Agenda item

1.    The proposal, by reason of its size, scale, massing, height and design, detailing, boundary treatment, would have an adverse visual impact on the immediate and wider surroundings and would be detrimental to the character and appearance of the village centre of Tighnabruaich and the wider Area of Panoramic Quality. The art deco style is an inappropriate design response for this site giving prominence to the site being in an elevated position on Village Brae. It will be highly visible and intrusive in the skyline when viewed from the village shops and in the context of the Tighnabruaich Hotel and even from wider views. The design is inappropriate because of the white render up to the eaves, to the height of 3 storey, and the mass of the building which is not broken up which is sited on an already elevated site. It does not integrate with the surrounding townscape and adversely affects the sense of place and character of this attractive village centre. There are no other Art Deco style in the village and there is no design cues taken from the buildings around it including the neighbouring garage, fire station and the stone/slate traditional buildings. Consequently the proposal would be contrary to Policies 14 and 16 of NPF4, Policy LDP 9 of the Argyll and Bute Local Development Plan and also to the LDP SG Sustainable Siting and Design Principles and LDP SG ENV 13 Areas of Panoramic Quality. It is also contrary to Policies 01, 05, 08, 09 and 10 of the proposed Local Development Plan.

2.    The development would not provide an adequate standard of residential amenity for the occupiers. In this instance a terrace is provided which is welcomed and will improve the residential amenity for occupiers but it is limited. More importantly the rear space proposed will provide poor quality amenity by reason of lack of daylight and proximity to traffic using the adjacent road. The proposal is therefore over-intensive development of a very constrained plot and as such would not accord with SG Siting and Design of the Argyll and Bute Local Development Plan.

3.    The proposal is considered contrary to Policy LDP 11 and Supplementary Guidance policies SG LDP TRAN 4 and SG LDP TRAN 6 of the Argyll and Bute Local Development Plan 2015 and Policies 35, 36 and 40 of the proposed Local Development Plan given it has unsuitable visibility onto Village Brae. The parking area is also too close to the edge of the carriageway and a total of 8 metres cannot be achieved to accommodate a 6m parking area and 2m strip across the access. It is recognised that this is an existing access that has been historically been used by the garage, that was previously on site, and was likely to have similar or more vehicle movements, but no evidence has been submitted nor amendments made to try to find the best solution in terms of achieving the visibility from the driveway onto Village Brae and give the required distance for the parking area to the footway. And indeed the erection of a 1.8m fence is likely to further obscure the views when entering and leaving the proposed driveway.  There is no clear drawings or evidence to demonstrate if the visibility of 20m, set back 2m in either direction can be achieved or as near to this as possible.

4.    The proposal is considered contrary to NPF4 Policy 9, part (c), SG LDP SERV 4 and Policy 82 of the proposed Local Development Plan as it has not been demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the council, that the site is and can be made safe and suitable for the proposed house. There are a list of outstanding requirements in relation to the Contaminated Land Assessment that have not been adequately responded to. These mainly relate to the survey methods, and the depth of sample surveys.