To receive apologies for absence

There were no apologies at this meeting.

To confirm the non-exempt minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2011

The non-exempt minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2011 were confirmed as an accurate record of that meeting.

The chairman to identify any items of urgent business

There was no urgent business on this occasion

To receive any declarations of interest in any matter to be discussed at the meeting.  Members and officers are requested to identify the nature of the interest and indicate whether it is personal or prejudicial.

No declarations of interest were made at this meeting

To consider the schedule of applications as prepared by the Group Manager for Planning and Housing.

Chairman, Councillor Terry Glastonbury, referred to the schedule of applications, as prepared by the Group Manager for Planning and Housing under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and to the late material circulated prior to the meeting. (Late material refers to information submitted to the council following publication of the agenda).

Councillor Glastonbury confirmed that there would be only one public speaker at the meeting, speaking on item 5.2 of the agenda, (P0763/11/FUL New dwelling, adjacent Cobbles, Lansdown Walk, Bream). He also confirmed that ward member, Councillor Paul Hiett, would be speaking on this item. The decisions are recorded in order of the schedule

The Chairman reminded the committee to keep their comments relevant to the debate and, where possible, to avoid a repetition of previous observations.

Erection of two poultry houses and four feed bins

Erection of two poultry houses and four feed bins

Please refer to the late material circulated prior to the start of the meeting

Principal Planning Officer, Emma Norgate, outlined the information and revised conditions included in the late material.

Committee consideration

Referring to drainage issues at the site, ward member, Councillor Val Hobman, said that she believed the matter had been addressed as far as was possible. Vice Chairman and associate ward member, James Bevan, said that he would be supporting the application in his desire to promote British Industry and to reduce the influx of poultry and other commodities being imported from overseas. Councillor Bevan stressed the need for developers to camouflage storage buildings and silos when located in the open countryside and said that he was pleased the poultry units for this development would blend with the surrounding area and not become visually prominent.

Vote

Councillor Terry Glastonbury moved the recommendation and Councillor Jane Horne seconded the motion. A recorded vote was taken and members,

RESOLVED that the application be granted planning permission, subject to the conditions referred to in the schedule of applications and to the information and revised conditions included in the late material.

For (15)

Councillors Frank Beard, James Bevan, Gethyn Davies, Frankie Evans, Terry Glastonbury, Julia Gooch, Val Hobman, Jane Horne, Gabriella Kirkpatrick, Paul McMahon, Norman Stephens, Lynn Sterry, Arthur Thomas, David Thomson and Roger Yeates

Against (0)

Abstentions (0)

Erection of a detached dwelling (Revised Scheme) (Retrospective)

Erection of a detached dwelling (Revised Scheme) (Retrospective)

Please refer to the late material circulated prior to the start of the meeting

Development Control Manager, Clive Reynolds, gave a full and detailed outline of some of the issues surrounding the application and referred to the site visit in June and to the late material that had been circulated prior to the meeting, (containing additional information from the applicant and a further message of support). Mr Reynolds informed the committee that, whilst aware of individual representations from the applicant and a series of allegations regarding the conduct of officers and council procedures, he did not intend to précis this information, but wished it to be noted that officers did not accept such views. He reminded members that the committee was only required to consider the application on the planning merits of the development and not to any complaints that had been made regarding officer conduct. On this basis, members were advised not to take into account any representations regarding officer conduct.

Referring to the revised plans on display, the Development Control Manager confirmed that one of the reasons for refusing the application, (based on concerns about whether two parking spaces could be provided), had now been addressed. He said that, in spite of this information, the key issue for members to consider was the visual impact of the property and whether or not the revised height of the property was acceptable, particularly when the approved plans had indicated that the property would be no higher than the adjoining cottage.

The Development Control Manager said that, whilst the property appeared in keeping when viewed from some aspects, (notably the more distant views and views from the modern housing development below), the key concern for officers was the view from the direct front aspect of the property and the relationship of the property to the adjoining cottage. He said that, on this basis, the recommendation remained one of refusal, with the deletion of reason 2, relating to car parking.

Public speaking

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, the speaker asked the committee to consider whether the property differed in overall size, shape or position to the proposals that had been approved by the planning committee in August 2007. The speaker said that, although the property had been built in accordance with the approved plans, a street elevation drawing, (submitted by the architect as a last minute submission), had been conceptually inaccurate, showing the building to be the same height as the cottage. In the applicant’s defence, the speaker said that there had been no sight of the architects drawing before its submission to the planning authority and that the error had since been recognised and acknowledged by the architect during a meeting between Peter Williams, Group Manager for Planning and Housing, and the applicant. The speaker said that the original street elevation drawing had not taken into account the sloping lie of the ground on which the applicant’s property was built and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.2

Proposed detached 4-car garage with gym and hobbies room. Erection of a 1.6m high natural stone-wall.

Proposed detached 4-car garage with gym and hobbies room. Erection of a 1.6m high natural stone-wall

Committee consideration

The consensus of opinion was that the proposed garage and associated buildings were too large for the site with several members expressing concern about the potential to convert the buildings into an inappropriate dwelling in the open countryside. Several members questioned the design of the scheme and stressed the need to be vigilant in monitoring future developments. Councillor Gethyn Davies expressed particular concern about the positioning of a stairway at the site which was initially on the approved scheme, on the outside of the building, and had then latterly been amended to show the stairway on the inside of the building.

