Agenda item

Planning Reference – 211019

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Link.

Planning Officer:  Matthew Easton

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning, which recommended:-

That the application for detailed planning permission for the erection of a two storey extension with a plant room to the rear, erection of entrance extension with ramp to the front and side, alterations to the car parking and landscaping and other associated works at Albyn Hospital, Aberdeen, be approved subject to the following conditions:-

Conditions

(1) TREE PROTECTION

No development (including demolition or site setup) shall take place unless an updated tree protection plan and method statement has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority. The plan and method statement shall take account of the addendum to arboricultural assessment dated December 2021. Thereafter the protection measures shall be implemented and remain in place for the duration of construction of the development.

Reason – to protect trees from damage during construction. in accordance with Policy NE5 (Trees and Woodlands).

(2) TREE PLANTING

The theatre extension hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless a scheme of compensatory tree planting has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority. The scheme shall include trees at the southern boundary of the site shared with 1 Albyn Grove for the purposes of softening the interface between the two uses.

Thereafter all planting proposals shall be carried out in accordance with the approved scheme and shall be completed during the planting season immediately following the commencement of the development or as otherwise agreed in writing with the planning authority.  Any planting which, within a period of 5 years from the completion of the development, in the opinion of the Planning Authority is dying, being severely damaged or becoming seriously diseased, shall be replaced by plants of similar size and species to those originally required to be planted.

(3) EXTERNAL FINISHING MATERIALS

No development shall take place unless a scheme detailing all external finishing materials of the proposed extension and entrance area has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority. The scheme shall include detailed specifications of all materials to be used on the external areas of the building. Thereafter the development shall be finished in accordance with the approved scheme unless a written variation has been approved by the planning authority.

Reason – to ensure an appropriately high quality of detailing commensurate with the setting of the proposal.

(4) DRAINAGE

The theatre extension hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless the surface water drainage proposals shown on Cameron + Ross drawing A210085-XX-CAM-DR-C-001 (Rev.2) have been installed and are available for use.

Reason – to ensure that surface water is satisfactorily dealt with.

(5) CYCLE PARKING

The theatre extension hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless a scheme for cycle parking has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority. The scheme shall include details of long-stay secure and covered cycle parking. Thereafter the development shall not be occupied unless the approved scheme has been implanted and is available for use.

Reason – to encourage cycling.

(6) NOISE

The theatre extension hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless –

·       Details demonstrating that the noise from the intake duct of supply fan SF/1.02 does not exceed 48 dBA at 1m from the louvre;

·       Details demonstrating that noise from the plantroom will not exceed 21 dBA outside the nearest dwelling on Albyn Grove with all mechanical plant units within operated at maximum duty. The details shall include location, dimensions and design of the louvres.

Have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority. Thereafter the development shall not be occupied unless the development has been implemented in accordance with the approved details and any mitigation measures have been implemented or are in operation.

Reason – to protect surrounding residential properties from noise disturbance.

(7) TRAVEL PLAN

The theatre extension hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless a travel plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority. The plan shall outline sustainable measures to deter the use of the private car, in particular single occupant trips and provide detailed monitoring arrangements, modal split targets and associated penalties for not meeting targets.

Reason – to encourage more sustainable forms of travel to the development.

(8) OBSCURE WINDOW

The theatre extension hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless any windows within the door on the south elevation of the extension have been fitted with obscure glass (minimum obscuration level 3). The obscure glass shall thereafter remain in place as long as the door exists.

Reason – to protect the occupiers of 1 Albyn Grove from overlooking.

The Committee heard from Matthew Easton, Senior Planner, who spoke in furtherance of the application and answered various questions from members.

The Committee resolved:-

to refuse the application unanimously for the following reasons:-

1.     That the proposal would constitute overdevelopment of the site by virtue of the adverse impact of the proposal, in particular the 2 storey element on the residential amenity of residential properties at 1 and 3 Albyn Grove; and

2.     That the proposal would be contrary to Policy D4 – Historic Environment of the adopted Local Development Plan 2017, particularly in respect of the 2 storey element of the proposed extension, and would have an adverse impact on the character of the conservation area due to its visual prominence in views from Albyn Grove and Albyn Lane.