Planning Appraisal Group - TrustNews Dec 16
The volume of applications seen by the Planning Appraisal Group this quarter has not been quite as high as in a similar period last year. The kind of applications that we have been seeing recently also seem to split between quite minor changes and really major extensions or redevelopment with not too much in the middle. The major extensions are creating large houses out of previously modest ones. We have also seen a number of proposals to demolish a single dwelling, on a fair-sized plot, and to replace it with anywhere from two to four dwellings, sometimes quite large ones and this is not a phenomenon con?ned to Chilbolton Avenue. Over time these individual changes have the cumulative effect of markedly increasing both the average house size and the housing density of the city.
In contentious cases, where we and neighbours have both objected, the new process of engaging in dialogue has produced some quite major changes in what was proposed. One example would be Fell Cottage where the original proposal was to demolish the existing bungalow and replace it with one two-bedroom flat and three three-bedroom semidetached houses on a site of about 430 square metres. We objected to this with concerns of over-development and increased traffic, as did many neighbours. The revised proposal is for two three-bedroom houses with associated off-street parking. Not everyone will like the modern design of the two new houses and neighbours still express concerns about extra traffic, but our panel felt it was an adequate compromise since there will only now be one additional house. Another example is 26 St Swithun Street, in the conservation area and involving a listed building. The original proposal was for a rather grandiose orangery to which we and several neighbours objected. The revised, now permitted, proposal is for a modest traditional conservatory at the lower ground level.
Homes of multiple occupancy continue to be an issue in Stanmore as applicants seek to find ways around the City’s attempt to curb this trend, via an Article 4 directive which came into force on 2 May 2016. This withdraws permitted development rights for the change of use of a dwelling house (class C3) to a house of multiple occupancy (class C4) in the Stanmore area. The Trust supports the City's efforts to prevent whole neighbourhoods being used solely for student accommodation as increased demand follows the expansion of higher education in Winchester. However, strategic balance will have to be struck between the expansion of educational institutions and its impact on local housing.
The City Council is also looking to use an Article 4 directive to limit the conversion of office space to residential space near the city centre. We have seen an increased number of such conversions with the consequent overall loss of available office space, and hence of the jobs that they might have made possible.
Arthur Morgan, one of our panel chairs, and l went on the City Planning Department's annual coach tour of recent projects - see our separate report in this TrustNews.