Construction of car parking area for 30 cars

Refusal Reasons

• ✗The proposed car park and access would be located on land not zoned for any particular purpose and is within the countryside. The proposed development is not listed as an exceptional circumstance under General Policy 3 and the development is not associated with any recognised national need in land use planning terms. The application also fails to demonstrate whether there are any other reasonably available sites where the development could be located and the principle of development is considered to conflict with General Policy 3 of the Strategic Plan.
• ✗The construction of a new access and car park on agricultural land will cause demonstrable harm to the character and quality of the landscape, eroding the character and appearance of the landscape through the provision of a hard, urban form of development. The proposals therefore considered to conflict with Environment Policies 1 and 2 and General Policy 2 (b) and (c) of the Strategic Plan.
• ✗The application site is located on land identified as being at high risk of flooding. The submitted information fails to demonstrate how the site can be developed without increasing the risk of flooding off site and how the site can be used in a safe manner without endangering human health and property. The proposal therefore conflicts with Environment Policies 10 and 13, General Policy 2(l) and guidance contained at Appendix 4 of the Strategic Plan.
• ✗The proposed development would lead to the destruction of land previously identified as a habitat containing flora and fauna of ecological importance such that the site is considered to represent a habitat of local and national importance. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is considered that the proposed development will cause the permanent loss of an important ecological habitat for which no overriding national need has been demonstrated. The proposed development will therefore conflict with Environment Policies 1, 4 and 7 of the Strategic Plan.
• ✗The design of the proposed access includes a visibility splay to the North, which crosses Third Party land that is outside the ownership and control of the applicant. As such, the visibility splay to the North cannot be secured by condition. As the splay cannot be implemented the access is considered to be substandard and its use would give rise to an unacceptable impact upon highway safety. The proposal therefore conflicts with General Policy 2 (h) and (i) of the Strategic Plan.