Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from:

·       Cllr Ernie Clark who was being substituted by Cllr George Jeans, and

·       Cllr Sarah Gibson.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2024 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2024 as a true and correct record.

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

Regarding agenda item 7,PL/2022/08186 - The Stables, Mapperton Hill, Mere, Warminster, Wilts, BA12 6LH, Cllr George Jeans declared for transparencies sake that his cousin had once owned the land the site was on, this had been over 10 years ago, and he had no connection to the land now.

Cllr Jeans also declared an Other Registerable Interest for the same application as he was a member of Mere Town Council. When the application was considered by Mere Town Council, Cllr Jeans had not taken part in the debate or vote. Cllr Jeans confirmed that he had an open mind on the matter.

Neither of these declarations precluded Cllr Jeans from taking part in the debate and vote on the application.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

There were no Chairman’s announcements.

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 no later than 10.20am on the day of the meeting. If it is on the day of the meeting registration should be done in person.

The rules on public participation in respect of planning applications are linked to 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. Representatives of Parish Councils are included separately in the speaking procedure, please contact the officer listed for details.

Members of the public and others will have had the opportunity to make representations on planning applications and other items on the agenda, and to contact and lobby their local elected member and any other members of the planning committee, prior to the meeting.

Those circulating such information prior to the meeting, written or photographic, are advised to also provide a copy to the case officer for the application or item, in order to officially log the material as a representation, which will be verbally summarised at the meeting by the relevant officer, not included within any officer slide presentation if one is made. Circulation of new information which has not been verified by planning officers or case officers is also not permitted during the meetings.

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 3 July 2024 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 5 July 2024. 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 procedure for public participation was noted.

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

The Chairman highlighted the appeals report in the agenda.

Extension to existing Gypsy and Traveller site with 10 additional pitches, each pitch to consist of 1 Mobile Home, 1 Touring caravan and parking.

Public Participation

Quentin Skinner spoke in objection to the application.

Dr Simon Ruston spoke in support of the application.

Cllr John Jordan, Chairman of Mere Town Council spoke in objection to the application.

Lynda King, Senior Planning Officer, introduced a report which recommended that the application for an extension to an existing Gypsy and Traveller site with 10 additional pitches, each pitch to consist of 1 Mobile Home, 1 Touring caravan and parking be approved, subject to conditions.

The officer drew attention to an addendum to the report, from the Spatial Planning Team, which was published in agenda supplement 1 and stated that any pitches granted at the meeting would be counted towards supply. Furthermore, the pitch requirement for 2024 – 29 had been updated to 81. 

Key details were stated to include the principle of development, impact on Highways and the impact on character, appearance and visual amenity of the locality. 

The officer highlighted that there was already 1 pitch on site, so if granted the proposal would increase that to 11 pitches. The proposal included no permanent structures, so the pitches would not have day rooms, as this was the preference of the applicant. The existing access to the site would be utilised. The proposal also included installation of a sewage treatment plant and surface water treatment. Mere was the local service centre for the site.

The officer ran through the report and also showed the slides for the application to the Committee (these were also published in agenda supplement 1).

The relevant core policies were highlighted, in particular core policy 47, meeting the needs of gypsies and travellers. This policy had criteria against which gypsy and traveller pitches should be compared and these were explained in detail both at the meeting in the report. The officer felt that the application met the criteria.

It was noted that guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on the planning definition of gypsies and travellers had been updated to ‘Persons of nomadic habit of life whatever their race or origin, including such persons who on grounds only of their own or their family’s or dependants’ educational or health needs or old age have ceased to travel temporarily or permanently, but excluding members of an organised group of travelling showpeople or circus people travelling together as such.’ Only people which met these criteria would be able to live on the site.

There had been significant local opposition to the application. However, there had been no objections (some subject to conditions) from the Arboriculturist, Archaeology, Ecology, Drainage, Highways or Public Protection. Therefore, the application was recommended for approval.

Members of the committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. Details were sought on the legal weight of the emerging Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan and the assessment. It was clarified that the Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan carried very limited weight at present, as the plan had yet to be approved. However, the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Installation of a solar photovoltaic scheme together with landscaping and associated infrastructure

Public Participation

Phillippa Gatehouse spoke in support of the application.

Josh Stratton spoke in support of the application.

David Cox, Senior Planning Officer, introduced a report which recommended that the application for the installation of a solar photovoltaic scheme together with landscaping and associated infrastructure be approved with conditions.

One of the key planning issues was the principle of development, in particular:

      i.         Renewable Energy;

     ii.         Whether the proposal would result in the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land;

    iii.         Cumulative Impact of Solar Farms in Wiltshire.

The officer described the site and the application. The site had already had phases of solar panels built upon it, and with this application, which would generate 18MW, it would take the energy production up to 48.8 MW overall. The site was located on Salisbury Plain between Codford St Mary and Chitterne. The application site was approximately 22 hectares, however there was an access track and cable route which extended for about 3km towards Codford.

Th applicant had undertaken a survey and provided an Environmental Statement which gave details regarding the land. Approximately 3.4 hectares (approx. 15%) was classified as grade 3a (good quality agricultural land) with the rest being grade 3b (moderate quality agricultural land) and grade 4 (poor quality agricultural land). So, the majority of the land was not classified as the best and most versatile.  

Tree cover would be extended on the boundaries of the site to help screen it from view. There were very few solar schemes in the South of Wiltshire and therefore the cumulative impact was considered to be acceptable.

Members of the committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. Details were sought on the lack of responses to the consultation other than from statutory consultees and how the locals and neighbours were notified. Further questions were asked in relation to whether this was a valued landscape and whether saved policy C3 from the West Wiltshire District Plan, had any weight. Clarity was also sought on the level of harm caused by the application and the various policies that applied to this application. Members queried how many solar panels would provide the 18MW, and it was stated that there would be 72,000 solar panels.

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

The unitary division member, Cllr Christopher Newbury (Wylye Valley), then spoke to the application. Cllr Newbury felt that the planners and the applicant had tried to undertake local consultation, however requested that in future the planning team should put site notices closer to the site. Cllr Newbury stated that in his opinion this was not the worst solar farm application he had seen when compared to some others in Wiltshire as it was not close to people’s houses. It was however a large solar farm and he had concerns regarding how the officers had interpreted the polices. Cllr Newbury noted that the national landscapes officer had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

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.