Proposal: Erect 14 storey building comprising of 58 self-contained flats (Class C3) and commercial units at ground floor level (Class E) with ancillary bike and bin store on vacant land (Outline Application)

Applicant: M r Kotecha

Agent: Mr Steven Kearney of SKArchitects

Resolved:-

That planning permission be REFUSED for the following reason:

The proposed development would, by reason of its scale, form, detailed design and subsequent visibility from longer public vistas, create an excessively scaled, visually dominant and incongruous feature, out of keeping with and significantly harmful to the character and appearance of the application site, the streetscene and wider surrounding area which is typically of much lower scale. The harm of granting permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the public benefits when considered against the policies of the National Planning Policy Framework taken as a whole. The proposal is therefore unacceptable and contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework (2023), Policies KP2 and CP4 of the Core Strategy (2007), Policies DM1, DM3 and DM4 of the Development Management Document (2015), Policies DS2, DS3, PA1 and PA7 of the Southend Central Area Action Plan (2015) and the advice contained within the Southend-on-Sea Design and Townscape Guide (2009) and the National Design Guide (2021)."

Informative

The applicant is advised that in relation to the agreed planning obligations, in the event an appeal is lodged, the Local Planning Authority would expect a S106 legal agreement is finalised before an appeal decision is formally issued and significant progress should have been made before the appeal statement submission stage. In any other event the Local Planning Authority would request the Planning Inspector to dismiss the appeal additionally on the grounds that the development will not secure the necessary contributions for secondary education, tree replanting and removal, biodiversity mitigation or Travel Information Packs and a viability review mechanism for a late stage affordable housing viability review and that, as such, the proposal would be unacceptable and contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework (2023), Policies KP2, KP3, CP3, CP6 and CP8 of the Core Strategy (2007) and Policies DM1, DM3, DM7 and DM15 of the Development Management Document (2015).