Agenda item

            (Councillor Mullan took no part in the discussion or decision-making on this application since she had not been in attendance at the meeting on 16th February when it had been deferred).

            (Councillor Boyle, who was not a member of the Committee but was speaking, declared an interest in relation to this item, insofar as he worked in the rental business. However, he pointed out that he would be raising issues on behalf of his constituents).

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 16th February, it had deferred consideration of an application for full planning permission for a purpose built managed student accommodation block, with a height of 8 storeys containing 156 studio rooms, reception/management suite, common room space, bike and general storage area. That decision had been taken to enable the Committee to undertake a site visit in order to acquaint Members with the site and to assess the issues which had been raised in respect of the size and scale of the proposed building, together with its potential impact on surrounding residential areas.

            The case officer advised that after the agenda report had been published, additional information had been submitted by the Donegall Pass Community Forum regarding objections to the amenity space and the Pre-Application Community Consultation Report.

            The Committee received representations from Mr. B. Stoker, on behalf of Southcity Resource and Development Centre and the residents of Donegall Pass. He outlined a range of objections to the proposal which related to the design, scale and amenity space, together with its potential impact on the surrounding residential streets. In addition, Councillor Boyle outlined his objections to the recommendation that the application be approved.

            Mr. C. Hughes, representing Turley Associates, who acted on behalf of the applicants, Lacuna Developments and Watkin Jones, clarified a number of issues which had been raised by the objectors and answered a range of Members’ questions.

Proposal

            Moved by Councillor Hutchinson,

            Seconded by Alderman Stalford,

      That the Committee agrees to reject the recommendation to approve the application on the grounds that the proposal is contrary to the Strategic Planning Policy Statement, in that it has not been demonstrated how the proposed number of units can be accommodated on the site without causing a detrimental impact on the amenity of the neighbouring properties by way of the perception of dominance, scale, height, mass and the potential of overshadowing.

            On a vote by show of hands, six Members voted for the proposal and seven against and it was declared lost.

Further Proposal

            Moved by Councillor Garrett,

            Seconded by Councillor Magee,

            That the Committee agrees to adopt the recommendation to approve the application, and in accordance with Section 76 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, delegates power to the Director of Planning and Place, in conjunction with the Town Solicitor, to enter into discussions with the applicant to explore the scope of any Planning Agreements which might be realised by way of developer contributions.

            On a vote by show of hands, seven Members voted for the proposal and six against and it was declared carried.

(Meeting adjourned for 5 minutes at this point)