Agenda and minutes

Councillor Baker.

1. Councillor Sudbury:has campaigned in support of the former Axiom Centre and pre-determined this application.  Will address the meeting in objection to the application and then withdraw from the Chamber for the duration of the debate.

1. Councillor Stennett:  has made several tours of the site since it became vacant and knows it well.
2. Councillor Thornton:  has visited the site on numerous occasions.
3. Councillor Savage:  has visited and familiarised himself with the site.
4. Councillor Hay:  walks past the site almost every day, and was involved with carpentry work in its redevelopment many years ago.
5. Councillor Chard:  has been inside the building on a couple of occasions.

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Resolved, that the minutes of the meeting held on 24^th March 2016 be approved and signed as a correct record without corrections.

MP introduced the application as above, for alteration and extension to the former Axiom Centre.  This building is locally indexed for its architectural value, historic interest and unusual brickwork, and the proposal will involve the addition of a fourth floor and undercroft car parking.  It is at Committee at the request of Councillors Sudbury and Babbage.  Officers welcome the scheme which will bring the building back into sustainable and active use, and the recommendation is to grant planning permission. 

Public Speaking:

Mr Colin Pemble, agent, in support

The former Axiom Centre has been empty for many years and is in poor condition; it is a locally indexed building, of historic and architectural interest, but people walking past may not be aware of the historic warehouse/grain store behind the frontage building.  The current application follows a pre-application process, in which much discussion with officers resulted in the original proposal being greatly altered and the number of units reduced, through the input of the previous Heritage and Conservation Officer.  The Civic Society has been supportive of the scheme and recognised the difficulties in bringing forward the proposals for the building.  The applicants intend to convert the building into 11 good-sized apartments with car parking and cycle storage.  To facilitate this, a lot of remedial work and some alteration to the external appearance of the building need to be made, but these have been designed to retain its essential characteristics.  In consultation with the current Heritage and Conservation Officer, the finer detailing of the scheme has been further amended and will be conditioned, to allow the Council further control over the final appearance of the scheme.  A commercial unit is proposed for the ground floor, to ensure an active frontage and with the potential for a variety of uses.  During the application process, issues raised by the Heritage and Conservation Officer and Highways Engineer have been addressed, and both the Civic Society and Architects’ Panel are now fully supportive.  The scheme represents good re-use of the building, with units which will provide sizable accommodation and a viable opportunity to ensure the long-term future of the building, ensuring its character is retained and a good standard of residential accommodation in the town centre is created. 

Councillor Sudbury, in objection

To start on a positive note, welcomes the proposal to re-use this building, and recognises that the amount of work needed to bring it back to sole commercial/community use makes it unviable, but has a number of objections about the detail of the proposal which is why she has requested a Committee decision.  The main concern is the undercroft parking and addition of an extra floor. There was a previous plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 294.

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