Committee Date: 11/07/2013 Application Number: 2013/03520/PA Accepted: 20/05/2013 Application Type: Full Planning Target Date: 15/07/2013 Ward: Sutton Vesey Land Adj. 63 Sunny Bank Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B73 5RJ Erection of a detached dwelling house Applicant: Agent: Recommendation Approve Subject To Conditions 1. Proposal Mr Gregg Warwick 63 Sunny Bank Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B73 5RJ HG Design Ltd Sutton House, 4 Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B72 1NE 1.1. Consent is sought for the demolition of an existing double garage and the erection a detached dwelling house in the side garden of No.63 Sunnybank Road. 1.2. The dwelling would have a traditional appearance constructed from facing brick work with a clay tiled roof. The dwelling would incorporate a bay column feature on the Sunnybank Road elevation and a bay window feature on New Church Road elevation. To the rear would be a single storey rear projection. 1.3. The dwelling would have a width of 6.63m and a maximum length of 9.66m, with a maximum height of 8.4m above ground level. 1.4. The dwelling would accommodate a living room, open plan kitchen/dining room, and w/c at ground floor, and 3 bedrooms (one with an en-suite bathroom) and a bathroom at first floor. A further bedroom would be located within the roof space. 1.5. The dwelling would benefit from approximately 111sq.m of private amenity space. Along the frontage the applicant is proposing soft landscaping and a hard surface for off street parking. 1.6. The applicant is proposing a timber fence for the side and rear boundary treatment. 1.7. The applicant is proposing 2 on site car parking spaces. 2. Site & Surroundings 2.1. The application site comprises an existing residential plot which contains a semidetached dwelling with an attached double garage, located on the corner of New Church Road and Sunnybank Road. 2.2. The site has vehicular access off Sunnybank Road, which provides access to the attached garage. There are a small number of shrubs and pollarded trees situated Page 1 of 6
around the boundary of the site and the boundary treatment comprises a 1.8 metre high close boarded fence with trellis above. 2.3. The character of the area is predominantly residential, which comprises mainly twostorey semi-detached houses set on a regular building line with open front gardens. The dwellings follow a similar design incorporated brickwork, render and two storey gable/bay column features. 2.4. The site is within easy walking distance to good public transport, including Wylde Green train station (approximately 212 metres from the site). 3. Planning History 3.1. 11 th March 2013 2013/00658/PA Erection of 1no. 4 bedroom detached dwelling house Withdrawn 4. Consultation/PP Responses 4.1. Local residents, resident associations, and local Councillor and MP notified 10 letters of objections received from local residents and 1 received from Councillor Pocock. 10 letters of objection received from adjoining occupiers stating the following: Overlook existing houses and result in loss of privacy. Loss of outlook. Loss of light. Out of character with the area, in terms of design and the new dwelling would be sited beyond the building line on New Church Road. Garden Grabbing. Increase traffic and street parking, which would exacerbate the existing street parking problem caused by rail passengers leaving their cars on Sunnybank Road and New Church Road. A large mature tree fronting No. 63 has been felled and the removal of the remaining stump and root system may affect the proposed development in terms of providing two car parking spaces for this property. The footprint would be larger than other dwellings in the local area The immediate vicinity has a sewage problem and the current system cannot cope with heavy rainfall/ flooding. The plans are not suitable or accurate. The proposal is a money making scheme and would not benefit the community. Councillor Pocock objects on the following grounds: The proposed dwelling would appear out of character. The new dwelling would extend beyond the building line along New Church Road. The proposal would result in an over intensive corner development. Loss of off street parking which would result in parking congestion on the surrounding roads. Transportation no objection subject to conditions for pedestrian visibility splay, details of hard surfacing, and installation of new footway crossing. Page 2 of 6
Regulatory Services no objection subject to condition for noise insulation at glazed areas. Severn Trent no objection subject to condition for a sustainable drainage system. West Midlands Fire Service no objection. 5. Policy Context 5.1. The following local planning policies are applicable: Birmingham UDP Draft Birmingham Development Plan Places for Living Mature Suburbs SPD The following national planning policy is applicable: The National Planning Policy Framework 6. Planning Considerations 6.1. The proposal should be assessed against the objectives of the policy context set out above. 6.2. The main issues for consideration are whether the proposed development would provide a satisfactory residential amenity for future occupiers, and whether it would have a detrimental impact on the character of the local area, on the amenity of local residents and upon highway safety. 6.3. The NPPF states that applications for new housing should be considered in the context of a presumption in favour of sustainable development and advises that one of the Government s key objectives is to increase significantly the delivery of new homes. The NPPF does not prevent development of residential gardens in principle but does advise Local Planning Authorities to set out policies to resist inappropriate development which would cause harm to the local area. 6.4. Paragraph 3.10 of the Birmingham Unitary Development Plan (UDP) 2005 states that proposals, which would have an adverse effect on the quality of the built environment, will not normally be allowed. Paragraph 3.14.D identifies good urban design principles which new development must comply with. 6.5. Supplementary Planning Document Mature Suburbs sets out the Council s aspirations for development within the City s mature suburbs. The document states that building plots should be of an appropriate size to reflect the typical form of plots in the area and the urban grain; the frontage width and depth, and the massing of the main building should be in keeping with those in the area; and new buildings should respect established building lines and set backs from highways. 6.6. The application site is located within an established residential area in a sustainable and accessible location. There are no site constraints that would prevent development of this site, I therefore consider that the proposed development is acceptable in principle. Page 3 of 6