Development Control Manager, Clive Reynolds, referred to the conditions that had been suggested to regulate the proposals and reassured members that any further development would require separate planning permission. It was noted that the application would not necessarily be brought before the committee for consideration. A recorded vote was taken and members,

RESOLVED to grant the application planning permission, subject to the conditions included in the schedule of planning applications

For (12)

Councillors Frank Beard, James Bevan, Gethyn Davies, Frankie Evans, Terry Glastonbury, Julia Gooch, Jane Horne, Paul McMahon, Norman Stephens, Arthur Thomas, David Thomson and Roger Yeates

Against (3) Councillors Val Hobman, Gabriella Kirkpatrick and Lynn Sterry

Abstentions (0)

a)     To confirm that the next sites’ inspection panel will be held on Tuesday 19 July 2011

b)     To consider any new applications put forward by members or by the Group Manager for Planning and Housing. These sites will be in addition to any which may be identified during the meeting.

RESOLVED that the next sites inspection panel be held on Tuesday 19 July 2011, and that the following sites be added to the itinerary for that day: -  

To consider report PH.74 regarding the performance of the planning team in relation to the determination of planning applications.  

Principal Planning Officer, Emma Norgate, presented report PH.74, regarding the performance of the planning team in relation to the determination of planning applications. The planning officer said that the report detailed the performance of the applications team in determining applications between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011, giving comparisons of the council’s performance against both local and government set targets. The committee noted the report and welcomed the news that the planning team had successfully exceeded all targets. The planning officer informed the committee that this high level of performance had been achieved during implementation of the ‘Lean Systems’ project, a project introduced to consider ways in which the planning team can seek to alter the way applications are dealt with.

Responding to a question from Councillor Norman Stephens about whether the number of planning applications had reduced in the past year, the planning officer said that not all applications had been included in the performance calculations. Clive Reynolds, Development Control Manager, said that, although the number of the applications had declined during the past two years, the reduction had not been as dramatic as experienced by some authorities.

RESOLVED to note the report

To consider report PH.75, seeking confirmation of Tree Preservation Order DF TPO 181, Land to South West of English Bicknor. Consideration of this report was deferred at the last meeting to allow the committee the benefit of visiting the site before making their decision.

Alastair Chapman, Sustainable Team Leader, presented report PH.75, seeking confirmation of Tree Preservation Order DF TPO 181, Land to South West of English Bicknor. (Consideration of this report was deferred at the last meeting to allow the committee to visit the site before making their decision). The Sustainability Team Leader referred members to the late material and said that, in spite of new information from the landowner, the committee was only required to consider confirmation of the existing tree order.

Acknowledging the poor condition of one of the trees at the site, some members suggested removing the diseased tree and confirming the preservation order on the two remaining trees. Other members said they preferred that all three trees remain. Councillor Gethyn Davies suggested that the committee consider removal of the diseased tree with a request to the landowner to plant a replacement sapling. The Sustainable Team Leader said that, without the preservation order, the council did not have the power to require replacement planting of any trees at the site and that this would only be possible if the order was confirmed on all three trees.

The majority of members continued to support removal of tree number 2 at the site, (shown at Appendix A of the report). On this basis, Councillor Norman Stephens proposed removal of tree number 2 and confirmation of the preservation order on trees number 1 and 3 of the report. Councillor Arthur Thomas seconded the proposal. A recorded vote was taken and members,

RESOLVED to confirm Tree Preservation Order DF TPO 181 on trees 1 and 3 of report PH.75, (as shown at Appendix A to the report), and removal of tree 2 of the same report.

For (11)

Councillors Frank Beard, James Bevan, Gethyn Davies, Frankie Evans, Terry Glastonbury, Julia Gooch, Jane Horne, Paul McMahon, Norman Stephens, Arthur Thomas and Roger Yeates

Against (4)

Councillors Val Hobman, Gabriella Kirkpatrick, Lynn Sterry and David Thomson

Abstentions (0)

Councillors Val Hobman, Gabriella Kirkpatrick, Lynn Sterry and David Thomson said that they wished it to be noted that, in voting against the proposal to remove tree number 2 at the site, they were not voting against confirmation of the tree preservation order on trees 1 and 3. They said that, if able to vote on a different proposal, each councillor would have voted to confirm a preservation order on all three trees.

To consider, and if so agree, to resolve, that under section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the said act and that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Resolved that, under section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the said act and that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

To confirm the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2011

The exempt minutes of the meeting on 14 June 2011 were confirmed as an accurate record of that meeting.

To consider the schedule of enforcement action as prepared by the Group Manager for Planning and Housing.

Copies of the schedule of enforcement, (to consider the expediency of issuing enforcement notices against four breaches of planning control), had been circulated with the agenda. Martin Hillier, Principal Planning Officer Enforcement and Appeals presented the schedule of enforcement, recommending that enforcement action be taken on each of the four breaches.

Principal Planning Officer, Martin Hillier, presented exempt report 11.1

Principal Planning Officer, Martin Hillier, presented exempt report 11.2

Principal Planning Officer, Martin Hillier, presented exempt report 11.3

Principal Planning Officer, Martin Hillier, presented exempt report 11.4

9 August 2011

9 August 2011