The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 21 December 2021 by Mr A Spencer-Peet BSc(Hons) PGDip.LP Solicitor (Non Practising) an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 18 January 2022 Appeal Ref: APP/X1118/W/21/3281827 The Stores, 1 Ty-Nant, St Marys Road , Croyde EX33 1LF • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr Joel Briggs of Merchant Holdings against the decision of North Devon District Council. • The application Ref 72770, dated 11 January 2021, was refused by notice dated 16 March 2021. • The development proposed is the conversion of first floor flat and office/store into 3 flats. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Applications for costs 2. An application for costs was made by Mr Joel Briggs of Merchant Holdings against North Devon District Council. This application is the subject of a separate Decision. Main Issues 3. Although the Council has given two reasons for refusal on the decision notice, having reviewed the evidence and submissions I have considered it appropriate to identify a single main issue. 4.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision The main issue in this appeal is whether the proposed development provides for adequate parking provision and the effect of those proposed parking arrangements on highway safety. Reasons 5. The appeal site is located within the core of the village at Croyde, adjacent to the junction which joins Hobb’s Hill, Jones’s Hill and St Mary’s Road, and comprises a substantially scaled building which, at the time of my visit, appeared to include a restaurant at ground floor level. The evidence before me indicates that the first floor of the appeal building comprises a flat with office and stores. 6. Planning history for the site indicates that recent appeals1 (the Recent Appeals) considered a retrospective application for the conversion of the first floor at the appeal building into three, one bedroom, flats. In the Recent Appeals, the Inspector considered parking provision with regards to Policy DM06 of the 1 Appeal References: APP/X1118/C/19/3241357 & APP/X1118/W/19/3241182 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/X1118/W/21/3281827 North Devon and Torridge Local Plan (2018) (the Local Plan). The appeal scheme before me similarly seeks the conversion of the first floor into three separate one bedroom flats. 7. Criterion (1) of Policy DM06 of the Local Plan requires that developments provide an appropriate scale and range of parking to meet anticipated needs having regard to; accessibility and sustainability of the site, availability of public transport, provision of safe walking and cycling routes, and the specific scale and type of development. 8. Based on the evidence before me and observations made on my site visit, by reason of the accessibility of the site within the core of the village and due to the public transport links within the village that would be available to occupants of the appeal scheme, I would concur with the Inspector in the Recent Appeals that, given the wording of Policy DM06 of the Local Plan, there would be a need to provide off highway parking and that one space for each of the three flats is appropriate to meet the needs of the development. 9.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision Within the Recent Appeals, the Inspector considered the proposed provision of off highway parking at a public car park within the village, and which proposed the use of parking permits. The Inspector found that in the absence of any workable mechanism for ensuring that residents obtained such permits, the appeals were dismissed. The Appellant has put it to me that the concerns of the Inspector in the Recent Appeals have now been addressed by providing off highway parking at the appeal site. 10. Within the appeal submissions, the Appellant maintains that the plans submitted in support of the planning application showed that three parking spaces are to be provided on existing hardstanding at the front of the appeal building. In determining the planning application, the Council considers that the supporting information provided indicated that only two parking spaces had been included on the relevant plans. In this regard, I have considered the submissions and concur that the plans do not provide a clear indication that an area which appears to be of different dimensions, located abutting a wall which separates the site from St Mary’s Road, was to be allocated as a parking space. 11.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision Nonetheless, I accept the details provided by the Appellant in the course of this appeal that the number of boxed off areas shown on the submitted location plan relate to parking spaces. The Appellant’s appeal submissions confirm that three spaces are to be provided on site and, in this respect, I find that the appeal scheme does provide one parking space for each of the three proposed flats. Consequently, the appeal scheme would accord with the provisions of criterion (1) of Policy DM06 of the Local Plan with regards to the number of spaces to be provided for the scheme as a whole. 12. Amongst other matters in respect of the protection and enhancement of public rights of way, Policy DM05 of the Local Plan concerns highway safety. Notwithstanding the above compliance with the provisions of Policy DM06 of the Local Plan with regards to the adequacy of the numbers of parking spaces to be provided, the supporting text to Policy DM05 of the Local Plan explains that development must provide for adequate parking that actively aims to reduce the likelihood of inappropriate parking on the highway which could conflict with the aims of Policy DM05 of the Local Plan. