Agenda item

Change of use of land to provide an extension to existing Gypsy / Traveller site.

Public Participation

Mr Simon Rushton (agent) spoke in support of the application.

Cllr Melanie Allsop of Lydiard Millicent Parish Council spoke in objection to the application.

 

Andrew Guest, Head of Development Management, presented a report which recommended that planning permission be granted with conditions for application PL/2021/06519, Purdys Farm, Wood Lane, Braydon, Swindon, Wilts, SN5 0AH for a change of use of land to provide an extension to an existing Gypsy / Traveller site.

 

Key details were stated to include the following, the principle of development; impact on the character, appearance, visual amenity and openness of the locality; impact on residential amenity; impact on Ecology/County wildlife site, impact on drainage/flooding and impact on Highways safety.

 

Attention was drawn to the late representation from Edward Rawlings which had been circulated to the Committee. All the points raised in the representation were covered in the officer report or in the presentation.

 

The officer explained that the application would provide an extension to an existing Gypsy / Traveller site, with the addition of 5 more pitches. Slides were shown to the Committee (published in supplement 1) detailing the site and the plans. There was reasonable visibility at the access to the site; there was woodland to the rear and hedgerows to the front and there would be open space on either side of the new pitches. Each pitch would consist of a mobile home, a touring caravan and a day room. Additionally, there would be car parking, a turning area, a sewage treatment plant and a children’s play area.

 

In March 2022 the Council published a new Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) which covered the need for pitches up to 2038. There was a need for 120 new pitches which met the definition in the Planning Policy for traveller Sites (PPTS), 61 for those that did not meet the definition and a further 18 for households which could not be determined.

 

A Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan was being developed, as part of the new Local Plan, but it was not ready yet. Under planning policy applications should be assessed in accordance with a presumption in favour of development.

 

Details were given on Wiltshire Council Strategy (WCS) Core Policy 47 and the criteria that were used to assess sites as detailed in the agenda. In this case there was a demonstrable need and the criteria were met, hence the recommendation for approval. 

 

Members of the committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer. Details were sought on the definition of a caravan. It was explained that under the definition a caravan could be a mobile home, park home and touring caravan. They were all mobile.

 

Members also queried the need described in the GTAA, which would only equate to about 10 pitches a year. It was clarified that planning appeal decisions meant that the council was under delivering on what was required at present so there was a need.

 

In response to further questions, it was explained that the planning permission went with the land, so if the families occupying the pitches moved on, another Gypsy or Traveller family could move in. It was also confirmed that stables had their own stand-alone planning permission and the site was a Gypsy / Traveller site not an equestrian site.

 

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

 

The unitary division member, Councillor Steve Bucknell, spoke in objection to the application. His main points covered that the application conflicted with several core policies such as CP 1, 2, 19, 50 and 60. He felt that it also did not comply with criteria i, ii, iii, v, vi and viii within CP 47. He therefore urged the Committee to refuse the application.

 

In response to public statements the officer stated that none of the consultee responses objected to the application, as any issues were covered by conditions. Apart from the Highways officer, however they had noted that they would leave the decision to the case officer and did not have an objection to parking or access. The national policy for traveller sites stated that sites in rural areas should respect scale and not put undue pressure on infrastructure, the application met those requirements so that could not be a reason for refusal. Drainage and sewage were covered by the conditions.

 

The Chairman proposed a motion to grant planning permission, with conditions as per the officer’s recommendation. This was seconded by Councillor Tony Trotman.

 

A debate followed where the Chairman stated that he had led on the GTAA for North Wiltshire prior to the council becoming unitary and they had woefully underdelivered on pitches then, as the council was now. He understood the division Member and Parish Councils views but highlighted that the site was exceptionally tidy and that what was proposed in policy (such as the site being near local schools and health facilities), was not always what Travellers wanted or needed.

 

Concerns were raised regarding nearby applications which had been refused. Councillor Trotman highlighted that there were different policies applied to Gypsy and Traveller sites so they could not be compared to other developments.

 

Other issues discussed included that the criteria were conditioned for, that there were adequate services within a certain distance, it was already a pitched site that the family had been living on for many years without problems, the acreage was adequate for 5 pitches, that it was a very neat and tidy site and that there had been a lack of provision for pitches over the years and that this was something the council needed to get to grips with.

 

Further clarification was sought regarding whether Gypsy / Traveller sites had to be within 3 miles of amenities. The officer confirmed that there was currently no such policy regarding sustainable development.

 

Concerns were raised regarding the stable block, whether it had planning permission and where horses, if there were any, would be grazed if permission was given. The officer confirmed that the history of the stable was not known but that was not relevant to the proposal before the Committee, was lawful development and that there were other paddocks that any horses could be grazed on.

