APPEAL AGAINST BROXTOWE BOROUGH COUNCIL’S REFUSAL OF PLANNINGPERMISSION TO ALLOW THE PART DEMOLITION, CHANGE OF USE ANDREMODELLING OF STREET ELEVATION, IMPROVEMENTS TO FORECOURT ANDPROVIDE PARKING AT10 ATTENBROROUGH LANE, CHILWELL, NOTTINGHAM NG9 6AA

The Site

This appeal pertains to the cafeteria, gallery and retail area occupying premises fronting 10Attenborough Lane. The total existing gross floor space is 387.5 sq.m. plus forecourt. Theresulting floor area after part demolition will be 265 sq.m which represents a one thirdreduction in building footprint.

This part of Chilwell, know locally as 'Depot Corner’ because of the access road leading tothe former Royal Ordnance Depot, is a predominantly mixed use area where there are anumber of retail, engineering, office, commercial and car sales premises already operating.Photographs and a key are attached in Appendix A.

The History

Permission to change the use of 10 Attenborough Lane from a car body repair and sprayworkshop (Class B2) to a mixed use gallery (Class D1)/coffee shop (Class A3) was grantedon 10 October 2007 (07/00710/FUL) with the A3 use restricted to the front third of thebuilding and with limited opening hours. Difficulties arose due to the tenant owning rent andrates and as a result the building has not been occupied or operated as a gallery or cafesuccessfully since the original tenant’s departure, despite intensive marketing through localagents due the the restrictive nature of the planning permission.

Because of the landlocked position of the building, there have always been difficulties inachieving satisfactory approval from the Fire & Rescue Services regarding travel distancesand safe escape for occupiers in the event of fire. The proposed reduction of the buildingby one third will also overcome these safety issues successfully.

The Proposal

Approval was sought for the part demolition of the area designated for A3 restaurant usewithin the existing building, the change of use of the gallery area to A3 and for thearchitectural rebuilding of the street fronting elevation, with associated car parkingimprovements to the forecourt.

The guiding principles behind the proposals are to establish an attractive and sustainableuse of the site and premises that:

· Achieves a significant improvement to architectural quality of the street scene.

· Establishes a financially sustainable business with long-term local employmentopportunities.

· Establishes a first class restaurant with an exclusive and deserved reputation inBroxtowe.

· Makes the best use of an unappealing building and constrained site.

· Contributes in general to the prosperity and amenity of the area.

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In order to achieve these aims and objectives the applicant proposes to:

· Operate a ‘Fine Dining’ limited cover, evening only restaurant. Built upon thesuccess and international reputation of the chef and restaurateur, plus an awardwinning design team.

· Carry out substantial demolition and rebuilding upgrading the existing A3 restaurantuse to create new job opportunities over and above the head chef, manager andrestaurateur.

· Reduce the restaurant use opening times from all day and evenings to eveningsonly, until no later than 11.00pm.

· Move the kitchen towards the rear of the premises to facilitate the rebuilding to allowimprovements to the street fronting elevation, and create a more attractive diningarea.

· Form the dining area into the central portion of the premises giving approximately 60covers capacity.

· Invest in a ‘state of the art’ odourless and largely integral extract and filter system,which will not vent onto the adjacent garden area to the west and south but has beendesigned and located to vent at the north boundary along side the existing garageworkshops on Chetwynd Road.

Install air conditioning and heating facilities without exterior exchangers but creatingattenuating construction with a designated internal plant room and acoustic louvresto external air thereby eliminating any noise breakout and ensuring ongoingscheduled maintenance is conveniently easier

· Remove the existing unsightly workshop façade to create an attractive integratedarchitectural whole, employing high specification materials and design detailing.

· Improve highway safety and customer parking facilities by creating a new forecourtarea with high walls either side to establish a more self contained approach to thenew restaurant and reducing potential noise nuisance at the footpath position.

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT

Physical context

· Attenborough Lane and the district it serves is a relatively dense but wholly suburbanarea in character comprising an unremarkable mix of 20th century housinginterspersed with small groups of commercial premises. There is a notable lack ofidentity, architectural quality or spatial cohesion.

· No.10 Attenborough Lane is sited in a small group of business premises. Adjacentto the north are motor sales premises and unsightly workshops extending around thestreet corner to flank the site to the north. Adjacent to the south and west areresidences and gardens.

· The proposal by the applicant for No.10 Attenborough Lane presents an opportunityto make a significant improvement to the appearance and identity of the local streetscene.

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Demand and Sustainability

· For such a large housing district within a largely residential borough there is anotable lack of small, quality restaurants.

· What exists in the main are fast food outlets, eating chains, down-market takeawaysand pub grub. The larger district centres of Beeston and Stapleford offer little varietyand nothing of real quality. For this, a journey to Nottingham city centre, or furtherout of the Borough is required.

