10am - 16/506316/FULL The Old School, London Road, Dunkirk, ME13 9LF

The Chairman welcomed the applicant and two representatives from Dunkirk Parish Council to the meeting.

The Planner introduced the application which sought planning permission for five new properties; four semi-detached houses and one detached house.  All five properties would be set-back, but facing the highway and would have associated private amenity spaces.  There would be two allocated parking spaces per property and four separate visitor parking spaces.  The Planner reported that the dwellings would be accessed by a re-aligned access point which would provide improved sight lines to what was currently in place.  The properties would be set in two parallel rows, with two semi-detached houses to the front, and the other pair of semi-detached houses and the detached house behind.  The Planner advised that the application site formed part of the grounds surrounding the old village school and the design of the dwellings would complement the style of the old school which was a grade II listed building.  He explained that the school had already been converted into two residential properties and was in separate ownership from the site in question.

The Planner outlined comments from a Dunkirk resident, as noted in the report.  He further advised that two additional objections had been received from neighbouring properties.  The comments suggested bungalows would be more suitable for the site (and fewer in number) and raised overlooking issues.  Dunkirk Parish Council objected to the application and their comments were noted in the original report.  The Planner reported that Kent County Council Highways and Transportation had originally objected to the application, but had withdrawn their objection, following amendments to the access to improve sight lines.

The Planner summarised by stating that the application site was within the established built-up area, it was in line with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework, and it was 28 metres away from the listed building at its nearest point.

The Applicant spoke in support of the application.  He advised that the entire site of the school and associated land had been split into dual ownership.  He indicated to Members where the boundaries of the development would be and advised that following discussion with officers, the orientation of the proposed dwellings had been amended and sight lines improved.  He explained that the design would complement the existing old school and that the upstairs rooms would extend into the roof area.  He advised that the dwellings would align with the next door bungalow.  The Applicant considered generous parking had been allotted to the dwellings, and stated that there would have been more traffic associated with the site, with cars parked in the road, when the school had been open.  He stated that there was a main drain through the site which would ensure adequate drainage was in place.

A representative from Dunkirk Parish Council stated that their main concerns were the closeness of the proposed dwellings to the neighbouring property and the height of the dwellings, and suggested that bungalows would be more in-keeping.  He acknowledged that improvements had been made to the proposed access, but stated that this did not take into account the potential height of any adjacent hedges.

In response to questions, Members were advised that the height of the proposed dwellings would be around 8 metres, and access to the site would allow vehicles to both enter and leave the site at the same time.

Members toured the site with the Planner.