Indoor sports gym at Units 14 And 15, Imperial Park, Rawreth Lane, Rayleigh

What was proposed

The application sought to change two units from storage and distribution to indoor sport, recreation or fitness, with no external building changes.

“Proposal : Change of use from class B8 Storage or distribution to class E(d) Indoor sport, recreation or fitness.”

“The proposal is for the change of use from Class B8 storage or distribution to class E(d) Indoor sport, recreation or fitness. Use Class E(d) allows for:”

Officer report

Relevant planning history

There was no relevant history for the application site, but a nearby swim school application was refused and its appeal was dismissed.

“No relevant planning history for the application site.”

“Of relevance is the following application in respect of unit 8. Application No. 17/00181/FUL - Change Use Of Premises To Provide Swim School Business. Permission refused 13 th May 2017 for the following reasons;”

Officer report

What officers recommended

Officers recommended refusal because the proposed gym would need more parking than the estate could provide and would create a highway safety issue.

“The previous lawful use of the site as a B8 storage and distribution unit establishes a realistic baseline for comparison. The B8 use against the current parking standards requires 1 car parking space per 150m2 of floor area. In this case for the 640 square metres of the use proposed, this generates a nominal need ( 640 /150 = 4.2 ) for 5 car parking spaces.”

“Paragraph 116 of the National Planning Policy Framework sets a high threshold for refusal on highway grounds, stipulating that development should only be prevented or refused where it would result in an unacceptable impact on highway safety or a severe residual cumulative impact on the road network. In this case, the development would not result in conditions upon the highway network materially worse than those that could arise under the lawful B8 use.”

Officer report

Consultation and objections

The highways authority found the impact acceptable subject to cycle parking, while six letters raised concerns about parking, access, security and employment land.

“Essex County Council Highways Authority: The proposal is located in Imperial Park which is a private road. The applicant has confirmed that most of the parking facilities within Imperial Park are unallocated communal parking spaces. Therefore, from a highway and transportation perspective the impact of the proposal is acceptable to the Highway Authority subject to the imposition of a condition relating to cycle parking.”

Officer report

Who spoke

The committee heard from a supporter of the application.

Members’ debate

Members debated and asked questions about car parking, which the officer answered.

“There was some debate and questions raised regarding car parking which were answered by the Officer.”

Minutes

The vote

A motion to approve the application was proposed and seconded, and passed with nine votes for, one against and no abstentions.

“Cllr C Stanley moved a motion that the application be approved, which was seconded by Cllr O’Leary.”

Minutes