Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from:

·       Cllr Sarah Gibson, who was substituted by Cllr Stewart Palmen, and

·       Cllr Robert Yuill.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2022 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

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

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

There were no announcments.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public. To ensure Wiltshire Council COVID-19 public health guidance is adhered to, a capacity limit for public attendance at this meeting will be in place. You must contact the officer named on this agenda no later than 5pm on Monday 21 February 2022 if you wish to attend this meeting. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis and all requests may not be accommodated if there is high demand.

Statements

Members of the public who wish to submit a statement in relation to an item on this agenda should submit this in writing to the officer named on this agenda no later than 5pm on Monday 21 February 2022.

Submitted statements should:

·       State whom the statement is from (including if representing another person or organisation);

·       State clearly whether the statement is in objection to or support of the application;

·       Be readable aloud in approximately three minutes (for members of the public and statutory consultees) and in four minutes (for parish council representatives – 1 per parish council).

Up to three objectors and three supporters are normally allowed for each item on the agenda, plus statutory consultees and parish councils.

Those submitting statements would be expected to attend the meeting to read the statement themselves, or to provide a representative to read the statement on their behalf.

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 electronically to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on 16 February 2022 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 18 February 2022.

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 members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website. Questions and answers will normally be taken as read at the meeting.

The rules on public participation were noted.

To receive details of completed and pending appeals, and any other updates as appropriate.

There was no appeals report or updates.

To consider and determine the following planning applications.

The following planning application was considered.

Proposed development of 21 residential dwellings, vehicular access from Broadfield farm, ancillary works and associated infrastructure.

Public Participation

Helen Lennox spoke in objection to the application

Christopher Blount spoke in objection to the application.

Peter Rawlinson, (applicant) spoke in support of the application.

Cllr Mark Hammond of Great Somerford Parish Council spoke in objection to the application.

Andrew Guest, Head of Development Management presented a report which recommended that authority be delegated to the Head of Development Management to grant planning permission with conditions, subject to a s106 agreement for the development of 21 residential dwellings, vehicular access from Broadfield farm, ancillary works and associated infrastructure.

The officer referred attendees to the detailed report within the agenda which would be taken as read. The officer explained that the site was adjacent to but located outside of the settlement boundary of the large village of Great Somerford in the open countryside in planning terms and therefore conflicted with Wiltshire Council Core Policies.

The officer referred to the fact that the Planning Authority could not demonstrate a five year housing land supply. The Council was now only able to demonstrate a housing land supply of 4.41 years. The Wiltshire Core Strategy was over five years old meaning that housing need was assessed at a unitary level. It was explained that the National Planning and Policy Framework (NPPF) at paragraph 11 stated:

“…where the local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five year supply of deliverable sites (with the appropriate buffer) …” then “policies which are most important for determining the application are out of date”, and permission should be granted unless:

i) There is a clear reason for refusal due to protection policies as listed in footnote 6 e.g. Green Belt; Local Green Space; Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; designated heritage assets; or

ii) Any adverse impacts would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits

This was sometimes referred to as the ‘tilted balance’ affecting the weighting awarded to policies. For this site the officer stated that in planning terms there were no designated assets of particular importance such as AONB or a site of special scientific interest and that there were no adverse impacts that demonstrably outweighed the benefits. It was further explained that the Great Somerford Neighbourhood Plan was over 2 years old, so under paragraphs 11 and 14 of the NPPF now carried less weight.

The officer detailed a recent appeal decision, which was upheld by the Planning Inspectorate regarding an application in Filands Road, Malmesbury due to the lack of a five year land supply. Other appeals which had been upheld at Westbury and Worton were also cited. It was stated that the situation had not changed since those decisions, hence the recommendation for approval subject to a section 106 agreement.     

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. Issues raised included demonstrable harm, developing on grade 1 agricultural land, piecemeal development of small plots, why an application for 21 houses was being considered by the Strategic Planning Committee, the s106 funding for secondary schools and the play area,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71a

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

There were no urgent items.