Agenda item

RESOLVED, that the Orpington Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document be supported, subject to a minor change to be considered by the Renewal, Recreation and Housing PDS Committee.

Report HPR2023/038

The Committee considered a report recommending the adoption of the Orpington Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document which provided guidance to assist with the determination of planning applications in the Orpington Town Centre area, including guidance on design requirements. 

The Head of Planning Policy and Strategy and the Planning Policy Officer made a presentation to the Committee outlining the development of the Orpington Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document, including a public consultation undertaken between 9 March 2022 to 1 July 2022 that had resulted in a number of amendments being made to the final draft.  The final draft Orpington Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document would also be considered by the Renewal, Recreation and Housing PDS Committee at its meeting on 15 June 2023 and for adoption by the Council’s Executive at its meeting on 5 July 2023.

The Chairman invited a Committee and Ward Member for Petts Wood and Knoll to open the discussion.  The Member outlined some of the particular needs of Orpington which was described as a main town within the London Plan, but which he argued should be considered as having a number of business, leisure and retail hubs, including the Nugent Centre.  Regional policy around car usage had the potential to significantly impact Orpington’s economy moving forward, including the proposed expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone.  The Chairman observed that all forms of transport had a role in Bromley which was a geographically large and diverse Borough.  The Member outlined a number of points raised by an Orpington resident on the final draft Orpington Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document including ensuring that development within Orpington town centre was not disproportionate in terms of density or height and that heritage continued to have appropriate protections.  Another Member who was also a Ward Member for Petts Wood and Knoll suggested a minor amendment be made to SPD Guidance Note 11 to address ambiguity inherent to the statement that ‘Tall buildings will need to be of the highest architectural design quality’.

In summation, the Chairman moved that the following changes to the Orpington Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document be recommended for agreement by the Renewal, Recreation and Housing PDS Committee at its meeting on 15 June 2023 and this was put to the vote and CARRIED:

-  SPD Guidance Note 11: Change to ‘Tall buildings will need to be of the highest achieve exemplary architectural design quality…

-  Section 6: Orpington East: Paragraph 6.4, Bullet 4 – Change to ‘In accordance with Local Plan and London Plan requirements, particularly Local Plan policy 47 and London Plan policy D9, tall and large buildings will need to be of the highest achieve exemplary architectural design quality’

RESOLVED: That the Renewal, Recreation and Housing PDS Committee be asked to agree the proposed above amendments and recommend the Council’s Executive to adopt the Orpington Town  Centre Supplementary Planning Document as a local development document, subject to any further minor changes (e.g. – related to formatting or mapping) prior to adoption.