07/01043/OUT REVISED OUTLINE PROPOSALS FOR A LIMITED

AREA OF THE APPROVED DEVELOPMENT COMPRISING OF REVISIONS TO SITING OF MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK, RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROVISION OF SHOP MOBILITY UNIT (as amended by replacement Daylight and Sunlight Report received 7 August 2007)

AT Site E1.1, Bounded By, North Eleventh Street, Silbury Boulevard/Secklow Gate And North Row, Central Milton Keynes

FOR Britel Fund Trustees Ltd & Prudential Assurance Company Ltd

INTRODUCTION The 13-week determination period for this application expires on 14 September 2007. This application relates to one element of the major proposals relating to thecentre:mk which were granted outline planning permission on 22 June 2005 under reference 02/01827/OUT. Also on the agenda are two further applications for revised outline permission relating to the Welcome Link between Site E1.1 and Deer Walk and the New Open Market between the Food Centre and Secklow Gate. For brevity some elements of background to the proposals will not be repeated in these related reports. The outline permission for the overall development fixed the siting of the buildings but not the elevations, except in the case of the extensions of the Shopping Building. During design development post-2005 the proposals have been refined, including to the footprint and layout of the residential and multi-storey car park/retail development on site E1.1. These changes to siting require that a new outline planning permission is obtained, following which the proposals can move to reserved matters application stage. These revised outline applications are consistent with changes to the development control system in 2006, being accompanied by Design and Access Statements. In the case of Site E1.1 the outline application is accompanied by details relating to the use, amount of development, layout, scale and indicative access points. The height of the car park is shown increased by 1.4 metres generally and by 3.0 metres at the lift overruns. PLANNING HISTORY The Shopping Building (now referred to as thecentre;mk) was opened in 1979, extended to the west in 1995 and refurbished in 1998. A Management

Agreement was put in place in 1998 "to assist in the future management of those elements of the Shopping Building which are considered to be of special interest". The Management Agreement is also a material planning consideration in respect of developments in its setting. The Agreement is between the owners of the building, and with English Heritage and Milton Keynes Council. English Heritage has subsequently been significantly involved in the evolution of the extension proposals permitted in 2005, subsequent scheme development and consequent revisions. In 1999 English Partnerships authorised the development of a multi storey car park on site E1,1 but this was not implemented and in effect was replaced by the outline permission of 2005. Planning permission has also been granted for two applications received in 2006:- 06/00617/OUT - A revised outline permission to 'swap-over' the northern and southern gardens and to retain the original walkway pattern to the south of Middleton Hall. 06/01291/FUL - A variation of two of the conditions of 02/01827/OUT to allow the re-phasing of the project, bringing forward the extensions in the central part of the scheme into Phase 1 and placing those of the eastern end into Phase 2. This also placed the E1.1 development into Phase 1. In addition, application 07/00577/REM was withdrawn by the applicants prior to consideration at the Development Control Committee on 14 June 2007. This application was confined to the footprint of the proposals for the extensions and alterations to the Shopping Building in Phase 1. A comprehensive reserved matters application for the whole of Phase 1 is to be submitted. CURRENT PROPOSALS This revised outline application is concerned solely with the proposals on Site E1.1 fronting Silbury Boulevard, Secklow Gate, North Eleventh Street and North Row. The Design and Access Statement details the proposed use, the amount of development for each use, an indicative layout, maximum and minimum parameters for height, width and length of each building, and indicative access points. The external appearance of the buildings, landscaping and design are shown illustratively and will be settled by a subsequent reserved matters application. Although the method of submitting outline applications changed in 2006 the intention is to carry forward the status and concepts of the original outline permission but reflecting the amendments to siting.

