16/P/01353 – Barons of Farnborough After Sales Centre, Lysons Avenue,Ash Vale 1

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App No: 17/P/01353 8 Wk Deadline: 06/10/2017Appn Type: Full ApplicationCase Officer: Areena DavidParish: Ash Ward: Ash ValeAgent : Applicant: Mr Hyatt

Barons of Farnborough LtdBarons of FarnboroughLysons AvenueASH VALEGU12 5QF

Location: Barons Of Farnborough After Sales Centre, Lysons Avenue, AshVale, Guildford, GU12 5QF

Proposal: Variation of condition 2 of planning application 15/P/00204 toextend the operational hours.

Executive Summary

Reason for referral

This application has been brought before the planning committee at the request of CouncillorMarsha Moseley who objects to the proposed variation of opening hours, which she considerswould result in increased noise and disturbance to the detriment of the neighbouring residentialproperties.

Key information

The site to which this application relates is located within the urban area of Ash and Tongham.The application site comprises of two buildings. This application relates to a detached buildingused as a MOT testing & valeting unit, forming part of a larger commercial site is connection withvehicle sales, repairs and servicing. To the east of the site lies a series of residential propertiesalong Frimley Road and to the north, west and south-east there are further commercial buildings.

This application seeks variation of condition 2 of planning application 15/P/00204 to extend theoperational hours on Saturdays from 08:00 to 18:00.

Condition 2 of planning permission 15/P/00204 reads as below:

The use of the building hereby permitted, for MOT testing, shall not operate other than betweenthe hours of 08:00 to 18:00 Mondays to Fridays (inclusive), 08:00 to 13:30 on Saturdays andshall not operate at all on Sundays or Bank or National Holidays.Reason: To safeguard the residential amenities of neighbouring properties.

Summary of considerations and constraints

This application seeks to extend the operating hours on Saturdays between 08:00 to 18:00 toprovide extended MOT and valeting services. The business will remain closed on Sundays andBank or National Holidays. The closest noise sensitive residential buildings are positionedapproximately 40 metres away from the building, with the rear aspect of the neighbouringproperties comprising of long gardens abutting the existing building. The proposed building isenclosed, with the opening doors facing away from the neighbouring properties and the MOTtesting would be taking place during opening times only. As such, the increase in opening hours

is not considered to result in unacceptable levels of noise and disturbance to the occupants of theneighbouring properties that would justify a reason for refusal in this instance. The EnvironmentalHealth Officer has assessed the application and raise no concern with regards to the extendedopening hours. The proposed development would therefore comply with saved policy G1 (3) ofthe Guildford Borough Local Plan 2003.

RECOMMENDATION:

Approve - subject to the following condition(s) and reason(s) :-

1. The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with thefollowing approved plans for 15/P/00204:

MOT Test Lane: MRB5014-01 Rev. A (dated 30/07/2014);Proposed Plan & Elevations: MRB5014-03 (dated 27/11/2014); andExisting Plan & Elevations: MRB5014-03 (dated 27/11/2014),

received on 09/02/2015 and additional information received on 09/02/2015.

Reason: To ensure that the development is carried out in accordance with theapproved plans and in the interests of proper planning.

2. The use of the building hereby permitted for MOT testing shall not operate otherthan between the hours of 08:00 to 18:00 Mondays to Saturdays (inclusive), andshall not operate at all on Sundays or Bank or National Holidays.

Reason: To safeguard the residential amenities of neighbouring properties.

3. The external finishes and materials of the development approved under15/P/00204 shall be retained and maintained throughout the lifetime of thebuilding.

Reason: To ensure that the external appearance of the building is satisfactory.

Informatives:1. This statement is provided in accordance with Article 35(2) of the Town and

Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.Guildford Borough Council seek to take a positive and proactive approach todevelopment proposals. We work with applicants in a positive and proactivemanner by:

Offering a pre application advice serviceWhere pre-application advice has been sought and that advice has beenfollowed we will advise applicants/agents of any further issues arising duringthe course of the applicationWhere possible officers will seek minor amendments to overcome issuesidentified at an early stage in the application process

However, Guildford Borough Council will generally not engage in unnecessarynegotiation for fundamentally unacceptable proposals or where significantchanges to an application is required

Pre-application advice was not sought prior to submission and the application wasacceptable as submitted.

Officer's Report

Site description.

The site to which this application relates is located within the urban area of Ash and Tongham.The application site comprises of two buildings. This application relates to a detached buildingused as a MOT testing & valeting unit, forming part of a larger commercial site is connection withvehicle sales, repairs and servicing. To the east of the site lies a series of residential propertiesalong Frimley Road and to the north, west and south-east there are further commercial buildings.

Proposal.

Variation of condition 2 of planning application 15/P/00204 to extend the operational hours.

Relevant planning history.

02/P/00431 - Erection of after sales centre building and a prep and cleaning workshop andassociated car parking. Demolition of existing industrial unit and offices (As amended byadditional plan 27591/11 received on 8/04/02 and amended plans 27591/16, 17 & 18 received on17/04/02, further amended plans received 22/08/02). Approved

15/P/00204 - Change of use of workshop from general valeting and coding of vehicles to MOTtesting & valeting. Raising part of the roof and installation of external cladding to suit. Approved

Consultations.

Statutory consulteesCounty Highway Authority: The extension of opening hours on a Saturday will not result inconditions prejudicial to highway safety

Internal consulteesHead of Environmental Health and Licensing: No objection to the variation. The MOT bay is setback on the plot and the opening of the bay is protected by the main building and it is notconsidered that the extended use would create a significant amount of additional noise for theresidents.

