Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Bhim, Councillor Neaverson attended as substitute.  And also from Councillor Barlow, Councillor McLean attended as substitute.

Declarations of interest were made by Councillor Foley, who had a historical association with Blagdons Sport Ground (Item 10 on the agenda), his knowledge and association would not impair his judgement, but may prove beneficial to the Committee.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2022 are agreed as an accurate record.

The Chair will announce the order of Items at the beginning of the Meeting.

A Supplementary Agenda with any modifications will be published on the day of the meeting.

Note: there is no written report for this item

The Committee noted the amendments and modifications to the officer’s report.  The Chair advised that items would be taken in the published agenda order.

Application No: 21/P3292

Ward: Merton Park

Officer Recommendation: Grant Permission subject to conditions and s.106 legal agreement.  

The Planning Officer presented the report noting that the size of the roof terrace would be reduced to 89sqm and amenity space would be provided to the side of the property and to the rear of an adjacent block.

The committee received presentations from two objectors who raised the following points:

·         The existing flats are smaller than allowed under current standards

·         The roof terrace was a key factor in decisions to purchase properties in the development

·         The landscaping proposed does not satisfactorily compensate for the loss of existing amenity space, one area is set by bins and looks into neighbouring properties, the other is dark and under residents windows, usage is likely to cause disharmony between residents.

·         The loss of the current roof terrace space is not justified by the creation of just three flats.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Planning Officer informed the Committee that:

·         The land to the side of the property, proposed to be landscaped for amenity use was approximately 8-9 ft wide. 

·         Details in a landscaping plan for planting and furniture are indicative, but there is a commitment to improve the areas

·         Planning conditions for maintaining amenity areas cannot reasonably extend beyond 5 years

Members commented on the application, noting that the loss of current amenity space was concerning and that the new spaces seemed unlikely to be used, and as such the usable provision would be insufficient for the number of occupants.

The recommendation was put to the vote and it was

RESOLVED

The Committee agreed to:

1. REFUSE the application for the following reasons:

-       The extent of the development is disproportionate to the reduction of amenity space

2. DELEGATE to the Director of Environment & Regeneration the authority to make any appropriate amendments in the context of the above to the wording of the grounds of refusal including references to appropriate policies

Application No: 21/P3286

Ward: Abbey

Officer Recommendation: Grant Permission subject to conditions and S106 Agreement.  

The Development Control Team Leader presented the report.

The Committee heard from an objector who raised the following points:

·         There are concerns around safety, the top floor flat has no emergency exit other than internal staircase

·         There are concerns around overdevelopment of the site, this is the sixth application, not including any unsuccessful applications

·         There are concerns that there is intention to convert the outside building into a bedsit, it has been observed that there is a bed in there currently.

·         The plan does not show sufficient amenity space for bins and parking for cycles and vehicles

·         The property is out of character with those neighbouring

Councillor Brunt, Ward Councillor, spoke to reiterate concerns of neighbours about the overdevelopment of the site and the height of the development.  The development would not leave adequate amenity space for the number of flats at the property.  The Ward is already contributing considerably to the needs of the Borough.

In response to questions, the Development Control Team Leader gave the following additional points:

·         And HMO license is only required for more than 6 occupancies, the proposal is for 3 separate flats

·         Fire Safety is governed by building control, and the building height does not require a safety certificate for consideration by planning

·         Occupation of the outbuilding would be in breach of a condition

·         Parking permits will only be available for the ground floor flat

·         There has been a site visit, and the height is in accordance with previous applications

·         The outdoor amenity space is a consideration for the Committee this evening.

·         The outbuilding in ancillary to the groundfloor flat and cannot be let out independently

·         The minimum cycle storage is provided under the proposal.

Members commented on the application, raising concerns around the density of occupation in this property.  Though, the change between what existed and the proposal was quite small.

The recommendation was put to the vote and it was

RESOLVED

That the Committee GRANTED planning permission subject to conditions and S106 Agreement

Application No: 21/P0400

Ward: Hillside

Officer Recommendation: GRANT Planning Permission Subject to completion of a S106 Agreement, and conditions 

The Planning Control Team Leader presented the report.

The Committee heard from one objector who raised the following point:

·         There are concerns about the light loss to Wimbledon Central properties neighbouring the Lidl development, which residents believe will be worse than the BRE recommendations

In response to questions, the Planning Control Team Leader provided the following additional information:

·         Policies do not give guidance on technical matters regarding daylight assessments

·         Disabled parking provision is agreed with the Highway Authority

·         The recommendation is for 59 short stay cycle bays

·         Cycle storage will be provided at the front of the store, trolley storage will be inside the store.

