Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Sheila Parker, Cllr Howard Greenman, and Cllr Mark Packard.

Cllr Sheila Parker was substituted by Cllr Philip Whalley.

Cllr Howard Greenman was substituted by Cllr Jacqui Lay.

Cllr Mark Packard was substituted by Cllr Bill Douglas.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2015 .

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 May 2015 were presented.

Resolved:

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements through the Chairman.

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 in person no later than 2.50pm 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 27 May 2015. 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 consider and determine planning applications as detailed below.

Cllr Jonny Walker spoke on behalf of Grittleton Parish Council and raised concerns with the application it felt could be controlled by condition, including the number of horses permitted on the site and boundary treatment.

The Planning Officer introduced the report which recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions, as amended by the late observations. The application was for a change of land use to the keeping of horses, an area of hardstanding, and a new access and was part-retrospective. The location of the site was shown in the context of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and recommended conditions were explained. The Planning Officer highlighted that the existing access was unlawful and that the new access met the recommended visibility requirements.

The Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions and the officer confirmed that horses had to be walked from the area of hardstanding to the stables. It was advised that the proposed grassland management plan would minimise damage to the turf and that any additional hardstanding would require further planning permission. Cllr Toby Sturgis, posed questions on behalf of the local member, Cllr Jane Scott OBE, and recommended that conditions 5 and 10 be amended to remove the wording ‘without the prior approval in writing of the Local Planning Authority’.

The Planning Officer verified that the application covered the site as a whole, that the trees currently screening the stables were under local authority control, and that a condition could be added to address the means of enclosure and highways safety concerns.

Members of the public then addressed the Committee as detailed above.

Following the statements from members of the public, the Planning Officer drew attention to conditions which limited the number of horses, ponies or donkeys permitted on the site. The condition had been added in response to the Parish Council concerns of overgrazing affecting the landscape quality of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It was confirmed that a planning condition could be added to ensure appropriate boundary treatment to contain the horses on site.

Cllr Toby Sturgis spoke on behalf of the local member, Cllr Jane Scott OBE, who sympathised with Grittleton Parish Council’s concerns and welcomed the restriction on the number of animals and the grassland management plan. Some concerns were raised about the quality of building material for the stables, and it was noted that the reduction in the number of stables to five complied with the council’s planning policies. The Councillor requested that boundary treatment match existing or typical styles on this site.

The Planning Officer confirmed the buildings on site were permanent and a ‘tidy up notice’ could be issued for the site if necessary.

In the debate that followed, the Committee discussed the upcoming auction of the property and considered that, if deemed appropriate by the Council’s legal advisers, details of any permission granted and associated conditions on site be passed to the new owners. Members considered the materials of the existing stables, and the visibility  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52a

Susan Hibberd and David Cook spoke in objection to the application.

Craig Pettit, spoke in support of the application.

Cllr John Coole, Cricklade Town Council, spoke in objection to the application due to concerns over highways, flooding and foul sewage issues.

The Planning Officer introduced the report which recommended that authority be delegated to the Area Development Manager to grant planning permission subject to the signing of a Section 106 agreement to address affordable housing requirements, subject to conditions. The application was for outline planning permission to build 25 dwellings with all matters reserved except access. The Planning Officer explained that a small strip of the land fell outside the framework boundary for Cricklade but that the proposal broadly accorded with Core Strategy core policies 1 and 2 as the site fell within the adopted and proposed revised framework boundary. It was also noted that Cricklade Town Council had concerns about the density of the scheme however as this was an outline planning application the illustrative masterplan showed indicative layout only.

The Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions and it was confirmed that the outline application was not required to provide information relating to garage space or car parking and that these would be addressed when reserved matters were submitted. The Planning Officer explained that there was a presumption in favour of development as this site would be a sustainable location in terms of the National Planning Policy Framework guidance on the matter; also there had been no objection in landscape and visual impact terms to the proposals. It was further confirmed that consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan proposals had taken place and that this included proposals to extend the framework boundary to include this part of the application site. Therefore it would not be appropriate to refuse the application on the basis of a section being outside of the settlement boundary.

Members of the public then addressed the Committee as detailed above.

Following statements from members of the public, the Planning Officer explained that the developer had submitted the basis for surface water and foul drainage plans. It was confirmed that these plans had been considered by drainage engineers who believed that the development would have no additional impact on the surrounding area. The Planning Officer also advised that Thames Water raised no objection to the proposal, subject to a Grampian condition being added relating for further details of foul water drainage before work commenced. Highways requirements were met by suggested conditions and the developer had committed to providing 40% affordable housing.

The local member, Cllr Bob Jones, spoke in objection to the application due to highways and flooding concerns which could have been aggravated by the development.

In the debate that followed, the Committee discussed the flooding, drainage, and sewage concerns that had been raised. Members sympathised with flooding concerns however noted it was not reasonable to require the developer to resolve the existing issues and, should there be insufficient surface water storage,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52b

Miranda Spitteler spoke in objection to the application.

Simon Chambers spoke in support of the application.

Cllr Ron George, Lacock Parish Council, spoke in objection to the application.

The Planning Officer introduced the report which recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions. The application was for a single storey extension to an existing property. The Planning Officer drew attention to the late observations which recommended the addition of three conditions. It was also noted that the Conservation Officer had previously had concerns with the original planning application relating to the size, design and scale of the proposal. The current proposal saw a reduction in length to 8m, removal of roof lights to rear elevation, balcony to rear, and greatly improved design. The current application had support from both the Conservation Officer and the Case Officer however Parish Council concerns remained. 

The Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions and it was confirmed that the garden was sufficient to accommodate materials needed for the build and that the parking area met council standards. The Planning Officer also confirmed that the property was not a Listed building and, because the extension was not physically attached to the building, different building materials could be used. The officer highlighted how the design had been changed since the original application to be more sympathetic to the main building.

Members of the public then addressed the Committee as detailed above.

The Planning Officer responded to comments from the public that the application should mirror the design of the extension to the adjoined, neighbouring property by explaining it was not a standard single storey extension but was designed to appear as a converted outbuilding. The Planning Officer also explained that since alternations were made to the design of the building, the Conservation Officer was now in support of the application.

The local member, Cllr Richard Tonge, spoke in objection to the application and urged the Committee to refuse the application on the grounds of bulk, prominent position, and the impact on the neighbouring pair, host dwelling, and conservation area.

In the debate that followed, the Committee noted the extensive alterations made to the original application in partnership with the Conservation Officer. A motion to refuse planning permission due to contravening Core policies 57 and 58 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy was seconded but was not agreed by the Committee.

Other members of the Committee considered that that, whilst the two dwellings were taken as a pairing, they were not identical and so a different style of extension was acceptable. It was agreed that whilst the innovative design style was different to the existing building it was a high quality design, did not affect the architectural merit of the building and the extension would not be highly visible from the road.

Resolved:

To GRANT planning permission subject to 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52c

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.