Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 25/10007/AIR Applicant: Mr John Parsons Proposal: Information in relation to condition 21 of PA 22/00675/B providing details for the soft and hard landscaping plan to be implemented on Braddan Road (Housing Development) Site Address: Fields And Part Fields 524202, 524978, 524930, 524765, 524224, 524225 & 524226 Land East Of Braddan Road Planning Assistant: Charlotte Crowe Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 28.03.2025

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

NOTE. In the instance of the submitted details and after consultation with the case officer, who is happy with the level of detail, it is deemed sufficient to achieve the desired outcome and would be considered satisfactory for the planning condition 21 of planning application 22/00675/B, under the understanding that the development shall not be carried out unless in accordance with the approved details.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision hereby approved relates to drawings and documents submitted to the Department titled: Application Form, COVERING LETTER, SCHEDULE OF SUBMITTED INFORMATION, HART 45 -- MATERIAL SCHEDULE V1, HART 45 - 167 - MAIN SITE ENTRANCE, HART 45 -- 99 - RECYCLE & CYCLE STORAGE, HART 45 -- 89A BIN STORAGE + CYCLE - DETAILS, HART 45 - 96 - PLAY AREA LAYOUT - RA2 PA1, HART 45 - 97 - PLAY AREA LAYOUT - RA3 4, HART 45 - 98 - PLAY AREA LAYOUT - PA2 RA5, HART 45 -- 161 -ZONE 1 - PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S, HART 45 -- 162 -- ZONE 2 - PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S, HART 45 -- 163 -- ZONE 3 - PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S, HART 45 -- 164 -- ZONE 4 - PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S, HART 45 -- 165 -- ZONE 5 PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S, HART 45 -- 166 -- ZONE 6 - PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S all recorded as being electronically received by the Department on 09.01.2025,

As well as, 1696-16-10 REV A DETAILED PLANTING PLAN SHEET 1 OF 18 through to 18 of 18 and HARTFORD HOMES WOODLAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2025 V5, recorded as being electronically received on 12th February 2025.

And, BRADDAN ROAD -- CEMP - V3, HART 45 -- 167 -- ECOLOGY PROTECTION PLAN,

HART 45 -- 92A PROPOSED WAYFINDING SIGNS Recorded as being electronically received on 31st January 2025. __________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 DESCRIPTION - 1.1 The proposed application 22/00675/B for Full approval for a residential development comprising up to 320 dwellings, a nursery and a neighbourhood centre with associated highway and pedestrian/cycle access and infrastructure, drainage, landscaping and public open space together with approval in principle for a 2-form entry primary school and associated access/infrastructure was approved after appeal on the 10.07.2024 subject to 38 conditions some of which required submission of additional information prior to the commencement of work - 1.2 This report is specific to condition 21 which the applicants are seeking to satisfy. - 1.3 Specific wording of the condition is as follows:

Notwithstanding any details already submitted, and prior to the commencement of any construction works, a detailed hard and soft landscaping strategy (other than for private gardens) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. Development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details and timetable. The details to be submitted shall include:

• i) plans at a scale of 1:200 or 1:500 showing the layout of proposed tree, hedge and shrub planting and grass areas;
• ii) a written specification clearly describing the species, sizes, densities and planting numbers and giving details of cultivation and other operations associated with plant and grass establishment;
• iii) proposed finished levels and contours;
• iv) hard surfacing materials;
• v) an updated boundary treatment plan;
• vi) minor structures (eg play equipment, street furniture, refuse storage areas, signage etc);
• vii) means to prevent vehicles entering onto and/or parking within areas of public open space;
• viii)design, including cross-sections and facing materials for the reconstructed retaining wall at the entrance to the site on Braddan Road;
• ix) a scheme for the ongoing management and maintenance of the retained mature woodland shown on Drawing No Hart 045-60, including long term design objectives, management responsibilities and maintenance schedules; and
• x) a timetable for implementation.

REASON: In the interests of character and visual amenity and safeguarding/ enhancing biodiversity.