The two principal components of the scheme remain a multi-storey car park on two-thirds of the site with a residential development occupying the eastern third and fronting existing residential development on North Eleventh Street. An element of retail development would front Silbury Boulevard, including a shopmobility unit as part of the new Welcome Hall between Site E1.1 and Deer Walk. The multi-storey car park is to be a five storey building with an open deck at roof level, stepping down to four storeys towards Silbury Boulevard. Its siting has been adjusted to be a further 1.3 metres northward to provide an 8.3 metre footpath to the Silbury Boulevard edge which coincides with the technical advice of the Central Milton Keynes Handbook, relating to the public realm. Access to the car park will be directly from Secklow Gate, the details of which will be approved at reserved matters stage. The car park would accommodate 1,899 spaces, 85 of which would be allocated for disabled users on the ground floor. Pedestrian access would principally be to the Welcome Link, with a secondary exit onto Eagle Walk. The residential scheme would be accommodated in two buildings of up to 4 storeys in height divided by the access point to North Eleventh Street and a retained oak tree. The proposals have a revised siting due to design development which includes the removal of the pedestrian walkway originally planned to run between the residential and car park elements. In the new layout the pedestrian routeing will be to follow North Eleventh Street to reflect perimeter block principles. In this revised application the scale of the housing has been adjusted to reflect daylighting studies carried out by the applicant relating to the existing housing on North Eleventh Street. The original scheme was to be mainly 4 storeys (with the top floor stepped back) with a 5 storey element on the south-east corner. The revised proposals consist only of 3 and 4 storey buildings. Parking for the residential scheme is provided as a courtyard at a rate of one space per unit. This area is accompanied by two communal gardens. The project would accommodate 52 units in a 32/20 split in the north and south blocks respectively. Affordable housing would be provided at a rate of 30% overall in the combination of phases 1 and 2. At present 32 units of affordable housing are proposed in the E1.1 development, representing half of the total affordable housing for the entire scheme of 215 dwellings. The distribution of the 32 units within the E1.1 development is currently under discussion and will be resolved under the terms of the planning obligation, in consultation with the housing department. It has been agreed that the terms of the 2005 planning permission and negotiated planning obligation should be maintained and that the mix of tenure continue to be 20% shared ownership, 5% social rent and 5% specialist social rent. It would be unreasonable to apply the terms of the recently approved SPD mix to this revised application which is submitted with the intention of improving the siting of the scheme,

and because of the viability implications of a change of approach at this stage of the previously agreed project. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT A full sustainability Statement of the sustainable construction issues will be given at reserved matters stage as required by Policy D4, including for the multi-storey car park element. The retail units are proposed to be considered under BREEAM criteria and the residential scheme under Ecohomes criteria. In the circumstances of this revised outline it is considered appropriate that the necessary carbon offset payment be subject to a legal agreement at reserved matters stage, along with the remainder of the development proposals in Phase 1, and this will be a condition of this revised outline permission. ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT The original scheme was accompanied by an Environmental Statement prepared in October 2002 by Waterman Environmental. To comply with Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations the consultants have considered whether the changes to the approved development are likely to have a significant effect on the environment. They have concluded that there is no prospect of any significant effects and the Local Planning Authority has issued a screening opinion to that effect. With regard to Transportation and Access the consultants state that this location for a multi-storey car park was tested in the original Transport Assessment (prepared October 2002, updated March 2003). The review has tested the slightly reduced capacity of the car park and incorporated flows from an agreed number of committed developments within the transport model and assumed a 15% increase to the predicted flows to account for the possibility of other development prescribed by the CMK Development Framework coming forward prior to or at the same time as thecentre:mk redevelopment. The original Transport Assessment concluded that the traffic impact of the approved expansion of thecentre:mk was negligible and although there would be some redistribution of traffic on the local highway network it was concluded that this was unlikely to adversely affect highway capacity. The consultants have not identified any additional impacts as a result of the amendments to the development proposed by this revised outline application, over and above those identified for the approved scheme. PLANNING OBLIGATION The applicants' solicitor has submitted a Deed of Variation to apply to each of the 3 revised outline applications. The purpose of the Deed is to apply the obligations in the original Section 106 Agreement (and its subsequent

variations) to the new planning permissions. Where considered necessary, any significant amendment to any obligation will be brought to the attention of the Committee. CMK BOARD PLACEMAKING GROUP A letter of support for this revised outline application has been provided. MAIN ISSUES To agree that there are no significant changes in circumstances or other material planning considerations of such importance as to prevent the grant of a revised outline planning application arising from the scheme design development, which principally involves adjustment to the siting of the development and revised pedestrian movement. RELEVANT PLANNING POLICY AND OTHER GUIDANCE Milton Keynes Local Plan 2001 - 2011:- S5 Key Objectives for Central Milton Keynes i) Achieve a broader mix of uses, within a finer grain of development, incorporating a higher standard of design. ii) Promote a higher density of development, leading to a greater intensity of activity supporting and supported by high quality public transport. iii) Reduce the influence of the car in the design and layout of the area. iv) Encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport for people travelling to, from and within the area with walking the first priority in Central Milton Keynes. v) Integrate different facilities and quarters within the centre. CC7C Key Principles for Parking CC13 City Core Quarter CC15 Enterprise and Knowledge Quarter R1, CC1 and CC2 Retailing Policies CC7a Key Transport Principles CC10 Planning Obligations for Central Milton Keynes D1 Impact of Proposals on Locality D2 Design of Buildings D2A Urban Design Aspect of New Developments D4 Sustainable Construction Central Milton Keynes Development Framework (Supplementary Planning Guidance adopted January 2002) The Local Plan 2001- 2011 incorporates the main findings of and recommendations of this study and is a material planning consideration in the

assessment of planning applications for the development of the remaining undeveloped sites in Central Milton Keynes. Central-CMK Framework, Supplementary Planning Document Adopted September 2006. Provides guidance for the development of Central Milton Keynes Blocks D and E, building upon the overall Central Milton Keynes Development Framework. PPS 1 Creating Sustainable Communities PPS 3 Housing Circular 01/2006 details changes to the development control system including the introduction of Design and Access Statements and changes to the definition of reserved matters within outline planning applications. Of relevance to this application "siting" is replaced by "layout", which is not reserved, although scale, access, appearance and landscaping are. Guidelines for the Management of the Shopping Building 1998. CONSULTATIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS English Heritage states that it has carefully considered the amendments with reference to the Management Agreement and the change to positioning of the building and siting of the development do not raise any significant additional issues. It regrets the removal of the porte-cochere on the northern side of Silbury Boulevard, commenting that these structures add to the legibility of the public realm and are an integral part of the design concept of the city as it evolved. They advocate an approach that responds to and incorporates these structures rather than removing them, and urges these issues to be addressed. English Heritage recommend that the application should be determined in accordance with national and local policy guidance but does not want to be consulted again other than to offer further advice if needed. Central Milton Keynes Parish Council welcomes the setting back of the frontages on Silbury Boulevard, however, still maintains that the building line for the car park should be moved back to block the flow of cars along North Row (at the rear). The Parish considers that without this there would be a 'rat-run' along North Row in search of free parking, causing congestion at the access and egress points which will prove challenging for residents, both current and proposed. The Parish is also concerned at the additional height of the car park relative to neighbouring buildings. Milton Keynes Forum makes the following points:- 1. The building facades are lacklustre and monotonous. The relationship between the car park and residential blocks is oppressive and overbearing due to overshadowing.

