Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director – Planning – Community Development Services.

Considered:-

The Assistant Director Planning – Community Development Services sought to resolve the position the Council would take at an upcoming appeal against non-determination of an application outline permission with all matters reserved except for means of access to, but not within, the site for the development of up to 156 dwellings and associated landscaping and infrastructure works at land at Manor Farm, Chapel Street, Hambleton, Selby.

The Principal Planning Officer highlighted that there was an officer update on the application since the agenda had been published in relation to an amendment to the officer recommendation contained within the original report. 

Members were advised that the application proposed 10% affordable housing, while the appeal documentation included the appellants viability appraisal that considered that more affordable housing was viable.  As a result of this, and since the original recommendation had been drafted, Align Property Partners had been instructed to review the viability appraisal, and they had concluded that the scheme generated a surplus sufficient to increase the affordable housing percentage. Their report outlined a surplus of between £2.72m and £3.52m, depending on the profit level adopted, to be utilised for affordable housing. Therefore, Align recommended, in relation to the amount of affordable housing that a revised assessment take place to determine the additional affordable housing that could be delivered using the identified surplus. It further recommended that given the fluid nature of market conditions, a detailed viability assessment should be conducted at the full application/reserved matters stage to account for any shifts in costs or revenues.

In view of this new information the officer’s recommendation to planning committee had changed to conclude that planning permission would have been refusedbecause the 10% affordable housing proposed was below that which could viably be delivered by the proposal, contrary to Policy SP9 of the Core Strategy and Policy HAMB-A of the Selby Local Plan Revised Publication 2024; but that if between the planning committee decision and appeal hearing the appellant increased the affordable housing percentage in line with the recommendations of officers and secured this via legal agreement, the planning authority would not contest this matter at appeal.  In this event, officers would seek to secure the s106 matters and conditions detailed in the report, with an additional s106 requirement that subsequent reserved matters applications included a viability appraisal for agreement by the planning authority to determine the final affordable housing percentage.

Members noted that the date scheduled for the planning application appeal to be heard by the Planning Inspectorate was 27 November 2024.

Maria Ferris spoke on behalf of Hambleton Parish Council, objecting to the application.

Mark Johnson spoke on behalf of the applicant, in support of the application.

During consideration of the above application, the Committee discussed the following

issues:-

• Members asked for clarification on a number of issues relating to the affordable housing provision and the viability appraisal, and finally queried if the Council could insist that a higher percentage of affordable housing was achieved.

The decision:-

That planning permission be REFUSED.

Reason:-

The Committee agreed with the reasons for refusal put forward by the Principal Planning Officer as detailed above, and in the officer update note.

Voting record:-

A vote was taken, and the motion was carried unanimously.

Councillor Lunn returned to the meeting.