Agenda item

Details:

Lidl foodstore (Use Class A1); parking; associated landscaping; access works; demolition of existing

Public Participants:

Mr Mitchell – Applicant’s Representative

Rev Elvidge – Objector

Parish Cllr Parkes – Hythe and Dibden Parish Council.

Additional Representations:

Cllr McEvoy raised no objection.

12 further letters of objection and 142 additional letters of support had been received.

The Environmental Health Officer raised no objection, subject to the imposition of conditions and an informative note.

The applicant had forwarded 14 e-mails of objection and 18 in support, together with a document in support with 4773 signatures, partly dating from prior to the submission of the planning application.

The County Council had agreed a reduced Highway Contribution of £100,000.

The Highways Engineer had submitted additional comments.

Further details of these representations were set out in the update circulated prior to the meeting.

1 additional letter of objection from Tesco, on the grounds that their retail assessment concluded that the value of trade attracted by the new store would be of the order of £10 - 15 million per annum, not £5 million as stated as in the applicant’s assessment.  This was more in keeping with this Council’s study which had concluded the diversion of trade would be £9.8 million.

Comment:

Cllrs Armstrong, Binns and Poole disclosed non-pecuniary interests as members of Hythe and Dibden Parish Council which had commented on the application.  Cllr Armstrong also emphasised that he had been careful not to express any view or take part in any special or public meetings held in respect of this application and had not taken any action to suggest that he had a pre-determined view.  They each concluded that there were no grounds under common law to prevent them from remaining in the meeting to speak, and in the case of Cllr Armstrong, to vote.  Cllrs Binns and Poole did not have a vote.

Cllr Wappet disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as he had been a member of the working group that had initially looked at options for the future of this site.  He had not however had any involvement with the current planning application.  He concluded that there were no grounds under common law to prevent him from remaining in the meeting to speak and to vote.

The officer’s recommendation was updated by the inclusion of the conditions and informative note requested by the Environmental Health Officer, as set out in the update circulated prior to the meeting.

Cllrs W Andrews, Binns and Poole addressed the Committee to support the principle of the redevelopment of the site for a supermarket, but to oppose the particular design proposed.

The Committee expressed their support for the principle of redeveloping this site for a budget supermarket and welcomed the offer made at the meeting for the period allowed for free parking on the site for customers to be extended to 2 hours, to allow patrons also to visit the town centre as part of the same visit.

Members were however very concerned about the poor quality of the design of the proposed building and noted that extensive discussions between the applicant and this Council’s officers had produced a scheme that maintained the flexibility of the retail and associated space required by the business, but housed within a building of superior design, more in keeping with the site’s proximity to the Hythe Conservation Area and Grade 2 Listed Buildings, including the adjacent Grade 2 listed church.  Many of the comments that had been made in support of the application had been elicited when the better quality design had been the subject of consultation, rather than the poor quality design subsequently included in the application.

The Committee concluded that the design of the proposed building was of an unacceptably poor quality which did not respect the character and design needs of this part of Hythe, including the adjacent Conservation Area and Listed Buildings.  It would therefore be harmful to the character and local distinctiveness of the area and also to the Conservation Area and Listed Buildings.

Decision:

Refused

Refusal Reasons:

The proposed development would pay no regard to the sensitive context of the site in regard to the setting of nearby Listed Buildings (in particular St John the Baptist Church and 13 and 17 St Johns Street) and the Hythe Conservation Area and would result in a building that would be neither a traditionally responsive building nor a well designed contemporary proposal.  The development’s adverse visual impact and contextually inappropriate design would be emphasised by the building’s rather industrial, boxlike form, its poorly articulated and inelegant roof form, the blandness of the significant north-west façade facing St John’s Street, the assertive, monotonous character of the heavily glazed north-west elevation facing St John’s Church, the use of non-traditional materials, the loss of two mature trees to accommodate the widened New Road access, and the development’s rather austere car park setting.  The development would fail to respond positively to the public realm into which it would be inserted and as a result it would be detrimental to local distinctiveness and the character and appearance of the area. As a result the proposals would fail to comply with policies CS1, CS2 and CS3 of the Core Strategy for the New Forest District outside the National Park, policy DM1 of the Local Plan Part 2 (Sites and Development Management DPD), Hythe Conservation Area Appraisal and the National Planning Policy Framework.