Loading document...
consulting civil \& transportation planning engineers
REVISIONS TO PREVIOUSLY APPROVED RESIDENTIAL SITE LAYOUT TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL DWELLING LAND BETWEEN RHEAST LANE AND THE LINKS SOUTH OF RHEAST LANE, PEEL
HARTFORD HOMES LIMITED PROOF OF EVIDENCE Proof of Evidence by: Bryan Hall BSc, MSc, CEng, MICE
Bryan G Hall Consulting Civil & Transportation Planning Engineers Suite E8 Joseph's Well Hanover Walk Leeds LS3 1AB
Planning application number: 05/00730/B
December 2005 Ref: 05-402-V2
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
My name is Bryan Geoffrey Hall.
I am a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science Degree in Transportation Engineering.
I am a director of a consulting Engineers' practice which I established after leaving the former West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council where I was employed in the Directorate of Traffic, Highways and Engineering. In that role I was responsible for the highways development control functions of the Authority and its transport input to Local Plans.
I was employed by different local authorities for nearly twenty years and throughout that time was involved in most aspects of highways and traffic engineering.
Since establishing the practice I have been commissioned by industrial, commercial and residential developers, land owners, local authorities, public bodies, community groups and private individuals in connection with all aspects of highway and traffic related matters.
I have inspected the Application site and the local highway network for the purpose of giving evidence at this Inquiry.
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION 2.0 THE EXISTING HIGHWAY NETWORK IN THE VICINITY OF THE APPLICATION SITE TOGETHER WITH ITS USE 3.0 THE PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL ACCESS ROAD AND THE IMPACT OF THE TRAFFIC LIKELY TO BE GENERATED BY THE APPLICATION PROPOSALS 4.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
1.1 This Inquiry is concerned with the Appeal to the Minister against the Planning Committee Resolution to grant Hartford Homes planning permission to increase the number of dwellings from six to seven on its development off The Links, Peel.
1.2 When consulted on the application, officers of the Department of Transport considered that the development would have no adverse traffic impacts, subject to three conditions on any permission which would require construction of the access road and the provision of parking facilities before the dwellings are occupied and completion of the estate road before the penultimate dwelling is commenced. A copy of the letter of 2 June 2005 from Mr Sewell is attached at Appendix BGH1.
1.3 Local residents objected to the proposals on grounds including The Links not being constructed to a standard appropriate for its adoption by the Department of Transport, it being unsuitable to safely carry the additional traffic which would be generated by the additional dwelling and that that additional traffic would be detrimental to the amenity of the area.
1.4 Planning permission was, however, granted subject to nine conditions, numbers 7, 8 and 9 of which were as requested by officers of the Department of Transport. Local residents continued to object and sought a Review but the
Planning Committee again resolved to grant permission subject to the nine conditions incorporated in the initial decision notice.
1.5 Local residents continued to object and requested this Appeal.
1.6 The application site is part of a larger site which is allocated ‘Predominantly Residential’ in the Peel Local Plan. Planning permission for a residential development of seven plots on the application site, with both vehicular and pedestrian access by way an extension to The Links, was initially sought in 1997 and the site layout plan, which was for illustrative purposes only, showed an extension to The Links adjacent to the north-eastern boundary of the site and the rear of the gardens of those properties which front Douglas Road. At that time, the development which is presently served by The Links was incomplete but the Appeal Inspector considered that the traffic which was likely to be generated by some 14-15 dwellings in total, including that of the existing development, would not be sufficient to materially affect the residential amenity of the existing dwellings, including those fronting Douglas Road. He was, however, concerned that the proposed road extension did not fall within any of the defined road types within the Department of Transport publication, Manx Roads, A Guide to the Design of Residential Roads, Footpaths, Parking and Services, Consultation Draft, April 1993, and recommended that planning permission should not be granted until such a time as adequate access could be provided. A copy of the Inspector’s Report is attached to Mr Ryzner’s Evidence at Appendix KR3.
1.7 In November 2003, full planning permission was granted for four dwellings which back on to the gardens of the dwellings fronting Douglas Road together with an extension to The Links which is identical to that in this application and which runs along the south-western boundary of the site. That extension results in The Links being increased in length by some 93.0 metres to some 203.0 metres. The width of the extension varies between some 4.0 and some 6.0 metres. That permission remains extant and hence could now be implemented and the road constructed. A copy of the plan approved by that permission is also attached to Mr Ryzner’s Evidence at Appendix KR3.
1.8 This Appeal application incorporates that approved road layout but increases the number of dwellings which front it from three to four.
1.9 My Evidence to the Inquiry will therefore consider the highway network in the vicinity of the application site, the means of access to the site for both pedestrians and vehicles and I will show that the access proposals conform with the guidance contained in the Department of Transport’s Design Guide and that the traffic likely to be generated will not be detrimental to either the safety or convenience of other road users or to the amenity of the area.
2.1 The application site is situated to the north-west of The Links, the south-west of the gardens of the dwellings which front Douglas Road, A1, the south-east of Rheast Lane and the north-east of the gardens of the dwellings which front the drive to Peel Golf Club. Access to the site for both vehicles and pedestrians is proposed by way of the extension to The Links which was previously granted planning permission and hence I will now consider The Links and Douglas Road, A1, as shown on the 1:2500 scale Ordnance Survey plan at Appendix BGH2, in more detail.
2.2.1 The Links is a residential access road cul-de-sac which is some 110.0 metres long and which provides access to eight dwellings. It has a block paved surface which is shared by both vehicles and pedestrians and which passes through a near right angle bend where it has a centreline radius of some 18.0 metres. Its width varies along its length. At its approach to Douglas Road, it is some 4.2 metres wide, it then widens to some 5.7 metres as it approaches the bend, it then narrows to some 4.2 metres to the north-west of the bend before widening to some 5.8 metres again. It incorporates a turning head at the right angle bend where forward visibility is some 14.0 metres.
2.2.2 The shared surface is unmarked, is lit to side road standard and on-
Copyright in submitted documents remains with their authors. Request removal
