Woodcote (Epsom) Residents Society

We have now learned that the developer is appealing the refusal of the original application for 6 residential units at 6 Bucknills Close. 

W(E)RS have submitted a further objection to address the points made in the appellant’s Statement of Case and revised plans on the grounds that:

-the revised layout continues to fail to comply with the requirement of the SCC Design Guide that driveways should be widened to 4.1 metres where they also provide regular pedestrian access. 

We do not accept the alternative pedestrian link will reduce pedestrian movements along the access road;

-that previous applications have established this is an area of severe parking stress and we will be challenging robustly the contention that this proposal should be treated as an exception to the Councils Parking Standards SPD because there’s ample spare capacity for overspill parking in surrounding streets such as White Horse Drive; and

-the revised scheme layout fails to provide acceptable, safe and convenient refuse collection arrangements contrary to Paragraph 135f of the National Planning Policy Framework 2023, Policy CS1 and CS16 of Core Strategy 2007 and Policies DM9 and DM10 of the Development Management Policies 2015. It involves residents having to take their own bins to the Bin Collection Point on collection days. Residents should not be required to push/pull a number of full bins up to 86m – which is grossly in excess of the 6m drag distance set out in staff guidance for collection operatives and unacceptable from an accessibility and equalities point of view.

W(E)RS has a responsibility to represent the interests of both existing and future residents in proposed development schemes.

The revised application for 5 dwellings on this backland site between Whitehorse Drive and Bucknills Close was refused by the Planning Committee at its meeting last Thursday.

We had strongly endorsed the objections submitted by local residents and the owner of the local construction company at 13 Whitehorse Drive in our written objection. Councillor Frost also appeared at the Planning Committee to argue against the scheme and this was undoubtedly significant in persuading the Committee to refuse the planning application against officer advice.

The access arrangements were still wholly inadequate and the previous reason for refusal still stood with inadequate space available within the access road to safely accommodate both pedestrian and vehicular movements. In addition the revised arrangements for the refuse and recycling collection were not practical.

On these two points the application was therefore contrary to Policy CS16 of the Core Strategy 2007 and Policy DM,10, 16 and 36 of the Epsom and Ewell Borough Council Development Management Policies 2015.