Agenda item

Mixed use development including office, hotel, retail, restaurant, leisure, civic space including car parking, access, landscaping, infrastructure and public realm improvements

·         Minute of meeting of Planning Development Management Committee of 28 August 2014

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

That the Council express a willingness to approve the application for planning permission for a mixed use development including office, hotel, retail, restaurant, leisure and civic space, including car parking, access, landscaping, infrastructure and public realm improvements at the former St Nicholas House site, subject to conclusion of a planning agreement to secure appropriate financial contributions towards the Council’s Strategic Transport Fund, and also subject to the following conditions:-

(1)  That no part of the development hereby approved shall be occupied or brought into use until such time as a 'service vehicles only' zone and associated resurfacing have been implemented around the junction of Flourmill Lane, Netherkirkgate, the development car park entrance and the exit out onto Broad Street, in accordance with a drawing submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority, in consultation with the Council's roads projects team;  (2)  That the development hereby granted planning permission shall not be occupied unless the cycle storage facilities as shown on the approved drawings, or others subsequently approved in writing by the planning authority, have been provided; (3) That no part of the development hereby approved shall be occupied or brought into use until such time as a scheme for the allocation of car parking to respective uses based on their floorspace has been submitted to and agreed in writing by the planning authority, in consultation with the Council's Roads Projects Team; (4) That no development pursuant to this grant of planning permission shall be undertaken until a revised Framework Travel Plan, which takes into account all users/occupiers and includes the production of sample Travel Packs for the distinct user/occupier groups and the identification of mode share targets for the different users, along with aims and objectives for each; (5)  That hotel and office uses shall not be brought into use until such time as an individual Travel Plan for each occupier has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority, based on the Travel Plan Framework referred to in condition 4 and including a Travel Pack for employees and (for the hotel) guests.  Retail and restaurant units may not be occupied until such time as a Travel Pack, submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority, has been produced and distributed to staff, based on that produced for hotel staff; (6)  That no development pursuant to this grant of planning permission shall be undertaken until such time as a dust management plan, detailing dust mitigation measures and controls, responsibilities and any proposed monitoring regime, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority, in consultation with the Council's Environmental Health officers.  Thereafter, works shall be carried out in full accordance with the agreed dust management plan, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the planning authority; (7) No development shall take place within the area indicated (in this case the area of the whole development) until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which has been submitted by the applicant and approved by the planning authority.  The programme of archaeological work will include all necessary post-excavation and publication work; (8) That no development pursuant to this grant of planning permission shall be undertaken until a site specific Construction Method Statement (CMS) has been submitted and approved in writing by the planning authority in consultation with SEPA (and other agencies as appropriate).  Thereafter, all works on site must be undertaken in accordance with the approved CMS unless otherwise agreed in writing with the planning authority; (9)  That no development shall commence until such time as a detailed scheme of materials and finishes, including material samples, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority; (10)  That no buildings within the development shall be occupied unless a Waste Management Plan, including details of arrangements for the segregation, storage, collection and management of hotel, commercial and business waste, have been submitted to, and approved in writing by, the planning authority, and thereafter has been implemented in full; (11)  That no buildings within the development hereby approved shall be occupied unless a scheme detailing compliance with the Council's 'Low and Zero Carbon Buildings' supplementary guidance has been submitted to the planning authority and subsequently approved in writing, and any recommended measures specified within that scheme for the reduction of carbon emissions have been implemented in full; (12)  That no buildings within the development hereby approved shall be occupied unless the scheme of drainage shown in the submitted Drainage Impact Assessment, drawing ref 95814/2001-A, or any other such scheme as has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority prior to development commencing, has been implemented in full; (13)  That no part of the development hereby granted planning permission shall be occupied unless details of suitable filtrated extraction systems, with any terminal point at the highest part of the building have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority and that the said scheme has been implemented in full and is ready for operation; (14) That all building services and fixed plant including fans, ventilation exhausts and inlets shall be designed to not exceed 40db LAeq outside nearby residential properties and an internal level of NR35 between the hours of 07.00 and 23.00 and NR25 at all other times with windows closed; (15)  That no development shall commence until such time as 1:20 construction drawings, showing the detailing of points where there would be a change in the surface finishes (e.g. point where glazed sections of frontage meet granite-clad sections) have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority;  (16)  That no development shall commence until such time as an external lighting strategy for the site has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority, and thereafter no building within the development shall be brought into use or occupied until such time as any agreed lighting measures have been fully implemented; (17)  That the development hereby approved shall not be occupied unless the car parking areas hereby granted planning permission have been constructed, drained, laid-out and demarcated in accordance with drawing Nos. PL-003-Rev A & PL-004-Rev B of the plans hereby approved or such other drawing(s) 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 approval; (18)  That, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the planning authority, deliveries to the premises via heavy goods vehicles shall be restricted to 07.00 to 19.00 Monday to Saturday and 09.00 to 19.00 Sunday; (19) That no buildings hereby granted planning permission shall be occupied unless the areas of public open space and associated hard and soft landscaping as identified on Drawing No. TOWN566(08)5001-R03(or such other drawing as may be subsequently approved), excluding those works relating to the pedestrianisation of Broad Street, have been laid out in accordance with a scheme which shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority prior to commencement.  No development pursuant to this planning permission shall take place unless such a scheme detailing the manner in which the open space is to be managed and maintained has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority; (20)  That no buildings hereby granted planning permission shall be occupied unless appropriate measures have been implemented to mitigate localised wind conditions within the development site, in accordance with a scheme which has been submitted to, and approved in writing by the planning authority prior to commencement of development; and  (21)  That, notwithstanding their annotation as 'retail' on the submitted drawings, none of the ground-floor commercial units hereby approved within office buildings 01 and 02 shall be used other than for uses within Use Classes 1 (shops) or 3 (food and drink) of the Use Classes (Scotland) Order 1997 unless planning permission has been granted for a change of use of the unit; and that at least 50% of that ground-floor commercial floorspace shall be used for purposes within Use Class 1 (shops) unless otherwise agreed in writing by the planning authority.

