Nine homes at Land To The Rear 34 Arlesey Road, Ickleford, Hitchin

What was proposed

The application sought nine dwellings, with access, parking and landscaping, on land behind 34 Arlesey Road.

“Erection of nine dwellings including access, parking and landscaping.”

Officer report

The site and allocation

The site is behind 34 Arlesey Road, accessed from Duncots Close, within Ickleford’s settlement boundary and allocated for nine homes.

“The application site comprises land rear of No. Arlesey Road, Ickleford. Access is provided off Duncots Close.”

“The site is within the settlement boundary of Ickleford. Policy SP2 advises that housing will be delivered where it is sited within the defined settlement boundary of such villages. Given that the site is within the settlement boundary, the proposed development would comply with Policy SP2.”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended permission because they found no policy conflict or unacceptable harm, while housing benefits carried significant weight.

“The district cannot presently demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply, and the proposal is for development on an allocated housing site. No conflict with the development plan has been identified. No harms have been identified when assessing the application against applicable planning policies or other material considerations.”

“The tilted balance is engaged, as it is not considered that assets described within footnote 7 of the NPPF would be harmed to provide a strong reason for refusal. The delivery of housing is afforded strong weight in the balance of considerations, and no material reasons are considered to outweigh these benefits.”

Officer report

What people said

Objections focused on flooding, sewage, access, parking, construction, biodiversity, heritage, wildlife, housing mix and overdevelopment.

“- Inaccurate information due to felling of poplar tree. - Lack of consideration of privacy impacts - First floor windows should be removed to prevent overlooking. - Access is not safe and conflicts with nearby driveways and parking spaces. - No safe right of way is provided. - Increase in accident risk. - Removes bin collection point from Duncots Close. - Existing lamp post would be removed. - Access is over the existing fire hydrant.”

“- Potential contamination of chalk streams with run off from site. - Seeks alternative method for filtration and disposal of waste water. - Local infrastructure cannot provide capacity for the development in terms of sewage, rainwater etc during heavy rainfall events. - Advises of potential of site for archaeological significance. - Indicates presence of crop marks potentially providing evidence of historical Anglo- Saxon links to the site.”

Officer report

Who spoke

A public objector, a parish councillor, a member advocate and the applicant’s agent addressed the committee.

Members’ debate

Members discussed unresolved sewer, drainage, biodiversity, housing mix and density concerns, but considered the allocated site’s benefits outweighed the negatives.

“Issues around the sewer connection to the site did not feel satisfactorily resolved. • Members needed to trust the experts and the discussion did not advance the situation. • This was an allocated site within the adopted Local Plan and Members would need a strong reason to oppose the scheme.”

“The remained concerns about the biodiversity loss, the housing mix and the density of housing, but conditions were included and it was important to trust the experts in these matters. • This was a delicate site, and a more sensitive approach could have been taken in order to mitigate potential issues with the development. • There remained concerns regarding the chalk stream in the vicinity of the site and the drainage solution proposed.”

Minutes