Derry City and Strabane District Council Planning Committee Report COMMITTEE DATE: 3 rd June 2015 APPLICATION No: A/2015/0098/F APPLICATION TYPE: Full PROPOSAL: Change of use from 7 bed residential property to 10 bed HMO LOCATION: 44 Northland Road, Derry APPLICANT: Michael Attwood Asylum Developments AGENT: No agent ADVERTISEMENT/STATUTORY EXPIRY: 04.03.2015/ 25.03.2015 REASON FOR PRESENTATION TO COMMITTEE: Referred by Head of Planning RECOMMENDATION: Approve Details of the planning application, including the plans, can be accessed at the Planning Portal weblink. 1. Description of Proposed Development Change of use from 7 bed residential property to 10 bed HMO 2. Site and Surrounding Area (Site visit date, Description of Site and surrounding area) Site visit took place on the 21 st April 2015. The site is an existing 3 ½ storey townhouse facing onto the Northland Road. Prior to the submission of this application the building was a single dwelling for single family occupation. The site has a small garden area fronting onto Northland Road and on the date of site visit there was no defined front boundary. A 1.5m high garden hedge defines the side boundaries at the front of the building. There is a long rear yard to the rear of the property which connects onto a mews lane. This yard is enclosed by a 1.8m high stone wall at the rear. The side boundary with no 42 Northland Road is defined by 2m high garden hedge. The boundary with no 46 Northland Road is defined by a 1.8m stone wall. The site is within the development limits of Derry and is also within the Magee Conservation Area. The site is approximately 200m away from the Magee University campus. 3. Site Constraints (Flood Plain, ASSI etc) ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE AND MONUMENT-Command Bunker, Edenballymore Site is within Magee Conservation Area 4. Neighbour Notification Report
Reference Number Date Neighbour Notified 1 A/2015/0098/F 2 A/2015/0098/F 3 A/2015/0098/F 4 A/2015/0098/F 42 Northland Road Edenballymore Londonderry Londonderry BT48 7ND 3/4/15 46 Northland Road Edenballymore Londonderry Londonderry BT48 7ND 3/4/15 2 Eden Terrace, Edenballymore, Derry, BT48 0DH 3/4/15 27a Northland Road, Edenballymore, Derry, BT48 7NF 3/4/15 5. Relevant Site History No relevant site history 6. Policy Framework Derry Area Plan 2011 PPS1 General Principles PPS 3 Access, Movement and Parking PPS 7 Addendum-Safeguarding the character of existing residential areas DCAN 8-Housing in existing Urban Areas DCAN 15- Vehicular Access Standards 7. Consultee Responses, Internal/External Transport NI- No objections subject to conditions and Informative provided for Council consideration. Transport NI would point out that parking provision on Northland Road and Eden Terrace is restricted and that approval of this application could result in the loss of parking and amenity for the existing residents. Parking is a matter for planners to consider in such applications and this will be addressed in the consideration stage of the report. I also copied the letter of objection dated 16 th March 2015 to Transport NI for their views and they replied that their comments made in their original response applies. Environmental Health- Have raised no objections to the principle of the proposal. They have suggested that Council considers imposing a condition relating to the provision of adequate acoustic insulation to reduce the transmission of noise between properties. I will consider the necessity of this condition in my consideration stage of the report. They also advised that an informative relating to best practice during construction in terms of noise and dust. Northern Ireland Water- Standard informatives provided NIEA Historic Monument Unit - Have no archaeological concerns regarding this application. 8. Representations Consideration
One letter of objection was received from the owner of the neighbouring flats at 46 Northland Road. The objector raises the following issues in his letter; Lack of car parking for residents of 44 Reduction in access to 46 through mews lane i.e. blocking of lane Nature of proposal will lend itself to anti-social behaviour I will address the above points in my planning assessment as all 3 issues are issues central to the decision making process in this application. 9. Planning Assessment and Other Material Considerations The proposal is change of use from 7 bed residential property to 10 bed house of multiple occupation. HMOs are require a change of use application as they are considered a Sui generis use under the The Planning (Use Classes) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015. The Housing (NI0 Order 2003 identifies a HMO as a house occupied by more than two qualifying personsbeing persons who are not of the same family. The site lies within the Magee Conservation Area, however the application is not proposing any external amendments. The Magee Conservation Area is silent on HMOs, however it does address change and parking. In relation to change is states that any new uses should fit into the existing building without excessive amount of demolition or alteration. In this case there are no proposed amendments. In relation to parking the Design Guide advises that new development proposals within the conservation area and its setting will be encouraged to respond to the future development of public transport in the city so that reliance on the private vehicle will be reduced. In this case the site is located on the one of the main public transport corridors in the city and is therefore fits in well with the principles as outlined in the Design Guide. As such it would be my opinion that there are no grounds for any detrimental impact on the character of the Magee Conservation Area. The site is outside the Central Area of the city as defined in the Derry Area Plan 2011. Whilst the DAP 2011 has a policy in relation to controlling flat conversions it is silent on the subject of HMOs. Furthermore there is no regional policy subject plan policies in relation to HMOs. As the site lies outside the Central Area as identified in the DAP 2011 there is no Area Plan protection for protection of residential stock. As such I believe the correct policy consideration in this case would under PPS 1 General Principles in relation to impact on neighbouring properties and DCAN 8 Housing in existing urban areas in relation to parking. The applicant submitted a supporting statement in relation to the application and outlined the following points in support of his proposal;
