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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - County Hall, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, BA14 8JN. View directions

Contact: Kieran Elliott  Senior Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

9.

Apologies

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Minutes:

An apology was received from Councillor Christopher Newbury, who was substituted by Councillor Ian Blair-Pilling.

10.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2018.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2018 were presented for consideration. Subject to amending the numbering to begin at One, it was,

 

Resolved:

 

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2018 as a true and correct record.

11.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Minutes:

Councillor Derek Brown OBE declared a non-pecuniary interest in application 17/03417/OUT by virtue of his daughter working for Savills, who were acting as agents, though she did not work on the project in question. He stated he would consider the application on its merits and with an open mind.

 

Councillor James Sheppard declared a non-pecuniary interest in application 17/03417/OUT by virtue of having sat with the landowner in meetings of the Wiltshire National Farmers’ Union. He therefore withdrew from the meeting in his capacity as a councillor and took no part in the debate or vote.

12.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

Minutes:

There were no announcements.

13.

Public Participation

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

 

Statements

Members of the public who wish to speak either in favour or against an application or any other item on this agenda are asked to register by phone, email or in person no later than 10.20am on the day of the meeting.

 

The rules on public participation in respect of planning applications are detailed in the Council’s Planning Code of Good Practice. The Chairman will allow up to 3 speakers in favour and up to 3 speakers against an application and up to 3 speakers on any other item on this agenda. Each speaker will be given up to 3 minutes and invited to speak immediately prior to the item being considered.

 

Members of the public will have had the opportunity to make representations on the planning applications and to contact and lobby their local member and any other members of the planning committee prior to the meeting. Lobbying once the debate has started at the meeting is not permitted, including the circulation of new information, written or photographic which have not been verified by planning officers.

 

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution which excludes, in particular, questions on non-determined planning applications.

 

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Wednesday 21 February 2018 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 23 February 2018. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

 

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

Minutes:

There were no questions or statements submitted.

14.

17/03417/OUT: Land South-East of Junction 17 of M4 Motorway, Kington Langley, Chippenham, Wiltshire - Outline Planning for the Erection of up to 1,000,000 sq ft of Class B8 (storage and distribution) Employment Space and Associated Infrastructure.

A report by the Case Officer is attached.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Public Participation

Elizabeth Lawer, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Bill Ford, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Edward Buchan, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Geraint Jones, Planning Director at Savills, agent, spoke in support of the application.

Mark Thorne, on behalf of the developer St Modwen, spoke in support of the application.

Giles Weir, Industrial Agency Director at JLL, spoke in support of the application.

Philip Jones, Chairman of Sutton Benger Parish Council, spoke in objection to the application.

 

Lee Burman, Development Management Team Leader, presented a report which recommended authority be granted to the Head of Development Management to grant permission for outline planning for the erection of up to 1,000,000 sq ft of class B8 (storage and distribution) employment space and associated infrastructure, subject to conditions and the signing of a section 106 legal agreement to address highways, transport and local employment matters within six months of the date of the decision.

 

Key issues were stated to include the impact on the landscape, ecology, highways implications, drainage concerns as well as policy considerations in particular Core Policy 34 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy. It was stated that through conditions and legal agreements most impacts had, in the opinion of officers and statutory consultees, been sufficiently mitigated. The impact on the landscape including trees was noted, and it was stated the public benefit of the additional employment space needed to outweigh the harm.

 

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officers. The level of demand for the B8 employment space was queried, and officers stated there had been a confirmed level of demand, which was unusual at the outline planning stage. Details were also sought on how B8 usage would be ensured, and it was stated a condition was included which would require a new application were there an attempt to change the employment use of the site. Additional details were also sought on transport links to the site, indicative designs for buildings on the site and if expressions of interest from operators came from those already operating within Wiltshire or from without.

 

Members of the public then had the opportunity to present their views to the Committee, as detailed above.

 

The local unitary division member, Councillor Howard Greenman, then spoke in objection to the application, in which he noted concerns raised by parishes and residents on traffic and drainage, and that he considered Core Policy 34’s requirements had not been met sufficiently to permit the application.

 

A debate followed where the level of mitigation measures proposed to address the impacts of the proposal were assessed, along with discussion of the benefits of attracting business interest through a fast growing sector such as B8 use. The location of the site was raised, and whether the wider road network in the area was suitable for the proposed use. The local plan review presently underway was also raised, and whether the application was therefore premature, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Date of Next Meeting

To note that the next scheduled meeting of this Committee is due to be held on Wednesday 28 March 2018 in the Council Chamber at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 28 March 2018.

16.

Urgent Items

Any other items of business, which in the opinion of the Chairman, should be taken as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.