Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Members:-

RESOLVED:  That no Members, who were not members of the Committee, had indicated that they wished to speak at the meeting.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

Agenda Item 12 (c) 2/03 St Johns Road Car Park, St Johns Road HA1 2EF – P/3512/19

Councillor Ferry declared a pecuniary interest in that he was the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Employment and the Economic Development unit, Harrow Council, was the applicant.  He would leave the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2019 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2019 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with Committee Procedure Rule 17 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

Questions will be asked in the order in which they were received.  There will be a time limit of 15 minutes for the asking and answering of public questions.

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, 23 September 2019.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

To follow.

RESOLVED:  To accept the Addendum.

To confirm whether representations are to be received, under Committee Procedure Rule 29 (Part 4B of the Constitution), from objectors and applicants regarding planning applications on the agenda.

RESOLVED:  That in accordance with the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 29 (Part 4B of the Constitution), representations from objector and applicant be received in respect of item 2/04 on the list of planning applications.

PROPOSAL

Conversion of dwelling to house of multiple occupancy (HMO) for up to 10 people (use class sui generis); part conversion of garage to habitable room and bin store; new roof to garage; external alterations.

Officers introduced the application setting out the proposals outlined in the report and the addendum.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Planning Officer confirmed that:

·                     The status of the garden outbuilding remained for storage purposes and was not part of the overall habitable space.  The existence of potential plumbing or electricity in the outbuilding was not considered a breach of planning policy so long as the circumstances remained the same and no evidence of primary accommodation be received.

·                     Effective monitoring and enforcement of the number of occupants residing in the property was possible under the HMOs scheme, which was governed by rules and regulations set out in the Housing Act. Officers advised that concerns over occupancy would be dealt with by the Council’s Environment Services Team and assured Members of the  level of responsiveness and shorter timescales within which notices could be issued should any breaches be reported. 

·                     Whilst previous planning permissions on the site had been granted, these did not constitute part of the current application presented to the Committee and any ongoing site works were deemed lawful.

·                     Changing the character of the property was permissive, in keeping with the surrounding area and in line with the relevant planning regulations.

·                     Parking limitations had been taken into account and were deemed appropriate given the location of the property and access to public transport facilities within the area.  As such they were not considered a precedent in the area.

The committee then received representations from an objector, Khimji Pindoria, and from the applicant, Ash Patel, who outlined their arguments for seeking refusal and approval of the application respectively.

In the ensued discussion, a member proposed refusal on the grounds of over-intensive use of the site, causing harm to local character and amenity, contrary to policies DM1 and DM30 of the Local Plan, CS1B of the Core Strategy, and 7.4 and 7.6 of the London Plan.

The motion was seconded, put to the vote and passed unanimously.

DECISION (Unanimous):  REFUSE  

PROPOSAL

Redevelopment to provide three-storey building comprising of 4 offices and 8 x 2 bedroom flat; parking; bin and cycle stores involving demolition of existing building/workshops.

The Committee resolved to approve the officer recommendations.

DECISION (Unanimous):  GRANT

RECOMMENDATION A

Planning permission subject to the Conditions set out in Appendix 1 of the report.                                                                                  

PROPOSAL

Conversion of dwellinghouse to four flats ( 3 x 2 bed 1 x 1 bed); first floor side extension; three rear dormers; two rooflights in front of roofslope; private amenity areas; parking; boundary treatment; bin/cycle storage; new vehicle access; external alterations.

Following a question, the Planning Officer advised that following a parking survey undertaken by the Council’s Highways Team had confirmed that there was availability of 80 parking spaces and given the less intensive use of flats compared to dwellinghouses, officers were satisfied that spaces were sufficient.

A member proposed refusal of the application on the grounds that it would harm local amenity and provide insufficient parking, contrary to policies DM1, DM26 and DM42 of the Local Plan, CS1B and CS1S of the Core Strategy, and 6.13, 7.4 and 7.6 of the London Plan.

The motion was seconded, put the vote and lost. 

The Committee resolved to approve the officer recommendations.

DECISION:  GRANT

The Committee wished it to be recorded that the decision to grant the application was by a majority of votes.

Councillors Ghazanfar Ali, Ajay Maru, Kiran Ramchandani and Keith Ferry voted for the application.

Councillors Stephen Greek, Anjana Patel and Norman Stevenson voted against.

RECOMMENDATION A

Planning permission subject to the Conditions set out in Appendix 1 of the report as varied by the Addendum to the report.                                                                          

Councillor Keith Ferry, having declared a pecuniary interest, left the room for the duration of the next item. Councillor Ghazanfar Ali took over the role of Chair for the remainder of the meeting. 

Councillor Keith Ferry left the room for the duration of this item.

PROPOSAL

Change of use from commercial car park (sui generis) to public square (sui generis) incorporating five food kiosks (use class A5); one art display window and covered seating area; ancillary storage and street furniture; hard and soft landscaping.

Responding to Members’ questions, the Planning Officer explained that the proposed kiosks would be purpose built and managed by Harrow Council, with adequate rubbish collection plans in place.

The Committee resolved to approve the officer recommendations.

DECISION (Unanimous):  GRANT

RECOMMENDATION A

Planning permission reasons set out in the report.

None.

The audio recording of this meeting can be found at the following link:

https://www2.harrow.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1001&MId=64640&Ver=4