2.0 PROPOSAL - 2.1 The applicants have submitted a number of documents and drawings providing details for works to be implemented along with a duly completed application form received on 09.01.2025 - 2.2 As the condition requires information for a number of aspects within the development, I have broken the documents and information that has been provided into sections below:

• 2.2.1 Plans at a scale of 1:200 or 1:500 showing the layout of proposed tree, hedge and shrub planting and grass areas; and a written specification clearly describing the species,

sizes, densities and planting numbers and giving details of cultivation and other operations associated with plant and grass establishment:

The information for the above requirements has been comprehensively provided within drawings titled: Detailed Planting Plan Sheets 1-18 and 1696-16-10 rev A to 1696-16-27 rev A (DWG 10 to DWG 27B breaks each area down into scales required by the condition) also submitted is 1696-16-SP02 Soft Landscape Specification-2024-12-18, a full in-depth report covering the full process that is proposed in relation to all of the soft landscaping details.

The information that has been provided has subsequently been checked by one of the Department's Ecosystem Policy Officers and it has been confirmed that what is proposed is satisfactory to the condition.

• 2.2.2 Proposed finished levels and contours: This information has been provided in detail through drawings titled: HART 45 -- 161 -- ZONE 1 - PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S to HART 45 -- 166 -- ZONE 6 - PROPOSED CONTOURS & FFL'S.
• 2.2.3 Hard surfacing materials - This information has been provided in detail in the following drawing: HART 45 -- MATERIAL SCHEDULE V1 Road and Patio Surfaces to be a mix of the following: TERRACES AND PATHS - Textured grey 600x600 paving slabs or insitu concrete.

PRIVATE ROAD AND DRIVEWAY PAVING - Tegular type 60mm Block Paving, Tegular type paving, macadam surface with tegular paving edges.

ESTATE ROADS - Tarmacadam PARKING AREAS - Grasscrete in situ or grassblock

• 2.2.4 An updated boundary treatment plan, all details have been included in HART 45 -167 -- ECOLOGY PROTECTION PLAN
• 2.2.5 Minor structures (eg play equipment, street furniture, refuse storage areas, signage etc): all information in relation to these details are included in drawings - HART 45 - 98 PLAY AREA LAYOUT - PA2 RA5, HART 45 - 97 - PLAY AREA LAYOUT - RA3 4, HART 45 - 96

• PLAY AREA LAYOUT - RA2 PA1, HART 45 -- 89A BIN STORAGE + CYCLE - DETAILS, and HART 45 -- 99 - RECYCLE & CYCLE STORAGE, HART 45 -- 92A PROPOSED WAYFINDING SIGNS

• 2.2.6 Means to prevent vehicles entering onto and/or parking within areas of public open space: This information has been included in the covering letter. It has been highlighted that unauthorised access to the public open spaces is discouraged by tree planting along the perimeter of the POS area. (Details are provided within the BCA Design Detailed Planting Plans). In other areas the topography of the area is such that it would make it impossible for vehicles to gain access.
• 2.2.7 Design, including cross-sections and facing materials for the reconstructed retaining wall at the entrance to the site on Braddan Road can be found within drawing titled: HART 45 - 167 - MAIN SITE ENTRANCE
• 2.2.8 A scheme for the ongoing management and maintenance of the retained mature woodland shown on Drawing No Hart 045-60, including long term design objectives,

management responsibilities and maintenance schedules: HARTFORD HOMES WOODLAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2025 V5 -

Aims of this Strategy:

• o Outlining the key legal responsibilities with regard to tree risk management and the tree
• owner's duty of care.
• o Outlining how tree risk can be managed through proactive and reactive tree inspections and actioning the resulting tree work recommendations.
• o Identifying key objectives to ensure the woodland receives proper on-going management, to maximise ecological and visual benefits whilst minimising future liabilities. This preliminary strategy will be used to discharge condition number 21, item 9 of the approved planning application 22/0675/B

Strategic Approach: to fulfil the aims stated above there will be two core elements to this preliminary strategy:

• A. Proactive tree risk management objectives - A set of objectives will be defined to guide future tree surveys and inspections for the purpose of identifying and addressing foreseeable and unacceptable tree related risk.
• B. Long-term woodland management objectives - A set of objectives will be defined for the management of the woodland structure and species composition to ensure progress is made towards amenity and ecological aims. This preliminary strategy will be implemented following commencement of the Braddan Road development, enabling the new woodland owner to fulfil their duty of care.

