Agenda item

Planning Reference – 211490

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Planning Officer:  Dineke Brasier

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

That the application for planning permission in principle for the erection of a dwelling house at West Cults Farm, West Cults Road Aberdeen, be refused for the following reasons:-

1.     That the application site lies within the Green Belt, and the proposal is for a new additional dwelling. Additional dwellings are not permitted through any of the exceptions set out in Policy NE2 (Green Belt) of the 2017 Aberdeen Local Development Plan, or policy NE1 (Green Belt) of the 2020 Proposed Development Plan. The proposed development is therefore contrary in principle to Green Belt Policy. There are no other material planning considerations that would justify a departure from these policies;

2.     That the application site contains a number of mature and semi-mature trees. To enable assessment of the proposal on these trees, additional information in the form of a tree survey, tree protection plan and arboricultural impact assessment is required. This information has not been provided, and there is thus insufficient information to assess the impact of the proposed development on the existing tree stock within the site. The development proposal is thus considered contrary to the requirements of policy NE5 (Trees and Woodlands) of the 2017 Aberdeen Local Development Plan; policy NE5 (Trees and Woodlands) of the 2020 Proposed Local Development Plan and Supplementary Guidance on Trees and Woodlands;

3.     That the application site is located within the Green Space Network; and is considered suitable as bat habitat and has the potential to offer habitat to other protected species. To enable assessment of the impact of the proposal on the Green Space Network, European protected species (including bats), and potentially other protected species, additional information by means of an Ecological Impact Assessment including a preliminary bat roost assessment is required. This information has not been provided, and there is thus insufficient information to assess the impact of the proposed development on the Green Space Network; European and other protected species and their habitats. The development proposal is thus considered contrary to the requirements of policies NE1 (Green Space Network) and NE8 (Natural Heritage) of the 2017 Aberdeen Local Development Plan; and policies NE2 (Green & Blue Infrastructure) and NE3 (Our Natural Heritage) of the 2020 Proposed Local Development Plan;

4.     That part of the application site is located in an area liable to flooding as shown on the SEPA flood risk maps. To establish the potential of flooding of the proposed development, additional information by way of suitable supporting information and potentially a flood risk assessment is required.  This information has not been provided, and there is thus insufficient information available to assess the proposed development in terms of flood risk. The development proposal is thus considered contrary to the requirements of policy NE6 (Flooding, Drainage and Water Quality) of the 2017 Aberdeen Local Development Plan and policy NE4 (Our Water Environment) of the 2020 Proposed Local Development Plan;

5.     That due to the change in levels between the application site and the location of the proposed vehicular access onto West Cults Road, levels survey information is required to enable assessment of the works required to construct the driveway and its visual impact on the character and amenity of the surrounding area. This information has not been provided, and there is thus insufficient information to establish the extent of engineering works and their impact on the character and amenity of the surrounding area, contrary to the requirements of policy D1 (Quality Placemaking by Design) and T2 (Managing the Transport Impact of Development) of the 2017 Aberdeen Local Development Plan; policy D1 (Quality Placemaking) of the 2020 Proposed Local Development Plan; and Supplementary Guidance on Transport and Accessibility.

The Committee heard from Dineke Brasier, Senior Planner, who spoke in furtherance of the application and answered questions from members.

The Committee resolved:-

to refuse the application.