The HMO will be for students attending Magee University, which is only a few hundred metres from the site and within walking distance. Excellent public transport access from the site, including a bus stop right outside the property. Car parking can be accommodated on-street, which is how previous occupiers parked. Car ownership is low amongst students. University of Ulster recently published proposals for an increase in student numbers by 570 FTE s by 2016. UU will not or have no plans to build any more student accommodation and the burden will be expected to be met by the private sector. It is proposed to provide to any in curtilage car parking as part of this application. On the date of site visit I noted on-street parking was not available on the Northland Road to the front of the dwelling due to the presence of double yellow lines. On-street parking would be available on the one side of the adjacent Eden Terrace, whilst the side closest to the property would have an 8.00am to 6.30 no parking restriction. However on the date of the site visit this restriction was clearly being ignored. DOE s Parking Standards states that lesser provision for parking may be acceptable in inner urban locations and other high density areas. In my opinion this the relevant test of for parking in this area, as I believe the character fall under this description. I also believe that paragraphs 3.34 to 3.40 in DCAN 8: Housing in existing urban areas is also relevant. Only one objection was received from Mr Paul McDaid, the owner of the adjacent property at no 46 Northland Road. The objection received in respect of the application relates parking and in particular the lack of in curtilage parking in the proposal. Further to this the owner of no 46 believes that ad hoc parking at the mews lane to the rear of the site may inhibit access to his in curtilage parking. In respect of the lack of parking provision I would apply the following tests to assess the acceptability of a reduced level of car parking. The considerations are laid out in paragraph 3.37 of DCAN 8. In effect this sets out 3 considerations; A site enjoys a high level of pedestrian accessibility to local facilities and the public transport network. This is likely to include sites within 10 minutes walking distance (c. 800m) of a town centre or significant district centre which is well served by buses or local rail stations; the townscape character of the area surrounding the site would be undermined by in-curtilage parking; or car ownership among future residents is likely to be below average. This could be the case in respect of social housing or housing for elderly people. The site is located in close proximity to Magee University and the Central Area of Derry. Nearby facilities include Sainsbury s, Moran s Service station and Longs Supermarket and Post Office. The site is well served by public transport and this is evident by the location of a
bus stop outside the front of the dwelling. Bus routes FY9 & FY10 stop outside at the house and terminate at Foyle Street bus centre. The future residents will be students and car ownership is likely to be low. Taking into account that car ownership will be very low and there is some on-street is available at Eden Terrace it would be my opinion that car parking will adequate for this proposal. I note the objection from no 46 Northland Road in relation to the possibility of cars parking on the mews lane and blocking residents parking at his property at no 46. It would appear that this lane is a private laneway and not part of the public network. Whilst I accept that it is plausible that cars may park in the lane, I would argue that this possibility exists from all the properties on this terrace regardless of the approval of this HMO. As such this would a private civil matter between residents. I have also noted that Transport NI recommended in-curtilage would be beneficial I believe there is no necessity given the nature of the development and the existence of some on street parking on Eden Terrace. The objections also raised concerns to the nature of the residents who will reside at the property and in particular the potential for anti-social behaviour. Whilst it is accepted that HMOs tend to accommodate a more transient resident than single family accommodation, I believe that the property is located in close proximity to the university and as such it is expected that proposals of this nature will come up for consideration in this area. As alluded to earlier there is no published policy for HMOs either on a regional or local development plan basis. Anti-social behaviour is a possibility regardless of whether the use is single family occupied dwelling, a HMO or indeed separate flats. Whilst anti-social behaviour is a material planning consideration, it does not afford determining weight, as it is outside the control of the planning authority and responsibility and management of the property is an issue for the landlord and PSNI. EHD have also suggested a condition on relation to installing separating walls and floors so as to provide reasonable resistance to sound. This proposal is for a change of use and the only physical changes proposed are those required to meet HMO standards in terms of building control and fire safety. There is no necessity that I am aware of that requires the applicant to upgrade the property so that it is resistant to sound. In any case Environmental Health have their own powers in relation to noise nuisance which can be imposed if there is an instance of unacceptable noise regeneration. 10. Conclusion and Recommendation Having considered all material considerations before me including the development plan, planning policies, consultations, site history, representations from the third party and the applicant, I would recommend that the Planning Committee give consideration to my professional report and my recommendation to grant planning full planning permission for this proposal. 11. Conditions 1) As required by Section 61 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, the development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of 5 years from the date of this permission. Reason: Time Limit.
SITE
Site location
Proposed floor plans
View of site on date of site visit
View of mews lane to rear of property
View of site from Northland Road (showing bus stop outside dwelling)