Thornton and Allerton

The report of the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways (Document “H”) considers an outline application for the construction of 11 residential units on land to the south of Hill Top Road, Thornton - 16/09443/MAO. The report explains that the proposal involves the creation of a new adopted access from Hill Top Road and that all matters save access are reserved for later approval.

Recommended –

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

(John Eyles – 01274 434380)

Thornton and Allerton

The report of the Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways (Document “H”) considered an outline application for the construction of 11 residential units on land to the south of Hill Top Road, Thornton - 16/09443/MAO. The report explained that the proposal would involve the creation of a new adoptable access from Hill Top Road and that all matters save access were reserved for later approval.

An objector to the application put forward the following concerns:

·         He lived on Close Head Lane. The main issue was the certainty that the  existing properties would flood and the need for a full understanding of the implications for drainage.

·         Close Head Lane was also a bridleway and formed part of the Bronte Way. The Council’s own Rights of way Officer had stated that obstruction of this would be an offence.

·         There was no way of gaining access to Thornton Road for the disposal of waste water so a pump system would be needed to transport it up to Hill Top Road, if this system failed it would cause problems for Close Head Lane and its residents. The Lead Drainage Officer had required a condition in respect of the disposal of surface water and noted the location of the nearest public sewers; it had been stated that connection to either of these would require extensive and complex off-site works.  It was questioned what this work would entail and it was considered that these details should be available prior to approval being granted.

·         Flooding already took place along the bridleway. Close Head Lane effectively became a river and this could happen a couple of times a year.  The properties had not yet flooded but at present the existing fields absorbed surface water.

·         Water would be able to flood into the terraced properties through windows at or below ground level.

·         The comments submitted by the resident of Poppy House explained the concerns in detail.

·         A Drainage Report published in January 2017 noted that the site sloped steeply with an average gradient of between 1 in 6 and 1 in 8. There were no public sewers on site and it had not been explained how the developer would access the sewers in Thornton Road. Members were asked to look at Section 2.2 of this report.

The Assistant Director explained that:

·         Both the Lead Local Flood Authority and Yorkshire Water had been consulted and had raised no objections but had recommended the inclusion of Conditions 4, 5 and 7 as set out in his technical report in order to secure an appropriate drainage scheme.  It was common practice to impose conditions to secure detailed designs.  Surface water run-off from the site would be controlled and this would be considered within the design of the scheme.

·         If the Local Planning Authority was not happy with a drainage scheme it could refuse to discharge the relevant condition.

Resolved –

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

ACTION: Assistant Director - Planning, Transportation and Highways