Page 417 - All files for Planning Inspectorate update

 water usage will be limited to 110L/person/day
 sustainable drainage will be utilised

It is considered the applicants have addressed the issue of sustainable design as set
out in policy DP39.

Impact on residential amenity

Policy DP26 in the DP seeks to resist proposals where there would be a significant
adverse impact on the residential amenities of existing occupiers. The nearest
residential property to the site is a two storey house, known as The Barn, that is
located to the east of the site. This property is within the ownership of the adjacent
school and is occupied as a residential dwelling.

The 3 storey block of plots 10-12 would be located 10m to the west of The Barn.
There is a first floor bedroom window in the side elevation of The Barn which faces
towards the application site. This bedroom is also served by a roof light in the rear
(north) facing roof slope. The scheme has been amended during the course of
submission to seek to reduce the impact on The Barn and provide an improved
outlook from the first floor bedroom window of this property.

The applicants have provided a Daylight and Sunlight Report to seek to demonstrate
that the impact of the proposed development on daylight and sunlight on The Barn is
acceptable. The BRE Guidelines are used by Local Planning Authorities as a means
of assessing the acceptability of daylight and sunlight to properties in relation to
development proposals. The BRE Guidelines specify that the daylight and sunlight
results be considered flexibly and in the context of the site.

The Executive Summary of the applicants Daylgiht and Sunlight report concludes:

'In daylight terms, all windows analysed at The Barn meet the BRE Guidelines for
VSC and serve rooms that meet the BRE Guidelines for daylight distribution with the
proposal in place. In sunlight terms, all windows analysed at The Barn meet the BRE
Guidelines for both annual and winter sunlight with the proposal in place. Overall,
this property is compliant with the BRE Guidelines for both daylight and sunlight with
the proposal in place.'

There are no reasons to dispute the findings of the applicants report on daylight and
sunlight. It is therefore felt the impact on light from this proposal on The Barn will be
acceptable.

The amendments to block 10 to 12 mean that there will still be an open aspect from
the first floor bedroom window in The Barn. It is an unusual situation to have a
window serving a habitable room so close and facing across a side boundary. It is
therefore felt the aspect from this window will be acceptable and the proposed
development would not cause significant harm by being overly dominant or
overbearing. There would be no clear glazed windows in the side elevation of block
10-12 facing The Barn and therefore no overlooking.