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POLICY H5: Development within Primarily Residential Areas

1. The Primarily Residential Areas are indicated on the Proposals Map.

2. New development within the Primarily Residential Areas (or proposals for the change of use or redevelopment of existing buildings) which is for uses appropriate to a residential area will be permitted provided that the development (either by itself or in conjunction with other developments) would not:

A) Have an unacceptable impact on the amenity of neighbouring occupiers by reason of noise, disturbance, overlooking, visual intrusion, smells, fumes, on-street parking or other causes; or

B) Adversely affect the character or street scene of the area.

3. Windfall housing provision in Primarily Residential Areas will be acceptable in principle if it is for the replacement on a one-for-one basis of housing units which have been demolished and accounted for under the terms of policy H1. Further new "windfall" houses will only be permitted if the release of the site is considered to be appropriate having regard to the requirements of policy H1 and the monitoring of overall housing land supply.

Explanation H5

5.47

The Council values the character and environmental qualities of the established residential areas and will protect and improve their physical environment. A major consideration in determining proposals in these areas will also be the need to protect the residential amenity of the occupiers of existing and proposed properties.

5.48

Some non-residential development and uses, such as corner shops, and local services, may be appropriately sited within Primarily Residential Areas. In many cases such uses are indeed needed to provide facilities close to where people live. Such uses should be carefully sited and designed to avoid causing loss of amenity for neighbours, and planning conditions (see glossary) will be imposed where necessary (for example covering opening hours or parking facilities) to ensure that such uses do not adversely affect occupiers of neighbouring property.

5.49

Proposals for new housing development on previously developed “windfall” sites in primarily residential areas (as defined in table 5.1) can in some cases be granted, provided they meet all relevant design requirements, for example by avoiding causing overlooking, are designed to a high quality and can be safely accessed from the highway. The Council will however monitor the amount of such windfall provision and may constrain the supply from such sources if this is considered necessary to ensure that available housing development meets the priorities set by policy H1.

Policy Links
Policy DQ1	“Design Quality in New Development”
Policy ENV1	“Control of Pollution in New Development”