Issue - meetings

To consider the above planning application

Prior to consideration of the following item, the meeting was adjourned for 5 minutes for clarification from the Planning Solicitor on declarations of interests.

Having declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this application, Councillors Keegan, Hoyland, Stockton and Brown withdrew from the meeting during consideration of this item.

Ms K Phillips (on behalf of the agent) attended the meeting and addressed the committee on this matter).

The Committee considered a report regarding the above planning application.

RESOLVED

That for the reasons set out in the report and detailed by the Officer at the meeting, the application be REFUSED for the following reasons:

• The proposal would by reason of scale, form, mass and bulk result in a cramped and intrusive form of development out of keeping with the character of the area within which the development would be sited. The proposed development fails to achieve an adequate quality of design to justify approval of planning permission. In reaching this conclusion regard was had to the scale, mass and bulk of the buildings, their proximity to one another and the amount of building and hardstanding coverage within the site in the context of the character of the surrounding area. It is therefore concluded that the proposal would detract from the character and appearance of the area, within which the site is located and be contrary to development plan and national planning policies which seek to promote high quality and inclusive design.  It would therefore be contrary to policies DC1 and BE1 of the Macclesfield Borough Local Plan 2004 and national planning policy PPS1.

• The proposed development, by virtue of its size, design and position of the front block relative to adjoining property at Highfield House, would be unduly dominant when viewed from that adjoining property, causing an unacceptable loss of outlook and increased sense of enclosure to the detriment of the residential amenities of the occupiers of Highfield  House. In addition the relationship of habitable room facing windows and neighbours habitable rooms/ balcony space between the two proposed blocks is substandard. The approval of the development would therefore be contrary to policies H12, DC3 and DC38   in the Macclesfield Borough Local Plan and cause harm to the objectives of those policies.

Prior to consideration of the following items, Councillors Hoyland, Stockton, Brown and Keegan returned to the meeting.