__Report of Handling
North Lanarkshire Council · 22 February 2023
Back to Local Review Body — 22 February 2023 and its agenda
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DELEGATED REPORT PLANNING APP No: 22/00913/FUL Date Application Valid: 12 September 2022 Proposal Conversion of stable complex for use as dog day care and shop Address 230 Mosshall Street Newarthill Motherwell North Lanarkshire ML1 5LH Case Officer: Mary Anne Watson Local Plan Policies North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan PP4 - Green Belt AD4 - Amount of Development EDQ 1 - Site Appraisal EDQ 3 Quality of Development Planning History 10/00315/PAN Formation of 5 Smallholdings 12/00408/PPP Erection of 2 Dwellinghouses, each with an Associated Smallholding 14/01355/FUL Erection of Stable Block and Tack Room/Store 17/01525/FUL Continued Temporary Siting of Mobile Home 18/00622/FUL Dwellinghouse with Part Use as Bed and Breakfast in connection with Kenneling/Dog care and Stabling Operations 21/01450/AMD Amendment to Residential dwelling approvied under 18/00622/FUL - withdrawn please see 18/00622/FUL 22/00913/FUL Conversion of stable complex for use as dog day care and shop Site Assessment Date(s) 29 September 2022 Weekly List Date 22 September 2022 Neighbour Notification Sent Neighbour Notification Expiry Date Advert Date 28 September 2022 Advert Expiry Date Report Detailed Considerations: Siting The C shaped stables are located at 230 Mosshall Street, Newarthill in a location further west of an existing kennel business. The site is bounded by two dwellings to the north, gas holder station to the south east and open fields to the south and west. The site is accessed via an existing track road just off Mosshall Street/Cleland Road which also provides access the existing dog boarding kennels. Design and Materials The stables are of a U shape and are of light brown render, brown upvc windows and doors with dark roof tiles. No external alterations are proposed. The proposal would see the existing stables changed to doggy day car and a retail shop. Four units would be used for doggy day care, one unit for staff, two units to be used as one unit for dog care indoor dog play area, one unit for toilet/storage, one unit for reception and the other units for retail. Daylight/Sunlight Due to the location of the proposed development, and lack of neighbouring buildings or properties, there will be no impact on daylight/sunlight as a result of the proposal. Boundary Treatment The existing boundary treatment is suffice. Privacy Due to the location of the proposed development and lack of neighbouring buildings or properties, there will be no impact on privacy provision as a result of the proposed development. Adjacent Levels Site slopes slightly upwards.
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Landscaping (including garden ground) No landscaping proposed. There is more than adequate outdoor areas for the dogs to use for exercising. Access, Parking and Turning Access is taken via a track leading from Cleland Road which serves the site, existing boarding kennels and adjacent gas station. The site has plenty of space around the stables that can be used as parking Site Constraints None Consultation Responses Environmental Health have no objection to the proposal. Roads Development Services at the time of writing the report had no responded however there is adequate space for parking for the proposed development as well as the existing kennels. Any Other Material Considerations The Scottish Government confirmed on 5 July 2022 that the Scottish Ministers do not propose to issue a direction in respect of the adoption the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan and that the Council can proceed to Adopt. Accordingly, the Plan has now been Adopted by the Council and became operative on 6 July 2022. Whilst it remains possible that there may be a legal challenge to adoption from objectors to the Plan, it is unlikely that any such challenge would relate to matters directly relevant to this application. The applicant has submitted supporting information as part of this application. Supporting information o Located in a rural area o Planning permission for the stables and kennels o Existing Stables not profitable and wish to extend the dog day care and include a retail food shop. o Adequate parking can be provided o Provide jobs in the area and give something back to the community o Opportunity to sell pet food while customers are already visiting the premises to collect or drop off their dog at the day care facility. o Stables will not need altered o Will not have an impact on land as facilities in place o Doggy day care has a need for non-urban location as the dogs will need room to exercise which is not available in a normal town centre retail environment. This fits in well with the PP4 section o Pet food shop will support the main business of the dog day care facility. o All facilities in place to develop this business which is not suited to a town centre location. Business is in a strategic location serving the area and is also just off the M8 o Major need for dog day care when people go on holiday. Pet food and grooming facility will provide additional opportunism while customers are already on site. o Day care facilities look after dogs for longer term it will not result in a large number of vehicles coming and going into the area o No noise o Two doggy day care establishments have closed in the area. o After covid there is a need for quality dog day care in the area as people return to work. o Lady who will run the business will bring her own clients to the day care. More jobs will be provided. o Shop would also be mainly used by existing clients to purchase their raw dog food which is an area that as expanded recently o Client wishes to utilise the space vacated by the stables to slightly expand the existing use. The sale of the pet food shop is ancillary to the main use, o Better to utilise the vacant part of the complex rather than letting it fall into disrepair. Officer Report: Introduction: This application seeks planning permission for the conversion of stable complex for use as dog day care and shop. Originally the proposal was to include dog grooming facilities however the applicant has confirmed that they wish to no longer include dog grooming in the proposal. The proposed dog care operation would operate Mondays to Fridays 9am to 5pm. Th dogs would get collected and dropped off and there would be 3 dogs per unit with a maximum 12 per day. The site has adequate space for the dogs to run about. Section 25 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 2997 requires that planning decisions are made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The assessment will therefore identify the development plan policies relevant to the proposal, will make an assessment against these policies and come to a conclusion on which decision (grant or refuse) would accord with them. It will then look at other material considerations to establish if there are any that would suggest a decision different from the one reached in relation to the development plan. Relevant development plan policies: The application site is within the Green Belt under Policy PP4 in the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan. So, policies PP4 Green Belt and policy AD 4 Amount of Development are relevant in this case. Environmental and Design Qualities policies EDQ 1 and EDQ 3 are also applicable both as a general requirement and in relation to the
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requirements within the body of Policy PP 4. Assessment against policy: Policy PP 4 ( Green Belt) Policy PP4 states that North Lanarkshire Council will protect the setting of communities, support regeneration by directing growth to urban area, protect natural assets and provide a high-quality environment by promoting a Green Belt as defined on the Promote Map. Developments for agriculture, forestry or developments that need a non-urban location are supported. This policy encourages development appropriate for a Green Belt location by resisting development that is not for agriculture, forestry, recreation, tourist or needs a Green Belt location whilst allocating appropriate land for urban expansion. With regards to development that needs a Green Belt location the need will be balanced against any adverse effects on the purpose of the Green Belt. An Assessment of Appropriateness is required to be undertaken and should include, but not limited to: That the development is compatible with the Green Belt: It is considered that the proposed development being a dog day care operation and retail of pet food is not necessary to agriculture, forestry or is a development that needs a non-urban location and is not included within the potentially acceptable types of new businesses within the Green Belt set out in related SPG 07. It is noted that there is an existing dog boarding kennels next to the proposed stables that are to be converted however these kennels have permission and are considered an acceptable use in the Green Belt area. That the proposal is not best suited to being located in a Centre or General Urban Area: There is not a locational requirement that doggy day cares have to be in the Green Belt, they can be more suitably and sustainably located in the General Urban area, being closer to markets. Evidence there is a specific locational requirement for the proposal: There is no locational need and therefore the development would not be regarded as acceptable for appropriateness under this criterion of policy PP 4. Evidence that that the proposal will result in significant economic benefit: Supporting information does state that jobs will be provided however no number is given. Regardless of not knowing how many jobs will be provided, it is not considered that it would be of a sufficient quantity given the maximum number of dogs, to justify the development in this location. Such job opportunities could equally be accommodated and provided through the development of dog care and retail in the urban area without infringing upon the Green Belt Impact on travel patterns and accessibility by sustainable modes of transport If the proposal can be assessed positively against Environmental and Design Qualities Policies EDQ 1 and EDQ 3 (assessment to follow, the development may be regarded as acceptable for appropriateness under this particular criterion of PP4. So, under PP4 the proposal fails to satisfy certain appropriateness criteria in relation to justifying the development in Green Belt Area,and locational need. How the development completely fares under the criteria related to the Green Belt in terms of site appraisal and quality of development will be determined under assessment of the proposal against polices EDQ 1 and EDQ 3. Policies EDQ 1 and EDQ 3: Compliance with these policies is both important in its own right, and also in terms of the proposal achieving full compliance with the above mentioned policy PP4. Policies EDQ 1 (Site Appraisal) and EDQ 3 (Quality of Development) are also relevant. Policy EDQ 1 requires any proposed development to be appraised in terms of the site and its surroundings to ensure it will integrate successfully into the local area and avoid harm to neighbouring amenity. Policy EDQ 3 states developments will only be permitted where high standards of site planning and sustainable designs are achieved. In relation to policy EDQ 1, the key consideration of this would be the assessment of the proposal in regard to integration and amenity. In this case, as the development is around an established set of stable buildings , it would in integrate enough to be acceptable in the green belt location in this respect. As for amenity,the site is relatively isolated and any excessive noise or any other effects on amenity would be unlikely. With regard to EDQ 3, the design of the existing stables complex (as already having been the subject of previous planning permission) is acceptable. SPG 07 - Assessing Development: SPG 07 goes into further detail regarding the acceptability of proposals within the Green Belt. It re-emphasises the acceptable uses in PP 4, including the potentially acceptable types of new business within the Green Belt which doggy day and retail are not considered to be.
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Taking into account the assessment above, it is considered that the proposed development would not be non- compliant with policy EDQ 1 and EDQ 3 in themselves (but the uses themselves would still be unacceptable against the requirements of policy PPP 5). Conclusion against the development plan: It is considered that the proposed development if it were to go ahead would not be compliant with development plan policy and in particular Green Belt policy PP4. Therefore, given this consideration, any decision then to refuse planning permission would accord with the development plan. In line with Section 25, a refusal should therefore be the decision unless there are other material considerations that suggest it should be granted planning permission. Other material considerations: As regards other possible material considerations, Environmental Health have no objection to the proposal. Roads Development Services, at the time of writing this report, had not responded. However, it is considered that there is space for adequate parking to be provided should the application be approved. The information supplied by the applicant in the supporting statement , and summarised, are noted, but none justifies an infringement of an unacceptable use in the greenbelt. In relation to this statement, the council's planning assessment observes that the proposed development is not associated with an existing agricultural business or operation and the existing kennels are not part of the proposal and are separate. In addition, the proposed dog day care operation and retail unit is not considered to be proposing a facility for outdoor recreation compatible with an agricultural or natural setting, and the proposed development is primarily a commercial business providing dog care and a shop selling dog food. The kind of proposed dog walking, training and exercise undertaken as part of a dog care operation is not considered an outdoor recreation that is specifically required to be undertaken in an agricultural or natural setting as the Green Belt. Indeed, day-time dog care and retail such as that proposed can be undertaken in a variety of locations and do not exclusively require to be undertaken in the rural /green belt area. The applicant gives two examples of doggy day cares that have closed in the area and argues the case that this shows there is a need for quality dog care in the area. Although this may be the case, again there is no need for these types of uses to be in the Green Belt. Therefore, there are no material considerations to suggest that the decision should be to grant planning permission notwithstanding the above development plan policy assessment. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is considered that the proposed development should be refused planning permission. Date 9 November 2022 Representations No representations were received during the standard neighbour notification and advertisement period. Reasoned Justification The proposed development fails to meet the criteria set out in the relevant policies contained within the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan. The proposed uses do not comply with acceptable development types within the Green Belt. There are no other special circumstances, material considerations or justification that suggest that the development plan should not prevail.
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Recommendation: Refuse for the Following Reasons:- 1. That the proposed development is unacceptable against local plan policy PP4 as it does not represent uses that fall within the category of acceptable development types in the Green Belt. It specifically is contrary to policy PP4 in that it is not compatible with the Green Belt, it is better suited to being located in a Centre or General Urban Area, and in that there is no specific locational requirement . Informatives; No Informatives