·         The Climate Change Officer has confirmed that they are content with the energy statement and conditions 26-29 refer to this

·         There are 92 long stay cycle storage spaces in the basement for employees, along with shower facilities to encourage usage

Committee members commented that development would be a welcome addition to Wimbledon Town Centre, the concerns about height and light appeared to have been addressed by amendments to the plan. 

Committee members expressed a desire to apply a commitment to disabled parking as part of the development.

The Chair moved to the vote as amended by condition and it was

RESOLVED

That the Committee GRANTED the application subject to conditions and S106 Agreement

Application No: 21/P2571

Ward: Cricket Green

Recommendation: Grant planning permission subject to relevant conditionsand a s106 agreement for highway alterations/adoption. 

The Planning Officer presented the report.

Cllr Kaweesa, Ward Councillor, the application is welcome, however there are concerns around pedestrian safety, particularly around the crossing the road, so the zebra crossing is a pleasing condition.  There are also concerns with parking on Church Road, while shopping, and would like to see planters, rather than bollards, along that stretch of road to deter parking on Church Rd.

In response to the presentation and questions from the Committee the Planning Officer provided the following points:

·         There could be issues around taking up footpath space with bollards/planters

·         The zebra crossing will come with parking restrictions with zig zag lines for 10m either side of the crossing

·         There is scope for more greenery in the development, but a living wall would take up too much space

·         There is no indication that anti-social behaviour would be exacerbated by the store, and licensing conditions are a matter for the Licensing.

·         A condition could be applied to future proof parking development for fast EV charging

The Committee commented that Tesco was a welcome addition to the area, but residents do need to be considered.

The Chair moved to vote.

RESOLVED

That the Committee delegated officers to explore the following additional conditions with Tesco and report back to a future meeting.

·         provision of fast EV charging points

·         review the issue of planters for safety and space

·         review space for a living wall

·         review the crime prevention plan

Before a decision notice is issued

And that the Committee GRANTED planning permission subject to conditions and S106 Agreement

Application No: 21/P2570

Ward: Cricket Green

Recommendation: Grant advertisement consent subject to conditions

The Planning Officer presented the report, noting that the proposed totem pole would no longer be illuminated and the lighting around the store would be equivalent to a domestic LCD screen, with small lights around the ATM.

There were no questions, comments or observations from the Committee.

The chair moved to a vote

RESOLVED

That the Committee GRANTED planning permission subject to conditions.

Application No: 21/P4190

Ward: West Barnes

Recommendation: Grant Planning Permission subject to any direction from the Mayor of London and conditions.

The Planning Officer presented the report.

Councillor Robert Page, Ward Councillor highlighted to the Committee that the proposal included 1000 hours of community use, where no such commitment currently existed, with a commitment to endeavour to provide more, existing usage is limited to Old Emmanuels Association.  Now that the school is co-educational, there is a need to offer sporting provision to both boys and girls.  There are proposals to upgrade the cricket wicket to prevent loss of overall cricket usage.  The all weather pitch is permeable, so should not exacerbate flooding risk.

In response to question the Planning Officer provided the following detail:

·         The Sport England objections appear to be based on the reduction of rugby and cricket, but do not acknowledge the increase in provision of hockey and netball

·         We could remove the condition on cycles, TfL suggest 80, the offer is for 59.

·         There isn’t a remit within the planning policy to increase EV provision to 33%, if we go beyond that, we are open to losing an appeal whereby the Council could be open to an award for costs.

·         There had been a wildlife assessment for the cricket nets, in a separate application, there is no impact on bats or badgers by this development

·         The planting indicated in the proposal fills in the gaps in the existing planting around the boundaries of the land

Committee members observed that there appeared to be a significant reduction in rugby and cricket.  While it is good to have provision for cycle parking, it is not the most cycle-friendly area, that is likely to have a greater impact on usage of cycles to access the site than the provision of parking. 

The Head of Development Control informed the Committee that if they reduced the volume of cycle parking, they could use that as mitigation for increasing the requirement for EV charging points, should the condition be appealed.

The Chair moved to a vote.

RESOLVED

That the Committee GRANTED planning permission subject to conditions (including increasing EV parking to 33%) and S106 Agreement

Officer Recommendation:

That Members note the contents of the report.

The report was noted

Officer Recommendation:

That Members note the contents of the report.

The report was noted