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Local Review Body - 26/04/2011

At a MEETING of the LOCAL REVIEW BODY held at Dundee on 26th April, 2011.

 

Present:-

 

Councillor David BOWES

 

Councillor Christina ROBERTS

 

Councillor Tom FERGUSON

 

Councillor David BOWES, in the Chair.

 

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting and briefly outlined the role of the Local Review Body and officers, in particular advising that, although the Planning Adviser was an employee of the Planning Authority, he had not been involved in the determination of the case under review and was present to provide factual information and guidance only.

 

I MINUTE OF MEETING OF LOCAL REVIEW BODY OF 25TH MARCH, 2011

 

The minute of the above meeting was submitted and noted.

 

II REQUEST FOR REVIEW - LR4/11 - 25 TO 29 MURRAYGATE, DUNDEE

 

There was submitted Agenda Note AN60-2011 giving details of a request for a review of the refusal of planning permission for change of use from Class 1 to Class 2 (Bank/Building Society) at 25 to 29 Murraygate, Dundee.

 

The Planning Adviser gave a brief outline of the application and the reasons for the refusal.

 

Thereafter, the Legal Adviser advised of the undernoted procedural/legal issues which required to be considered by the Local Review Body:-

 

The applicant had indicated in the Notice of Review that new material had been submitted with the Notice. The new information was in respect of the most recent levels of vacancies and retail demand in Dundee and also contained evidence of visits to other HSBC branches undertaken on 18th and 19th March, 2011. It was advised that this additional information was provided in order to address the reasons that the application had been refused. Further photographs had been submitted by the applicant in an attachment to an e-mail of 29th March, 2011. According to the e-mail, these were to facilitate the Local Review Body in reaching a decision without the need to undertake a site visit. These photographs had been placed with the Review documents.

 

In terms of Section 43B(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended, in a review, a party to the proceedings was not to raise any matter which was not before the appointed person at the time the determination reviewed was made, unless that party could demonstrate that the matter could not have been raised before that time, or that its not being raised before that time was a consequence of exceptional circumstances. If either of these tests were met, then the Local Review Body should take the new information into consideration in reaching its decision.

 

In any event, in terms of Section 43B(2) of the 1997 Act, as amended, the Local Review Body was required in reaching its decision, to have regard to the provisions of the development plan and any other material considerations. Therefore, if the Local Review Body considered that the new information contained material considerations, it was required to take these into account. If not, and if neither of the criteria in terms of sub-section (1) was met, the new information should not be considered.

 

The Local Review Body agreed with the view of the Legal Adviser, which was that the new material referred to in the application for review should be taken into consideration and nothing should be ruled out at this stage.

 

Thereafter, the Local Review Body considered whether it felt that it had sufficient information before it to determine the review at that time, or whether it required any further information. Members noted that the applicant had requested that the review be undertaken on the basis of one or more hearing sessions.

 

The Local Review Body considered the documentation submitted and, after discussion, agreed to request further written submissions in respect of the undernoted matters under the provisions of Regulations 13 and 15 of the Town and Country Planning (Schemes of Delegation and Local Review) Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2008 from the following individuals:-

 

From the Appointed Officer

 

(i) Application Plans - Identification of the application plans and the plans that were to be regarded as illustrative only;

 

(ii) Evidence of Marketing - Comment on the letter contained in Appendix 5 of the Review Statement, in respect of the marketing of the property and its future letting prospects in light of information provided regarding vacant units in the city centre;

 

(iii) Consideration of Alternative Premises - Comment on the assessment of alternative premises for HSBC undertaken by CBRE and forming Appendix 4 of the Review Statement; and

 

(iv) Retail to Non-Retail uses within the Retail Core - Comment on the assessment of the percentage of retail to non-retail uses within the Retail Core area as set out on Page 16 and Appendix 3 of the Review Statement.

 

From the Applicant

 

(i) Application Plans - Identification of the application plans and the plans that were to be regarded as illustrative only; and

 

(ii) Change in Circumstances - Details of all relevant alterations in circumstances in relation to site search, vacancy and marketing since the application for review had been submitted.

 

The Local Review Body also agreed to hold an accompanied site visit on Monday, 23rd May, 2011 at 10.00 am.

 

III REQUEST FOR REVIEW - LR2/11 - DUKES CORNER PUBLIC HOUSE, 13‑15 BROWN STREET,DUNDEE

 

There was submitted Agenda Note AN61-2011 making reference to Article II of the minute of meeting of the Local Review Body of 25th March, 2011, wherein details had been submitted of a request for a review of the refusal of an application under Section 42 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1997, as amended, to vary Condition 2 of Planning Application 09/00693/FULL, to extend the hours of operation of the outdoor seating area, for Mr Gary Thomson.

 

The Local Review Body had requested further written submissions which had been provided and circulated. It had also requested an accompanied site visit which had taken place on 18th April, 2011.

 

The Local Review Body agreed, in terms of the Local Review Procedure Regulations, to determine the review without further procedure on the basis of the information before it.

 

Thereafter, having considered all the information, the Local Review Body upheld the decision of the Appointed Officer to refuse planning permission. This was on the grounds that:-

 

(i) the proposed extension of the hours of operation of the external beer garden contravenes Policy 1, Vibrant and Sustainable Communities of the Dundee Local Plan Review 2005, due to the unacceptable impact on the amenity of nearby residences as a result of noise disturbance and there are no material considerations which would justify the approval of the application contrary to the provisions of the development plan.

 

IV REQUEST FOR REVIEW - LR3/11 - FLAT 1/0, 87 COMMERCIAL STREET, DUNDEE

 

There was submitted Agenda Note AN62-2011 making reference to Article III of the minute of meeting of the Local Review Body of 25th March, 2011, wherein details had been submitted of a request for a review of the refusal of planning permission for the change of use from office to five bedroom house of multiple occupancy, for Mr Robert Bruce.

 

The Local Review Body had requested further written submissions which had been provided and circulated. It had also requested an accompanied site visit which had taken place on 18th April, 2011. In addition, it had agreed to publish a notice in the form set out in Schedule 4 to the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Regulation 20(d) in a newspaper circulating in the locality. This had been done and no further representations had been received.

 

The Local Review Body agreed, in terms of the Local Review Procedure Regulations, to determine the review without further procedure on the basis of the information before it.

 

Thereafter, having considered all the information, the Local Review Body reversed the determination of the Appointed Officer, upheld the review and granted planning permission subject to the conditions that:-

 

(i) the measures to deal with road traffic noise set out in paragraphs 6.5 to 6.9 of the Acoustic Assessment: 87 Commercial Street, Dundee by RMP dated 16th March, 2010 shall be fully implemented and a verification report by an appropriately qualified structural engineer indicating that these measures have been carried out shall be submitted to the Council for approval prior to the occupation of the proposed HMO; and

 

(ii) in order to achieve appropriate acoustic separation between the proposed HMO and the pub/restaurant, the measures set out as Option 1 in paragraphs 8.9 and 8.10, along with the advice set out in paragraphs 8.15 to 8.24 of the Acoustic Assessment: 87 Commercial Street, Dundee by RMP dated 16th March, 2010, shall be fully implemented and a verification report by an appropriately qualified structural engineer indicating that these measures have been carried out shall be submitted to the Council for approval prior to the occupation of the proposed HMO.

 

 

 

 

David BOWES, Chairman.