Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Richard Britton and Cllr George Jeans.

Cllr Britton was substituted by Cllr John Smale.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2014.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2014 were presented.

Resolved:

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes.

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

Cllr Brian Dalton declared a non-pecuniary interest in the Kings Arms, High

Street, Downton, by virtue of being a member of CAMRA (Campaign

for Real Ale). He stated that he would consider the application with an open mind and on its merits

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 in person no later than 5.50pm on the day of the meeting.

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. The rules on public participation in respect of planning applications are detailed in the Council’s Planning Code of Good Practice.

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 24^th April 2014. 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.

The Committee noted the rules on public participation.

To receive details of completed and pending appeals.

The committee received details of the appeal decisions as detailed in the agenda.

It was noted that ‘18c Firs Road, Firsdown’ had been previously refused at appeal by the inspector and then was later approved; no changes had appeared to have been made to the application.

Public Participation

Mr Paul Charity, Mr Peter Wicks and Mr Nick Sayer spoke in objection to the application.

Mr Steve Culverhouse (agent) and Mr Stevens spoke in support of the application.

Cllr Harrison of Downton Parish Council spoke in support of the application.

The planning officer presented his report to the Committee which recommended that planning permission be approved subject to conditions.

The officer raised issues including the impact on the character, setting and historic fabric of the listed building and the impact on amenity of neighbouring residents and uses. The application was recommended for approval subject to the applicant entering into an appropriate legal agreement with the Council to make financial provision towards recreational open space (in accordance with local plan policy R2) and subject to Conditions.

An additional correspondence was circulated at the meeting.

Members then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. These included questions on the viability of the development. Specific details were sought on the marketing of the property. The use of surrounding land within the boundary wall was raised. It was asked if the parish council had been engaged to discuss a potential community use; due to the condition of the building this was not found as viable.

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

The Local Member, Cllr Julian Johnson, spoke in favour of the application due to viability issues of the Kings Arms as a public house and the presence of three other pubs in Downton. Cllr Johnson stated that many of the representations against the application were from addresses outside of Downton and many others were duplicated from the same address.

A debate followed that included concern being raised by Members over the viability of the property as a public house. Members discussed the location of the property within the village and its appearance in Downton. The need to protect public houses in the county from closure was raised. The validity of the presented evidence and the proximity of the surrounding public houses were also discussed. The need to protect the appearance of this listed building was raised. 

Debate continued and it was stated by some that having ten tenants in ten years showed a lack of viability and the national falling demand for public houses.

Resolved:

That subject to all parties entering into a S106 legal agreement which secures:

• Financial contributions towards the provision of public open space

to delegate to the Area Development Manager to Approve Planning

Permission, subject to the following Conditions:

1 The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of

three years from the date of this permission.

REASON: To comply with the provisions of Section 91 of the Town and

Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by the Planning and Compulsory

Purchase Act 2004.

2 The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with

the following approved plans:

Drawing number 11A dated 11/2013 as deposited with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Public Participation

Dr Christopher Nettle and Mr Davidson spoke in objection to the application.

Michelle Chilcott and Mr Lock (agent) spoke in support of the application.

The planning officer presented his report to the Committee which recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions.

Members then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. These included questions in regards to the windows in the proposed development and the proportionality of the proposed replacement building. The protection of playing fields in policy ‘R5’ was also raised and the potential for future developments on the site. Clarification of the ‘R5’ boundary was provided by the planning officer.

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

The Local Member, Cllr Mary Douglas, spoke in support of the application but raised concern at the loss of light that would be suffered by the neighbouring property. Cllr Douglas continued by stating that it was in the interest of the local community that the school be able to develop as it wishes due to oversubscription.

The application was then opened to debate, where it was

Resolved:

To defer to the next meeting for a site visit to be arranged.

There were no urgent items