Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, Hazell House, Burnthurst Lane, Princethorpe

Reference number:

R10/0890

Site address:

Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, Hazell House, Burnthurst Lane, Princethorpe

Description :

Change of use of land and formation of tarmacadum helipad for maximum 20 days use per annum.

Case Officer Name & Number:

Richard Holt – 01788 533687

Description of Site:

Hazell House is located on Burnthurst Lane approximately 2km west of Princethorpe village within the designated West Midlands Green Belt. To the north and east is woodland with the residential property of Nunswood to the immediate south with further woodland beyond. To the west lies agricultural land with woodland beyond. The site is relatively level grassland with the access drive to the west, head offices of the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance to the south and hedgerows and mature trees to the north and east.

The site is to the south of Burnthurst Lane and has a shared access through a pair of electronic gates. The portion of the site which relates to this application is approximately 0.1 hectares in size.

Description of Proposals:

The application is for the change of use of land and formation of a tarmacadum helipad. The helipad will measure 16 metres by 16 metresand have a flight clearance zone of 3.5 metres around each edge. The use of the helipad for the air ambulance will be solely in connection with their VIP and visitor open days for no more than 20 days a year. The operational side of the air ambulance is based at Coventry airport so will not be a base for emergencies.

A design and access statement was submitted with the application, which raised various points including:

i) flat site in rural area;

ii) helipad will be sufficient distance away from trees;

iii) site can be used to land helicopters up 28 days a year under permitted development rights;

iv) width & length of helipad designed in accordance with Civil Aviation Authority standards;

v) sited far enough away from service roads;

vi) additional landscaping inappropriate;

vii) landing area is a safer and more practical landing surface and clearly visible from sky;

viii) tarmac will aid access to and from helicopter, especially in wet weather;

ix) essential facility for operations of WNAA, particularly raising profile & securing charity funds;

x) site located on flight path, so impact limited; and

xi) well-screened site & no external lighting.

In subsequent correspondence the agent has also confirmed that the hours of operation will be restricted to those in the previous appeal decision, Monday to Friday 8am-7pm and Saturdays 8am-1pm.

Planning History:

There were a range of enforcement issues and planning applications in the 1990s. Following a successful challenge to the High Court the Secretary of State reconsidered 3 separate appeals and in July 1995 granted planning permission for the buildings to be used as Class B1 offices and ancillary accommodation subject to conditions, including hours of use.

These offices were originally restricted to use by the Waterhouse Group and then Sandell Interiors, however, in 2008 the occupancy condition was waivered.

Technical Consultations:

NATS NERL SafeguardingNo Objections

British Pipeline AgencyNo ObjectionsRecommend imposition of informatives

WCC EcologyNo ObjectionsRecommend imposition of an informative

Natural EnglandNo Objection

RBC Environmental ServicesNo ObjectionRecommend imposition of conditions &

informatives

Third Party Comments:

Parish Council No comments received to date

NeighboursNo comments received to date

Relevant Planning Policies & Guidance:

RBLP GP1CompliesAppearance & design

RBLP GP2CompliesLandscaping

RBLP GP3CompliesProtection of amenity

RBLP E1CompliesDevelopment in the countryside

RBLP E2CompliesGreen Belt

RBLP E5CompliesLandscape and settlement character

RBLP E6CompliesBiodiversity

RBLP T3CompliesAccess and highway layout

Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 – Green Belts

Planning Policy Statement 7 – Sustainable Development in Rural Areas

Planning Policy Statement 9 – Biodiversity & Geological Conservation

Assessment of Proposals:

Para 1.4 of Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 (PPG2) states the most important attribute of Green Belts is their openness and Para 1.6 refers to the use of land within Green Belts and the objectives sought. Para 3.1 refers to a general presumption against inappropriate development within Green Belts and such development should not be approved, except in very special circumstances. Para 3.2 states that very special circumstances to justify inappropriate development will not exist unless the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations. Para 3.15 states the visual amenities of the Green Belt should not be injured by proposals for development within or conspicuous from the Green Belt, which might be visually detrimental by reason of their siting, materials or design.

