Agenda item

Ward

Staines South Ward

Proposal

Provision of a 31 bed homeless hostel for single people on the site of the former White House.

Officer recommendation

To approve the application subject to conditions.

Description:

The application sought the provision of a 31 bed homeless hostel for single people on the site of the former White House, adjacent to the Council depot, on Kingston Road. The building is to be managed for Spelthorne Borough Council by the Salvation Army.

The proposed hostel use is a sui generis use meaning it does not fall within a specific use class of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended), and specifically is not considered to be a residential use.

As such the Council’s policies that apply to residential development were not applicable to this specific development.

Additional Information:

The Planning Development Manager gave the following updates:

11 additional letters of objection were received.

2 additional letters of support were received.

1 additional complaint letter was received.

Para 7.45, page 30 should read:-

The block plan also shows that the closest window within the proposed development, for the units on the north west corner, would be 38m 36m to the front side boundary from the park boundary and over 40m from the rear side boundary to 364 in Kingston Road.

Replacement Condition
Condition 9 should be replaced with the following condition:

1.)The rated noise level from the plant hereby approved shall be at least 10 dB(A) below the background noise level at the nearest noise sensitive property as assessed using the guidance contained within BS4142 (2014).

Reason: To ensure that occupiers of neighbouring premises do not suffer a loss of amenity by reason of noise nuisance or the local environment from noise creep due to plant and machinery.

Informative

The applicant is advised that machinery, plant/equipment and extract/ventilation system and ducting should be are mounted with proprietary anti-vibration isolators and fan motors should be vibration isolated from the casing and adequately silenced.   The reason for this is to ensure that the amenity of occupiers of the development site/ surrounding premises is not adversely affected by vibration.

Condition Amendment

Condition 2 to be amended to include the Acoustic Planning Report, June 2019.

Public Speaking:

In accordance with the public speaking procedures, Martin Shortland spoke against the proposal raising the following comments:

·He is speaking for 500 residents

·The application submission is inaccurate

·The Statement of Community Involvement on consultation has been ignored

·The planning guidelines have been ignored

·A judicial review will be successful

·The site is unsuitable for the proposal

·The road is an accident blackspot

·No pedestrian crossing is provided

·There is limited bus access

·The site is remote

·Overbearing development

·Overdevelopment of the site

·Will set a precedent

·Harmful to residential amenity

In accordance with the public speaking procedures, Ian Anderson spoke for the proposal raising the following comments:

·The application is in response to the Homeless Reduction Act - ambitious targets have been set

·It is a Sui Generis use and will have no permitted development rights

·The Council agreed in 2018 to build a hostel

·Building is orientated to minimise overlooking

·Many issues raised in the representations are not planning matters

·The Council has a duty of care

In accordance with the public speaking procedures, Ward Councillor C. Bateson spoke on the proposal raising the following comments:

·The Council has not fully engaged with the residents

·The location is unsuitable

·The height of the building is excessive

·The building is located too close to the residents

·Road / pedestrian safety concerns

·The site is located too far to local amenities

Debate:

During the debate, the following key issues were raised:

• The Planning Committee report addresses all the planning issues
• Concern over pedestrian safety
• Query over disabled access
• Query over the possible use of the adjoining land
• Will be managed by the Salvation Army who has immeasurable experience
• Query over Sui Generis use
• Concern over the height of the building
• Proximity to residents
• The Council has a duty of care to rehouse homeless people
• Query over whether the site is appropriate next to the Depot

Decision:

The application was approved subject to conditions, as recommended in the Planning Committee report, and as amended above.

Councillor C. Barnard took no part in the debate or vote on this item, due to his late arrival.