PLANNING, DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT

Transcription

1 BARDEN PLANNING CONSULTANTS JMP ARCHITECTS 130 Highgate, Kendal, 4 Chapel Street, Settle, Cumbria, LA9 4HE North Yorkshire, BD24 9HS MRS E MILLIGAN PLANNING AND LISTED BUILDING CONSENT APPLICATIONS TAITLANDS, STAINFORTH PLANNING, DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT This report has been prepared to support both planning and listed building applications in respect of change of use and alterations at Taitlands, Stainforth. It addresses the existing use rights, the existing policy framework, both local and national, and issues arising from the fact that the buildings are listed as of architectural or historic interest. 1. EXISTING USE 1.1 Until the end of September 2007, the property was in use as a Youth Hostel. It provided 50 bed spaces and all those bed spaces were within the main building. 1.2 Immediately adjacent to the main building, within the walled garden, is a modern bungalow style building which was constructed as manager s accommodation for the Youth Hostel. 1.3 In addition, there is a barn on the northern boundary which provided a two bedroom staff unit. 1.4 Finally, there is a substantial coach house and stable building which has not had any active use in the recent years other than some limited storage. It is in need of repair. 1.5 The description in the list of historic buildings includes the house and its associated garden wall and gate piers, but because the other buildings lie within the curtilage of the listed building, all of them are in practice to be treated as listed for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas) Act During the sales process and both before that sales process began and since that time, there has been some debate as to whether a Youth Hostel does fall within Class C1 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order which is said to relate to use as a hotel, guest house or boarding house, or whether it is sui generis. Previous versions of that Order did include hostel within this description but it was taken out some years ago. Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

2 1.7 There is a divergence of opinion as to whether the hostel is genuinely a C1 use or not, but Barden Planning Consultants are of the view that it does not fall within that Use Class because it is a clear tenet of planning law and the interpretation of it through the Courts that the Order must not be expanded on the basis that uses are similar, but that it should confine itself precisely to what is stated in the statute. Either way, the issue is not terribly important because the past use as a hostel which has resulted in the provision of accommodation for visiting guests is not in doubt, and it would not be in conflict with use as a boarding house, guest house or hotel, or indeed other commercial uses. 1.8 There is also a statement prepared by Rachel Whaley, Senior Planning Officer at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and dated April 2007, indicating that irrespective of Use Class, the past use was commercial and that therefore any alternative use would need to be backed up with a marketing report demonstrating that attempts had been made to find users falling within the existing use or other commercial uses before any further planning application can be considered. 1.9 It is agreed that the hostel use was commercial in that the hostel was run on commercial lines and commercial rates were paid. It is the case that what is now proposed is also commercial in the same way. 2. THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The proposal is that the house known as Taitlands, which has previously been used as a Youth Hostel, should revert to its original use as a house, which of course is the purpose for which it is designed, and PPG15 makes it clear that the best use for any listed building will normally be the use for which it was designed. 2.2 The situation here is slightly more complicated than that because the intention is that this house might well be used by people who are also using the function suite which is part of the proposals, and that it may well also provide bed & breakfast for those using the function suite, or indeed visiting the area more widely. It will primarily be the proprietor s dwelling. 2.3 The single storey bungalow type accommodation in the walled garden was approved as manager s accommodation but the intention is that It too might well be let to people utilising the function accommodation and because of its single storey nature it is easily adaptable to be suitable for use by disabled persons. It might equally from time to time be used by staff or the proprietor of the premises, particularly if the house as a whole was let to someone utilising the function suite, and particularly when it is utilised for weddings, which is anticipated as being a significant element of the commercial use. 2.4 The coach house and stables are proposed to be converted to a tea room on the ground floor, with a function room above. It is intended that the tea room would be a facility available to the public on a daily basis with people able to call, as they would with any other tea room. There will in addition be a shop area selling local produce. This will be valuable addition to the commercial activity on the site and will also provide a modest food outlet for the nearby village which does not at present have any such facility. It will be of a type often referred to as a farm shop but clearly it is not specifically associated with any farm and is much more concerned with the provision of local products, the provenance of which will be made clear in the displays. The function room would be a pre-booked arrangement which might be used for small conferences, meetings, weddings, social occasions, birthday parties, and the like. It is the intention that when the function room is Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

3 in use, the tea room below would not be, because of the logistical difficulties in being able to service both at the same time. 2.5 Finally, there is the two bedroom unit in the barn. There are no proposals to alter this and it will continue to be used as a two bedroom unit. Again, the applicant would like to be able to let it to people for holiday purposes but also on occasions, if it proved necessary, to utilise it for staff. 2.6 Given the intention to deal with functions, flexibility in being able to offer a varied package including accommodation on site, is very important to the overall commercial success of this operation. It is for instance important that someone wishing to have a wedding in a fine location is able to take the house as well as to be catered for in the function suite, and also to be able to take the two other cottages on the site. It may well be that they would wish to self-cater and produce their own breakfast, but they might equally wish to have breakfast served to them in the tea room. 2.7 Such flexibility always creates difficulties for those dealing with planning applications because there is a desire to be able to place things into water-tight compartments. However, in this instance the important thing to recognise is that this is a package of proposals which is designed to restore, renovate and safeguard the future of the group of listed buildings, which will remain a single planning unit, and which therefore might overall best be described as function centre and tea room with proprietor s and staff accommodation. 3. PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The Yorkshire Dales Local Plan 3.2 The Yorkshire Dales Local Plan has no specific policy about the provision of function rooms or even the provision of a tea room or cafe or restaurant. Such policies would normally appear under the heading retailing in most Local Plans, but there is no such section in the Yorkshire Dales Local Plan. An alternative might be under Visitor Facilities and the introduction to that range of policies in the Yorkshire Dales Local Plan, in paragraph 13.3, does recognise that the provision of accommodation and other commercial services and facilities to serve the needs of visitors is now a major sector of the local economy. 3.3 The remainder of the section does not have any specific policies relating to the provision of facilities for people to eat or drink in the National Park, and the only one that comes close is the general policy VF1, which indicates that development that provides facilities or services that support appropriate informal recreation will be permitted provided a series of criteria are met. It is not clear that the provision of eating and drinking facilities would be regarded as supporting appropriate recreation, but in the absence of any other policies anywhere, it does seem reasonable to take account of this policy in assessing this proposal. 3.4 Within the criteria listed are, firstly, that the proposal provides a material conservation gain and the remainder of this report will make it clear that the reuse of the buildings in the way proposed will provide a significant conservation gain. 3.5 Secondly, there is a requirement that the proposal is in scale and character with the surrounding landscape and built environment. There is no change to the overall amount of building on site and given the past commercial usage there does not seem to be any adverse impact in any way on the character of the landscape or built environment. Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

4 3.6 The third criterion relates to unacceptable levels of traffic and given the past use as a hostel and the satisfactory nature of the access direct from a B road to the site, there seems to be no difficulty here. 3.7 The fourth criterion requires that the proposal should be accessible to public transport and there are, albeit infrequent, bus services up the valley. 3.8 The fifth criterion requires that the proposal does not, either on its own, or cumulatively, cause unacceptable harm to the special qualities of the National Park or to residential amenity. There are no such concerns in this case, where the site is very self contained and already has a commercial history. 3.9 Finally, there is a requirement that the proposal is not providing for peak demand. The facility is to meet general demand and pre-booked demand bringing people to the National Park, and is in no way designed to meet existing peaks The report prepared by Rachel Whaley and referred to earlier in paragraph 1.8, refers to a need to market for alternative commercial use because the Local Plan requires this. There are two policies in the Local Plan that specifically require the provision of a marketing exercise. The first of these is Policy E3 which deals with existing employment sites where it is stated that if an application is made on the basis that an employment use is no longer viable, the National Park Authority will require evidence that the employment potential of the site has been advertised on the market for at least six months in accordance with the Authority s advertising procedure before considering an alternative use This site was in use as a Youth Hostel which is the provision of visitor accommodation. It was not an employment site though it is acknowledged that there were a small number of jobs associated with the use (4). However, within the planning legislation, employment has not generally been regarded as covering any activity within which people might have a job. Thus, schools, hospitals, health services, shops and so on, have not been regarded as employment sites. The point is perhaps best made by suggesting that if under Policy E1, which relates to employment land allocations, someone were to come along and say that they wished to build a supermarket, the planning authority would argue that that was not an employment use but that it was a retail use, notwithstanding that a supermarket generally speaking often provides more jobs per square metre than do industrial activities It is not accepted therefore that Policy E3 would be applicable in this case and that there would have been a need to advertise for six months for the existing hostel use The other policy which refers to a need for marketing is one relation to the protection of existing community facilities (Policy C2). The text associated with that policy lists post offices, village halls, pubs, schools and garages and so on but does not refer to tourist accommodation. Again, there is no need under that policy to require advertising for a six month period However, the important thing to recognise about this application is that it seeks to replace one commercial use, that of the Youth Hostel which had a relatively low employment contribution, with another commercial use which would have a significantly greater employment potential, 9 generally, with others to serve at functions, and which would also at the same time provide viable uses for the group of listed buildings. Notwithstanding therefore that the proposal is not in any way in conflict with any policy requiring marketing, it is nevertheless the case that the marketing exercise has produced a user which will have more economic input into the local community than the past use as a hostel. Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

5 3.15 Housing Policy 3.16 Reference has been made in Rachel Whaley s report to housing policy, and as it is the intention to largely restore the original dwellinghouse to residential use, albeit with some element of let accommodation from time to time and as an overall part of a wider business use, an analysis of the appropriate policies should be made The site does not lie within a settlement and it therefore cannot be related to Policies H1, H2 or H3 of the Local Plan allowing conversion within such settlements. There is a footnote to Policy H3 that the conversion to dwellings of buildings lying outside housing boundaries of settlements will not be permitted unless they accord with Policy H4, which is largely to do with agricultural needs, or B16,the reoccupation of former houses First and foremost, this is not really a conversion but actually a reversion to the original use which at best is a change of use application It could be argued that it is the reoccupation of a former house under the terms of Policy B16. It is clear from a reading of that policy that a reoccupation of former houses outside settlements may be permitted, particularly where the building is listed, where the reoccupation can take place without the need for substantial rebuilding and where the reoccupation does not give rise to the requirement for additional curtilage which would adversely affect the character of the building or its setting This policy was developed largely to deal with former farm houses in the countryside, often on remote sites, which is rather different to this particular set of circumstances. However, the proposal does seem to me to comply with Policy B16 in its entirety and that the reoccupation of Taitlands as a house is fully in accord with that policy. At this point it is perhaps worth introducing advice from PPG15 which states, in paragraph 3.10 The best use will very often be the use for which the building was originally designed and the continuation or reinstatement of that use should certainly be the first option when the future of a building is considered An earlier paragraph (3.8) indicates that the best way of securing the upkeep of historic buildings is to keep them in active use and that this would inevitably result in some degree of adaptation. It goes on to say that the range of acceptable and possible uses must therefore be a major consideration when the future of listed buildings is in question Restoration of the house, which still looks like a country house, is without doubt the best solution to the restoration of the historic character and fabric of this building, but it does rely on being able to generate an income from the other listed buildings on the site in order to be able to achieve that aim Given what is said in paragraph 3.8 of the Planning Policy Guidance, the adaptation of the coach house and stables to form the tea room and function room is without doubt the key to the satisfactory restoration of the buildings on this site. It is that which will generate the majority of the income though it in itself needs the ability to use the other residential accommodation on the site for tourist purposes as and when appropriate. The modification of that building is therefore key to the whole proposal Policy B13 of the Local Plan deals with listed buildings and sets out a series of criteria that have to be taken into account. The first criterion presumes against demolition or substantial destruction of a listed building and is not relevant in this case. The second requires that external alterations, internal alterations or extension should be in keeping with the character of the building and not detract from or prejudice its special interest. It Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

6 goes on to require materials to be appropriate in respect of the retention of the character of the building The application is accompanied by a Conservation Report which makes clear how these aims have been taken into account and fully complied with The third criterion rejects the attachment of incongruous features and none is proposed in this instance The fourth criterion requires that the change of use of a listed building will be permitted where it will increase the likelihood of the survival of the building. The earlier part of this statement has made clear that that is the intention in this instance The fifth and sixth criteria relate to detailed drawings, information and recording which have been adequately addressed in this application There is therefore no conflict with Policy B13 relating to listed buildings Planning Policy Statement 7 - Sustainable Development in Rural Areas 3.31 This document sets out the Government s approach to development in rural areas and indicates that it is an aim of the Government s policy to maintain high and stable levels of economic growth and employment. It indicates an objective that most new development should be in or next to existing towns and villages. This site is next to a village Paragraph 5 of the document indicates that planning authorities should support a wide range of economic activity in rural areas and paragraph 17 emphasises the Government s policy to support the re-use of appropriately located and suitably constructed existing buildings in the countryside, particularly for economic development purposes but also indicates that residential conversions may be appropriate in some locations and for some types of buildings. Finally, the document indicates that policies should cater for the provision of tourism facilities within or close to existing service centres or villages and that tourist accommodation, particularly the conversion of suitable existing rural buildings, should be allowed, particularly where they are using existing buildings even when located outside existing settlements. 4.1 SUMMARY IN RELATION TO POLICY 4.2 The worth of this proposal has to be related to two salient factors. The first is the past use of the group of buildings as a Youth Hostel and the second is the listed status of the buildings and the requirement to find a use which will secure their long term upkeep. 4.3 The Youth Hostel was a commercial use though not one falling within any particular Use Class and certainly not one which could sensibly be described as an employment use. The proposed use is also commercial and will provide more jobs than the Youth Hostel ever provided as well as providing a facility which will be of use not just to visitors but also to local people. The function room in particular would serve in that direction. 4.4 The two small residential units within the site have previously been associated with the Youth Hostel, which itself has been associated with the provision of visitor facilities. Therefore their use to continue to provide for visitors and/or for staff, depending on the owner s requirements at the time, is not in any way bringing about a change of use which would be in conflict with any policy. Such uses as holiday accommodation would attract commercial rates rather than Council Tax and any argument that the use itself is not Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

7 commercial is therefore unsound. However they are regarded, the important thing is that they are part of an overall package which will secure the use and maintenance, and indeed the restoration, of this group of listed buildings. 4.5 Retaining Taitlands as a house accords with advice in PPG 15 and with that in Policy B16 of the Local Plan. 5. DESIGN ELEMENTS 5.1 Scale 5.2 The scale of the buildings remains unaltered and there is also no significant change to the hard surfaced areas within the overall curtilage. 5.3 Appearance 5.4 The application is accompanied by a Conservation Report and Supporting Statement for listed building consent, which fully details the works that are to take place room by room and which in an Appendix refers to the particular works that are necessary in respect of door and window detailing. There has been an extraordinary amount of consideration of detail to ensure that the appearance of the buildings, both inside and out, is greatly enhanced over and above the position found on cessation of the use as a Youth Hostel. 5.5 Landscaping 5.6 The garden area is to be managed as part of the overall renovation scheme and the walled garden is to be restored with the addition of a hedge which will in part screen off some of the bungalow extension which was carried out some years ago. Trees within the garden are covered by Tree Preservation Orders and neither these nor any others are affected by the proposals. The buildings being renovated are not close to trees and no service runs or other operations are within root spread areas. 5.7 Access and parking 5.8 Vehicular access to the site is currently obtained through the two gateways which link up via a curved drive which passes the front of the original house. The tarmacadam on that access is to be stripped away to reveal the original rolled limestone paved carriageway and it will be restored to its original levels with clean limestone chippings on a rolled limestone base. The level of use of the Youth Hostel when in full swing was very considerable and it is not anticipated that the proposed use will generate activity over and above that level. The fact that the tea room and function room are not intended to function at the same time but would alternate does limit the maximum amount of traffic that would be generated at any one time and it is also true that any visitor accommodation on the site would be occupied by those using the function room when the function room was in use. 5.9 This same arrangement is relevant to the provision of car parking. It is now a requirement that no developer should be asked to provide more car parking than he himself wishes. However, the existing car parking areas and hard surfaces on the site will accommodate 32 cars, which is more than adequate to deal with each of the elements of use and the joint overall use. All the car parking spaces are of a permeable finish which accords with current good practice as well as being sympathetic to the buildings. Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

8 5.10 Access for less ambulant people 5.11 It is not practical to provide a lift access in the main Taitlands building, but the drawings do show the facility for a portable ramp to be available to give access to the ground floor The new coach house conversion is to be equipped with a lift There will be downstairs lavatory facilities within all the buildings except the barn which is not altered by these proposals. December 2009 Emma Milligan: Planning, Design and Access Statement December Barden Planning Consultants and JMP Architects

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