Agenda and minutes

Any information received after the agenda has been published, relevant to the Applications on the agenda to be considered by the Committee, will be published here.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors North, Lane and Martin. 

Councillors Ash and Shabbir were in attendance as substitutes.

There were no declarations of interest.

Outline planning permission was sought, for the redevelopment of the site to provide:

1.      Office (use class B1) 6,000 square metres GEA;

2.      An A1 foodstore 4,300 square metres GEA with a net sales area of 3,000 square metres (of which 900 square metres would be for comparison goods);

3.      850 square metres GEA of A1, A3 and/or A4;

4.      Revised site access/egress from Mayors Walk;

5.      Car and cycle parking; and

6.      Highway and environmental improvement works, including new pedestrian/cycle crossing on Bourges Boulevard.

All matters were reserved, apart from access.

The application site was located within the city centre boundary and Railway Station Opportunity Area as defined by saved policies of the Local Plan. The site was adjacent to, but not within, the central retail area as defined by the Local Plan. The Bourges Boulevard public transport corridor ran along the eastern boundary of the site, together with part of the cycle route network.

The existing Great Northern Hotel site was positioned to the south of the site, to the north was railway station land that was used for car parking and the fire station site, and to the west of the site were the railway platforms and tracks. Beyond Bourges Boulevard, to the east of the site, were the North Westgate Opportunity Area and the city centre multi storey car parks associated with the Queensgate Shopping Centre.

The application site covered an area of 1.293 ha (3.2 acres), and was formerly the Royal Mail Sorting Office site. The use was relocated and the buildings subsequently demolished and the site was currently being used as a temporary car park with 500 spaces for commuter car parking.

The Planning Officer addressed the Committee and gave an overview of the proposal and highlighted the main issues for consideration, those being the retail implications of the development, whether the proposed uses were compatible with the policy expectations for the redevelopment of the site, the transport impact and connectivity, the S106 planning obligation and the provisions of the development plan. The recommendation was one of approval.

Members were advised that the key issue for consideration were the policy issues. These were outlined in the committee report and summarised verbally by the Planning Officer.

The Head of Planning, Transport and Engineering Services addressed the Committee and stated that the proposal would deliver part of the solution needed to get the two different sides of Bourges Boulevard to interact with one another. The proposed crossing would not be in isolation, it would be part of a larger scheme incorporating the opposite side of Bourges Boulevard all the way down to the Car Haven car park. This would be the first phase in incrementally improving the city centre’s physical environment.

The Highways Officer addressed the Committee and summarised the protocols and methodology that had been undertaken in order to reach the conclusions outlined with respect to the transport implications of the proposal. The main traffic considerations had been the site access form and position  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.