Agenda item

Minute of Meeting of Development Management Sub Committee of 14^th January 2011

With reference to Article 1 of the minute of meeting of the Development Management Sub Committee of 14^th January 2011, at which time the Sub Committee had met to conduct a predetermination hearing relative to the application (101299) by Aberdeen Football Club for planning permission in respect of the proposal for a 21,000 capacity sports and leisure stadium, associated car parking, access arrangements and landscaping at land at Loirston Loch, Wellington Road, Aberdeen, the Council had before it a report by the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development on the aforementioned application.

 

The report contained a description of the site and surrounding area. Detailed planning permission was sought for the proposal which comprised the following:-

• 21,000 spectator capacity all-seated football stadium, which would include changing rooms, training facilities, gymnasium, office facilities for Aberdeen FC, an Aberdeen FC shop, museum, classroom, café, 1,000 capacity home supporters bar and mixed use commerical space
• 1,400 car and coach parking facilities
• A new signalised junction at the site access to Wellington Road and an access to Wellington Circle
• Ground maintenance accommodation
• Landscaped grounds with footpaths

 

The report explained that the planning application required to be determined by the full Council under new legislation which had been introduced in August 2009, as part of the Scottish Government’s modernisation of the planning system. Section 14(2) of the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 amended the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to the effect that where a planning application had been the subject of a predetermination hearing under Section 38A of the 2006 Act, the planning application had to be decided by the full Council.

 

The views of the statutory consultees and the letters of objection were referred to in the report, which contained an indication of the relevant policy considerations arising. The detailed evaluation of the application was then set out in relation to the adequacy of the Environmental Statement; Scottish Planning Policy; the Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan; the Aberdeen Local Plan; the Aberdeen Local Development Plan - Proposed Plan; site selection and consideration of alternative sites; economic, social and cultural impacts; traffic and transportation impacts; the layout, scale and design of the development; landscaping; land use, access and recreation; landscape character and visual impact; cultural heritage and archaeology; ecology and nature conservation; water quality and drainage; geology, hydrogeology and contamination; air quality; noise, light pollution and disturbance; mitigation; impact on residential amenity; precedent; and other relevant planning matters that had been raised in written representations.

 

The report recommended:-

that the Council (1) indicate a willingness to approve the planning application subject to conditions, as outlined below, and a legal agreement to secure (a) the funding and implementation of several transport related measures; (b) the planning gain contribution; and (c) the extension of the public plaza in the event of adjacent land being developed as a new community; and (2) notify the application to the Scottish Ministers for their consideration.

 

CONDITIONS

 

(1)  That no development shall take place within the application site until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work which shall include post-excavation and publication work in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which has been submitted by the applicant and approved by the planning authority - in the interests of protecting items of historical importance as may exist within the application site.

 

(2)  That development shall not commence until a Bird Hazard Management Plan has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority. The submitted plan shall include details of management of the stadium roof within the site which may be attractive to nesting, roosting and 'loafing' birds. The management plan shall comply with Advice Note 8 "Potential Bird Hazards from Building Design". The Bird Hazard Management Plan shall be implemented as approved on completion of the development and shall remain in force for the life of the building. No subsequent alterations to the plan are to take place unless they have been approved in writing by the planning authority - in order to manage the site to minimise its attractiveness to birds which could endanger the safe movement of aircraft and the operation of Aberdeen Airport.

 

(3)  That no development shall take place unless a scheme of all drainage works designed to meet the requirements of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority. The scheme shall include details of the suitability of ground conditions for SUDS and calculations to demonstrate that the proposed detention basin is suitably sized. Thereafter no part of the development shall be occupied unless the drainage has been installed in complete accordance with the said scheme - in order to safeguard water qualities in Loirston Loch and adjacent watercourses and to ensure that the development can be adequately drained.

 

(4)  That no development shall take place unless there has been submitted to and agreed in writing by the planning authority a gas risk assessment report of the potential ingress and accumulation of landfill gas within the application site from the nearby Charleston Landfill site. Any necessary mitigation or remediation measures identified in the report shall be implemented in full prior to the commencement of the development or any other timescale that may be agreed in writng by the planning authority - in the interests of the amenity of the surrounding area and to protect the users of the proposed development from the ingress and accumulation of landfill gas.

