90 affordable homes at Silver Cottage, Brandon, Durham

The site and surroundings

The 3.8-hectare site was a cleared former 121-home estate in Brandon, sloping by 20 metres and bounded by roads on three sides.

“7 The application site measures approximately 3.8 hectares in area and is located within the settlement of Brandon, surrounded by a mix of bungalows and two-storey houses. The site itself formerly contained 121 no. homes that included a mix of bungalows, flats and houses, but these are all now demolished with the site largely cleared and left to grass. The site is steeply sloped and falls some 20 metres north west to south east across the length of the site.”

“8 The site is tightly bounded by adopted highways on three sides including:”

Officer report

Why officers supported it

Officers considered the site highly sustainable and found that housing, design, highway, drainage and biodiversity benefits outweighed limited policy conflicts.

“Based on the above assessment, it is considered that occupiers of the development would benefit from desirable footpath and bus connections for their day-to-day needs. The site is deemed a highly sustainable location for housing, in accordance with policies 21a), 21b) and 6f) of the CDP and Part 9 of the NPPF.”

Officer report

Consultees and residents

Consultees raised no objections subject to conditions and obligations, while residents raised concerns about access, drainage, antisocial behaviour and amenity.

“Environmental Health and Consumer Protection (Nuisance) – No objections raised subject to a pre commencement condition for a construction management plan and a condition limiting hours of working during the construction phase.”

“Concerns that the proposals included a new road access to the rear of properties 23-24 Lime Park and that this would negatively impact on their amenity. • Concerns with regards drainage, noting the field (not within application site) is often boggy and the extra houses will exacerbate drainage problems. • Concerns about anti social behaviour around the pond area, which could cause serious accidents.”

Officer report

Who spoke

The planning officer presented the application, and the applicant’s agent spoke in support, highlighting affordable homes, transport improvements and biodiversity gain.

What members discussed

Members discussed local housing opportunities, former residents, rent-to-buy homes, traffic congestion, road safety and the existing GP surgery car park.

“Councillor J Elmer noted that there was a highways issue, with both Sawmills Lane and the A690 having a lot of congestion, leading to the junction between the two being dangerous. He noted the proposed development would add traffic to the road and with there having been a recent fatality at the junction, he would not wish for the application to exacerbate the issue.”

“The Lawyer (Planning and Highways) agreed with the Principal Planning Officer in that the issue with the GP car park was an existing issue and it was not for this planning application to solve. He noted that Local Members may wish to speak to Traffic Management as regards any measures that may be possible outside of this application.”

Minutes

The committee vote

A motion to approve was proposed and seconded before the committee voted to approve the application.

“Councillor J Elmer noted the application was very positive and he had been so impressed by the approach taken by Believe in terms of estate renewal and the process over the last four years or so. He noted they had held a number of public drop-in sessions prior to designs being created and asked for views on what was needed in the area, very positive.”

“Councillor M Wilkes noted there was an element of trust with the developer, with the requirement only being 14 homes as affordable housing, though the agent noted all the proposed properties would be affordable properties. He added that other developers would only offer a fraction of the properties as affordable. He added there were also four-bed properties within the proposed housing mix, a type where there was a shortage, an excellent offering for local families.”

Minutes

The decision

The application was approved subject to the listed conditions and a Section 106 legal agreement securing affordable housing, education, SEND and open-space contributions.

“That the application be APPROVED subject to the completion of a legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) to secure the following: • 15% of Affordable Housing on site comprising 10 social rent units (consisting of 8 two-bed bungalows and 2 three-bed bungalows) and 4 rent to buy units (consisting of 2 three-bed houses and 2 four-bed houses). • £70,708 contribution towards Nursery / Early Years capacity.”

Officer report