ITEM
ITEM
PLANNING APPLICATION TO BE DETERMINED BY COUNCIL
REPORT OF THE CHIEF ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Case Officer:
D Kenyon
Site:
South Hams Housing, Dart Marine Park, Steamer Quay Road,
Totnes, TQ9 5AL
Application No:
56/0359/01/CU
Date Received:
1st March 2001
Applicant:
South Hams Housing
Development:
Temporary change of use from marine related business to
housing offices for a period of one year
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This map is reproduced from the Ordnance Survey material with the
permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her
Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised
reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution
or civil proceedings. South Hams District Council. LA 079391. 2001
Scale 1:1250
For internal reference only – no further copies to be made
Bollards
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Club
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Policies
Totnes Development Boundary
Consultations
Devon County Council – County Highways Authority
No comment
South West Water
No comment
Environment Agency
No objections
Environment Health Section
No objections
Town Council
Totnes Town Council make the following observations:
No objection
Case Officer Report
The Proposal
The application seeks consent for the use of Units A7/A7a and A8/A8a in Building A as
housing offices occupied by staff of South Hams Housing. The units will be used for
administration purposes only and are not intended to provide services to visiting
members of the public. No external alterations to the building are proposed.
The proposed use of the units is for a temporary period of one year. It is anticipated
that within this temporary period, the office building on the opposite side of the River
Dart and which is currently under construction, will have been completed and can
then be occupied by South Hams Housing Staff.
Consultations and Representations
Totnes Town Council recommends no objection.
The application was advertised in a local newspaper and a notice posted near to the site.
No letters of representation have been received.
Planning History
Planning permission was granted on 17 December 1992 for the erection of four buildings
at Steamer Quay, Totnes, designed for marine related light industry and offices with a
limited retail element (ref 9/56/1578/92/3). The approved plans indicated that within
building A the units, the subject of this current application, were intended as “offices”
and “workspace”.
A specific condition was attached to the 1992 consent requiring the development to be
used for marine related businesses only, except for part of building B which was intended
to be used as a retail chandlery. The reason for imposing this condition was “The Local
Planning Authority considers that the uses of the buildings for the purposes specified are
appropriate. Any proposal to use all or part of the buildings for any other purposes
would need to be the subject of a separate application(s) to be considered on its (their)
merits.”
As a result of that condition, a planning application was submitted in December 1998 to
use Units A7/A7a and A8/A8a in Building A for administration purposes by staff of South
Hams Housing for a temporary two years period. At that time, units A7/A7a had never
been let since being first constructed during the mid 1990’s. Units A8/A8a had only been
let for a short period of time and had remained vacant since December 1997.
Because the units in question related to the upper floors of the premises designed for
office use, rather than affecting the ground floor workshop areas, planning permission
was granted on 10 February 1999 subject to a temporary two year period and with a
condition restricting use to administration purposes only in association with South Hams
Housing and not for any other purposes including providing services principally to
visiting members of the public.
Analysis
The site is within the development boundary of Totnes and is not subject to any
Employment Policy designation as identified in the Local Plan. It is considered that there
is no overriding policy objection to this proposal to continue using the units by South
Hams Housing for a further one year period. Nevertheless, the permission should only be
temporary to ensure the long term retention of the units for marine-related uses on the
site.
This application has been submitted by South Hams Housing in respect of land under the
Council’s ownership. Therefore, a decision will need to be taken by Full Council as to
whether to grant temporary planning permission for this development.
Human Rights Act
This application has been assessed against the Human Rights Act. While there may be
some effect on individuals, this impact needs to be carefully balanced against the wider
community interests, as expressed through Development Plan Policies and the retention
of employment on the land.
At the meeting held on 11th April 2001 the Planning Committee agreed with the Officer
recommendation.
Recommendation
Conditional Approval
Condition
1 NF10
Temporary One Year
2 Non Standard
Applied for- Mr D Kenyon
DC0901MW