17/00921/FUL

Land To The Rear Of 19 Crescent Road Oxford OX4 2NZ

15 May 2017

Demolition of existing commercial buildings and side extension to 19A Crescent Road. Erection of 3 x 3-bed dwellings (Use Class C3). Provision of car parking. Erection of single storey rear extension to 19A Crescent Road. 

The proposed access to this site is only 2.6m wide over a length of 9.25m; this will necessitate very careful maneuvering, especially by any vehicle bigger than a small car. If the proposed car park spaces are occupied, turning within the site appears impossible, necessitating reversing through the narrow access, and emerging backwards into Crescent road; this seems completely impracticable. Six side-by-side parking spaces are shown, occupying a space measuring 14.3m in width; the average space width is thus less than 2.4m – too narrow for modern cars; one space is shown with a width of 1.9m, and this is the least-easily accessible. The total width of the parking ‘yard’ is 11.6m, suggesting that accessing the parking spaces would be difficult, if not impossible; the disabled parking space shown has a length of 4.9m, suggesting that any vehicle parked here will project and obstruct access to other spaces. No tracking diagram(s) are provided demonstrating how vehicles are expected to access the site, park or turn round within it. The individual bicycle stores measure 1.8m x 0.9m in plan – much too small to both accommodate two bicycles and allow access. No landscaping plan is provided, though several trees are shown. We would recommend refusal of this application pending re-design of vehicle access, turning and parking provision, re-design of bicycle parking provision and preparation of an acceptable scheme of landscaping for the development.