· The demolition of one third of the building, its affect on real estate value and themajor investment needed to refurbish and rebuild to a high standard is a substantialproject. The establishment, by the site owner, of a small, top quality restaurant with aproven business formula, track record, and first class award-winning teamrepresents a long term and financially viable proposition. The applicant has otherwell-established business interests in the borough and this will serve to underpinlocal confidence in the proposed restaurant business.

· The high level of specification in architectural design and environmental equipment isfurther evidence of the long-term business investment.

· In the current and foreseeable financial climate of failing businesses, risingunemployment and lack of business credit, new investment, business expansion andlong term stability must be a welcome addition to any local economy.

· The local community will be in a position to benefit from the enhanced amenity andnew employment opportunities, created by the proposed development. In the widercontext, the establishment of a small but renowned and successful business canonly serve to benefit the prosperity and image of the borough.

ACCESS NETWORKS

Public Transport

The site is well served by all forms of public transport, with a regular bus service alongAttenborough Lane and a bus stop situated less than 10m away from the restaurantpremises. There are also a number of bus routes along the nearby Bypass Road. Thenearest rail station in Attenborough is at the southern end of Attenborough Lane, linking withNottingham and Derby. Both licensed Hackney cabs and private hire cars are readilyavailable in the area.

Pedestrian Access

The site lies in the heart of a very extensive residential district and is well within safe walkingdistance of a large number of households.

Cycling

The Borough has a number of policies and initiatives to promote and encourage cycling.The applicant supports these and intends to provide for secure bicycle parking on therestaurant forecourt to encourage customers to use this form of transport.

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Inclusive Access

The applicant proposes to incorporate provision for unrestricted access to the restaurant forthe disabled and disadvantaged. No changes in level are proposed. Circulation within therestaurant will allow for wheelchairs and a disabled toilet will be provided.

Vehicular Access

• The major demolition of nearly one third of the building to provide customer parkingspaces is a significant reduction in the building footprint and will result in majorimprovement in the car parking space/facilities and highway safety.

· Attenborough Lane serves as a wide (10m) local distributor road for this part ofChilwell. There is parking either side of the highway with some restrictions inoperation, mainly over the daytime hours, at the normal points to ensure highwaysafety.

In general, the busiest time for traffic volumes, vehicle access and parking is from8am until 6pm, with the usual peak periods experienced in the early morning andlater part of the afternoon, with people commuting to work and doing the school runs. The current café/gallery/shop business at No.10 Attenborough is open during thedaytime (from 8am) as well as the evening hours (until 10pm), and generatesvehicular traffic and parking on Attenborough Lane, during the peak periods ofvehicular activity mentioned above.

· The proposed alterations to the A3 Restaurant use seeks only to be open forbusiness in the evenings, until 11.00pm, thus avoiding contributing to the accesstraffic, parking, and the general safety hazard, during the peak periods.

· Also as a consequence of the restaurant’s limited opening hours and dining policy itwill not be open for the traditional pub turning-out time trade, or the night time clubcrowd.

PLANNING CONTEXT

Land Use

· Formerly a class B2 car body repair and painting facility, the property currently hasplanning consent for class A3 (restaurant/café) use, with liquor and entertainmentlicenses, for the front portion of the premises, and class D1 (gallery/retail) use for therear portion of the premises.

This existing part café/restaurant, part bar, part gallery and part shop business hasnot proved commercially viable to date, due in the main to a confused identity, lackof investment, and management difficulties. Recognizing the long term potential fora properly run first class restaurant here, the owner has taken the site in hand andseeks permission to implement the works described to provide the class A3restaurant use in the reduced area building.

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Planning Policy

In terms of land use, employment and design, there are a number of planning policies inplace that support the proposed extension of restaurant use and the remodeling andenhancement of the frontage.

The relevant Government advice is embodied in their Planning Policy Guideline’ statementsnotably:

PPG1, which seeks to develop three principles of forward planning:

- ‘Sustainable development’

- ‘Encouragement of mixed development’

- ‘High quality design’

The ‘Nottinghamshire Structure Plan Review’ in Policy 2/9 states that ‘Permission will begiven for the redevelopment or extension of employment uses provided that theenvironmental side effect are acceptable’.

The Broxtowe Local Plan 2004, which incorporates the ‘Broxtowe Economic Action Plan’incorporates policies specifically seeking to stimulate business expansion and newemployment opportunities, including:

- Policy em/c ‘Promote opportunities for job creations in all sectors of the localcommunity’

- Policy em/f ‘Provide opportunities for existing business to succeed andexpand.

By proposing to:

- Expand the class A3 Restaurant on the site in order to be able to establish along-term sustainable business.

- Commit a high level investment in the installation of external extractequipment that all but removes any effect of kitchen exhaust. Plus siting thevent well away from nearby dwellings and gardens. See appendix (1)

- Significantly increase local employment opportunities.

- Commission an architectural design and material specification of the highestorder.

