Student accommodation at Briarmede, Middleton, Rochdale

What was proposed

The application sought to change a former nursing home into student accommodation with parking, landscaping, communal facilities and limited external alterations.

“The planning application seeks full planning permission to change the use of the building to use as student accommodation.”

“The application describes the proposal as student accommodation, but the registered description of development also included an education facility, as officers considered this more appropriately reflected the extent of study facilities shown to be included by on the proposed floor plans.”

Officer report

The site and surroundings

The site is a large detached former care home beside residential properties, fields, Rochdale Road and nearby educational facilities.

“The application relates to Briarmede, a large two-storey detached building at no 426-428 Rochdale Road on the outskirts of Middleton. The building was formerly in use as a care home (use class C2). This use is understood to have ceased by 2020. The existing building comprises bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, and communal halls at ground floor, and further bedrooms and bathrooms at first floor.”

“The front of the site also faces onto fields and towards the Hopwood Hall College campus. The area surrounding the site can be generally characterised as a long ribbon of single dwellings on alternating sides of Rochdale Road with open spaces and woodlands around the dwellings. The site is within the Defined Urban Area and is not subject of any policies allocating it for development.”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended approval because the proposal would reuse the building appropriately and was considered acceptable in principle, subject to conditions controlling its use and impacts.

“For the avoidance of any uncertainty, conditions are recommended to clearly control the use of the building. This approach is considered to be justified in the interest of controlling potential impacts in terms of traffic movements and highways safety, and noise and disruption, which might arise from other potential uses of the site. The applicant has been advised that the application would be determined on this basis, in the event of an approval.”

“For the above reasons, and subject to these conditions defining and controlling the use, it is considered that the proposed use of the building would be appropriate to the context of the site and acceptable in principle.”

Officer report

Who spoke

An objector, the applicant’s planning agent and a representative addressed the committee after the principal planning officer introduced the report.

The committee’s debate

A motion was proposed and seconded to refuse the application against the officer recommendation.

“It was MOVED and SECONDED that the application be REFUSED AGAINST OFFICER RECOMMENDATION.”

Minutes

The vote

Eight members voted for refusal, none voted against, and one abstained.

“On being put to the vote, EIGHT VOTES were cast IN FAVOUR of refusal and NO VOTES were cast AGAINST with ONE ABSTENTION.”

Minutes

The decision

Planning permission was refused because no need for this type of student accommodation was evidenced and the proposal would harm nearby residents’ amenity and local character.

“The applicant references a number of further and higher education establishments both in the local area as well as further afield. However, no evidence has been presented that there is a need for student accommodation of this type in this location.”

“The proposed development would result in an unacceptable level of noise and disruption arising from its operation (including increased comings and goings) and would therefore result in an unacceptably harmful impact upon the amenity of nearby residents and an unacceptable change to the character of the local area.”

Minutes