Location:
Test Valley Borough Council
Issue:
Securing permission for two nursing homes on a site allocated for employment uses.
How we helped and added value:
The site was subject to several constraints, and had a negative planning history with a previous application for a care development having been withdrawn. We therefore went back to first principles with the client, to understand these constraints and how they could be addressed by a new scheme.
As a first step, we recommended specialist work to demonstrate that the site had no prospect of coming forward for the employment uses for which it had been designated. We worked closely with the specialist consultants, to ensure the work and complementary marketing activity addressed the requirements of the Council’s policy. At the same time, we recommended providing reports to show the need for care accommodation, and the lack of other suitable sites within the area to accommodate the need.
We also worked with a new architect to prepare a revised design for the site, that sought to better reflect the character of the area and address the constraints of a nearby listed building. Through the Council's pre-application and design review process, we agreed a scheme with the Council that delivered a high quality of design, protected neighbouring residents and the nearby listed building, and delivered high quality care accommodation.
This application was also caught by Natural England’s advice that planning permission could not be granted for development which resulted in an increased amount of nitrogen (via wastewater) entering the Solent Special Protection Area (a European-level ecology designation). We worked closely with the Council, to understand the possible solutions that it would support. In contrast to other Councils in Hampshire such as Eastleigh Borough Council, Test Valley Borough Council favoured a solution whereby the development secured an “offset site” to be taken out of agricultural use in perpetuity. We assisted the client in finding a suitable “offset site” by providing advice on the requirements for such as site, including the size and requirements for future management.
We also worked closely with the Council to limit the number of pre-commencement conditions, and to ensure that any proposed conditions allowed each home to progress separately from one another. This was all to ensure that our client could start the development as soon as possible, and that one home could progress first if required.
We presented at the Council’s planning committee, where the application was approved unanimously despite a last-minute objection from a neighbouring authority on highways grounds (which we addressed in our presentation).