The proposed development does not fall within any of the categories that are defined as acceptable within the Green Belt such as agriculture and forestry or small scale buildings essential for outdoor sport and outdoor recreation and therefore would be considered inappropriate.

Inappropriate development is by definition harmful to the Green Belt. The buildings on site benefit from Class B2 use (offices) and are now the headquarters for the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA). The helipad is to be used by the WNAA helicopter during VIP and visitor open days to fund raise and promote the charity. The applicant’s agent has stated that WNAA are solely funded by donations with no government funds or National Lottery funding. It is understood that the average cost per mission is around £1000 with the annual basic running cost of the service being over £1.5 million. This represents between 120 and 150 callouts per month. At present they can only fly during daylight hours due to the restrictive leasing costs of flying at night, however WNAA aims to become the first service in the UK to operate 24 hours a day.

Their primary response area is 2000 square miles of Coventry, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes and is one of the few services outside London to routinely carry a Doctor on board.

On this basis, funding is an important part of being able to deliver WNAA’s service and the ability for the helicopter to land more safely and in a more practical manner at their headquarters is considered to warrant very special circumstances to justify the inappropriate form of development.

The helipad will involve the removal of a large area of grassland between the existing office buildings and Burnthurst Lane. An existing hedgerow together with a series of mature trees assist in screening the site from public view. The level of existing mature landscaping in the immediate area does assist in reducing the visual impact of the development on the openness of the Green Belt. As the area of tarmac will be set amongst the existing grassland and is for a helipad, provided it is only used for the purposes of parking, landing and taking-off of a helicopter then on balance the impact on the openness of the Green Belt is not considered to be so significant to warrant a reason for refusal.

In addition, a helicopter could land and take off up to 28 days in any one calendar year on the existing grassed area without the need for planning permission as it is the change of use of land resultingfrom the engineering operation of laying the hard surface which has triggered the need for the planning application. The agent considers that this element is a further factor in considering the acceptability of the scheme.

Overall it is considered that the proposal would accord with policies E1 & E2 and PPG2 & PPS7.

As detailed above, the intended scheme would not adversely impact on the openness of the Green Belt. Based on the surrounding mature landscape and just the formation of the helipad on the ground it is not considered that this development would jeopardise the quality and character of the area or undermine the distinctiveness of the local area, including its landscape value. Therefore, the proposal is considered to accord with policies GP2 & E5.

The closest residential properties to the actual helipad are Nunswood House to the south approximately 90 metres away and New Nunswood Smallholding to the east approximately 80 metres away. Whilst it is acknowledged that the landing and taking off of the helicopter will generate a certain level of noise above what would be normally be expected in a countryside location, Environmental Health have confirmed that provided conditions are imposed to restrict the number and hours of landings and take offs, they have no objection. Therefore, it is considered that based on these distances of separation the proposed development would not result in a loss of amenityto the surrounding properties to such a level to justify a reason for refusal. Therefore the proposal complies with policy GP3.

The site does lie within 2km of a SSSI as well as a local wildlife site called Old Nun Wood, New Nun and Duke’s Wood. The grassland within the site is regularly mown so at present of low ecological value. WCC Ecology would prefer the grass areas along the hedgerow and eastern part of the field to be mown on a less regular basis to allow wildflowers and grasses to become more established thereby being a benefit to wildlife. However, whilst they have no grounds to object they would wish to seek an informative advising of the above. Natural England have also confirmed they raise no objection. On this basis the proposal will accord with policy E6 and PPS9.

It is accepted that this proposal is solely to enable a safer and more practical take off and landing for the helicopter. Therefore, as the only traffic generated will be air traffic there will be no parking implications directly arising from the intended scheme. In addition the proposal is not considered to adversely affect the existing highway access and layout.

Whilst Cllr Richard Dodd is understood to be a paramedic for the WNAA, he is not the applicant or agent and therefore it is not considered that the application would have to be reported to the Planning Committee on this basis.

The development remains inappropriate within the Green Belt,however, it is considered that the applicant has demonstrated very special circumstances as outlined above to justify a recommendation of approval.

Recommendation:

Approve, subject to conditions & informatives.

Report prepared byRichard Holt 03/08/2010

Report Sheet