Parish CouncilAsh Parish Council objects to the proposal on following grounds:

Strongly object as the condition was put on for a good reason to protect the amenity of theresidential properties opposite

Third party comments:

2 letters of representation have been received raising the following objections and concerns:

Increased noise from the changed hours at the weekend

Other businesses are not allowed to open in the afternoon [Officer note: the surroundingbusinesses have different hours of use with a number of businesses operating till 18:00 in thesurrounding area. This is discussed in details later.]

Planning policies.

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF):Core planning principlesChapter 1. Building a strong, competitive economy

Guildford Borough Local Plan 2003 (as saved by CLG Direction 24 September 2007): G1 General Standards of DevelopmentG5 Design Code

Planning considerations.

The main planning considerations in this case are:

the principle of developmentthe impact on neighbouring amenity

The principle of developmentThe principle of the development was accepted under the original application 15/P/00204. Theminor material amendment procedure was introduced by the Government to allow a moreproportionate approach to minor material changes in development proposals after permission hasbeen granted. This application seeks to vary condition 2 of the approved application to extend theopening hours of the MOT testing bay and valeting services. The principle of altering theoperating hours is deemed to be acceptable, subject to compliance with the relevant scale andcharacter, highways and amenity considerations of the saved Local Plan and NPPF.

The original application considered the principle of development, which was consideredacceptable. The proposal does not include changes to the use of the business and therefore thisSection 73 application does not allow this to be reconsidered. The original application alsoconsidered the impact on the scale and character and highways and parking considerations. Theproposal does not include increase in the floor space or external changes, and it does not includeaddition in parking spaces. Therefore, it is considered that this Section 73 application would nothave a negative impact on these elements of the application and these elements do not need tobe re-considered under this application.

Impact on neighbouring amenityCondition 2 of planning permission 15/P/00204 reads as below:

The use of the building hereby permitted, for MOT testing, shall not operate other than betweenthe hours of 08:00 to 18:00 Mondays to Fridays (inclusive), 08:00 to 13:30 on Saturdays andshall not operate at all on Sundays or Bank or National Holidays.

Reason: To safeguard the residential amenities of neighbouring properties.

This application seeks to extend the operating hours on Saturdays between 08:00 to 18:00 toprovide extended MOT and valeting services on Saturdays. The business will remain closed onSundays and Bank or National Holidays. The entire business currently operates between 08:30 -18:00 Mondays to Fridays and between 08:30 - 13:00 Saturdays. To meet customers demandsand corporate operational changes, the operating hours of the entire business will change to beopen till 18:00 hours on Saturdays.

It should be noted that the remaining business does not have any restrictions on opening hoursas approved under planning permission 02/P/00431. This application only restricted the loadingand unloading to not operate between 20:00 and 07:00 Mondays to Fridays or before 07:00 andafter 13:00 on Saturdays. Therefore, the remaining business does not require planning consentto implement the extended opening hours.

Condition 2 was attached to the permission in order to safeguard the residential amenities ofneighbouring properties. The application building is situated towards the north-east corner of thesite, with this boundary line being shared with a series of residential properties fronting FrimleyRoad. The existing building is positioned parallel and adjacent to this boundary line. The closestnoise sensitive residential buildings are positioned approximately 40 metres away from thebuilding, with the rear aspect of the neighbouring properties comprising of long gardens abuttingthe existing building.

This operation within an established urban and commercial area, has a degree of noise anddisturbance associated with such an activity. However, the proposed building is enclosed, withthe opening doors facing away from the neighbouring properties and the MOT testing would betaking place during opening times only. Furthermore, the MOT testing is contained within a smallpart of the building, while the more noise emanating service of the business, the repair workshopis situated away from the residential properties. As such the proposal is not considered to harmthe residential amenities of the neighbouring properties. The Environmental Health Officer hasassessed the application and raise no concern with regards to the extended opening hours.

It is worth noting that a number of businesses within close proximity of the site currently benefitfrom extended operating hours on Saturdays; such as, the adjacent business Dino Autoworkshas opening hours between 09:00 - 18:00 Monday to Saturday. A number of other businesses,such as Tescos, 40 Lysons Avenue, 11 Lysons Avenue, The Canna Estate, Brinell Building, allbenefit from operational hours until and/or after 18:00 hours on Saturdays. More importantly,redevelopment for the larger adjacent site towards the northern boundary (the former DrumLaundry), which also abuts residential dwellings along Frimley Road was approved (00/P/00095)with no restrictions on operating hours, whilst only loading and unloading was restricted.Therefore, it is evident that a range of businesses already operate with extended hours onSaturdays within close proximity of residential dwellings.

Taking this into consideration and given that the remaining business can operate withunrestricted hours and whilst the change of operating hours on Saturdays may result in someincrease in noise and disturbance to the occupants of the surroundings properties, this increaseis not considered to result in unacceptable levels of noise and disturbance to the occupants of theneighbouring properties that would justify a reason for refusal in this instance.

Therefore, it is considered that the extended hours would not result in an adverse impact on theresidential amenities of the neighbouring properties. The proposed development would thereforecomply with saved policy G1 (3) of the Guildford Borough Local Plan 2003.

Conclusion.

The proposed development meets the requirement of policy G1 (3) as well as the NPPF anddoes not result in an adverse impact on the residential amenities of the neighbouring propertiesin terms of increased noise and disturbance

The application is therefore recommended for approval.