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As part of the redevelopment, it is also proposed to re-align the turning headarrangements at the end of Hall Street to facilitate the use of land for the newcommunity, cultural and faith facility.With regards to the objection received from the adjacent business at Simms WoodYard, the revised turning area is designed to accommodate the movements ofvehicles at Simms Wood and the Mosque. An AutoTRACK simulation software hasbeen used to track the manoeuvres of vehicles into the adjacent vehicle maintenanceyard and this indicates that the vehicles will be able to access the gate on Hall Streetwithout detriment. In addition, 3 on street parking spaces on Hall Street will beremoved which should assist in facilitating the access into the adjacent site.It is acknowledged that at present the access into the Simms Wood Yard site, viaHall Street involves complicated reversing manoevres and the site cannot beaccessed/egressed in a forward gear. Whilst the proposed development will notimprove this situation, the submitted information indicates that the situation will not beworsened and therefore a refusal on these grounds is not considered to be justified.Both the Travel Plan and Transport Statement have been audited by the Council andthe findings are concurred with. In addition a Road Safety Audit has beencommissioned with regards the main access to the building and its proximity to themovement of large articulated vehicles on Hall Street/Chapel Walk. This hashighlighted the need to remove the current on street car parking bays (3 No.) in HallStreet so as to help access / egress to/from the haulage yard. Existing No Waiting atAny Time restrictions should be extended and the Traffic Regulation Order updatedas necessary. Measures to prevent large articulated vehicles from encroaching ontothe footway adjacent the proposed building are intended. The Safety Audit did nothighlight any other concerns.Impact on trees and landscapingUDP Policy ENV3.4 refers to Trees, Woodlands and Hedgerows and states that:“The Council will seek to promote and enhance tree, woodland and hedgerowcoverage throughout the Borough.”The proposed development involves the loss of 6 trees, 5 are on the boundary withCentenary Way and one on the corner of Hall Street/Chapel Walk. The submittedTree Survey indicates that these trees are predominantly Lime or Silver Birch treeswith the exception of one Cypress. The Lime and Silver Birch trees on the boundarywith Centenary Way are identified as being semi-mature trees with a long lifeexpectancy and it is the loss of these trees which raises specific concern.The Council’s Aboriculturalist has objected to the loss of the trees on the groundsthat they provide valuable amenity on Centenary Way and also act as a filter topollution from the road.The applicant is aware of the concerns raised and consideration has been given toreplacement of the trees to be lost, however, due to the proximity of the building toCentenary Way it is not feasible on both highway safety grounds and practicality to
provide replacement trees on the frontage (adjacent to Centenary Way).Furthermore, the importance of the trees is based on their amenity in their currentlocation and whilst consideration has been given to providing replacements off site, itis not considered appropriate in this instance as this would not mitigate against theloss of these particular trees.The loss of the trees is regrettable and the decision as to whether the benefits of theproposed development outweigh the harm caused is balanced. Although there are anumber of other trees along Centenary Way it is acknowledged that the loss of the 5Lime/Silver Birch trees will result in a loss of amenity in the form of trees. However,the proposed site is constrained in terms of its floor area and in visual amenity termsit is not considered to be acceptable to make the building any higher than alreadyproposed. In addition, whilst the development results in the loss of 5 trees alongCentenary Way there are a number of other trees along Centenary Way which wouldbe unaffected by the proposed development. In this instance the proposeddevelopment is considered to be of a high quality and its visual dominance andstriking appearance are intentional, particularly to provide an architectural focus onCentenary Way. For this reason, the benefits of the redevelopment of the site toallow a high quality building are considered to outweigh the harm resulting from theloss of the 5 trees.The proposed development also results in a realignment of the access to theadjacent subway and in this regard alterations to the landscaping of the banking areproposed. This landscaping replaces those shrubs and plants which are to be lost asa result of the development and this part of the proposal is considered to beacceptable.Ecology and biodiversityThe NPPF recommends that new opportunities for biodiversity are taken indevelopments. In this instance a Bat Survey has been submitted in support of theapplication. The survey and impact assessment methodologies used are consideredto be appropriate and the results of the survey work are accepted. The existingbuilding was noted as having no evidence of bat use and low potential for providingroosting opportunities. The proposed development site also includes some trees andalthough the bat survey report does not specifically note assessment of these treesfor use by bats the emergence survey work should have picked up any presence.The removal of a number of mature trees is considered to be a minor negative impacton the biodiversity interest of the site; the landscape proposals received illustrated alimited area for new planting and the area of soft landscaping is considered toprovide a useful route to achieving biodiversity gain. A condition is thereforerecommended to ensure that some biodiversity gain is achieved on site.ConclusionIn conclusion, the proposal would create a satisfactory form of development that,subject to conditions, is acceptable given its overall design and the implications forthe visual amenity of the locality in terms of the scale, mass and architectural style ofthe mosque in its context. The site is considered to be in a sustainable location and
Page 1 and 2: ROTHERHAM METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUN
Page 3 and 4: Chapel Walk and Hall Street are pre
Page 5 and 6: Alterations are proposed to the exi
Page 7 and 8: • If planning permission is grant
Page 9 and 10: In terms of local policy, UDP Polic
Page 11: In this instance, the main highway
Page 15 and 16: Demolition and Construction - Recom
Page 17 and 18: 14The measures contained within the

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