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/X1118/W/21/3281827 13. Specifically, criterion (1) of Policy DM05 of the Local Plan provides that all developments must ensure safe and well designed access and egress, adequate parking and layouts which consider the needs and accessibility of all highway users including cyclists and pedestrians. 14. In respect of matters of highway safety, the Inspector in the Recent Appeals found that, in the absence of adequate off highway parking provision, development would have been likely to lead to on highway parking by future residents which, given the narrow nature of the local road network and the high degree of parking stress that is experienced within the village during holiday periods, would interfere with the free flow of traffic and thereby be detrimental to highway safety. 15. Whilst noting above that the appeal scheme is similar to that considered within the Recent Appeals with regards to the number of residential units, the present proposal is substantively different in that the required parking is to be provided on site. 16.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision In terms of the proposed layout, and in acceptance of the appeal scheme providing three dedicated parking spaces at the site for future residents, the appeal submissions provide confirmation that there would be sufficient room for resident’s private vehicles to turn within the site, thereby allowing for those vehicles to exit the site in forward gear. 17. However, there is concern that the provision of parking spaces at the appeal site would result in the loss of space used to serve the existing commercial premises. I acknowledge the Appellant’s submissions that such a loss of parking for the commercial premises is a commercial decision on their part and, in this regard, it could be said that some customers of the existing commercial enterprise could utilise, for example, the public car park which is located within the village. However, in my view it is unlikely that the position would be the same with regards to deliveries and other needs of the commercial enterprise, where the public car park would not be conveniently located, and that would be likely to result in on highway parking close to the site. 18.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision As noted by the Inspector in the Recent Appeals, whilst there is some on highway parking provision within the village, pressure for its use during summer would be intense. Given the above and the relatively narrow nature of the local road network, I find it likely that short term on highway parking would occur and that such parking would interfere with the free flow of traffic and cause danger to highway users including cyclists and pedestrians, in conflict with the aims and provisions of Policy DM05 of the Local Plan. 19. Further to the above, whilst I note that the Appellant maintains that safety would be improved by closing the access point for vehicles where Hobb’s Hill, Jones’s Hill and St Mary’s Road meet, this would result in vehicles being funnelled into a point close to the proposed access and where there would be increased and significant potential for conflict between vehicles, and between vehicles and pedestrians. In this respect, blockages are likely to be caused when vehicles entering the site meet vehicles seeking to exit the site and at a point where customers would be likely to be exiting from the adjacent post office.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision I therefore find that the appeal scheme would not provide safe access and egress from the site. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision I therefore find that the appeal scheme would not provide safe access and egress from the site. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/X1118/W/21/3281827 20. In summary, I find that whilst the appeal scheme would accord with the provisions of Policy DM06 of the Local Plan in respect of the specific number of parking spaces, the proposal would conflict with Policy DM05 of the Local Plan with regards to highway safety. Consequently, the proposed development would conflict with the policies of the development plan when taken as a whole. Furthermore, the appeal proposal would be contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework (July 2021) which provides that development should be refused where there is an unacceptable impact on highway safety. In my view, the social and economic benefits arising from the proposed additional contribution towards local housing supply, would be significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the adverse impact of the proposal on highway safety. Other Matters 21. The evidence before me indicates that the appeal site is located within the zone of influence of the Braunton Burrows Special Area of Conservation (the SAC). However, given my overall conclusion on the main issue as above, it has not been necessary for me to consider this matter any further in this instance. Conclusion 22.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Appeal Decision For the reasons given above I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

The Stores, 1 Ty-nant St Marys Road , Croyde , NDevon, EX33 1LF — North Devon District Council — Mr A Spencer-Peet INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4