Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 9 May 2012 (copy attached.)

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 2012 were presented.

An amendment to the minute item 40.a (page 3 of the agenda referred) was proposed and the Senior Planning Solicitor clarified the proposed amendment as follows:

·         Planning permission had NOT been granted for application W/11/02689/FUL;

·         The whole application would have to be presented to the Western Area Planning Committee and be debated and voted on.

Resolved:

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 2012 with the following amendment:

Minute item 40.a - W/11/02689/FUL - Former Bowyers Site, Stallard Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire - Demolition and alteration of existing buildings and structures for a comprehensive redevelopment of the site

Resolved:

That the committee were minded to grant approval for this application, subject to planning conditions and heads of terms for any legal agreement, that would be required to secure the completion of the development and to secure improvements to highway access to the railway station, being met and approved by committee on 20th June 2012.

The following councillors requested for their vote against the amendment to the minutes to be recorded:

Cllr Ernie Clark

Cllr Christopher Newbury

Cllr Pip Ridout

Cllr Jonathon Seed

Cllr Roy While

The Chairman also informed everyone that he had agreed for a photographer from the Wiltshire Times to be present throughout the meeting and that people were welcome to indicate whether or not they wished to be photographed.

The Chairman informed the committee that the Biss Farm appeal had been lost and the costs to Wiltshire Council were being calculated. He encouraged members of the committee to contact the planning officer for a copy of the appeal decision.

He finished by giving details of the exits to be used in the event of an emergency.

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

W/11/02431/FUL - Land North East Of Common Farm, The Common, Broughton Gifford, Wiltshire - Slurry store

Cllr Steve Petty declared a personal interest as a member of the Melksham Without Parish Council who, although the application was not sited in the parish, had objected. Cllr Petty was not a member of the Melksham Without Parish planning committee and gave his assurance that he would consider the application with an open mind.

Cllr Jonathon Seed declared a personal interest as he knew objectors to and supporters of the application. Cllr Seed gave his assurance that he would consider the application with an open mind.

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 Wednesday 23 May 2012.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 Chairman explained that questions had been received by a member of the public after the deadline for submission and as an answer to these questions would have necessitated an amount of investigation he had not allowed the questions to be included on the agenda.

The Chairman welcomed all present. He then explained the rules of public participation and the procedure to be followed at the meeting.

To consider and determine the following planning applications:

Public Participation:

·         Mr John Willcock spoke in objection to the application.

·         Mr John Hill spoke in objection to the application.

·         Mr Peter Slade spoke in objection to the application.

·         Mr Richards, applicant, spoke in support of the application.

·         Mr Steven Dalley-Smith, agent, spoke in support of the application.

The Area Team leader (Central Hub West) introduced the report which recommended approval and in doing so explained that the application had been submitted to comply with Environmental Regulations (Nitrate Vulnerable Zone Regulations) which would come into effect in October 2012.

He pointed out that Environmental Health had withdrawn their objection following the information received regarding the use of Aerocover (a lightweight polymer coated aggregate which covers the material within the store).

In response to technical questions asked the following was clarified:

·         The application was sited in Broughton Gifford Parish.

·         There would be no increase of traffic as there would be no increase of material brought to the site.

Members of the public then had the opportunity to speak as detailed above.

Cllr Mark Griffiths, Unitary Councillor for Melksham Without North Division, welcomed the opportunity for the application to be considered in a meeting open to the public, where both objectors and supporters would be able to express their views.

During the ensuing debate members of the committee recognised that the slurry store with the Aerocover and the fact that the slurry would be injected into the soil through plastic tubes rather than spread would be environmentally beneficial and probably an improvement for neighbouring dwellings.

It was pointed out that if any of the neighbouring dwellings felt that there were any unacceptable problems, for example smell or fly/vermin infestation, once the slurry store was in place they could have these addressed by the Environmental Agency or Environment Health.

Resolved:

That planning permission be GRANTED.

For the following reasons:

The proposed development conforms to the Development Plan and there are no objections to it on planning grounds.

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       No development shall commence on site until the access is formed at right angles to the highway and the first five metres of the access, measured from the edge of the carriageway, has been splayed, consolidated and surfaced (not loose stone or gravel). The access shall be maintained as such thereafter.

          REASON: In the interests of highway safety.

3       No development shall commence on site until visibility splays have been provided between the edge of the carriageway and a line extending from a point 3 metres back from the edge of the carriageway, measured along the centre line of the access, to the points on the edge of the carriageway 90 metres to the north and south; from the centre of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47a

Public Participation:

·         Mr Philip Harcourt spoke in objection to the application.

·         Mr Peter Stacey spoke in objection to the application.

·         Mrs Georgina Beaumont spoke in objection to the application.

·         Mr Steven Jones, Southwick Parish Council representative, spoke in objection to the application.

The Area Team leader (Central Hub West) introduced the report which recommended approval. He took the opportunity to remind the committee that the March 2012 Planning Policy for Traveller Sites was a material consideration as well as policy DP15 of the Wiltshire Structure Plan 2016 and CF12 of the West Wiltshire District Plan 1^st Alteration (2004).

Members of the public then had the opportunity to speak as detailed above.

There was a short recess from 8.55 to 9.10pm.

Cllr Francis Morland, Unitary Councillor for Southwick, spoke in objection to the application, mentioning the large number of objection from local residents, and invited the committee to consider deferring for a site visit. He drew the committee’s attention to the outcome of the Lavington appeal.

During the ensuing debate members of the committee could not be satisfied that the applicant’s planning status had been established, it was therefore

Resolved:

1.    To defer the application until further advice could be received at a meeting of the Western Area Planning Committee regarding the planning status of the applicant.

2.    To have a site visit before the application is brought back to the meeting referred in 1 above.