INFORMATIVES

(1)      Environmental Health - recommend that construction works audible at the site boundary are restricted to the following - Monday to Friday 07.00 to 19.00; Sat 09.00 to 17.00; and Sunday no noisy activities audible at boundary.

(2)      It is recommend that the CMS is submitted at least two months prior to the commencement of any works on site; this is to allow the necessary agencies sufficient time to fully review the mitigation proposals to avoid any potential delays to the project moving forward.

The Council also had before it the minute of meeting of the Planning Development Management Committee of 28 August 2014, when a public hearing was held.

Councillor Milne moved, seconded by Councillor Donnelly:-

That the Council approve the recommendation contained within the report.

Councillor Jennifer Stewart moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Malone:-

That the Council refuse the application on the grounds that the proposed development represented overdevelopment of the site and therefore did not comply with Aberdeen Local Development Plan (ALDP) Policy D1: Architecture and Placemaking; and nor did it comply with Policy D5: Built Heritage, in terms of the negative impact on Provost Skene’s House.

Councillor Cormie moved as a further amendment, seconded by Councillor Jaffrey:-

That the Council defer consideration of the application pending further discussions with the applicant in an effort to secure more civic space and an improved design.

There being a motion and two amendments, the Council first divided between the amendment by Councillor Jennifer Stewart and the amendment by Councillor Cormie.

On a division, there voted:-

For the amendment by Councillor Jennifer Stewart  (9)  -  Depute Provost; and Councillors Blackman, Delaney, Jackie Dunbar, Greig, Malone, Samarai, Jennifer Stewart and Thomson.

For the amendment by Councillor Cormie  (13)  -  Councillors Cameron, Cormie, Dickson, Finlayson, Jaffrey, Kiddie, McCaig, May, Nathan Morrison, Noble, Sandy Stuart, Townson and Yuill.

Declined to vote  (19)  -  Lord Provost; and Councillors Allan, Boulton, Carle, Cooney, Crockett, Donnelly, Lesley Dunbar, Forsyth, Graham, Grant, Ironside, Laing, Lawrence, Malik, Milne, Jean Morrison, Taylor and Young.

The Council then divided between the motion and the amendment by Councillor Cormie.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (23)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Allan, Boulton, Carle, Cooney, Crockett, Dickson, Donnelly, Lesley Dunbar, Finlayson, Forsyth, Graham, Grant, Ironside, Laing, Lawrence, Malik, Milne, Jean Morrison, Nathan Morrison, Taylor and Young.

For the amendment by Councillor Cormie  (18)  -  Councillors Blackman, Cameron, Cormie, Delaney, Jackie Dunbar, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, McCaig, Malone, May, Noble, Samarai, Jennifer Stewart, Sandy Stuart, Thomson, Townson and Yuill.

The Council resolved:-

(i)        to adopt the motion; and

(ii)        to approve the minute of meeting of the Planning Development Management Committee of 28 August 2014.