Prior Approval for the Change of Use from Office (Use ...
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Prior Approval for the Change of Use from Office (Use Class B1a) to Residential (Use Class C3) to Create Seven Self-Contained Flats. 26 Lowfield Street, Dartford, Kent, DA1 1HD
Transcript of Prior Approval for the Change of Use from Office (Use ...
Prior Approval for the Change of Use from Office (Use
Class B1a) to Residential (Use Class C3) to Create
Seven Self-Contained Flats.
26 Lowfield Street, Dartford, Kent, DA1 1HD
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1. Introduction
1.1 Urban Planning Practice has been instructed by the applicant, Mark Gold, to prepare and submit
a prior approval planning application at the property known as 26 Lowfield Street. The application
seeks to the change the use of the first, second and third floor offices (Use Class B1(a)) to seven
residential (Use Class C3) units.
2. The Site and Surroundings
2.1 The site is located on the eastern side of Lowfield Street within the town centre of Dartford. The
building is a three-storey terrace building with retail use located on the ground floor with office
use located across the first, second and third floors.
2.2 The application site is not located within the Green Belt or any Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty (AONB). The site is located within the Dartford Town Centre Conservation Area. The
property is located within Flood Zones Two and Three which has a medium to high probability of
flooding. The property is not a listed building nor are there any in the immediate surrounding
area. There is no relevant planning history for the property.
3. Relevant Planning History
• 20/01248/P3O - Application under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class O of the Town and Country
Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 as to whether prior approval is
required for change of use from office (Class B1A) to residential (Class C3) to form 7 self-
contained flats. Refused 9 December 2020.
• 18/01557/VCON - Development comprising (a) detailed permission for the demolition of
existing buildings, refurbishment of No. 26 Lowfield Street and the construction of 188
dwellings, retail units, office, café/micro-brewery, detailed landscape strategy, car parking,
new internal access roads, sustainable urban drainage systems; and associated
infrastructure and earthworks (b) outline permission, with all matters reserved except
access, for the demolition of existing buildings and the erection of up to 360 dwellings,
flexibility for the following Use Classes:- A1 (retail), A2 (financial and professional
services), A3 (restaurants and cafes) and D1 (non-residential institutions) fronting Lowfield
Street, new internal access roads, car parking, sustainable urban drainage systems; and
associated landscaping, infrastructure and earthworks (as amended by variation of
condition 2 to amend the layout and appearance of Phase 1). Approved 5 July 2019.
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• 16/01919/FUL - Development comprising (a) detailed permission for the demolition of
existing buildings, refurbishment of No. 26 Lowfield Street and the construction of 188
dwellings, retail units, office, café/micro-brewery, detailed landscape strategy, car parking,
new internal access roads, sustainable urban drainage systems; and associated
infrastructure and earthworks (b) outline permission, with all matters reserved except
access, for the demolition of existing buildings and the erection of up to 360 dwellings,
flexibility for the following Use Classes:- A1 (retail), A2 (financial and professional
services), A3 (restaurants and cafes) and D1 (non-residential institutions) fronting Lowfield
Street, new internal access roads, car parking, sustainable urban drainage systems; and
associated landscaping, infrastructure and earthworks. Approved 7 September 2017.
3.1 This application seeks to respond to the previously refused scheme (Ref. 20/01248/P3O) which
was refused for two reasons, as detailed below:
• Taking into account the planning history and the previous uses of the application site, there
is considered to be ambiguity with regard to the authorised use and insufficient information
has been provided to confirm that the lawful use of the first, second and third floors of the
building proposed to be converted into residential accommodation falls under use Class E
(g)(formerly Class B1a as referred to in Class O) (offices) of the Schedule to the Use
Classes Order.
• The failure to provide any off street parking provision is considered to result in significant
potential for the proposal to result in increased parking on the highway and surrounding
residential roads contributing to parking congestion and conditions prejudicial to highway
safety and amenity.
3.2 The applicant would like to acknowledge that he purchased the site from Bellway Homes and is
not connected to the developer. Whilst the property formed part of the site which formed part of
planning permission (Ref. 16/01919/FUL), Bellway are still required to implement their
development in accordance with the approved plans and conditions. However, this does not
obviate the Local Planning Authority from considering the current prior approval application on its
merits.
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4. Permitted Development (GPDO)
4.1 Schedule 2, Part 3, Class O of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development)
Order 2020 (Amended) allows for the change of use of a building to a use falling within Class C3
(dwellinghouse) from a Class B1(a) (office) development (subject to specific land designations
and prior notification to the local planning authority).
4.2 Development under Class O shall be permitted where it can be demonstrated that the proposal
would be acceptable against the following criterion:
O.1 Development is not permitted by Class O if—
(b) the building was not used for a use falling within Class B1(a) (offices) of the Schedule to the
Use Classes Order—
(i) on 29th May 2013, or
(ii) in the case of a building which was in use before that date but was not in use on that date,
when it was last in use;
(d) the site is, or forms part of, a safety hazard area;
(e) the site is, or forms part of, a military explosives storage area;
(f) the building is a listed building or is within the curtilage of a listed building; or
(g) the site is, or contains, a scheduled monument.