 

(5)  That at least two months prior to the commencement of the development, a full site specific Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMD) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority and thereafter all works associated with the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved CEMD - in the interests of pollution prevention.

 

(6)  That the use hereby granted planning permission shall not take place unless provision has been made within the application site for refuse storage and disposal, including the provision of litter bins and recycling facilities, in accordance with a scheme which has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority - in order to preserve the amenity of the neighbourhood and in the interests of public health.

 

(7)  That no development shall take place, be occupied or brought into use unless there has been submitted and approved in writing by the planning authority a noise assessment report prepared by a suitably qualified consultant of the noise likely to be generated by plant equipment installed in the stadium and any noise attenuation measures identified in the report have been implemented in full - in order to protect the amenity of residents in the surrounding area.

 

(8)  That, except as the Planning Authority may otherwise agree in writing, no construction or demolition work shall take place:

(a)  outwith the hours of 7.00 am to 7.00 pm Mondays to Fridays;

(b)  outwith the hours of 9.00 am to 4.00 pm Saturdays; or

(c)  at any time on Sundays,

except (on all days) for works inaudible outwith the application site boundary.  [For the avoidance of doubt, this would generally allow internal finishing work, but not the use of machinery] - in the interests of residential amenity.

 

(9)  That no development shall take place unless a scheme for all external lighting has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority and thereafter the development shall not be occupied until the scheme has been implemented - in the interest of the amenity of the green belt, public safety and to prevent disturbance to bats foraging in the surrounding area.

 

(10)  That no development shall take place unless a scheme for all external lighting to be installed during the construction of the development has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority and thereafter implemented in full accordance with said scheme - in the interest of public safety and to prevent disturbance to bats foraging in the surrounding area.

 

(11)  That no development shall take place unless it is carried out in full accordance with a scheme to deal with contamination on the site that has been approved in writing by the planning authority.

 

The scheme shall follow the procedures outlined in Planning Advice Note 33 Development of Contaminated Land and shall be conducted by a suitably qualified person in accordance with best practice as detailed in BS10175 Investigation of Potentially Contaminated Sites - Code of Practice and other best practice guidance and shall include: (i) an investigation to determine the nature and extent of contamination; (ii) a site-specific risk assessment; and (iii) a remediation plan to address any significant risks and ensure the site is fit for the use proposed.

 

No building(s) on the development site shall be occupied unless (i) any long term monitoring and reporting that may be required by the approved scheme of contamination or remediation plan or that otherwise has been required in writing by the planning authority is being undertaken and (ii) a report specifically relating to the building(s) has been submitted and approved in writing by the planning authority that verifies that remedial works to fully address contamination issues related to the building(s)  have been carried out, unless the planning authority has given written consent for a variation.

 

The final building on the application site shall not be occupied unless a report has been submitted and approved in writing by the planning that verifies that completion of the remedial works for the entire application site, unless the planning authority has given written consent for a variation.

 

(12)  That the stadium hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless details of the zero and low carbon equipment to be incorporated into the development and predicted carbon emissions, using SAP or SBEM calculations, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority and unless the equipment has been installed in accordance with those approved details - to ensure this development complies with requirement for on-site carbon emissions contained in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) and specified in the the Council's relevant published Supplementary Planning Guidance, 'Reducing Carbon Emissions In New Development'.

 

(13)  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 - in the interests of the amenity of the area.

 

(14)  That all planting, seeding and turfing comprised in the approved scheme 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 five 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 - in the interests of the amenity of the area.

 

(15)  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 No. AL(00)004G 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 approval - in the interests of public safety and the free flow of traffic.

 

(16)  That no development shall take place unless there has been submitted and approved in writing by the planning authority a detailed scheme of the cycle storage facilities and thereafter the development shall not be occupied unless the said scheme has been implemented in full - in the interests of encouraging more sustainable modes of travel.