 

Further concerns were raised regarding the ecological buffer described by the agent in their statement and shown by the blue line on page 6 of the agenda supplement. The officer confirmed that the site being considered was within the red line, so further development could not take place outside of that without a further application. Members discussed making the ecological buffer a condition or informative if approval was granted.

 

The Chairman proposed an amendment to his motion to grant planning permission with conditions as per the officer recommendation, to add an informative that the land contained within the blue line on the plan on page 6 of the agenda supplement should be an ecological buffer. This amendment was accepted by the seconder of the motion Councillor Tony Trotman. This therefore became the substantive motion.

 

The Committee voted on the motion, and it was,

 

Resolved:

 

To grant 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: dwg no.FL21-SLP (location plan) & dwg no.21033/01A (proposed site plan) [Received by the LPA on the 16^th of November 2021]

 

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

 

3.    The site shall not be occupied by any persons other than gypsies and travellers, defined as 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.

 

REASON: The site is in an area where residential development other than accommodation for Gypsy and Travellers is not normally permitted and the development must therefore be defined for use as a Gypsy and Traveller site only.

 

4.    No development above ground floor slab level shall commence on site until details and samples of the materials to be used for the external walls and roofs of the new day rooms have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details and retained with those materials in perpetuity thereafter.

 

REASON: The application contained insufficient information to enable this matter to be considered prior to granting planning permission and the matter is required to be agreed with the Local Planning Authority before development commences in order that the development is undertaken in an acceptable manner, in the interests of visual amenity and the character and appearance of the area.

 

5.    No development shall commence on site until a scheme of hard and soft landscaping has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, the details of which shall include:-

 

·       all hard and soft surfacing materials;

·       location and current canopy spread of all existing trees and hedgerows on the land;

·       full details of any to be retained, together with measures for their protection in the course of development;

·       a detailed planting specification showing all plant species, supply and planting sizes and planting densities.

 

REASON: The application contained insufficient information to enable this matter to be considered prior to granting planning permission and the matter is required to be agreed with the Local Planning Authority before development commences in order that the development is undertaken in an acceptable manner, to ensure a satisfactory landscaped setting for the development and the protection of existing important landscape features.

 

6.    All soft landscaping comprised in the approved details of landscaping shall be carried out in the first planting and seeding season following the first occupation of the building(s) or the completion of the development whichever is the sooner; All shrubs, trees and hedge planting shall be maintained free from weeds and shall be protected from damage by vermin and stock. Any trees or plants which, within a period of five years, die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the local planning authority.  All hard landscaping shall also be carried out in accordance with the approved details prior to the occupation of any part of the development or in accordance with a programme to be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority.

 

REASON: To ensure a satisfactory landscaped setting for the development and the protection of existing important landscape features.

 

7.    Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (or any Order revoking or re-enacting or amending that Order with or without modification), no garages, sheds, greenhouses and other ancillary domestic outbuildings shall be erected anywhere on the site.

 

REASON: To safeguard the character and appearance of the area.

 

8.    Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (or any Order revoking or re-enacting or amending that Order with or without modification), no gates, fences, walls or other means of enclosure, other than those shown on the approved plans, shall be erected or placed anywhere on the site.

 

REASON: In the interests of visual amenity.

 

9.    There shall be no more than 5 commercial vehicles kept at the application site (one commercial vehicle for each of the 5 pitches), and they shall not exceed 3.5 tonnes in weight.

REASON: In the interests of residential amenity, highway safety and the character ofthe countryside.

 

10.Except for the keeping of commercial vehicles as defined in condition 9, above, no commercial activity or use, including the storage of materials and waste, shall be carried out on the site.

 

REASON: In the interests of residential amenity, highway safety and the character of the countryside.

 

11.There shall be no more than 5 pitches on the site hereby approved and on each pitch there shall be no more than 2 caravans stationed at any time, of which only 1 caravan shall be a mobile home/static caravan (caravan(s) as defined in the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and the Caravan Sites Act 1968). 

 

REASON: To comply with the terms of the application and safeguard interests of visual and residential amenity in accordance Core Policy 57 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy.

 

12.The development hereby permitted shall not be occupied until details of the proposed domestic waste storage and collection arrangement have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

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

 

13.No waste shall be burnt on the site at any time.

 

REASON: In the interests of the amenities of the area.

 

14.   No construction or demolition work shall take place on Sundays or Public Holidays or outside the hours of 08:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays.

 

Reason: Core policy 57, Ensuring high design and place shaping such that appropriate levels of amenity are achievable.

 

15. No external lighting shall be installed/erected on site unless details of the lighting scheme/location are submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The approved lighting shall be installed and shall be maintained in accordance with the approved details and no additional external lighting shall be installed.

 

REASON:  To minimise light pollution and in the interests of the amenities of the area.

 

16. In the event that contamination is encountered at any time when carrying out the approved development, the Local Planning Authority must be advised of the steps that will be taken by an appropriate contractor; to deal with contamination and provide a written remedial statement to be followed be a written verification report that confirms what works that have been undertaken to render the development suitable for use.

 

REASON: To ensure that risks from land contamination to the future users of the land and neighbouring land are minimised, together with those to controlled waters, property and ecological systems, and to ensure that the development can be carried out safely without unacceptable risks to workers, neighbours and other offsite receptors.

 

17. No development shall commence on site until a scheme for the discharge of surface water from the site (including surface water from the access / driveway), incorporating sustainable drainage details together with permeability test results to BRE365, and demonstrating at least 1.0m from the bottom of the proposed soakaways to the highest point of the groundwater variance, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall not be first occupied until surface water drainage has been constructed in accordance with the approved scheme

 

REASON: To ensure that the development can be adequately drained

 

18. No development shall commence on site until a scheme for the discharge of foul water from the site, including all necessary consents from the sewerage undertaker as required, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall not be first occupied until foul water drainage has been constructed in accordance with the approved scheme.

 

REASON: To ensure that the development can be adequately drained

 

19. Prior to first occupation of the development hereby approved the entrance gates at the site access adjacent to the public highway shall be set back 7 metres from the edge of the carriageway, and permanently retained as such thereafter.

 

REASON: In the interests of highway safety.

 

20. INFORMATIVE TO APPLICANT:

Any alterations to the approved plans, brought about by compliance with Building Regulations or any other reason must first be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority before commencement of work.

 

21. INFORMATIVE TO APPLICANT:

The applicant should note that the grant of planning permission does not include any separate permission which may be needed to erect a structure in the vicinity of a public sewer.  Such permission should be sought direct from Thames Water Utilities Ltd / Wessex Water Services Ltd. Buildings are not normally allowed within 3.0 metres of a Public Sewer although this may vary depending on the size, depth, strategic importance, available access and the ground conditions appertaining to the sewer in question.

 

22. INFORMATIVE TO APPLICANT:

The applicant is requested to note that this permission does not affect any private property rights and therefore does not authorise the carrying out of any work on land outside their control. If such works are required it will be necessary for the applicant to obtain the landowners consent before such works commence.

 

If you intend carrying out works in the vicinity of the site boundary, you are also advised that it may be expedient to seek your own advice with regard to the requirements of the Party Wall Act 1996.

 

23. INFORMATIVE TO APPLICANT:

Please note that Council offices do not have the facility to receive material samples. Please deliver material samples to site and inform the Planning Officer where they are to be found.

 

24. INFORMATIVE TO APPLICANT:

The applicant is advised that the development hereby approved may represent chargeable development under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended) and Wiltshire Council's CIL Charging Schedule. If the development is determined to be liable for CIL, a Liability Notice will be issued notifying you of the amount of CIL payment due. If an Additional Information Form has not already been submitted, please submit it now so that we can determine the CIL liability. In addition, you may be able to claim exemption or relief, in which case, please submit the relevant form so that we can determine your eligibility. The CIL Commencement Notice and Assumption of Liability must be submitted to Wiltshire Council prior to commencement of development.  Should development commence prior to the CIL Liability Notice being issued by the local planning authority, any CIL exemption or relief will not apply and full payment will be required in full and with immediate effect. Should you require further information or to download the CIL forms please refer to the Council's Website https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/dmcommunityinfrastructurelevy.

 

25.INFORMATIVE TO APPLICANT:

The applicant is reminded that the ‘blue-edged’ areas of land shown on the Site Location Plan (no. PL21-SLP) lie outside the ‘red-edged’ approved development area, and so do not benefit in any way from this planning permission. As set out in the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal & Impact Assessment by Co-ecology which accompanies the planning application, the blue-edged areas are to remain permanent un-developed ‘buffers’, separating the approved development area from Webbs Wood ASNW/LWS to the south and Oaklands LWS to the north. It follows that the blue-edged areas should not be used for any other purpose other than as buffers; (with use for any other purpose – including, for example, open storage – likely to require further planning permission in any event).

 

The applicant is also reminded of the ‘Mitigation’ and ‘Biodiversity Gain’ recommendations set out in the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal & Impact Assessment at paragraphs 6.3 to 6.9 – in particular, those relating to mitigation for great crested newts and the related requirement for a separate Mitigation Licence from Natural England.

 

The Chairman called for a short 10 minute recess, prior to commencement of the next agenda item.