2. The car park should incorporate renewable energy production equipment to provide at least 10% of the predicted energy requirements. 3. The adjustment to the Silbury Boulevard frontage is too little due to the 'canyon' effect of the elevated roadway. Will the retail units work and what is the servicing provision? 4. Why a new electricity sub-station off Secklow Gate? 5. Criticism of the steps and ramps having minimalist solutions for the high volumes of prams, pushchairs, buggies, cycles etc. They want this detail established now and not at reserved matters stage because an acceptable solution would intrude beyond the 8.3 metre footpath of Silbury Boulevard. 6. Insufficient provision for cyclists in east/west and west/east movement between Silbury Boulevard and the retail and residential elements of the E1.1 development. 7. Loss of the existing frontage access road. 8. Additional tree loss on Silbury Boulevard and Secklow Gate compared to the original outline approval. 9. Shifting the car park further north onto North Row would improve the Silbury Boulevard frontage. This area of North Row would have no direct pedestrian route to the Shopping Building and beyond. 10. The walkway between the car park and residential elements should not have been omitted, but should have been improved by rearrangement of the building form. The new layout will result in encouragement to pedestrians to cross Silbury Boulevard at the North Eleventh Street junction, rather than at the porte-cochere on Eagle Walk. Questions whether the new proposals are safer for pedestrians. 11. Questions the access arrangement to the car park off Secklow Gate and whether the Transport Assessment has considered the detailed turning arrangements and traffic assumptions generally. 12. Ask for the opening hours of the car park. 13. A coloured model should be provided to understand the impact of the elevations of the car park. Professor David Lock has made a number of comments both general and specific. In general terms he criticises the bringing forward of a revised outline application ahead of a complete first phase package. He also questions whether a new Environmental Impact Assessment should be submitted to take account of revised circumstances, eg transport, and questions the process of consideration due to the status of the Shopping

Building as a potential Grade II* listed building. He defends the original grid of Central Milton Keynes and states that this world-famous distinctive infrastructure is being systematically destroyed by the Council's policies and decisions. Professor Lock's detailed comments are:- 1. The Block should be moved much further north so as not to move away from the established Block E building line. 2. Refuse storage should be in the E1.1 site itself not under the Secklow Gate overbridge. 3. There will be several lengths of blank wall and service doors to Silbury Boulevard and Secklow Gate. 4. The design of any steps and ramps to Silbury Boulevard should be resolved at this stage due to potential for ugly and dangerous intrusion of safety rail/barriers. 5. Access for cyclists to the cycle storage facility is down a narrow footpath and not direct from a city street. 6. An independent arboriculuralist should report on whether existing trees between Silbury Boulevard and the retail development could survive the narrow dark location. 7. There should be an up to date transport assessment for this scheme. 8. What exactly is being approved. If design is to be approved he advocates urban design advice be obtained from CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), who are independent of the Central Milton Keynes arrangements. 9. The car park should be conditioned to be opened all day, every day. 10. There is a risk of a severe loss of public access to Central Milton Keynes and all its activities, attractions and homes due to moving car parking into a privately-owned multi-storey structure. 11. Parking for disabled is now to be moved far from the Shopping Building and possibly closed outside actual shopping hours. 12. Retail expansion could be carried out in many other exciting or innovative ways. 13. The Shopping Building should be listed.

14. The boulevard plane trees should be TPO'd. A resident of Great Linford, Margaret Antalpolous, has made the following comments:- 1. The space between Silbury Boulevard and the building line will not be 8.3 metres of footway as there are existing trees and slopes within that space. Also need to accommodate cyclists. 2. There are differing layouts of the housing in two of the submitted drawings. 3. Criticises the use of alterations applications. 4. Criticises the form of presentation of the original outline application drawings masking the true extent of the proposals. The Environment Agency has no objection to the proposed development. The Senior Urban Design Adviser comments that the current proposal is broadly acceptable but needs to be carefully developed to achieve the much needed ancillary support to thecentre:mk, including the frontage to the shops and the visually prominent facades. A positive approach which softens the repetitive facades of cladding through good elevational design or materials must be incorporated into the design at a later stage. Support is given to reinforcing activity along the street so as to maintain constant surveillance whilst making the street secure to use at all times. The Chief Environmental Heath Officer notes that there is little significance difference between the proposal and the original and has nothing further to add. Conditions on noise control, hours of work, and noise insulation for dwellings are to be repeated. The Development Plans Manager comments that the application is in conformity with the policies of particular relevance e.g. S5, CC7C, CC13 and CC15. The Adopted Local Plan was emerging at the time of the resolution to permit the original scheme and has now been adopted without significant change to the policies for Central Milton Keynes. In conclusion the proposed development is in accordance with the site notation on the Local Plan Proposals Map and conforms with the relevant policies. The Senior Engineer Highways Development Control: 1. I am satisfied that a revised Transport Assessment is not required for several reasons:

