Agenda item

            (Councillor Nicholl declared an interest in the item, in that she was a Member of the Lagan Valley Regional Park, and she left the meeting at this point.)

            The Principal Planning officer provided the Committee with the details of the application for 3 detached dwellings, 6 semi-detached dwellings and 4 apartments.

            She outlined the key issues which had been considered in the assessment of the proposals, which included the impact on the character of the village and on Lagan Valley Regional Park, the impact on flooding and on traffic, as well as trees and the natural environment.

            The Committee was advised that the site was located outside the settlement limit according to the Lisburn Area Plan 2001 and 2004 version of dBMAP.  She explained that, at the BMAP inquiry, the PAC had recommended that the site be included within the development limit due to the planning history of the site.    The Members noted that the site was subsequently located within the settlement limit of Edenderry in the 2015 version of draft BMAP, which, as Members were aware, had subsequently been declared unlawful.

            The Principal Planning officer advised the Committee that an outline application for a mixed use development had been approved in 2006, with the reserved matters application subsequently having been approved in 2015, for a “mixed use development in five blocks, including offices/craft workshops, restaurant ancillary works and retaining walls”.  She highlighted to the Members that the scheme was significant taller and bulkier than the current proposal but appeared to represent a potential fall-back position for the developer as the development had commenced at the site.

            The Members were advised that 36 neighbours had been notified of the proposals and that 13 objections had been received in addition to one letter of support and 1 non-committal representation.

            The Principal Planning officer explained that two consultees, namely Rivers Agency and Lagan Valley Regional Park, had also objected to the development.

            The Committee was advised that significant supporting information had been submitted with regards to the proposal, covering issues such as contaminated land, waste water, odour, noise, landscaping and the natural environment.

            She explained that the proposed felling of one TPO protected tree was considered acceptable by the Tree Officer as a number of the trees on the site were not in good condition, and that 27 additional trees would be planted within the site.

            She outlined that it was considered that the elevational design and appearance of the dwellings was respectful of the adjacent Ruby Cottages and, on balance, officers felt that the current proposal respected the surrounding context and was appropriate to the character and topography of the site in terms of its layout, scale, proportions, massing and appearance.

            On balance, she therefore advised the Committee that the proposals were acceptable, given the planning history on the site, and that it was considered a significant improvement to the extant proposal.

            The Principal Planning officer provided clarity to a Member on the issue of overlooking and explained that no habitable rooms would be impacted within the development.

            The Deputy Chairperson advised the Committee that the agent, Mr. G. Smyth, was in attendance to answer any questions from Members. 

            A number of Members requested clarity from the agent regarding the risk of flooding at the site, given the objection from the Rivers Agency.  Mr. Smyth drew the Committee’s attention to the Case officer’s report which indicated that the Rivers Agency had stated that the proposed development was outside the 1% AEP floodplain and that there was also an existing 600mm freeboard as a result of infill levels which formed part of a previous approval.  He added that the report also advised that the Rivers Agency had recently contacted the Planning department to clarify that the proposed development would not exacerbate potential flood impact on the adjacent lands.

            The Principal Planning officer provided the Committee with additional clarity in relation to the fact that the Rivers Agency still technically considered the site to be within the floodplain despite infill development which had taken place to raise the site up out of it.  She explained that Rivers Agency would only remove a site from the floodplain once it had gathered evidence over a very long period of time.

            In response to a further Member’s question regarding the pumping station, the agent explained that it was necessary in order to pump effluent up and out of the site in order to reach the main water treatment works, and that it was not because of the density of the site.  The Principal Planning officer advised that it was hoped that the pumping station would be temporary until a longer term improvement to the infrastructure could be made.  She explained that a condition would be included stating that the pumping station was to be adopted by NI Water after construction, and that, if any issue arose with it, it would be dealt with in the usual manner for a breach of conditions.

            The Committee granted approval to the application, subject to the imposing of the conditions set out within the case officer’s report and delegated power to the Director of Planning and Building Control for the final wording of the conditions.