The controversial redevelopment of a piece of ancient woodland in Colebrook which has generated the ire of those living around it came back before Plymouth City Council’s planning committee on February 27 after local councillors asked for it to be called in for greater scrutiny.
Key Takeaways for Colebrook Redevelopment:
- Controversial Development Sparks Outrage – The redevelopment of ancient woodland in Colebrook has led to significant community opposition, with concerns over habitat loss, unauthorized demolitions, and last-minute planning changes.
- Retrospective Planning Approved Despite Objections – Despite objections from residents and councillors, Plymouth City Council approved the developer’s retrospective planning request with added conditions, including stricter boundary agreements and removal of permitted development rights.
- Community Wins Partial Concession – A positive outcome from the decision ensures that the £35,640 Section 106 funding originally earmarked for Ham Woods will now prioritize improvements at Newnham Meadows Nature Reserve instead.
The land which has stirred up feelings among those in the Colebrook community is on the junction of Newnham Road with Clifton Avenue. For a number of generations the site had an ancient lodge at its entrance and a woodland behind it.
St Mary’s ward councillor Sally Nicholson described the site as ‘a lovely woodland providing a natural haven for many species of animals within a densely populated area of housing and commercial units.’
Local builder Neal Hiscocks acquired the site in April 2022 and later that year lodged a planning application to build two new detached properties at the site and proposed the renovation of the existing lodge with an extra storey. This was refused by planners on the basis of loss of habitat and ecology value and a later appeal against the refusal was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate.
Conditional Approval
Mr Hiscocks, however, later succeeded in a new planning application for essentially the same proposal in 2023 when he agreed to provide a Section 106 funding contribution of £35,640 for improvements to Ham Woods to mitigate against the habitat and ecology impact at the Colebrook site. As a result he was given conditional approval to build two new detached dwellings, renovate the existing lodge, add an extra storey to it and have a new renovated garage.
Photo copyright 4D Architects
However, as the works started and progressed those living around the site became concerned that the original plans were not being adhered to when an ancient Devon hedge was removed and the old lodge was completely demolished. Complaints were subsequently made to the planning department.
As a result Mr Hiscocks lodged a fresh application to gain retrospective permission for those parts of his development which did not adhere to the original plans. This drew 26 letters of objection, 23 of which came in after the official closure date for responses, but which were still considered.
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The matter therefore came before the planning committee for determination. Cllr Sally Nicholson told the meeting she felt the area of the demolished lodge should be used to mitigate the loss of wildlife habitat. rather than being rebuilt on.
Fellow ward councillor Patrick Nicholson asked the committee to maintain a stand against unauthorised planning activity by refusing permission to construct a new building on the site of the old lodge.
He was also critical of the last minute filing of documents shortly before the planning meeting which meant there had been little chance for advanced scrutiny by the surrounding community.
Rose Hamley, chair of the Plympton St Mary Neighbourhood Forum also spoke against the application. She outlined that the development at the site had generated ‘a great deal of controversy and anger’ and felt there had been ‘wanton destruction’ of the nature area.
She said:
“This lovely parcel of land is now a complete eyesore”
adding that her forum’s recommendations were for the demolition of one of the new buildings, the hedgerow to be rebuilt to its original state and and the lodge not to be rebuilt in order to allow wildlife to be attracted back to the area.
Mr Hiscocks then addressed the committee telling them that he was a Colebrook boy born and bred. He said he was the owner of Cornerstone Homes and had built his first house in 1992. He had been building in Plymouth and the surrounding area since 2001 employing a highly skilled and locally based workforce. In that time he had built around 250 high quality open market and affordable houses and had never once been served with a stop notice or breached planning consents.
He was at pains to point out that site clearance of non TPO trees and suchlike had been done by the previous owner before the site was marketed and before his purchase of it.
He explained that during a post Christmas lull in other available work he used his staff to start clearance work at the application site as he did not want to lose a skilled workforce or lay them off after Christmas.
During the site clearance part of the boundary in Colebrook Lane collapsed and during preparation work for the lodge renovations it was discovered the lodge had no foundations and that its walls would not support an extra storey, so it could not be renovated as previously envisaged. He said he did not realise he needed consent to demolish it.
The meeting heard there were allegations the new properties already built on the site were over their permitted height but council officer Macauley Potter said this had been looked into and the overall geometry of the two plots was consistent with the previous approval but there was a minor increase of 130mm in the height of one of the buildings.
His written report to the committee stated:
“The installation of roof insulation has resulted in a minor height increase of 130mm of which officers are of the opinion that there would be no measurable change in terms of the visual appearance of plot 2 nor its impact on the wider street scene.”
The report therefore proposed the granting of this amendment to the original consent.
Cllr Ian Darcy (Conservative, Plympton St Mary) said he was concerned about the potential flooding impact in Colebrook of the runoff from the volume of concrete and tarmac surfaces there would be on the developed site. While he noted the various flooding mitigations set out in the application report he said he would find it difficult to support the application.
He also expressed he was not persuaded by the applicant’s contention he did not realise permission for demolition of the lodge was needed. Cllr Darcy pointed out the applicant had introduced himself to the committee as a professional builder of longstanding and it was therefore incumbent upon him to be familiar with planning rules.
After debate the planning committee unanimously agreed to add conditions to the retrospective planning application which included:
• Agreement to be reached in writing between the applicant and the council on the boundary treatment plan in consultation with the Planning Chair and Vice Chair and Plympton St Mary Ward Councillors;
• Execution of the boundary treatment plan to be done as a pre-occupation condition
• Exclusion of permitted development rights for the site
The committee then went on by seven votes to four to grant the application subject to those conditions.
One positive to emerge from the decision was that the £35,640 which had previously been allocated for improvements at Ham Woods will now be prioritised firstly for improvements to the Newnham Meadows Nature Reserve and only used at Ham Woods if nothing suitable can be done at the Newnham Reserve.
(story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast)