6.7. The local area is residential and has a consistent pattern and style of development along both Sunnybank Road and New Church Road. The existing dwellings are twostoreys in height and set on a regular building line, set back from the road with open frontages, which provides a coherent and spacious street scene. 6.8. The proposed dwelling would partly occupy the footprint of an existing double garage to the side of No. 63 Sunnybank Road, which would be demolished. The dwelling would be set back from the street, respecting the existing building line along Sunnybank Road, with a driveway in front where there is an existing drive way access to the garages. The plot size and shape for the existing and proposed dwellings would be generally consistent with those in the area. 6.9. I note that the proposed dwelling would bring the building line closer to New Church Road, however even at its closest there would still be a distance of 2.5m to the boundary. There also would be a distance of some 19m from the northwest corner of the proposed dwelling and No.48 New Church Road. I consider that the siting of the proposed dwelling is acceptable as it would retain the harmony on Sunnybank Road and would not have an adverse effect on the street scene on New Church Road given there would be a degree of visual separation from the dwellings along the southern side of New Church Road. 6.10. The proposed dwelling includes typical architectural features such as a bay column feature, bay window and hipped roof design to reflect the characteristics of existing properties in the area. The dwelling would also have a double frontage to ensure added architectural interest on the corner. The building form, scale and massing responds well to the local character of the area. I therefore consider that the proposed development would respect the existing pattern of development in this mature residential suburb in line with policies 3.8, 3.10 and 3.14 of the adopted UDP 2005, NPPF and guidance contained within Places for Living SPG and Mature Suburbs SPD. 6.11. There would be no impact on neighbouring dwellings in terms of overshadowing and overlooking. 6.12. The proposed bedrooms would exceed minimum bedroom sizes set out in Places for Living, and the dwelling would provide a high quality living environment for future occupiers. The rear garden for both the existing and proposed properties would also exceed numerical guidelines for family size rear gardens outlined in Places for Living. The rear garden would be made private by appropriate boundary treatment and the main entrance door and car parking area for the proposed dwelling would be well overlooked from the public realm. 6.13. Concerns have been raised by adjoining residents about the proposed development increasing the existing on-street car parking and traffic problem in the area, which is exacerbated by rail passengers parking on the street to walk to the nearby Wylde Green train station. The existing and proposed dwelling would provide 100% parking which is considered acceptable by Transportation Development. Transportation Development also note that there are no traffic regulation orders enforced on the local highway at or around the site. 6.14. I do not consider that the traffic generated by the addition of one dwelling would result in a detrimental impact on the free flow of traffic or on highway safety. Page 4 of 6
6.15. I have attached conditions recommended by Transportation Development to ensure the new footway crossing and the proposed car parking area is constructed prior to the first occupation of the new dwelling. 7. Conclusion 7.1. I consider that the proposed development would not harm the local character and would provide satisfactory living conditions for future occupiers of the dwelling. It would not have a detrimental impact on the amenities of existing residents in the area or on highway safety. As such, the proposed development complies with policies 3.8, 3.10, 3.14 and 5.20 of the adopted UDP 2005, Mature Suburbs SPD and the NPPF, which all seek to protect and enhance what is good in the built environment. 8. Recommendation 8.1. Approve subject to the following conditions: 1 Requires the prior submission of sample materials 2 Requires the prior submission of boundary treatment details 3 Requires the prior submission of hard and/or soft landscape details 4 Requires the prior submission of hard surfacing materials 5 Requires the prior submission details obscure glazing for specific areas of the approved building 6 Requires the prior submission of drainage details 7 Requires the prior submission and completion of works for the S278/TRO Agreement 8 Requires pedestrian visibility splays to be provided 9 Requires the scheme to be in accordance with the listed approved plans 10 Limits the approval to 3 years (Full) Reason for Approval 1 Birmingham City Council grants Planning Permission subject to the condition(s) listed below (if appropriate). The reason for granting permission is because the development is in accordance with: Policies 5.7-5.40 of the Birmingham Unitary Development Plan 2005; Places for Living (2001), which has been adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance; and the National Planning Policy Framework. Case Officer: Bhupinder Thandi Page 5 of 6
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18 84 APPENDIX STATION ROA N 193 189 73 SUNNYBANK ROAD 96 65 30 26a 28 55 57 129.2m 88 49 26 63 37 48 BUXTON ROAD 19 34 16 Allotment G 72 49 11 17 15 130.5m 4 This map is reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Surveyon behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.birmingham City Council. Licence No.100021326, 2009 ROAD SCALE 1:1250 Land Adj. 63 Sunny Bank Road Sutton Coldfield Birmingham B73 5RJ 2013/03520/PA This map is reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Surveyon behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.birmingham City Council. Licence No.100021326, 2009 Statutory Listed Building Locally Listed Buildings Conservation Area Neighbourhood Offices Site Boundary Site Location Development Directorate 1 Lancaster Circus Queensway Birmingham B2 2JE. Date:25/9/2007 SCALE 1:5000 Birmingham City Council