Local democracy

Agenda item

LAND AT GRID REF 411346 431859, HOLTS LANE, CLAYTON, BRADFORD

The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways will present Document “O” which seeks consent for the variation of condition 7 of planning permission 18/01540/MAF to allow the peak pumped foul water discharge to not exceed 5 litres per second on land at Grid Ref 411346 431859, Holts Lane, Bradford - 19/02483/VOC

 

Recommended –

 

That the application be approved for the reason and subject to the conditions set out in the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways’ technical report.

 

(John Eyles – 01274 434380)

Minutes:

The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways presented Document “O” which sought consent for the variation of condition 7 of planning permission 18/01540/MAF to allow the peak pumped foul water discharge to not exceed 5 litres per second on land at Grid Ref 411346 431859, Holts Lane, Bradford - 19/02483/VOC.

 

The Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways explained that planning permission had already been granted for 100 dwellings on the site.  He stated that the proposal would not alter the amount of foul water discharge as the scheme simply related to an increase in the flow.  He stated there was a pumping station on a field adjacent to the site through which the foul water flowed and that the proposal was to improve the efficiency of the water flow.  The change had been agreed with the Council’s Drainage Services and Yorkshire Water and neither had raised an objection to the proposal.  The previous permission was subject to a Section 106 Legal Agreement to secure the provision of 20 affordable houses. A Deed of Variation was to be secured as part of the new recommendation to grant planning permission.  He considered the proposal acceptable and recommended it for approval.

 

In response to Members’ questions, it was reported that:

 

·         Existing pipes would be used for the proposal.

·         Approximately a third of the dwellings were occupied on the site.

·         It was common for developers to come across issues such as this one as schemes progressed.

·         Development of the site would take approximately a further 18 months.

·         Objectors had raised concerns regarding surface water drainage, not foul water drainage, during the original consultation process for the scheme.

 

A Ward Councillor was present at the meeting and made the following points:

 

·         She had received a number of concerns from local residents in relation to foul water on the site.

·         There had been a survey undertaken 20 years ago on the site which had raised issues in relation to foul water and drainage on the site.

·         The pumping station had blighted the community.

·         This issue had arisen when only part of the site had been occupied.

·         She considered the pumping station was not working properly.

·         She felt let down by the Council’s Planning and Enforcement Officers.

·         Surface water was on the land.

·         Local people in the area knew the local area well.

·         She did not consider the site to be appropriate for the development.

·         The pumping station for the site was not within the red line boundary.

·         Yorkshire Water had a pumping station a mile away from the site and they were constantly on the site clearing it out.

·         She considered the application would get approved by the Committee.

·         She thanked the Committee for listening to her concerns.

 

In response to concerns raised, the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways stated that the application related to the varying of a condition to alter the amount of foul water discharge from 4 to 5 litres per second in order to alleviate problems being experienced at present.  He also stated that planning permission had been sought by the developer and granted by the Local Authority for a pumping station.

 

In response to Members’ questions, the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways reported that he was satisfied that the proposed increase from 4 to 5 litres per second would be able to cope with the foul water drainage from the site, particularly as Yorkshire Water and the Council’s Drainage Service had been consulted on the proposal and had not raised any concerns; that the developer would still have planning permission to build 100 houses on the site despite the decision on the current proposal; and since the issue with the flow of foul water from the site had been discovered, discussions had taken place with Yorkshire Water, therefore the proposal had been discussed with professional experts and they were satisfied with it.

 

During the discussion it was explained that calculations undertaken by Drainage Engineers initially proposed that a flow of foul water at a rate of 4 litres per second would be adequate for the site, but this was not the case and if it was not increased the current situation with the flow would get worse.  Whilst officers could not guarantee with absolute certainty that the issue would be resolved, the proposal to increase the flow to 5 litres per second had been proposed to alleviate the problem with the flow and according to Yorkshire Water and the Council’s Drainage Services, it would improve the situation for residents of properties on the site. 

 

In response to concerns raised by Members over whether the increased flow rate would provide the capacity to cope with the foul water drainage from the site, the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways explained that the local authority had no enforcement control over the pumping stations but Members could, if they wished, ask him to seek assurances from the developer and Yorkshire Water that the foul water drainage system installed was fully adequate to accommodate the entire residential development which had been granted planning permission.

 

An objector was present at the meeting and made the following points:

 

·         At the time of the original application being considered, the developer, Council officers and Yorkshire Water had used their professional expertise to propose the necessary requirements; now they were saying they were wrong.

·         Advice provided previously had been inaccurate and Members had been misled in the planning process.

·         She thanked the officer for visiting the site the previous day.

·         The proposal would exacerbate the existing noise disturbance and smells from the pumping station.

·         The foul water drainage should not exceed 4 litres per second.

·         It showed poor governance to seek and accept professional advice only to dismiss if when it did not suit the developer.

·         The proposal would impact on wildlife further down the valley.

·         There had been no improvements to the existing sewerage system and it may not be able to cope with any additional flow.

·         The developer had shown little regard for the local environment and neighbouring land owners.

·         The developer had not put up appropriate signage to the footpath.

 

In response to concerns raised, the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways stated that a number of issues raised by the objector were irrelevant as Members were only considering the flow of foul water drainage.  He reiterated that, when the calculations had originally been done in relation to the foul water drainage, a flow of 4 litres per second had been considered adequate and Yorkshire Water had recommended this on the information available at that time.  The developer had since realised that changes were required due to the backing up of foul water.  The proposal, which the developer had put forward, was to alleviate an existing problem and allow a quicker flow of foul water off the site and into the existing sewer system.

 

In response to a Member’s question, the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways stated that the size of the attenuation tank had not been raised as a concern during the consultation process and that Yorkshire Water would have considered the flow of foul water throughout their wider system.

 

A Member stated that he was disappointed that a drainage expert was not in attendance at the meeting.

 

Members stated they had serious concerns over how the issue regarding the flow of foul water had been dealt with but did not want to make the current situation any worse by refusing the application as this would be detrimental to current and future residents of the site.

 

The Chair stated that he hoped the variation of the condition would solve the problem of the flow of foul water drainage but stressed that if it did not, and if it was to come back to the Committee in future, he would expect to see more detailed information regarding the issue.

 

Resolved –

 

(1)       That the application be approved for the reason and subject to the conditions and a Deed of Variation to the Section 106 Agreement under application 18/01540/MAF to secure the provision of 20 affordable housing units set out in the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways’ technical report.

 

(2)       That the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways be requested to write to the developer to seek assurances that the foul water drainage system installed by the developer is fully adequate to accommodate the entire residential development granted planning permission.

 

(3)       That the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways be requested to write to Yorkshire Water to seek assurances that the foul water drainage system installed by the developer in its entirety is adequate to serve the development approved planning permission.

 

(4)       That the responses received to (2) and (3) above be presented to the Chair of the Regulatory and Appeals Committee in due course so that he can be satisfied that the Committee’s concerns have been addressed.

 

ACTION:       Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways

Supporting documents: