__Report of Handling
North Lanarkshire Council · 22 March 2023
Back to Local Review Body — 22 March 2023 and its agenda
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DELEGATED REPORT PLANNING APP No: 22/01150/FUL Date Application Valid: 10 October 2022 Proposal Change of Use of Open Space to Garden Ground Address 87 Blantyre Gardens Blackwood Cumbernauld North Lanarkshire G68 9NJ Case Officer: Aisling Divin Local Plan Policies North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan (2022) Placemaking Policy (General Urban Area) Environmental and Design Qualities (EDQ 1-3) Planning History Site Assessment Date(s) 26 October 2022 Weekly List Date 20 October 2022 Neighbour Notification Sent 11 October 2022 Neighbour Notification Expiry Date 1 November 2022 Advert Date n/a Advert Expiry Date n/a Report Detailed Considerations: Siting The proposal site is to the side of a detached dwellinghouse within a well-established residential area of Blantyre Gardens, Blackwood, Cumbernauld. The area which is subject to change is a rectangular shaped piece of open space to the side of 87 Blantyre Gardens, Blackwood, Cumbernauld with an area of approximately 85 square metres. The application site is bounded by dwellings of a similar age to the North and West with the main distributor road to the South. Design and Materials There are no buildings located within the application site. Daylight/Sunlight The proposal will not have any impact on sunlight/daylight levels for the adjacent dwellings. Boundary Treatment Given the position of this area, any form of boundary treatment would need to be limited to a maximum height of 1.05m to not have an impact on the current visibility splays. Privacy The proposal will not have any significant impact on privacy levels for the adjacent neighbours. Adjacent Levels There are no proposals to alter the levels. Landscaping (including garden ground) Additional private garden ground has been assessed as part of this change of use application. Access, Parking and Turning No changes proposed to the access and parking arrangement. Site Constraints None. Consultation Responses Traffic & Transportation - have no objections given the subject to the following condition: A visibility splay of 4.5m x60m is required at Blantyre Gardens/Blackwood Road junction. Fences, gardens, private paths, vegetation etc. should be located outwith this visibility splay and nothing should be constructed, placed, or planted greater than 1.05m above the adjacent road channel level. Any Other Material Considerations 21/01616/PREAPE - Comments provided to Estates Department November 2021.
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Officer Report: Planning permission is sought to change the use of this area of public land to private garden ground to the side of 87 Blantyre Gardens, Blackwood, Cumbernauld. The application site is in an area designated by Placemaking Policy (General Urban Area) PP3 in the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan (2022). This policy seeks to maintain and improve the level of amenity in urban areas, by encouraging development that is in keeping with their residential character and encouraging diversity in more mixed-use areas. Placemaking Policy PP3 (General Urban Area) requires such proposals to be assessed against the criteria of Environmental Development Qualities (EDQ) 1-3, where EDQ 1A is the most relevant to the application. The application site has an area approximately of 85 square metres (25.5m by 3.2m) to the side of Blantyre Gardens, Blackwood, Cumbernauld. Whilst this type of proposal is not uncommon within residential areas, concerns were raised relating to this parcel of land during the pre-application stage. The public ground consists of open space that is a grassed area, there a currently shrubs within this parcel of land and is part of the entrance feature of Blantyre Gardens. This area is duplicated to the side of the adjacent property (No1 Blantyre Gardens), these pieces of land were a deliberate and planned placemaking feature that dates back to the initial planning of the whole Blackwood housing area. Should this application be granted it would a set an undesirable precedent for others to do the same within this area. This would then incrementally erode the area of planned open space which exist all along the distributor road to the visual detriment of the setting of the wider area. On looking at this application on its own merits, it is considered that the altered fence line would be located in a prominent position at the junction and would be visually incongruous in the wider streetscape. During this application we consulted our Traffic & Transportation Department. They stated that they had no objection subject to any boundary treatment erected would not have an impact on the current visibility splays, given the location of the land the maximum height of any boundary treatment would be 1.05m. Whilst we appreciate that the applicant may be willing to agree to the attaching a condition that the boundary treatment would not be a maximum height of 1.05m to not have an impact on visibility splays, from a planning perspective we still do not consider this proposal will integrate to the wider area successfully. It is acknowledged that the proposal is not considered to be detrimental to sunlight/daylight, privacy, parking and the overall residential amenity of the area. Following standard neighbour notification procedures no objections have been received. Taking the above into account it is considered that the proposed change of use is contrary to the policy provisions of the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan as it would erode the well established landscaped setting for the wider residential area and introduce an incongruous fence line in a prominent location adjacent to an entrance junction to its visual detriment. On this basis, it is recommended that planning permission be refused. Date 7 December 2022 Representations No representations were received in connection to this planning application. Reasoned Justification The development fails to accord with policies by Placemaking Policy (General Urban Area) and Environmental and Design Qualities (EDQ 1-3) in the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2022 by eroding an area of planned landscaping which contributes to the visual setting of the wider residential area and fails to integrate successfully with the streetscape.
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Recommendation: Refuse for the Following Reasons:- 1. The development fails to accord with policies by Placemaking Policy (General Urban Area) and Environmental and Design Qualities (EDQ 1-3) in the North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 2022 as it would erode an area of planned landscaping which contributes to the visual setting of the wider residential area of Blackwood and would fail to integrate successfully with the streetscape to its visual detriment. Informatives; No Informatives