Amos Group Alexandra House Queen Street, Leek Staffordshire. ST13 6LP

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DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT

PLANNING APPLICATION FOR THE ALTERATIONS TO THE APPROVED DWELLING UNIT 6 at the FORMER HIGHWAYMAN, THREAPWOOD. STAFFORDSHIRE. ST10 4RA

January 2014

DESIGN & ACCESS STATEMENT PLANNING APPLICATION FOR THE ALTERATIONS TO THE APPROVED DWELLING UNIT 6 at the FORMER HIGHWAYMAN, THREAPWOOD, STAFFORDSHIRE. ST10 4RA INTRODUCTION / CONTEXT The Design and Access statement has been prepared to accompany the planning application to amend the existing approval 12/01138/FUL Conversion of vacant premises to 8 residential units to split the larger dwelling formerly identified as unit 6, into smaller residential units. The principle of housing on the site has been approved by the Full Permitted Planning Application 04/01548/FUL. A revised planning application reference 12/01138/FUL was considered an enhancement of the previously approved scheme. This revised scheme has been implemented on site, with all of the associated Planning conditions cleared by the Local Authority. This application seeks to gain permission for design and material changes to the original proposal. The site comprised of a row of mid 19th century stone faced cottages had been merged together, extended and altered, to form a pub and nightclub. The approved scheme was to remove the low quality lean - to extensions, porches etc to restore the original cottage appearance to form a block of 5 dwellings comprising of 3no terrace style stone fronted cottages with a pair of back to back cottages. The former covered beer garden type structure and nightclub dance floor was to be separated from the 5 stone cottages to form a pair of semi-detached bungalows, and also a detached house. The 5 stone faced cottages have now been completed and sold to the respect new owners a phase 1 of the development, The last in the row was completed and the new owner moved in at the end of November. The scheme has received high praise from the new occupiers and prospective owners with respect to the design and finished quality of the houses.

The response from potential purchasers and the estate agents marketing the properties is that they have been so popular to an extent that each of them were purchased off plan a while before completion and that they could have sold over again. Such was the demand for the 2/3 bedroom cottages that two of the cottages were reserved to prospective purchasers before the development was granted the 2012 planning permission, The cottages each have large gardens with dedicated parking spaces suitable for 2 – 3 parked cars and also storage area for garden tools, etc The site is in a rural location but with good links to the local town of Cheadle and is attractive to a diverse range of purchasers and is forming a healthy small community. The works to convert the former dance floor area for units 7 & 8 is progressing well on site, with potential purchasers expressing a keen interest in the bungalow style properties. Unfortunately the detached house unit 6 is producing no interest from potential purchasers who are looking for the small 2/3 bedroom dwellings on the site. Discussions with the marketing agents have advised that the house should be separated into smaller properties. The approval for dwelling unit 6 comprises of the conversion of the existing 2 storey painted brick building former entrance to the nightclub into bedroom accommodation for 5 bedrooms, together with the former beer garden part of the night club which would become an open plan lounge/kitchen. This larger unit than the others was to be allocated a garden curtilage of approximately 1390m2 with the option to purchase the paddock at the southern end of the site. The development is currently being joint marketed by Bury & Hilton, John German & also Fisher German to cover the offices and geographic areas surrounding Leek, Buxton, Ashbourne, Cheadle and Uttoxeter each with websites for National coverage. PROPOSAL The application is to split the dwelling unit 6 into the detached two storey detached house with a detached bungalow unit, similarly styled to the pair of semi detached properties units 7 & 8. The proposed dwellings would be separated by a gap of approximately 4.0m to provide privacy to the occupants. The large garden area would be divided between these two dwellings. The visual appearance of the restored stone cottages is so attractive with the original small window opening, that the proposed extension for the front of the two storey element of unit 6 would be instead built using reclaimed stone, recycled following the demolition of the former porches, etc on the site which match the cottages. The proposed window fenestration shall also match the cottages. We believe the separation of the unit into smaller dwelling fully meets the Nation Planning Policy Framework supporting strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by providing the supply of housing required to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by creating a high quality built environment, with accessible local services that reflect the community’s needs and support its health, social and cultural well-being.

The separated proposed unit 9 shall be enhanced externally in a similar manner to the bungalow units 7 & 8 by cladding the external face of the existing concrete block wall using a reclaimed brick to harmonise with the surrounding buildings whilst maintaining a rustic rural appearance to the site.

USE / AMOUNT The proposed amendment to the approved scheme is designed to suit the existing site and building constraints, providing 2 smaller detached dwellings better suited to the diverse market demographic of purchasers looking to live within the small semi-rural community. LAYOUT The layout is a product of the influences of the previous planning permission, the access point, the topography of the site and the surrounding land and the Council’s guidelines on amenity space in housing layouts. The revised planning application in 2012 resulted in a reduction in proposed dwellings from the original application. This has generally enabled larger sized dwellings in the layout. However, as the smaller cottage plots were sold in a relatively short period of time, it demonstrates the need for more affordable housing in the local area. This justification interpreted by amending the larger plot 6 from a single house originally, far larger in dimensions than the other plots on the site, into two smaller plots, thereby creating an additional plot, that of plot 9. The treatment of front boundaries is particularly important to the creation of a sense of place for the proposed development. A mixture of walls and fencing with appropriate planting is considered to be successful. The layout of the development as a whole is influenced by the nature of the original building on the site. The 2012 approval 12/01138/FUL was to form 8 dwelling houses located in three separate blocks. Block 1 contains units 1-5 which are small cottage type dwellings. Block 2 contains units 7-8 which are bungalow style buildings. Dwelling unit 6 formed the third block on the site which comprised of the existing 2-storey unit with a tasteful extension to the front to replace an existing porch extension and the single storey former beer garden built at the side, with a new pitched roof to match the other buildings. This application proposes an amendment in numbers to nine, by separating the single storey element from the two storey element of plot 6 to form an additional plot, that of plot 9. Both plots 6 and 9 to be stand-alone barn type dwellings. SCALE The scale of the proposed dwelling is the same as the approved scheme in terms of overall massing due to the re-use of the existing buildings. Part of the existing structure shall be demolished to provide separation between the proposed small dwelling of around 4.0m to provide privacy between the dwellings. LANDSCAPING The existing garden curtilage allocated to plot 6 shall be divided equally between the new dwelling plots 6 & 9. Access to the two storey plot 6 shall be as the original approved using the main entrance to the former pub carpark and passing between the gardens and parking spaces of cottage dwellings units 2 to 5. The tarmac finished driveway shall lead through a pair of gates into the curtilage of plot 6. Access to the newly formed plot 9 shall be via the rear access driveway passing the bungalow units 7 & 8 and using the access drive to the water treatment plant to access the garden curtilage from the south of the dwellings. The area to the side of the driveways shall be grassed and planted similar in appearance to the remainder of the site to maintain the attractive appearance of the whole site and harmonise with the surrounding dwellings. The proposed dwelling units 6 & 9 shall each have a detached garage for storing garden maintenance equipment, vehicles etc. with sufficient space to turn around within the garden curtilage and exit using forward gears

APPEARANCE The development has been designed to represent a traditional representation of the area’s building tradition by the careful use of an appropriate palette of materials, respecting a traditional relationship between solid and void and with scale and elevations that are in keeping with other dwellings in the area. ACCESS The road outside the site and around the development is fairly level, travelling north/south, however it does rise across the site east - west. The design and split/separation of the original buildings make use of the change in levels by ensuring each of the dwellings are provided with level access.