 

(17)  That football matches played by Aberdeen FC, international football matches, international rugby matches and concerts held on Mondays to Fridays shall not commence before 1945 hours unless otherwise agreed in writing by the planning authority - in the interests of the free flow of traffic on the local road network.

 

(18)  That the development hereby approved shall not be occupied unless there has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority a scheme for CCTV throughout the development and that any such scheme as may have been approved has been implemented in full - in the interersts of public safety.

 

(19)  That the development hereby approved shall not be occupied unless there has been submitted to and approved in writing details of the public address system for the stadium - in order to preserve the amenity of the area and to minimise disturbance to the adjacent District Wildlife Site.

 

(20)  That no development shall take place unless there has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority detailed drawings of the roads and footpaths within the site, including the bus laybys and drop off points and all car parking areas - in the interests of the free flow of traffic through the site and the safety of all road users.

 

(21)  That no development shall take place unless there has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority and detailed scheme for the provision of a combined footway/cycle way on the west side of the A956 Wellington Road between the new junction into the development and the Souterhead Road/Langdykes Road roundabout junction. The said scheme shall include the provision of pedestrian barriers over this length on both the west and east side of the A956. Thereafter, the stadium shall not be brought into use unless the said scheme has been implemented in full - in order to provide appropriate and safe access to the development for pedestrians and cyclists and in the interest of road safety.

 

(22)  That the development hereby approved shall not be occupied unless there has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority a scheme for the provision of a shuttle bus to operate a peak periods between the local bus services and the development and the said scheme has been implemented - in order to encourage the use of more sustainable means of travel.

 

(23)  That the development hereby approved shall not become operational until a Travel Plan and Transport Management Strategy, which addresses inter alia, access by walking and cycling, public transport provision, car parking management and traffic management has been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning authority following consultation with Transport Scotland - in order to comply with the requirements of SPP with regard to transport.

 

(24)  That the development hereby approved shall be implemented in full accordance with the procedures, protocols, restrictions and mitigation measures specified in the Environmental Management Plan prepared by AECOM Limited, dated November 2010, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the planning authority.

 

Councillor Dean moved, seconded by Councillor McDonald:-

That the recommendations contained within the report be approved subject to amending part (a), in relation to the legal agreement, to read “the funding and implementation of several transport and potential station related measures.”

 

Councillor Cooney moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Allan:-

Council refuses permission to the applicant on the basis that (a) the development is contrary to the Aberdeen Local Plan which identifies Kings Links as a site for a new community stadium (Opportunity site OP51); (b) the detriment to the local environment outweighs any benefit; and (c) the traffic study is deficient.

 

Councillor Boulton moved as a further amendment, seconded by Councillor Farquharson:-

            That the application be refused as it is at odds with the following policies:

            28 - Green Belt

            29 - Green Space Network

            31 - Landscape Protection

            34 - Natural Heritage

            35 - Access and Recreation Areas

            48 - Sports Facilities

            72 - Use of Appropriate Transport Modes

            D6 - Landscape

            CF2 - New Community Facilities

RT2(4) - The Proposed Development would be easily and safely accessible by a choice of means of transport using a network of walking, cycling and public transport routes which links with the catchment population

NE9 - Access and Informal Recreation

 

During the course of his summing up, Councillor Cooney abandoned his amendment in favour of the amendment by Councillor Boulton, and this was agreed by those present.

 

On a division, there voted:-

 

For the motion  (23)  -  Lord Provost Peter Stephen; Depute Provost Dunbar; and Councillors Cassie, Cormack, Cormie, Dean, Donnelly, Fletcher, Greig, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, May, Milne, Penny, Reynolds, John Stewart, Kevin Stewart, Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West, Wisely and Yuill.

 

For the amendment by Councillor Boulton  (17)  -  Councillors Adam, Allan, Boulton, Collie, Cooney, Corall, Crockett, Farquharson, Graham, Hunter, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Laing, Noble, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart and Young.

 

Absent from the division  (1)  -  Councillor Ironside.

 

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.