SPRU (and KADA) have been appointed to prepare an Infrastructure Plan for the D2N2 LEP which covers Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The project will identify current gaps in key infrastructure to deliver the housing and job growth aspirations for the D2N2 area as defined in the existing Strategic Economic Plan and Local Plans of the constituent planning authorities.
May 2018
City Centre Conservation Area Redevelopment Scheme
Jim Lomas has led the DLP Planning team in securing planning permission for a seven storey building (plus a basement), with 63 student bedrooms in 13 clusters on the upper floors and a restaurant / café on the ground floor. The site is within Sheffield City Centre and was recommended for refusal by Officers due to the scale and massing of the scheme but this was overturned at Planning Committee by Councillors following a presentation by Jim which identified other developments in the locality which had changes the character of buildings heights and redevelopment would be an improvement to the Conservation Area. Councillors unanimously approved the scheme.
Planning permission secured for two new dwellings in the Green Belt
DLP Planning Ltd (DLP) successfully secured full planning permission for two new dwellings in the Green Belt at planning committee last week, against the Case Officer’s recommendation for refusal. The application site forms part of the landscaped grounds of The Chalet, a large detached Victorian property to the north east of Alveston, South Gloucestershire.
Working in collaboration with Willmore Iles Architects, a high-quality scheme for two detached four bedroom dwellings was produced, making an efficient and imaginative use of the site, whilst protecting the amenity of neighbouring residents.
The site provided a number of significant planning constraints, including its location outside the settlement boundary of Alveston and within the Green Belt. DLP successfully argued that the proposal would constitute limited infilling within the village under NPPF Paragraph 89, because:
- It is located within the built up area of Alveston based on the facts on the ground;
- It would be consistent with other permissions considered infill by this committee; and
- It represents limited harm to the openness of the Green Belt.
The Council’s Core Strategy suggests infill is “The development of a relatively small gap between existing buildings, normally within a built up area”, however DLP argued that the definition was too simplistic to define infill and preserve the openness of the Green Belt.
DLP contended that simplistic guidance based solely on the size of the gap allowed development on sites that represent harmful visible intrusions into the countryside as appropriate infill. Whereas sites that have a negligible impact on openness aren’t considered to be infill simply because the gap is wider than what officers would consider to be “a relatively small gap”. It was argued that what constitutes infill is much more complicated than just the size of the gap and that the facts on the ground, containment, visual intrusion and impact on the character of the settlement should all inform criteria to determine what constitutes infill within a village.
The Planning Committee supported DLP’s view and granted approval.
Image courtesy of Willmore Iles Architects