Agenda item

The Sub Committee had before it a report by the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development which recommended:-

(a)  a willingness to approve, subject to conditions (as detailed below) but to withhold the issue of the consent document until either the applicant has entered into a Section 75 legal agreement with the Council to secure the identified developer contribution, or payment of the identified developer contributions has been made and  (b)  to instruct officers to utilise powers under Section 160(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to make a tree preservation order to cover  (i)  the trees to be retained within the application site, and  (ii)  those trees which also form part of the same group which are located along the boundary of 6 to 24 Hilton Avenue and 1 to 31 Hilton Terrace; in relation to the proposed demolition of the former Hilton Nursery School to be replaced with new residential accommodation comprising 18 units offering a mix of semi-detached houses and cottage apartments with associated parking at the former Hilton Nursery School, Hilton Avenue, Aberdeen, subject to the following conditions:-

(1)  That no buildings on the development site shall be occupied unless the remedial measures identified in the approved Phase II Site Investigation Report have been carried out.  These measures comprise (a) provision of 600mm inert cap within soft landscaped areas in the west of the site and (b) provision of gas protection measures to include a radon barrier membrane and sub-floor venting.  Thereafter a report shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority that verifies that completion of the remedial works for the entire application site, unless the planning authority has given written consent for a variation.  (2)  That no development shall take place unless a scheme of all drainage works designed to meet the requirements of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority and thereafter no part of the development shall be occupied unless the drainage has been installed in complete accordance with the said scheme.  (3)  That no development shall take place unless further details of the proposed refuse stores have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority.  Granite from the demolition of the existing building or boundary wall shall be utilised for creation of the refuse stores.  Thereafter none of the flats shall be occupied unless the refuse stores have been provided.  (4)  That no development shall take place unless further details of the proposed cycle stores have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority.  Thereafter none of the flats shall be occupied unless the cycle stores have been provided.  (5)  That no development shall take place, nor shall any part of the development hereby approved be occupied, unless there has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority a detailed scheme of site and plot boundary enclosures for the entire development hereby granted planning permission.  Granite from the demolition of the existing building or boundary wall shall be utilised for the front boundary of the site with Hilton Avenue.  None of the buildings hereby granted planning permission shall be occupied unless the said scheme has been implemented in its entirety.  (6)  That the development hereby approved shall not be occupied unless the car parking areas hereby granted planning permission have been constructed, laid-out and demarcated in accordance with drawing No. PL-00B of the plans hereby approved or such other drawing as may subsequently be submitted and approved in writing by the planning authority.  Such areas shall not thereafter be used for any other purpose other than the purpose of the parking of cars ancillary to the development and use thereby granted.  (7)  That no development pursuant to the planning permission hereby approved shall be carried out unless there has been submitted to and approved in writing for the purpose by the planning authority a further detailed scheme of landscaping for the site, which scheme shall include indications of all existing trees and landscaped areas on the land, and details of any to be retained, together with measures for their protection in the course of development, and the proposed areas of tree/shrub planting including details of numbers, densities, locations, species, sizes and stage of maturity at planting.  (8)  That all planting, seeding and turfing comprised in the approved schemes of landscaping shall be carried out in the first planting season following the completion of the development and any trees or plants which within a period of 5 years from the completion of the development die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of a size and species similar to those originally required to be planted, or in accordance with such other scheme as may be submitted to and approved in writing for the purpose by the planning authority.  (9)  That no development pursuant to this planning permission shall take place unless the tree protection fencing detailed in the Tree Report by Astell Associates dated 11th June 2013 and shown on drawing HNH-1206-TP has been erected.  Thereafter the tree protection fencing shall remain in place until the completion of development.  (10)  That any tree work which appears to become necessary during the implementation of the development which has not been identified on the Tree Report by Astell Associates dated 11th June 2013 and shown on drawing HNH-1206-TP shall not be undertaken without the prior written consent of the planning authority; any damage caused to trees growing on the site shall be remedied in accordance with British Standard 3998: 2010 "Recommendations for Tree Work" before the building hereby approved is first occupied.  (11)  That any tree work which appears to become necessary during the implementation of the development shall not be undertaken without the prior written consent of the planning authority; any damage caused to trees growing on the site shall be remedied in accordance with British Standard 3998: 2010 "Recommendations for Tree Work" before the building hereby approved is first occupied.  (12) That no development shall take place unless the planning authority has approved in writing a scheme for the supervision of the arboricultural protection measures and works that have been approved by the planning authority for the construction phase of the development.  Such a scheme shall include the timing and method of site supervision and record keeping.  Supervision shall be carried out by a qualified arboriculturalist approved in writing by the planning authority but instructed by the applicant.  (13)  That no development shall take place unless a scheme detailing compliance with the Council's 'Low and Zero Carbon Buildings' supplementary guidance has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority.  Thereafter no building shall be occupied unless the recommended measures specified within that scheme for the reduction of carbon emissions have been implemented in full.

The Convener moved, seconded by Councillor Jean Morrison:-

that the recommendations contained in the report be approved.

Councillor Finlayson moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Boulton:-

that the application be refused due to the overdevelopment of the site, specifically the loss of trees on site; the lack of parking spaces; and the residential amenity that would be provided for the flats.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (5) – the Convener; and Councillors Cormie, Lawrence, McCaig and Jean Morrison, MBE.

For the amendment (6) – Councillors Boulton, Finlayson, Grant, Jaffrey, MacGregor and Thomson.

The Sub Committee resolved:-

to adopt the amendment.