Conditions
O.2.(1) Development under Class O is permitted subject to the condition that before beginning
the development, the developer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination as
to whether the prior approval of the authority will be required as to—
(a) transport and highways impacts of the development,
(b) contamination risks on the site,
(c) flooding risks on the site,
(d) impacts of noise from commercial premises on the intended occupiers of the development,
and
(e) the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms of the dwellinghouses,
and the provisions of paragraph W (prior approval) apply in relation to that application.
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(2) Development under Class O is permitted subject to the condition that it must be completed
within a period of 3 years starting with the prior approval date.
Interpretation of Class O
O.3. For the purposes of Class O, “commercial premises” means any premises normally used for
the purpose of any commercial or industrial undertaking which existed on the date of application
under paragraph O.2(1), and includes any premises licensed under the Licensing Act 200349 or
any other place of public entertainment.
4.3 The proposal will be assessed against the criterion contained within Schedule 2, Part 3, Class O
of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2020 (Amended).
5. Legislative Compliance
Compliance with Class O
5.1 The proposal will be assessed against the criterion contained within Schedule 2, Part 3, Class O
of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2020 (Amended).
5.2 The site is not located on article 2(5) land, nor forms part of a safety hazard area or a military
explosive storage area. The site is not a listed building nor are there any buildings within its
curtilage which are listed. Furthermore, the site is not a scheduled monument.
5.3 In relation to the use of the property, it is submitted that the lawful use the upper floors is B1(a)
Office. The premises were previously occupied by a firm of solicitors Hewitt Burrough and Co
from as early as 1983. In support of this, various entries from the London Gazzette are shown at
Appendix 1 in addition to a number of Google Street View Images (Appendix 2) displaying the
firms signage on the upper floors. This is further supported by the Business Rates Valuation for
the property which shows that the site has been in use as an office and premises since April
2010, as demonstrated by Figure 1. This demonstrates that the office in question has been in use
for a minimum period of 7 years and certainly prior to May 2013.
5.4 It is established that a solicitor’s office would fall within Class B1(a) Office unless services are
provided principally to visiting members of the public by way of walk-in, which seems unlikely
given the location of the offices above ground floor level, fixed door and limited signage.
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Figure 1 - Business Rates Valuation Evidence for 26 Lowfield Street
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Transport
5.5 There are a number of bus stops located within 400 metres from the property providing access to
services to Bluewater, Dartford, Greenhithe, Orpington, South Darenth, Swanley, Temple Hill,
West Kingsdown and Wilmington. Dartford Station is located approximately 700 metres from the
property and provides access to SouthEastern and Thameslink services to Gravesend, London
Charing Cross, London Victoria, Luton and Rainham.
5.6 The application site is in close proximity (walking distance) to Dartford Town Centre where all
essential services and amenities are located. It is therefore considered acceptable that a
development of this nature would not have an adverse impact on transport and highways.
5.7 The application is supported by the provision of a Transport Statement produced by Crosby
Transport Planning. The conclusion of their report denotes that “it has been demonstrated that
the proposed change of use would not have a material impact upon the operation of the adjoining
highway network in terms of parking and traffic generation. By virtue of the accessible location of
the site, future residents would be able to undertake their typical daily journeys without being
reliant on the use of a private car.
5.8 Consequently it is concluded that the proposal would be entirely acceptable on transport and
highways grounds and would not give rise to a ‘material increase or a material change in the
character of traffic in the vicinity of the site”.
Contamination
5.9 As detailed previously, the site is currently in use as an office which is highly unlikely to provide
any contamination issues during the residential conversion of the property.
Flooding
5.10 The application site is located within flood zones two and three, which have a medium to high
probability of flooding. However, it is considered that the proposed development would not be
impacted by the respective flood risk and would not have adverse impact on any future occupiers
of the propose development.
5.11 The proposal is supported by the provision of an FRA as produced by Ambiental. Their
conclusion denotes that “the proposed flats will be at the first and second floor levels of the
existing building, so will be above the flood levels in the extreme fluvial and pluvial flood events.
In the event of an extreme fluvial or surface water flood event, prior evacuation would be
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required. Site users and residents of the proposed flats should sign up to the EA Flood Warning
Service.
5.12 Following the guidelines contained within the NPPF, the proposed development is considered to
be suitable assuming appropriate mitigation (including adequate warning procedures) can be
maintained for the lifetime of the development”.
Noise
5.13 The property is situated in an area with a mixture of retail, commercial and residential uses. The
retail, residential and business uses do not generate any significant noise to the extent that it
would have an adverse impact on the occupiers of the proposed development.
Adequate Natural Light
5.14 The properties conversion to residential use will benefit from the large number of existing
windows which the building has. It is therefore considered that the development would provide
adequate natural light to each of the proposed units.
6. Conclusion
6.1 It has been demonstrated that proposal meets the requirements set out within Class O of the
GPDO in terms of the qualifying use and matters of transport, flooding, contamination and noise.
Accordingly, the council are respectfully requested to approve this application.
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0208 202 9996
Appendix 1 - London Gazette Entries
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74 Brent Street, NW4 2ES
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Appendix 2 - Google Street View Image Captures