Legal Obligations - Risk to People and Property: The owner of Braddan Woods has a legal obligation to manage the risk posed by the woodland trees which is referred to the 'Duty of Care'.

The relevant pieces of legislation are as follows:

• o The Occupiers Liability Act (1964) confers a duty on an occupier to take reasonable care to ensure that visitors to our sites are safe from harm.
• o The Health and Safety at Work, Etc., Act (1974) places a duty of care on employers to those who are not employees. Employers must ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.
• o The Tree Preservation Act 1993 controls the removal of any live tree with a trunk diameter greater then 8cm at 1.5m above ground level, and the pruning or removal of any registered tree of any size. o The Wildlife Act 1990 protects any scheduled species of plant
• or animal. Industry Guidance: The preliminary strategy and all subsequent tree and woodland management strategies relating to Braddan Woods will bring together guidance from several key documents which are currently accepted as best practice for managing the risk to people and property from trees:
• o Common sense risk management of trees, National Tree Safety Group (NTSG), 2024
• o Hazards from trees, Forestry Commission (Lonsdale), 2000
• o Tree Safety Management - Operational Guidance Booklet, Forestry Commission, 2007
• o Sector Information Minute 01/2007/05 - Management of the risk from falling trees or branches, HSE, 2013
• o Managing deadwood in forests and woodland, Forest Research, 2012 o British Standard BS3998:2010 - Tree work - Recommendations

Wildlife Conservation: Management interventions based solely on risk reduction have the potential to negatively impact on the wildlife associated with trees.

The main areas of concern are:

• o Bats
• o Birds
• o The loss of deadwood

Proactive tree risk management objectives: To reduce risks posed by the woodland trees to any person or property owed the duty of care, the woodland owner's appointed arboricultural specialist will:

• a) Identify levels of occupation within and adjacent to the woodland to inform the level of detail required by a survey and the frequency of inspections for a given area.
• b) Define a suitable inspection frequency for each area of the woodland based on occupancy rates. c) Define what data will be recorded during a survey and how it will be presented.

• d) Define what level of competency is required by a tree surveyor/inspector.
• e) Ensure that any recommendation generated by a survey is appropriately prioritised to enable resources to be focused.
• f) Define a suitable approach for reactive and interim tree inspections to respond to dynamic and unforeseeable factors.
• g) Observe and incorporate the long-term woodland management objectives (Part B) into the proactive tree survey recommendations, where doing so doesn't result in unacceptable risk

Responsibilities: The responsibility for the management of Braddan Woods, both for Risk Management and for the enhancement of its Biodiversity Value, will rest with the owner, although a management company, or another suitable body may be appointed to perform such functions. If the woodland is conveyed by the owner, then the responsibility to maintain the woodlands shall pass to the new owner.

The Detailed Planting Plan Sheets numbered 1-18 list an extensive range of planting which is to be implemented. These have been checked and confirmed by the Department's Ecosystems Policy Officer. All in which is proposed has been deemed satisfactory.

• 2.2.9 A timetable for implementation: This has been included in drawings titled HART 45 -

• 83 REV A - PHASE 1 through to HART 45 -- 88 REV A - PHASE 6.

3.0 CONSULTATION - 3.1 The Department's Ecosystems Policy Team were consulted for advice on the satisfaction of condition. The advice received on 06.03.2025, after their review of the submitted documents, concludes that they are pleased that the information satisfies the relevant clauses of condition 21. "The Ecosystem Policy Team can confirm that we are content with:

• o The Hartford Homes Woodland Management Strategy 2025 V5.
• o The Detailed Planting Plan Sheets 1-18." 06.03.2025

3.2 The recommending officer of the original application was consulted for advice on the satisfaction of condition. The advice received on (15.12.2024), after their review of the submitted documents, concludes that they are pleased to confirm that the information satisfies the relevant clauses.

4.0 RECOMMENDATION - 4.1 In the instance of the submitted details and after consultation with the case officer, who is happy with the level of detail, it is deemed sufficient to achieve the desired outcome and would be considered satisfactory for the planning condition 21 of planning application

22/00675/B, under the understanding that the development shall not be carried out unless in accordance with the approved details.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 15.04.2025 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner