Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

There were no apologies.

To approve and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2019 were presented for consideration, and it was:

Resolved:

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2019.

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 by phone, email or in person no later than 2.50pm on the day of the meeting.

The rules on public participation in respect of planning applications are detailed 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 will have had the opportunity to make representations on the planning applications and to contact and lobby their local member and any other members of the planning committee prior to the meeting. Lobbying once the debate has started at the meeting is not permitted, including the circulation of new information, written or photographic which have not been verified by planning officers.

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 Thursday 8 August 2019 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm onMonday 12 August 2019. 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.

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

The report on completed and pending appeals was presented for consideration.

Resolved:

To note the updates.

To consider and determine the following planning applications.

The following planning application was considered.

Erection of 15 dwellings with access onto A338, formation of bus stop lay-by on A338, parking and associated landscaping with change of use of agricultural land to residential garden land.

Public Participation

Mr Aaron Smith, Agent for the applicant, spoke in support of the application.

Mr Bill Clemence, local resident and business owner, spoke in support of the application. 

Cllr Anne Dudney of Grafton Parish Council spoke in support of the application.

Mike Wilmott, Head of Development Management presented a report which recommended that planning permission be refused for application 18/11168/FUL, Land opposite Hungerford Road, A338, East Grafton, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 3DF for the erection of 15 dwellings with access onto A338, formation of bus stop lay-by on A338, parking and associated landscaping with change of use of agricultural land to residential garden land.

Slides were shown to the meeting, including an aerial view of the site and plans of the proposed scheme. The site would be accessed via a new estate road onto the A338 and the proposal included bus stop provision on the A338. There would be sustainable drainage in the middle of the site and a residential garden space in the south-west corner. The mix of housing of the 15 proposed dwellings was stated to include 9 that would be open market, including 2 bungalows designed to meet accessible and adaptable home standards. The remaining 6 dwellings would be affordable homes for rent and shared ownership. Elevations and plans of the style of houses were also shown to the meeting.

Key details were stated to include the following:

East Grafton was defined as a ‘Small Village’ in the Wiltshire Core Strategy (WCS).  As such development should be limited to ‘Infill’ development, which was defined as ‘the filling of a small gap within the village that is only large enough for not more than a few dwellings (generally only one)’. As the application being considered comprised 15 dwellings, the scale of the proposal meant that it clearly could not be considered as ‘Infill’ development. It was also stated that in any event the site lay outside of the confines of the village in open countryside, so would not constitute the filling of a small gap.

Both Government and Wiltshire Council policy stated that development should be plan led. The site had not been accepted in the Wiltshire Housing Site Allocations Plan and there was no need for additional housing according to the WCS as there was in excess of a five year land supply in the area.

The officer stated that sometimes affordable housing schemes of up to 10 dwellings on land close to a small village may be considered, but this application was for 15 dwellings, the majority of which were not affordable housing. If the community wanted this site to be developed, then it was suggested that they produce a Neighbourhood Plan. If the site was identified in a Neighbourhood Plan as a development site then an application might be considered more favourably.

The Local Housing Needs Survey submitted with the application identified a need for 9 dwellings. Some of this need could be met by housing already within the village. There was also housing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

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.