(a) This is not a new proposal, it is a revision to an earlier consent and in terms of the impact on the highway network there are no material changes in circumstances. (b) This element of the earlier permission is not the one that will actually generate additional traffic into Central Milton Keynes; that will be the major retail expansion. This element is mainly providing car parking, much of which exists on or near the site at present. (c) The amount of parking in the car park is actually being reduced and therefore the peak hour impact identified in the previous Traffic Assessment was a marginal over-estimate. In detail he comments: 2. The outline approval must not include the approval of the junction with Secklow Gate which should be conditioned to be agreed in detail prior to commencement of the development. 3. It is essential that the route from North Row to the cycle facility in the car park and the Welcome Link is safe and convenient for cyclists and needs to be conditioned. 4. Prevent outward opening doors onto the public realm/footway by condition. 5. It is not ideal to indicate steps and ramps to accommodate movement from the carriageway of Silbury Boulevard to the footway on its northern side and if such a solution was unavoidable the minimum ramp width should be 3.0 metres. He encourages the designing of buildings that can adequately accommodate the differences in levels in this area. 6. He considers that servicing for the retail units will only be suitable at the existing parking area to the immediate north of the North Eleventh Street Junction where parking spaces will need to be changed and junction improvements made to ensure adequate HGV access/egress. 7. He would require the imposition of the conditions recommended above plus any others to resolve the outstanding issues. CONSIDERATIONS The principle that this site be developed for the proposed uses and in this general form, was agreed by the grant of outline planning permission in 2005, with all matters other than siting reserved. The limited adjustments to siting, now considered as layout, could not be regarded as legitimate reasons to withhold a new outline permission. This is particular so because there have

not been any significant changes to circumstances of the policy background, or site specific matters, which would warrant such a decision. The changes that have been introduced are as a result of scheme development which will lead to the submission of a comprehensive reserved matters application for all the development comprised in Phase 1. In particular the re-siting of the Silbury Boulevard frontage of the development is beneficial to the scheme. Also, the new layout of the housing element improves the relationship to the adjoining existing dwellings. The revised pedestrian/cycle route to follow North Eleventh Street is recognised to follow appropriate urban design principles and avoids the safety/security issues of the former proposal for a walkway between the housing and multi-storey car park. A number of the issues raised by the objectors relate to the principle of the development, but these have been set by the 2005 outline permission and cannot now be challenged e.g. the general relationship between the housing and car park elements, the general siting relative to Silbury Boulevard and its cycle/pedestrian movement, loss of the existing frontage access road, North Row connectivity and transport assessment matters. The original outline consent showed the porte-cocheres removed on the north and south of Silbury Boulevard, The remaining matters of objection relate to more detailed matters beyond the scope of this application which will be relevant to the consideration of the reserved matters application, which will be concerned with all areas of the project including the public realm of the Silbury Boulevard/Secklow Gate area. Some of these concerns are also raised in the comments of the Highway Engineer and will be subject of conditional approval and of detailed agreement via the reserved matters application. The applicant has submitted a draft Deed Variation of the existing S.106 Planning Obligation with the intention of maintaining the status quo of the package of obligations, including affordable housing, and the conditions of the outline permission relevant to this area of the overall development. RECOMMENDATION Subject to the completion of a satisfactory Deed of Variation it is recommended that outline permission be granted with layout not reserved and subject to conditions consistent with the original permission and as sought by the Highway Engineer, and to secure sustainable development in accordance with Policy D4.

Report author / case officer – Mike Bowley Contact details - 01908 252610 mike.bowley@milton-keynes.gov.uk