Issue - meetings

The Chairman of the Planning Committee agreed to hear the officers report and member debate in relation to items 25/0086/LA and 25/0087/LBC, as one, as both items related to the same development.

The Planning Officer outlined planning application 25/0086/LA South Lodge, Preston Park, Yarm Road Demolition of existing lodge, erection of metal structure, artwork, hard and soft landscaping and other associated works and 25/0087/LBC  South Lodge, Preston Park, Yarm Road Listed building consent for the demolition of existing lodge, erection of metal structure, artwork, hard and soft landscaping and other associated works.

The applications sought planning permission and listed building consent for the demolition of South Lodge, the erection of a metal structure artwork, hard and soft landscaping and other associated works.

The proposed development would incur the loss of a curtilage listed of South Lodge. It was considered that South Lodge was of low architectural importance and its historical significance was derived from its ties to Preston Hall. On balance, its loss was marginally outweighed by mitigation and public benefits.

It had been demonstrated that the proposed development would enhance the visitor experience of visiting for local residents and tourists from further afield and, in turn, strengthen the attraction’s local distinctiveness and unique history of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) on the Railway’s bicentenary.

Revised plans had been received through the planning process following concerns around the proximity of the proposed development to extant earthworks of the S&DR Railway. The proposed development now indicated that the extent of the groundworks would be purely contained within the existing footprint of South Lodge and any undiscovered earthworks within the grounds of the Site were considered to be low in terms of their overall understanding of the S&DR. Suitable controls had been recommended via planning condition to mitigate any harm that may be presented to the extant earthworks.

Overall, it was considered that the development comprised sustainable development, when considered in the context of the NPPF when taken as a whole. Furthermore, whilst the development would result in harm to the setting of the existing Grade II listed Preston Hall, this was considered to be less than substantial, which would be outweighed by the public benefits of the scheme.

The consultees that had been notified and the comments that had been received were detailed within the main report.

Neighbours were notified and the comments received were detailed within the main report.

The planning policies and material planning considerations that were relevant to the consideration of the application were contained within the main report.

For application 25/0086/LA, the Planning Officers report concluded, the proposed scheme was considered a very balanced case. On balance, it was considered that the public benefits arising from the scheme would marginally outweigh the harm resulting from the loss of the building, therefore the application was recommended for approval for the reasons as detailed within the main report.

For planning application 25/0087/LBC, the Planning Officers report concluded that the scheme was considered that the works  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11