| Conditions or Reasons: | | 1)
The noise impact assessment information submitted with the application is lacking in terms of including noise generated by the proposed development from all sources including vehicle movements. It can therefore not be demonstrated that the noise impact from the proposed hotel would be acceptable and as such it would have an unacceptable adverse impact upon nearby existing uses. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies CC8 (Pollution and Land Instability) and HQ1 (High Quality Development) of the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015 - 2035, July 2021, and Section 12 (Achieving well-designed places) of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), December 2024. |
| 2)
The application falls within the Statutory Class 'Small Scale Major Developments', and as such the standard statutory metric displaying the baseline and site proposals and an updated habitat map showing the baseline is required under mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements. Without this information, the required 10% BNG has not been demonstrated and the proposal is therefore contrary to Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Policy EE2 (Enhancing Biodiversity) of the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015 - 2035, July 2021, and Section 15 (Conserving and enhancing the natural environment) of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), December 2024. |
| 3)
By reason of the restricted width of and visibility from the site access off Church Square for both pedestrians and vehicles, and the internal site layout, the proposed development through introducing members of the public to the site (hotel guests) compared with its extant uses, would not provide a safe or efficient layout for users, particularly in relation to pedestrians and service vehicles. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policy T2 (Highways Safety and Design) of the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015 - 2035, July 2021 as the scheme would have a detrimental effect on highway safety and patterns of movement, and would fail to provide an appropriate access, and is also contrary to Section 9 (Promoting Sustainable Transport) of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), December 2024. |
| 4)
By reason of a lack of on site car parking, the proposed development would result in a high level of overspill parking demand and resultant displacement of existing parking demands in the Church Square car park and in adjacent residential streets, and parking occurring outside of marked bays within the site exacerbating concerns with the site layout. This would create additional local congestion, associated hazards for pedestrians, and an unacceptable adverse impact upon residential amenity. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policy T2 (Highways Safety and Design) of the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan 2015 - 2035, July 2021 as the scheme would have a detrimental effect on highway safety and patterns of movement, Policy T3 (Parking) due to insufficient on site car parking resulting in the adverse impacts of overspill parking and Policy HQ1 (High Quality Development) due to the unacceptable adverse impact of overspill and displacement parking on nearby existing uses, and is also contrary to Section 9 (Promoting Sustainable Transport) of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), December 2024. |
|
|---|