Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Pip Ridout and Jonathan Seed.

Cllr Ridout joined the meeting remotely, and so would not vote on any matters.

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

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2024 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 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 minutes before the start 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.

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 29 January 2025 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 31 January 2025. 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 the rules of public participation and the procedure to be followed at the meeting.

There were no questions or statements submitted by Councillors or members of the public.

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

The Chairman invited Gen Collins, as Principal Planning Officer, to update the Committee on the pending and determined appeals as per the appeals report included within the Agenda Pack.

The single determined appeal was explained to Members pursuant to a retrospective application for the siting of 22 no. storage containers within an existing commercial site which had been refused under delegated powers. It was noted that the Planning Inspector concluded that the proposal would not result in a detrimental impact on the landscape or loss of residential amenity with regard to noise pollution and output.

Members were informed that the National Landscape Partnership had challenged the decision and submitted a complaint to the Planning Inspectorate in which they stated that the Planning Inspector had failed to take into account the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. In response, the Planning Inspectorate had robustly defended the decision to allow the appeal with conditions, but it was noted that as the National Landscape Partnership was not satisfied with the response, discussions were still ongoing. As such, Members would be updated on any further developments.

There being no questions or comments, it was then:

Resolved:

The Committee noted the appeals report for the period 22 November 2024 to 24 January 2025.

Approval of Reserved Matters (appearance, landscaping, layout and scale) for the erection of 90 dwellings pursuant to outline planning permission PL/2022/03315.

Public Participation

Mr Matthew Hemming, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Ms Kate Learoyd, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Ms Lisa Wickes, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Mr Andrew Driscoll, applicant, spoke in support of the application.

Mr Simon Peake, agent, spoke in support of the application.

Cllr Steve Siddall, on behalf of Holt Parish Council, spoke in objection to the application.

Julie Mitchell, as Senior Planning Officer, presented the report which recommended that the Committee approved the reserved matters application, subject to conditions, for the erection of 90 dwellings pursuant to outline planning permission (PL/2022/03315).

Attention was drawn to a minor amendment to the wording of Condition 17 to provide further clarity, which had been discussed and agreed with the applicant.

Key material considerations were identified including principle of development; highway matters; design (appearance, landscaping, scale, and layout); landscape impact; heritage impact; impact on amenity; drainage; ecological impact; other matters; Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL); and Section 106 Agreement.

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions to the officer and queried matters in relation to the planning history of the site, specifically PL/2024/11359 and the discharge of Condition 6; the maintenance of green spaces on site; and contributions towards sports facilities.

In response, it was clarified that Condition 6 had been partially discharged but that part of the condition relied on the implementation of the scheme and therefore could not be fully discharged until such time. Members were also informed that it could be possible to separate the management of open spaces from the management of the estate, but that this would be confirmed as part of the compliance with the legal agreement agreed at outline stage which was separate to the considerations of reserved matters application. Furthermore, if the Parish Council or any other local groups wanted to take on responsibility for the maintenance of such spaces, they would be able to discuss this with the developers at a later stage. Finally, Members were reminded that as the application had outline planning approval, the reserved matters application could only assess those specific reserved matters and the detail as submitted, and not the principle of development, means of access or other considerations such as alternations to contributions secured.

The named public speakers as detailed above then had the opportunity to present their views to the Committee.

Following the public forum, it was clarified that the proposed pumping station was not a treatment plant, therefore no odours were expected unless there was a breakdown in the system which would then be rectified by Wessex Water. It was also acknowledged that any development of 90 dwellings outside of a village would have an impact on the character of that village. However, it was emphasised that other consultees had raised no objections and that significant changes had been made to the scheme to reach national standard requirements and to ensure high quality design and that the character of the buildings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Two storey side extension.

Public Participation

Mrs Catherine Senior, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Ms Fiona Gaunt, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Ms Elizabeth Berrett, local resident, spoke in objection to the application.

Mr Ben Rule, applicant, spoke in support of the application.

Angela Ellis, as the Planning Officer, presented the report which recommended that the Committee granted planning permission for a two-storey side extension.

Key material conditions were identified including the principle of development; design and visual amenity; residential amenity; highways; ecology; and flood risk and drainage.

There being no technical questions from Members of the Committee, the named public speakers as detailed above then had the opportunity to present their views to the Committee.

Following the public forum, officers emphasised the precedent of similar developments in the immediate vicinity, the lack of objections from other consultees, and clarified that the proposed gap between the development and the neighbouring property would be on the applicant’s land, but that the maintenance of that gap was a matter for the applicant to discuss with said neighbour.

Cllr Jo Trigg, as the Local Unitary Member, then spoke to the application where she acknowledged the concerns raised by neighbouring residents, the significant revisions that had been made from the original plan, and the impact of the development on the character of the street and adjoining properties.

A debate then followed where Members discussed the street scene of the site and the inclusion of a condition relating to the timing of movement of constructions vehicles around the site. Although it was acknowledged that a development of this scale did not warrant a Construction Management Plan, Members noted the proximity of a Primary School to the site and the potential risks during busier times of the day while construction was being undertaken. 

At the conclusion of the debate, Cllr Stewart Palmen moved to approve the application in line with officer recommendations, with the addition of a condition requiring a Construction Management Statement to limit the timing of the movement of construction vehicles around the site, which was seconded by Cllr Suzanne Wickham.

Following a vote on the motion, it was then:

Resolved:

The Committee GRANTED planning permission, 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. The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans and documents:

·         Location Plan – received 24/10/2024

·         Revised Proposed and Existing Elevations and Floor Plans – received 18/11/2024 Revised Site Plan, incl revised parking – received 25/11/2024

REASON: For the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of proper planning.

3. The development hereby permitted shall not be first brought into use until a splay has been provided on the west side of the access to the rear of the existing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

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.