A planning application has been submitted for new housing to be built near the River Wye in Hereford.
The new building, if approved, would have 6 townhouses and 2 rooftop apartments together with associated works on St Martins Avenue.
The design and access statement submitted to Herefordshire Council states:
“This statement is submitted in support of an application for the erection of 6 no. two- bedroom townhouses and 2 no. three-bedroom apartments on land to the rear of Prospect Place, St Martins Avenue, Hereford, HR2 7RQ.
“This application follows a previous application submitted and determined by Herefordshire Council in 2007 (LPA Ref: DCCE2007/2594/F).
“The application was ultimately refused for the following reasons.
“The proposals would are (sic) likely to result in an intensification in the use of the existing sub-standard access resulting in a detrimental impact on highway, pedestrian and cyclist safety. As such the development is contrary to Policies S2, DR3, H13 and T8 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan 2007.
“The site falls within flood zone 3 and it has not been demonstrated through a sequential test that no other reasonable alternative sites are available within a lower risk flood zone. Furthermore, if it can be demonstrated that the site is acceptable in principle for the proposed development, it has not been demonstrated that the development would not be at an unacceptable risk of flooding or impact on flood risk elsewhere. As such the development is contrary to Policies S2, DR7 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan 2007 and advice contained within the Planning Policy Statement 25 – Development and Flood Risk.
“The planning policies quoted in the refusal reasons outlined above, at both national and local level, have now been superseded. Nevertheless, the updated policies now contained within the National Planning Policy Framework and the Herefordshire Local Plan – Core Strategy, are generally reflective and contain similar broad principles.
“The ‘policy position’ being broadly similar, indicated that there was a general presumption in favour of development on this site subject to any new application addressing the reasons for refusing the 2007 application.
“In order to confirm the position and to seek redress of the apparent conflict with policy in respect to flooding, the Environment Agency was consulted in 2016 at the outset of the process. The response received from the EA confirmed that although within an identified flood zone (Zone 3), the site now benefitted from the Hereford Flood Alleviation Scheme which was completed in March 2009 – some two years after the original 2007 application was refused.”
The full application can be viewed by visiting – https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/info/200142/planning_services/planning_application_search/details?id=230432&search-term=St%20Martins
