Agenda item

Conversion of existing building into 6no. (Use Class C3) residential units with associated bike store, parking and landscaping works at Croxley House, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth.

Recommendation: that planning permission be granted.

The application was for conversion of existing building into 6no. (Use Class C3) residential units with associated bike store, parking and landscaping works at Croxley House, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth.

The planning application and associated listed building consent application at agenda item 5 were considered together.

The Planning Officer provided an update that, whilst it was not a planning matter, the applicant had been in contact with the Council’s Property Team regarding rights of access and discussions were ongoing.

Parish Councillor Andrew Gallagher (Croxley Green Parish Council) spoke on the application.

The agent spoke in favour of the application.

Points raised by the speaker against the proposal included: concerns about inadequate parking, access across The Green and safety at the road junction; concerns about parking of construction vehicles during development and possible parking on The Green; and the narrowness of the access track.

Points raised by the speaker in favour of the proposal included: the proposal would enable a site which had been vacant since 2021 to be quickly brought back into use and would provide 6 residential dwellings; the application had been shaped through positive and proactive engagement; it would ensure that the physical external presence of the building remained untouched and would respect its listing and local importance; there were no technical objections; and the proposal was policy compliant.

In response to the concerns raised by the Parish Councillor, the Planning Officer responded that the slight shortfall (2 spaces) in parking provision against the policy requirement was acknowledged; however, the provision of 2 spaces per unit plus 3 visitors’ spaces was considered acceptable and the parking shortfall was not deemed sufficient to justify refusal for the reasons set out in the report.  With regard to safety issues, the Highways Officer had reviewed the details and did not consider that there were any highways safety reasons for refusal.  The concerns about the access and construction traffic were understood, and a Construction Management Plan could be conditioned as part of the full application in order to address concerns around materials delivery and contractor parking.

Committee Members asked questions about the details of the application which were responded to by officers.  The Committee’s discussions included the following:

·       The Planning Committee had previously resolved (in November 2023) to grant a change of use to a children’s nursery, although that decision had not yet been issued due to the lack of the required S106 agreement.  That application had included a proposal to widen the existing access track, which had been considered necessary to make the application acceptable in planning terms.   The application which was now before the committee did not propose any alterations to the access track, and the Highways Authority considered that the existing access arrangements were acceptable in terms of the current application.  The Planning Officer clarified that the applicant’s discussions with the Council’s Property Team related to rights of access across the land rather than any proposal to change the access.

·       In response to a question from a Committee Member as to whether an informative could be included regarding ongoing use of the site by the West Herts Beekeeper’s Association, the Planning Officer responded that any agreement for the Association to continue to use the site would be a civil, and not a planning, matter.  Addition of an informative would therefore not be appropriate.

·       A Committee Member commented that the proposal would result in enhancement to the building which was in a poor state of repair and would guarantee its future.

·       In response to the concerns expressed by the speaker from the Parish Council about construction vehicles, equipment or materials being placed on The Green during construction, Committee Members supported the addition of a condition requiring a Construction Management Plan.  It was also recommended that this should seek to divert construction traffic away from Sarratt Road, with access to the site instead being from the Rickmansworth side.

·       With regard to car parking, the Planning Officer drew attention to the constraints of the site with regard to the amount of parking which could be provided.  This included the need to protect the adjacent mature trees.  The Planning Officer advised that a Parking Management Plan could be conditioned to alleviate concerns around the parking provision; this could also include a requirement for the parking spaces to be allocated to particular units or as visitor spaces.

·       It was noted that the application largely proposed internal changes only, with the exception of some changes to windows (details of which were required to be supplied by condition) and the removal of an external metal staircase and railings.  Whilst the Conservation Officer had noted that the boundary wall was in a poor state of repair, and the applicant had indicated that this would form the subject of a separate planning application, repairs to the wall did not form part of this application.

·       In debate Committee Members noted the benefits of the application in terms of bringing the building back into use in a way which was sympathetic to its heritage.  A Committee Member attributed very significant weight to the provision of self-contained accommodation; significant weight to the improvement of the conservation of the listed building; but also significant weight to the shortfall in parking due to the lack of availability of any additional parking.

·       In response to a recommendation from a Committee Member that the applicant should be required to reinstate any damage to The Green which might arise, for example, from the use of the narrow access by construction vehicles, the Planning Officer reported that this was not a planning matter but would instead form part of the discussions with the Council’s Property Team about the use of the access track, although an advisory informative could be added in relation to the protection of The Green.

Councillor Lloyd moved, and Councillor Drury seconded, that planning permission be granted subject to conditions, the addition of conditions requiring a Construction Management Plan and a Parking Management Plan, and the addition of an informative regarding protection of The Green during works.

On being put to the vote this was carried, the voting being unanimous.

RESOLVED:

That planning permission be granted subject to conditions, the addition of conditions requiring a Construction Management Plan and a Parking Management Plan, and the addition of an informative regarding protection of The Green during works.