been given in this application, prior to the construction of the development hereby approved, a schedule and/or samples of the materials and finishes for the development, including those for the roof shall be submitted to and agreed in writing by the County Planning Authority. Thereafter the development shall not be carried out other than in accordance with the approved details;

 

e)    No development shall take place until details of all boundary fences and other means of enclosure have been submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority. Thereafter, the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details;

 

f)     No demolition, ground work or construction work on the site outside the hours of 07:30 – 18:00 Mondays to Fridays and 08:00- 13:00 on Saturdays with no construction work on Sundays, or public and bank holidays;

 

      Ecology and biodiversity

g)    The removal or destruction of suitable breeding habitat should occur outside the bird breeding season. Should any area of hedgerow, shrub or trees be removed during early April to late September then a suitably qualified ecologist must be engaged prior to commencement in order to check for nesting birds. Where active nests are discovered they should be protected by a stand-off zone of no less than 5 meters until the young have fledged;

 

h)    Trees and hedgerows to be retained throughout the scheme should be given adequate protection as per BS5837:2012;

 

i)     In the unlikely event that any protected species are found on the site during the works then all works must cease immediately and the advice of a suitably qualified ecologist must be sought prior to works re-commencing;

 

j)     Prior to the commencement of development, a lighting plan should be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority. The plan should demonstrate compliance with the recommendations set out in Section 3.4 of the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal & Bat Survey undertaken by Worcestershire Wildlife Consultancy, referenced 2015/157(A)v1, dated 7 September 2015;

 

k)    Within 6 months of the date of planning permission, the specification and location of bat and bird boxes shall be submitted to and approved by the County Planning Authority in writing. The specifications should meet the recommendations as set out in Section 3.4 of the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal & Bat Survey undertaken by Worcestershire Wildlife Consultancy, referenced 2015/157(A)v1, dated 7 September 2015. The bat and bird boxes shall be installed on site in accordance with the approved details;

 

 

      Highways

l)     The development hereby permitted shall not be brought into use until the access, turning area, cycle parking and vehicle parking facilities shown on the approved drawings have been properly consolidated, surfaced, drained and otherwise constructed in accordance with details to be submitted and approved in writing to the Planning Authority and these areas shall thereafter be retained and kept available for those users at all times;

 

m)  The development hereby permitted shall be brought into use in accordance with the submitted travel plan which promotes sustainable forms of access to the site. This plan shall be implemented and updated in agreement with Worcestershire County Council's Travel Plan Co-ordinator;

 

n)    Prior to the development being brought into use, 2 car parking spaces shall be provided on the site which are equipped to charge electric vehicles.  Details of their locations shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority. The approved spaces shall be identified and reserved solely for that purpose and shall be made available prior to the developments occupation;

 

      Drainage

o)    Prior to the commencement of development, details of the three mitigation measures in the Flood Risk Assessment should be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority. The mitigation measures shall deal with the residual surface water flood risk, setting appropriate minimum proposed ground floor levels, incorporate flood proofing measures and include an effective Flood Evacuation Management Plan (FEMP) to ensure safe access and egress from the site. The mitigation measures shall be carried out in accordance with the approved scheme;

 

p)    Prior to the commencement of development, a SuDS management plan which will include details on future management responsibilities, along with maintenance schedules for all SuDS features and associated pipework should be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority. This plan shall detail the strategy that will be followed to facilitate the optimal functionality and performance of the SuDS scheme throughout its lifetime. The approved SuDS management plan shall be implemented in full in accordance with the approved details;

 

q)    Prior to the commencement of development, drainage plans for the disposal of foul and surface water flows should be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority. The scheme shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details before the development is first brought into use;

 

      Landscaping

r)     Notwithstanding the submitted details, prior to the commencement of the development hereby approved a landscaping scheme, which shall include the retention of any existing trees and hedgerows and details of all new trees, shrubs and other planting, and details of the proposed planting species, sizes, spacing, densities, locations, planting methods and details of the provision of adequate growing medium and drainage shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority. The scheme shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details within 6 months of the completion of the development.  Any new trees or shrubs, which within a period of five years from the completion of the planting die, are removed, or become damaged or diseased, shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species; and

 

      Contaminated Land

s)    No development shall commence until the following components of a scheme to deal with the risks associated with contamination of the site are submitted to and approved, in writing, by the County Planning Authority:

 

i)       A preliminary risk assessment must be carried out.  This study shall take the form of a Phase I desk study and site walkover and shall include the identification of previous site uses, potential contaminants that might reasonably be expected given those uses and any other relevant information.  The preliminary risk assessment report shall contain a diagrammatical representation (conceptual model) based on the information above and shall include all potential contaminants, sources and receptors to determine whether a site investigation is required and this should be detailed in a report submitted to the County Planning Authority.  The risk assessment must be approved in writing by the County Planning Authority before any development takes place; 

 

ii)      Where an unacceptable risk is identified a scheme for detailed site investigation must be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority prior to being undertaken.  The scheme must be designed to assess the nature and extent of any contamination and must be led by the findings of the preliminary risk assessment.  The investigation and risk assessment scheme must be compiled by competent persons and must be designed in accordance with DEFRA and the Environment Agency’s “Model Procedures for the Management of Contaminated Land, CLR11”;

 

iii)     Detailed site investigation and risk assessment must be undertaken and a written report of the findings produced.  This report must be approved by the County Planning Authority prior to any development taking place.  The investigation and risk assessment must be undertaken by competent persons and must be conducted in accordance with DEFRA and the Environment Agency’s “Model Procedures for the Management of Contaminated Land, CLR11”;

 

iv)     Where identified as necessary a detailed remediation scheme to bring the site to a condition suitable for the intended use by removing unacceptable risks to identified receptors must be prepared and submitted to the County Planning Authority for approval in writing.  The approved remediation scheme must ensure that the site will not qualify as Contaminated Land under Part 2A Environmental Protection Act 1990 in relation to the intended use of the land after remediation;

 

v)      The approved remediation scheme must be carried out in accordance with its terms prior to the commencement of development, other than that required to carry out remediation;

 

vi)     Following the completion of the measures identified in the approved remediation scheme a validation report that demonstrates the effectiveness of the remediation carried out must be produced and submitted to the County Planning Authority for approval in writing prior to the occupation of any buildings; and

 

vii)    In the event that contamination is found at any time when carrying out the approved development that was not previously identified it must be reported in writing immediately to the County Planning Authority.  An investigation and risk assessment must be undertaken and where necessary a remediation scheme must be prepared, these will be subject to the approval of the County Planning Authority.  Following the completion of any measures identified in the approved remediation scheme a validation report must be prepared and submitted to the County Planning Authority for approval in writing prior to the occupation of any buildings.

 

Mr P Denham, Vice-Chairman in the Chair.