Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Terry Chivers and Fred Westmoreland.

An apology for absence was also received from Alistair Cunningham (Service Director - Economy and Regeneration and Development Services)

The minutes of the meeting held on 30 July 2013 were presented for consideration. It was,

Resolved:

To APPROVE as a true and correct record and sign the minutes.

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

Councillors Tony Trotman and Glenis Ansell declared a non-pecuniary interest in application N/13/01310/WCM - Sands Farm Quarry, Sand Pit Road, Calne - by virtue of being Calne Town Councillors, and stated they would consider the application on its merits with an open mind.

The Chairman reminded the Committee that the next meeting was an additional meeting to be held on 25September 2013, and that there would now be two items considered instead of one. It was also confirmed that a site visit for one of the applications would take place at 1030 the same day, with further details to follow.

The Chairman also gave details of emergency exits in the event of a fire.

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 10.20am 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 (acting on behalf of the Director of Resources) no later than 5pm on Wednesday 4 September 2013.  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 rules on public participation were noted.

A report by the case officer is attached.

Public Participation

Mrs Julie Musk spoke in objection to the application.

Mr Richard Mason spoke in objection to the application.

A statement was read on behalf of Mrs Sarah Perkins, in objection to the application.

Mrs Joanne Baker, on behalf of the applicant, spoke in support of the application.

The Planning Officer introduced the report and recommended that the application be delegated to the Service Director (Development Services) to approve planning permission subject to the completion of a S.106 legal agreement as detailed in the agenda papers.

Details were provided on the history of the site from construction of the concrete plant and service road from the site to Oxford Road, Sandpit Road, in 1989 and clarified that the application was to vary Condition Nine of that permission in order to extend the potential working life of the site from 2014 to 2022. It was confirmed that the concrete plant had ceased operation in 2009, but that permission granted in 2010 allows sand from the adjacent quarry to be brought to the site for processing until late 2022, and the plant could be made operational at any time under current permission until 2014.

It was noted that no changes were proposed to the facility itself, and that therefore the key issues included the principle of the extension of permission, the sustainability of the proposal and its economic impact, noise and air quality issues and the impact of traffic. Officers were satisfied on the economic benefits and sustainability of the application, and stated that Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) traffic would be less than when the plant had been at full operation, and that the housing estates built in the area since the closure, contained mitigating measures for noise. It was also stated that the current permission contained conditions to control noise and dust, and that it was assessed that there would be an increase of traffic on Oxford Road at peak times of only 1%.

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officers. Further details on the planning history of the site and local area were sought, and it was confirmed further housing developments approximately 1km from the site had received planning permission or had submitted applications. In response to queries it was stated there had been no formal complaints resulting from issues of dust when the plant had been in operation, and that vehicles transporting materials to the site would be sheeted to prevent spillage.

The hours of operation at the site were questioned and, following legal advice, it was confirmed that additional new conditions relating to matters such as hours of operations could not be imposed as part of the consideration of this application. This was because the application was simply to vary a single condition that had been imposed to ensure the building did not remain in operation beyond the permitted use of the quarry, and any changes must therefore relate to that condition. It was noted that the plant had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.