Agenda item

City Council officers will be present to provide an update on plans for the development of the Wheatsheaf Works site.

Santokh Bansal, Senior Planner was present at the meeting to provide an update on the Wheatsheaf Works Planning Application and he explained that the application would be considered at a meeting of the Planning and Development Control on Monday 21 March 2011.

Councillor Shelton explained that he was a member of the Planning and Development Control Committee, and as such he would not be able to give any answers or comments on the application, which might prejudice him at the planning meeting and therefore prevent him from sitting on the Committee.

Santokh made the following points:

• The Wheatsheaf Works was a listed building which had been lying vacant for a number of years, and was in a deteriorating condition.

• The proposal was for 172 units of accommodation, 173 car park spaces plus 176 cycle spaces.

• There had been 17 objections; most of which related to a lack of parking.

• A financial appraisal had been submitted and it had been agreed that the developers would provide a contribution towards open space. However, the financial appraisal indicated that profits would be relatively small and there would not be sufficient money generated from the proposal to make a contribution towards education.

• Planning Officers had recommended approval for the scheme; however some highway works would be required in order to slow down traffic.

• One of the key considerations had been the state of the Wheatsheaf Works and the length of time the building had been out of use. It had been difficult to find anyone interested in taking on the Wheatsheaf as it was expensive to develop listed buildings.

• The work on the site would be carried out in five phases, with the work on the listed building to be carried out in the final phase, because it would be financed from the earlier work.

Members of the community were invited to ask Santokh questions and the following queries/comments were raised:

• I live near here and there have been building works taking place for at least 6 years. There are already lots of cars and at times we cannot get into our street. Does anyone from Planning have a look at the site before plans are agreed?

Santokh responded that Planning Officers did go out and visit sites. In respect of this application, he had been out on several occasions and put up site applications, notices and had delivered letters.

Several members of the community commented that they had not seen any notices and had not received letters relating to the planning application.

• What was the timescale for the development?

Santokh replied that the developer would need to start within 3 years.

• When will the work on the listed building in phase 5 be carried out, and what if the developers stop at phase 4 before any work is carried out on the Wheatsheaf?

Santokh explained that the Planning Authority had made very effort to ensure that the work on the Wheatsheaf would be carried out, but it was understood that the developer needed to progress some of the new build first  in order to generate the required income.

• Why will there be so many units?

Santokh responded that proposed site would be densely populated as the developer would not be interested unless the development was profitable. He added that the current developer was the only one who had shown any interest in the Wheatsheaf.

• What about the fact that there are already unoccupied properties in the area?

Santokh explained that this was not a planning consideration.

• It was mentioned that traffic will be slowed down. How will this be done?

Santokh responded that road humps would be installed in the latter stages of the development. There was no point in installing them too early as they would be flattened by the construction traffic.

• What about access to the site? We already have large vehicles driving down Wordsworth Road and wing mirrors get knocked as the road layout is unsuitable for large vehicles. This will get worse with the extra construction traffic.

Santokh explained that the Highways Officers would need to look at this; he was not able to comment as he was not a Highways expert.

A member of the public commented that as traffic was such a crucial issue, a Highways Officer should have been present at the meeting and Jerry Connolly, Member Support Officer explained that on this occasion, the Highways Officer had not been invited. However at the previous Freeman Community Meeting, there had been a detailed presentation and discussion on the Wheatsheaf Planning Application and comprehensive minutes had been taken, which people may find informative. Paper copies of the minutes were circulated to some members of the public and Jerry also offered to email the minutes out to people after the meeting.

• A further planning application for 47 student flats at the Manchester Hotel had also been submitted. This was adjacent to the Wheatsheaf and was therefore germane to the development there.

Councillor Shelton responded that the planning application for the Manchester Hotel would be considered at the Planning and Development Control Committee on 13 April 2011. He added that he was opposed to the application and would be speaking against it, which meant that he would not be able to participate or vote as a member of the committee at the meeting.

Santokh was thanked for coming to the meeting.