Planning Appraisal Group - TrustNews Jun 19
Our Panels have certainly been kept busy during March and April when they reviewed nearly 80 applications. Many of these have been for relatively minor modifications but those which were not are noted below.
One to which we objected, but which was allowed, was a proposal to develop the land adjacent to Stanmore Primary School. We objected to the design and layout of detached houses, some only with two bedrooms. However, outline planning permission had already been approved and we have learned one lesson from this which is that much more attention has to be given to outline applications. In general we feel that much more attention should be paid to issues of design, layout and the efficient use of land available and have been considering how to raise the profile of these issues.
We objected to plans for demolition of Prospect House on Magdalen Hill (formerly the Station Master's house for Chesil Station). We felt that if an historic asset were to be demolished a much stronger justification should be provided and that any replacement should fit well into the Conservation Area context. We also had concerns about the numbers of trees which might not survive. In general we are becoming more concerned about the loss of trees in Winchester, since this does affect the overall impression of the city, so the PAG chairs have agreed that proposals to fell trees will be added to their list and that Winchester should be urged to adopt the policy, in place in some other cities, that if a tree is to be felled two replacement trees should be planted, possibly on another site but within the same ward.
We also objected to part of the application to build in the grounds of Goodworth House. The Trust is supportive of the level of local consultation on this scheme and the applicants’ evident willingness to incorporate the conclusions of the consultation exercises into the proposals, something which we would encourage to happen more frequently. Clearly there would e considerable benefits to local residents, the school and the public realm generally and that is reflected in the levels of local support already manifested. So the Trust supports in principle the layout, number and the group value of the vernacular style of dwellings 4-8. But we expressed serious reservations concerning Block 1-3 fronting onto St Cross Road and the likely impact of this large neo-classical block on Goodworth House, no.51 St Cross Road and the general street scene. It was felt that the block was falsely grandiose, too large in height and bulk, and that the neo-classical detailing was alien to the character of this end of St Cross.
The Station Approach application was reviewed by two PAG panels whose comments fed in to the Trust response which is included as a separate item in this newsletter.
We seem recently to have objected to an unusually high proportion of the reviewed applications. There are several in Weeke - 49 Stoney Lane and various Alfred Homes developments around the site of Meadowlands. There has been an increase in requests to remove conditions previously attached to approvals and of requests, made by developers, to demolish existing houses and replace with relatively dense developments. The Trust is not in principle opposed to dense development and has in fact argued that for new developments, such as Barton Farm, the density should be increased. But on many infill sites developers are trying to cram too much onto a single small site without really paying enough attention to the character of the neighbourhood, the layout of the site (including the orientation of the houses), and the quality of the buildings themselves. Often it seems that the motive is to make the maximum profit (which from a developer’s point of view may be rational) rather than to deliver good quality but still affordable housing that works for the neighbourhood. For a planning system to be justified it has to balance out the competing interests and provide a counterbalance to the natural inclination of developers. or others seeking to maximise their profit from land, which is often itself overpriced. Cramming as many (just) detached houses onto a site as possible makes little sense; better to make them well built and designed town houses with fewer external walls and thus better heat insulation. The orientation of buildings is also important if one is to have usable gardens, maximal passive heat gain from sunlight in the winter and minimal gain in the hottest part of the summer, but with effective roof space for solar panels/hot water heating. Of course houses also need to be attractive and imaginatively designed. The likely needs of residents should also be considered since older people's needs are different from those with young families and the facilities required for life in the City centre are not those required for developments on the edge of the City or in villages.
PAG in conjunction with the Trust will be trying out measures to increase engagement with the planning system, as the next few years are going to be very important for the future shape of Winchester. Details of these will be announced both on the web site and in the next issue of Trust News.