Agenda item

RESOLVED

That it be noted that the Committee agreed to:

REFUSE planning permission for the construction of a:

Two storey one bedroom dwelling house at 2 Senlac Road SE12, together with the provision of a car parking space and bin store, with the final wording of the Reason for Refusal delegated to officers with the agreement of the Chair:

The Reason for Refusal agreed with the Chair following the meeting was:

The proposed new dwelling by reason of its appearance, materials and poor quality of design would fail to respond appropriately to the character of the area and would appear as a cramped and contrived form of development with adverse impact on the character of the wider area. For this reason the proposal would be contrary to paragraph 130 of the NPPF (2021); Policies D1 'London’s form, character and capacity for growth', D3 'Optimising site capacity through the design-led approach' and D6 'Housing quality and standards' of London Plan, Policy 15 'High quality design for Lewisham' of the Lewisham Core Strategy (June 2011), Policies DM30 'Urban design and local character', DM31 'Alteration and extensions to existing building including residential extension', DM32 'Housing design, layout and space standards' of the Development Management Local Plan (November 2014) and Alterations and Extension Supplementary Planning Documents (April 2019).

The Planning Officer gave an illustrative presentation, recommending the grant of planning permission for the proposal, as outlined in the Officer’s report.

The Committee noted the report and that the main issues were:

Principle of Development • Housing • Urban Design • Standard of Accommodation • Impact on Adjoining Properties • Highway and Transportation

Following the Officers presentation, no questions were put to the Officer by the Committee.

The applicant addressed the Committee and described the application site. The applicant discussed: site history, enhancements, parking, benefits and housing need.

Following the applicants address, no questions were put to the Officer by the Committee.

A resident, addressed the Committee with objections. The resident discussed: the single dwelling proposal, site usage, character, density, design, privacy, overlooking, objections from residents and marketing materials.

Members questions that followed, related to: marketing materials and grounds for refusal.

The DMTL advised Members that the applicant had supplied an advertisement and details from an estate agent, showing rental marketing details for the application site since August 2021. The Committee were advised that the applicant had also provided recent photos and a statement in an email, providing evidence of disuse of the site. The DMTL stated that officers felt although detailed marketing evidence was generally required, given the site was embedded in a residential area with environmental issues and evolving policy that supported residential development on small sites, change of use from Sui-generis use to residential was acceptable.

The DMTL advised the Committee, if it were minded to refuse planning permission based on design, specific reasons would be required.

During the Members discussion a Member raised a motion to refuse planning permission on the basis of design, stating the development was not in line with neighbouring buildings, privacy mitigation measures resulted in poor interior lighting, it was not a family dwelling and the proposal would not satisfy the housing needs of the borough.

The DMTL advised the Committee that the wording of the refusal would be allocated to officers and agreed with the Chair.

Members voted on the motion to refuse the proposal, with a result of 3 in favour and 1 against. It was

RESOLVED

That it be noted that the Committee agreed to:

REFUSE planning permission for the construction of a:

Two storey one bedroom dwelling house at 2 Senlac Road SE12, together with the provision of a car parking space and bin store, with the final wording of the Reason for Refusal delegated to officers with the agreement of the Chair:

The Reason for Refusal agreed with the Chair following the meeting was:

The proposed new dwelling by reason of its appearance, materials and poor quality of design would fail to respond appropriately to the character of the area and would appear as a cramped and contrived form of development with adverse impact on the character of the wider area. For this reason the proposal would be contrary to paragraph 130 of the NPPF (2021); Policies D1 'London’s form, character and capacity for growth', D3 'Optimising site capacity through the design-led approach' and D6 'Housing quality and standards' of London Plan, Policy 15 'High quality design for Lewisham' of the Lewisham Core Strategy (June 2011), Policies DM30 'Urban design and local character', DM31 'Alteration and extensions to existing building including residential extension', DM32 'Housing design, layout and space standards' of the Development Management Local Plan (November 2014) and Alterations and Extension Supplementary Planning Documents (April 2019).

The meeting closed at 11.03 pm