RH Gaudion can turn field into staff car park

The application was made by neighbouring business RH Gaudion, which owns the land and wants to use it to create a 14-space staff car park.

There are currently eight trees in the field, which have tree protection orders.

The project will see six of the trees removed.

In the planning report, Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services said the plan would retain two of the trees and also see a significant number of new trees planted.

‘Although only two of the eight trees are retained, the proposed planting scheme will more than compensate for the loss, over time, in terms of making a positive contribution to native biodiversity and ecological value,’ they said.

‘While the two trees proposed for retention are not native, they will provide a level of visual amenity during the establishment of the new plantings.’

The planners noted that a previous application, which would have seen six of the trees removed and more than half the area developed, was rejected as it would have a significant and unacceptable detrimental impact on the landscape.

However, the latest scheme was smaller and also provided details on the condition of the trees.

The proposed car park would result in a total on-site provision of 85 spaces.

The planners noted that the site was not well served by public transport, with the 31, 32 and P2 bus routes.

‘The nature of many of the items for sale at the site limits opportunities for customers to use alternative modes of transport,’ the planners said.

The planners accepted that the site was very visible, on a busy junction, and gave a ‘pleasant undeveloped open space providing a break in the built-up ribbon development along the highways’.

They added that the trees formed an important contribution to the landscape character, which why the TPOs were put in place.

However, a tree assessment stated that two of the trees were poorly formed and should be removed, while four more were of low quality category.

The remaining two were of moderate quality.

‘The proposed landscape scheme is a significant enhancement on the previously-refused scheme and includes a significant number of new trees, most of which may be regarded as native,’ the planners said.

‘Although the proposal will result in the loss of six of the existing trees and there will be a short to medium-term detrimental effect on the landscape character of the area as the new planting establishes itself, in the medium to long term, the proposed planting scheme will adequately compensate the visual impact of the loss of the trees on the landscape character of the area.’

Planners approved the scheme, but included conditions that there must also be parking for at least eight bikes and that the new planting scheme must see the trees looked after for at least five years, while they get established.