- Implement a hard and soft landscape and improvements to the forecourtarea.

the applicant seeks to accord with the aims and objectives embodied in the Broxtowe LocalPlan.

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DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Design Rationale

The existing built premises are utilitarian in appearance and exhibit no features ofarchitectural character or design quality.

In formulating design proposals the applicant has adopted an integrated approach to thewhole site to resolve design issues and site constraints, and express form, layout andfunctionality to best advantage.

The applicant will by significant demolition be able to create a contemporary, scale sensitiveapproach, with good design practice, to achieve an architectural solution of quality thatcontributes a modest, yet notable and appealing contribution to the street scene whilstprotecting and improving the amenity enjoyed by existing residents and commercialneighbours alike.

Design, Materials and Appearance – Front Elevation

As the existing street fronting elevation is no longer compatible with the internalarrangements, usage or desired architectural quality, it is proposed that the demolition iscarried out and the new front elevation be reconstructed. This remodeling of the frontelevation comprises the proper integration of entrance and egress, and the breaking of theuniformly horizontal roof line, to achieve a balanced and architecturally cohesive whole.

The wall of the entire new elevation will be thickened and existing flank wall retained andstrengthened to create an enclosed courtyard contained on three sides to give depth, threedimensional modeling and robustness of appearance.

The design of the front elevation has also been so arranged that the name of the restaurantcan be incorporated in freestanding letters as part of the design aesthetic of the wholefrontage.

Landscape

In order to enhance the proposed forecourt area, a new landscape scheme is proposedcomprising the siting of robust perennial climbers along the flank boundary walls andsuitable surface treatment for vehicle use with designated parking spaces marked withcontrasting materials.

Reasons for Refusal

There are three reasons stated on the decision notice

1. The proposed parking layout does not include adequate room for vehicles to manoeuvreto as to exit the site in a forward gear. In the opinion of the Local Planning Authorityvehicles reversing onto Attenborough Lane from the site would be detrimental tohighway safety and the free flow of traffic.

2. The proposed use would, in the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, be likely toresult in an unacceptable loss of amenity for occupiers of nearby dwellings by virtue ofnoise and general disturbance.

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3. Insufficient information has been submitted about the proposed air conditioning unit tosatisfy the Local Planning Authority that there will be no adverse effect on the amenitiesof nearby occupiers from this unit.

REBUTTAL OF REASONS FOR REFUSAL

During subsequent meetings with the LPA it was agreed that reasons 1 and 3 above couldbe dealt with by the deposit of amended plans and a noise report to overcome the reasonsfor refusal and subject to finalizing a response from the LPA we are confident that they canbe satisfied.

Reason 2 above is a more subjective observation and suggests that there would be anunacceptable loss of amenity for occupiers of nearby dwellings underpinned by reason 3which has been satisfied by the commissioning and production of a noise report carried outin accordance with BS4142. including the specification for acoustic louvres to the purposebuilt plant room. The activity from a restaurant in this location with a reduced footprint,contained forecourt approach and set back entrance point would in our view create lessdisturbance than an actively operating an A3 use and D1 gallery space in the currentbuilding. Vehicle movements on and off the site would be away from the footpath, lessnoticeable visually and as a result of the forecourt parking enhance highway safety.

This is a mixed use area where there are significant incompatible uses being currentlycarried out. The previous use of the building as a car body repair centre was certainly anunacceptable use and the LPA were pleased to support a less controversial use but made itdifficult to successfully utilise the building fully by applying conditions on the area of A3 andoperating hours. The reduction in the building footprint, the improvements to the parking andthe enhanced street elevation are a substantial concession made by the applicant which wefeel more than adequately mitigate any objections and the reasons for refusal and thereforewe respectfully request that you allow this appeal.

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APPENDIX A

Description of Photographs

Photo 1 8 Chetwynd Road - ‘Open All Hours’ shop with off license in progress ofBeing extended (Class 1)

Photo 2 Garage workshops (Class B2)

Photo 3 404 High Road - Pet food retail store (Class A1)

Photo 4 455 High Road - Plumbers showroom and offices (Class A1/B1)

Photo 5 Scout meeting hall and function room (Class D2)

Photo 6 3 and 3a Attenborough Lane - offices (Class B1)

Photo 7 Car showroom with used car sales forecourt and appeal site

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PROPOSED EXTENSIONOF RESTAURANT USE

14

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photo 1

photo 2 photo 3

photo 4

photo 5

photo 6

photo 7

KEY TO PHOTOGRAPHSATTACHED TO APPENDIX A

PROPOSED PART DEMOLITON AND CHANGE OFUSE - 10 Attenborough Lane, Chilwellscale 1:500 approx

Photo 1 Photo 2

Photo 3 Photo 4

Photo 5 Photo 6

Photo 7

Appendix A

Appeal site

Retail Off License Garage workshops

Retail

Plumbers showroom and offices

Scout Hall and Function rroom Access to large commercialbusinesses

Car showroom andused car sales