Agenda item

Refused reasons to be set out in the minutes

The Committee considered application 17/01044/F for the development of land to the north east of Junction 11 of the M40 Banbury, to provide a 22,150sqm industrial building (Class B8); two office buildings of 3716sqm each (Class B1);  Motorway Services Area with amenity building, Petrol Filling Station (with canopy, fuel pump islands, ancillary convenience store and food to go outlet) and HGV Parking; creation of a new vehicular accesses off the A361 together with associated alterations to the highway; parking and circulation; landscaping, drainage and associated works at Part OS Parcels 4200 And 1300 Land Between New Banbury Daventry Road And M40 Street From Banbury To Williamscot, Banbury for Monte Blackburn.

Launa Fyfe, a local resident, addressed the committee in objection to the application.

Tom Jeremiah, the applicant’s agent, addressed the committee in support of the application.

In reaching their decision the committee considered the officers’ report, presentation and address of the public speakers.

Resolved

That application 17/01044/F be refused for the following reasons:

1.            In the absence of a compelling and overriding demonstrable need for a motorway services area on the site, the proposed development would result in the loss of a substantial part of a strategically allocated employment site to an unnecessary alternative and less efficient employment generating use that would jeopardise the long term ability to deliver a sufficient amount and variety of Class B1/B2/B8 development on the site and therefore the jobs needed to support the local economy and support planned housing growth. The proposals are therefore contrary to the requirements of Policies SLE1 and Banbury 15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 as well as Policy TR8 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996 together with Government guidance set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

2.            Having regard to the cramped nature of the motorway services facility, the disjoined layout of development throughout the site, the poor integration between the motorway services area and the main employment development, the large architecturally bland buildings, the inappropriate and incoherent siting of buildings and general layout to the development, lack of adequate integration of existing trees and hedgerows together with new soft landscaping as well as the poorly defined and unsightly appearance of development as experienced at the entrances to the site as well as from the A361, the proposals result in a congested, poorly designed and illegible form of development that fails to demonstrate a suitably high quality and holistic approach to creating a new commercial district at the rural edge of Banbury as required by Policies Banbury 15 and ESD15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1, Policy C28 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996 as well as Government guidance set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

3.            As a result of the poorly designed internal road and parking layout as well as cramped structure to the proposed motorway services area having regard in particular to the inappropriate siting of and access to the petrol filling station, awkward positioning and unsuitable arrangements of the lorry, coach and caravan parking as well as the absence of clearly defined and safe walking routes for pedestrians to and from the service building, the motorway services area would constitute a congested and potentially unsafe facility that would be illegible to its various users creating numerous conflicts between them. As a result the proposed motorway services area would not function effectively and the quality of the environment within the site is likely to be very poor which in turn is likely to lead to congestion entering the motorway services area and consequently traffic backing up onto the A361 and the M40 J11 roundabout at peak times to the detriment of users of the highway network. In this respect the proposals are therefore contrary to the requirements of Policies ESD15 and SLE4 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 as well as Government guidance set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

4.            The planning application has not been supported by robust assumptions and modelling within the Transport Assessment leading to what is likely to be an under-projection of traffic generation and therefore under estimate of impacts on congestion, queuing and safety on existing roads and junctions. Notwithstanding these significant concerns and taking the Transport Assessment at face value, it is considered that even with the mitigation measures proposed the development would cumulatively give rise to severe congestion at junctions on the M40 J11 roundabout causing significant additional disruption to traffic flows on the highway network as well as consequent safety hazards where queuing cannot be adequately accommodate within the highway. To compound matters, there is significant concern about the potential to deliver a number of the highway mitigation schemes that are proposed by the applicant which involve significant off-site works that both the local highway authority and Highways England have not specifically agreed to and which if not implemented would lead to even greater congestion and safety risks on the road network. The development would therefore have unacceptable impacts on traffic congestion, highway safety, the amenity of road users as well as the local and wider economy particularly given that this would affect the principal vehicular entry into Banbury. In this respect the proposals are contrary to the requirements of Policy TR8 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996 as well as Policies Banbury 15 and SLE4 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 and Government guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.

5.            Both the proposed primary roundabout access and secondary priority junction have not been demonstrated to be safe and suitable for all road users due to the inadequate visibility splays for the road speeds as well as the lack of adequate assessment of their capacity given their expected use by a significant number of Heavy Goods Vehicles. The proposed development could therefore adversely affect the safety of users of the highway as well as contribute towards additional congestion on the highway network due to the potential inadequate capacity of the accesses proposed. In this respect the proposals are considered to be contrary to the requirements of Policies SLE4 and Banbury 15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 as well as Government guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.

6.            Having regard to the scale and siting of the proposed warehouse building, the prominent siting of the proposed petrol station and motorway services building, the loss of a significant amount of existing boundary vegetation as part of highway works and the 24 hour nature and high intensity of use of a motorway services area, the development would be highly visible from within the surrounding landscape including from numerous public vantage points and would have a substantial adverse effect on local landscape character both in the daytime and night time which does not represent a well-designed approach to the urban edge that sensitively transitions to the countryside contrary to the requirements of Policies Banbury 15, ESD13 and ESD15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 as well as Government guidance set out in the National Planning Policy Framework and the Planning Practice Guidance.

7.            The proposals are considered to result in a net loss of ecological habitat due to the quantity and value of habitat lost both on the application site as well as through associated off-site highway works that are not shown to be adequately mitigated or outweighed by creation of new habitat as part of the development. The proposed development would therefore fail to preserve and enhance biodiversity contrary to the requirements of Policies Banbury 15 and ESD10 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 as well as Government guidance set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

8.            The planning application has not been accompanied by an Energy Statement to demonstrate whether the buildings proposed within the development are of an energy efficient design and construction in order to minimise carbon emissions and meet BREEAM 'very good' standard and neither is there any proposal (or a robust justification otherwise) for a failure to include provision for significant on-site renewable energy generation or the utilisation of District Heating or Combined Heat and Power. In the absence of these details it must be concluded that the proposals fail to take the opportunities available to deliver sustainable new development contrary to the requirements of Policies Banbury 15, ESD1,ESD2, ESD3, ESD4 and ESD5 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1.

9.            The proposed development would result in increases over and above an existing exeedance of national mean air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide for residential receptors in Hennef Way within Cherwell District Council's Air Quality Management Area No.1. In the absence of adequate measures to ensure that this increase is satisfactorily mitigated through additional, specific, enforceable and deliverable measures that could be secured as part of the development then it must be concluded that the proposed development would be at odds with both local and national air quality objectives contrary to the requirements of Policy BSC8 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 and Policy ENV1 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996 as well as Government guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.

10.         In the absence of the completion of a satisfactory planning obligation, the development cannot adequately secure enhanced bus service provision, off-site pedestrian improvements to promote sustainable access nor mitigate any of its identified severe adverse impacts on the local highway network such that the development would give rise to further severe cumulative congestion beyond that already expected on surrounding roads as well as increased risks to highway safety contrary to the requirements of Policies SLE4 and INF1 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1 as well as Government guidance contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.