Agenda item

With reference to Article 7 of the minute of meeting of the Development Management Sub Committee of 13^th May 2010, which had been referred to it simpliciter for determination in association with the main application for development on the former Oakbank School site, the Council had before it a report by the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development on the application (090565) for listed building consent to demolish the former Governor’s Lodge at the Oakbank School site, Midstocket Road, Aberdeen, which building was graded Category C(s) in the list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest maintained by the Scottish Ministers for the Aberdeen area. The proposal related to the application dealt with earlier in the meeting for detailed planning permission for an office business park to replace the former Oakbank School, a development which, if approved, required the demolition of all the buildings currently on the site.  

The report contained a description of the site and surrounding area;  contained also the detail of the consultation response received from Historic Scotland which highlighted that there should be a presumption against the demolition of the building;  highlighted also that the Lodge, in the view of Historic Scotland, continued to be a building of local interest which served to mark the role of the Oakbank site in the education and welfare of Aberdeen’s people in the 19^th Century;  advised of the letters of representation received in respect of the proposal and the views being expressed therein;  identified the planning policy considerations arising and against which the application would fall to be assessed;  and provided a detailed evaluation of the proposal in light of the policy position and the other material planning considerations to be taken into account. In assessing the application against the criteria set down within Scottish Historic Environment Policy, the report made reference to the need for applicants, when seeking to demolish a listed building, to provide evidence that satisfied at least one of the following criteria, i.e. that the building was not of special interest;  that the building was incapable of repair;  that demolition was essential to delivering significant benefits to economic growth or the wider community;  or that the repair of the building was not economically viable. In the case under consideration, members were advised that the Supporting Planning Statement lodged by the applicants had maintained that the Lodge was not of any special interest and that its demolition was essential to deliver significant benefits to economic growth. The conclusion arrived at by the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development, however, was that there was no compelling case or justification for the demolition proposed in the absence of the approval of the main application for an office business park on the Oakbank site.  

The report recommended:-

(a)       that the Development Management Sub Committee indicate a willingness to approve the application on the clear understanding that no demolition whatsoever of the building shall take place unless and until the applicants have submitted to the planning authority evidence of a legally binding contract entered into between the developer and his/her builders in respect of the proposed redevelopment of the larger site in accordance with planning approval 090566 (office business park, dwellinghouses, parking, etc.) with a fixed date for commencement of the works on site and the planning authority has confirmed in writing that such evidence is acceptable for the purposes of this condition;  and

(b)       that it be remitted to the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development to forward the application, together with the detail of the Sub Committee’s decision thereon, to Historic Scotland for their consideration in terms of paragraph 2(vi) of the Schedule to the Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (Scotland) Direction 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to refuse the application as the proposal was contrary to the presumption against (1) the demolition of granite buildings contained in Policy 13 ‘Retention of Granite Buildings’ of the Aberdeen Local Plan; and (2) the demolition of listed buildings contained in Scottish Planning Policy and Scottish Historic Environment Policy (SHEP) and that the applicant had failed to satisfy or demonstrate compliance with any of the criteria set out in SHEP that would justify the demolition of the building.