Agenda and minutes

            No apologies were received.

            No declarations of interest were reported.

            The Chairperson welcomed the Members to the Pre-Determination Hearing for the outline application.  The Committee was reminded that a Pre-Determination Hearing was to hear the views of interested parties and statutory consultees, and for Members of the Committee to seek clarification from these parties on the facts surrounding the development. The Committee was reminded that no decision may be reached at the Hearing, as Committee Members and planners might wish to consider the views made prior to making a determination at the scheduled Committee meeting which would held later that evening.

            The Senior Planning officer explained that the application had been considered by the Planning Committee at its meeting on 21st January, 2020, following a Pre Determination Hearing on 16th December, 2019.  At that meeting, the Committee had resolved to approve the application, with conditions and a Section 76 Planning Agreement, and had delegated power to the Director of Planning and Building Control to finalise the wording.  She explained that, under the Planning (Notification of Applications) Direction 2017, it had been necessary to notify the Department for Infrastructure (DFI) of the decision, as the resolution to approve was contrary to the views of a statutory consultee, namely, the Historic Environment Division (HED).

            The Committee was advised that, on 6th May, the DFI had advised the Council that it did not consider it necessary for the application to be referred to it for determination.  It also confirmed that the associated applications for Listed Building Consent and Conservation Area Consent did not need to be referred. The DFI had advised that it was important that the Council satisfied itself that, before determining the application, it had fully assessed all required details pertaining to the listed buildings and that all necessary expert advice in relation to built heritage matters had been duly considered.

            The Senior Planning officer explained that the DFI had also advised that the Council should ensure that, in the event the application was to be approved, all conditions proposed, particularly in relation to the listed buildings proposals, were necessary and reasonable, as well as enforceable, precise and relevant to planning and to the development as advised in the Development Management Practice Note 20. The response also highlighted the Minister’s view on the importance of maximising the delivery of social and affordable housing particularly for projects of this nature where a housing need existed.

            She advised that the application had therefore been returned to the Planning Committee for a decision, and that Regulation 7(1) of the Planning (Development Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 required it to hold a Pre-Determination Hearing to give the applicant and interested parties the opportunity to be heard.  She added that further representations had been received in the intervening period, and that she would also deal with various points of clarification further to the Planning Committee meeting of 21st January, 2020.

            She provided the Committee with a detailed presentation of the outline application for a mixed-use scheme comprising offices, 367 residential units, restaurants/cafes, a hotel,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

            The Planning Manager (Development Management) provided the principal aspects of the planning application and of the Listed Building Consent application to the Committee.  He explained that they were previously considered by the Planning Committee at its meeting in December 2019, where the Committee resolved to grant consents to the application with conditions, contrary to the officers’ recommendation.

            At the December 2019 meeting, it was confirmed that, under the Planning (Notification of Applications) Direction 2017, it was necessary to notify the application for Listed Building Consent to the Department for Infrastructure (DFI) as the resolution to approve the application was contrary to the views of a statutory consultee, namely, HED. 

            The DFI had since advised the Council that it did not consider it necessary for either of the applications to be referred to it for determination. The DFI had advised that it was important that the Council satisfied itself that, before determining the application, it had fully assessed all required details pertaining to the listed buildings and that all necessary expert advice in relation to built heritage matters had been duly considered.

            The Chairperson advised the Committee that Ms. J. Stokes, HED, was in attendance and she was welcomed to the meeting.  She outlined to the Members that:

·        when a building is listed, it is listed in its entirety, internally and externally and, with care, most listed buildings could be extended and adapted to accommodate some degree of change, while ensuring that the essential character of the building was retained and its features of special interest intact;

·        unlike a normal planning process, a plan and an external elevation was not enough to show how a new use would work internally.  A new use would require new services including plumbing, fire proofing and safe escape, for example;

·        HED welcomed a new use to the listed building which was on the Buildings at Risk register, but its reuse and any development must balance in the listed building’s favour as it was protected by legislation;

·        Wilton House formed part of a late Georgian terrace of note in Belfast;

·        the development of the listed building was insufficiently detailed and therefore failed to address policy and that only two drawings had been submitted to address the building and these were schematic only without any relevant detail;

·        the development to the rear failed to take account of the setting of the listed building;

·        the bulk of the existing proposal was too great and represented overdevelopment of the setting – including issues with amenity/ancillary requirements; and some windows at 45degree oriels.

            A Member sought clarification from Ms. Stokes regarding the development to the rear and how realistic it was to expect a developer to incorporate something akin to the former stables which would have been situated there.  Ms. Stokes advised the Committee that HED would expect to see a structure which respected the dominance of the listed building and which stepped down towards the rear.

            The Committee then welcomed Mr P. Stinson, agent, to the meeting.  In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.