The site is within the Guildford Urban Area within an identified Housing Proposal site. The site has been cleared and slopes down from Grange Road. To the north boundary are some mature trees and beyond is The Parade, which is a row of shops with residential flats above which fronts onto Burden Way. To the east of the site is a grass verge with Grange Road and residential properties beyond. To the south and west of the site is the remainder of the Queen Elizabeth Barracks site, which has overall outline planning permission for development. Work is underway on 3 residential phases where reserved matters have been approved.

Proposal

This application is for full planning permission for a three storey 72-bedroom nursing home. The proposed nursing home is a rough L-shape and measures approximately 27 metres in maximum depth by 46.8 metres in maximum width and 11 metres in maximum height. Amended plans have been received showing 2 trees to be retained, deleting a proposed pergola and re-aligning the footpath to minimise the disturbance to the retained trees. There are 17 parking spaces proposed plus an ambulance and delivery bay. It is proposed to have a 1.8 metre high fence around the site with a boundary wall and railings to the main entrance to the site.

The proposed materials are Ibstock Throckley Smooth Buff & Ibstock Cattybrook Cheddar Red brickwork, Eternit Glasal Panals in graphite, Eternit Cement slates in blue/black, white double glazed pvcu windows, black upvc rainwater goods.

• Site area # 0.3 hectares
• Footprint of building # approximately 907 square metres
• Proposed internal floor area # approximately 2570 square metres
• Density # 240 residential units per hectare

Planning History

There is a lengthy planning history to this site. Please see planning file for full details. On 30 October 2001 outline planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the site to provide 525 dwellings, employment, nursing home, community facilities, retail, health and fitness centre, open space and associated roads.

Consultations

The County Highway Authority's comments will be reported at the meeting.

The Arboricultural Officer objected to the original scheme due to the removal of two mature trees. The plans have been amended to show the retention of the two trees.

One letter of objection has been received. They comment that the inclusion of a residential home is good but a three-storey building is out of keeping with the character of the locality.

Planning Considerations

The relevant local plan policies are, 20H `Priority Housing Needs', 25H `Residential Institutions (including Nursing Homes)' 3BE `Context for Design', 13BE `Unneighbourly Development' of the Guildford Borough Local Plan 1993 and policies 99H2 `Housing Proposals', 99G1(1) `Parking Provision', 99G1(3) `Protection of Amenities Enjoyed by Occupants of Buildings', 99G2(1) `Context for Design', The national planning guidance applicable to this application is Planning Policy Guidance Note 1 `General Policy and Principles' and Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 `Housing'.

The principle of a nursing home on this site has been established by the outline planning approval granted in October 2001.

Policies 20H and 25H of the Guildford Borough Local Plan 1993 states that the Council will normally grant planning permission for residential institutions having regard to whether they are in scale and character with the area and avoid the adverse effects of over development, have no adverse effects on the context and character of the area and do not harm neighbouring properties amenities and taking into account traffic generation, parking and access.

Policy 99H10 of the Guildford Borough Local Plan 1999 (as amended by Proposed Modifications March 2002) reflects advice contained in PPG3. It states that residential development should provide between 30 and 50 dwellings per hectare net and should provide a good mix of dwelling sizes and types to reflect local need. The emphasis of Policy 99H10 is to ensure that new residential development makes the most efficient use of land while still ensuring that the development will not have a unacceptable detrimental impact on the existing character of the area.

The provision of a nursing home is considered to be acceptable in this location. The character of the area is predominantly residential with a mixture of detached and semi-detached houses, bungalows and flats. There is a parade of shops fronting Burden Way to the north of the site. There is therefore no particular character or context to the area in terms of building uses or styles.

The nursing home consists of one-bedroom units with individual toilets. The bathroom, lounge and dining room facilities are shared. There is a kitchen, laundry rooms, staff changing and rest rooms on the second floor.

The proposed nursing home is set a considerable distance away from the side boundaries. There is not considered to be a significant impact on the neighbouring properties amenity due to the separating distance between the properties & the fact that there is existing tree screening which will lessen the impact of the development.

In response to the letter of objection received, the height of the nursing home is not considered to harm the character of the locality. Whilst there are no nearby three-storey buildings the proposal makes the best use of a previously developed site and the footprint of the building is set back from the site boundary minimising the impact of the development.

The proposal is considered to be in accordance with the relevant planning policies and to comply with the intensions of Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 `Housing'. PPG3 encourages more intensive housing development in and around existing centres and close to public transport nodes. The proposal provides housing to meet the needs of the elderly, it is in a sustainable location and is on previously developed land.

The proposed nursing home is not considered to harm the scale or character of the area nor be overdevelopment of the site. Whilst the density of development is fairly high this is due to the nature of the nursing home with a concentration of one-bedroom units with shared facilities; it is an efficient use of urban land. The impact of the proposal on neighbouring properties amenities is not considered to be significant. The building is contemporary and has been well designed and is not considered to have an adverse effect on the context and character of the area.