Agenda item

A report by the Case Officer is attached.

The following people spoke against the proposal:

Dr Richard Pagett, representing Purton P’s & Q’s

Mr Robert Buckland, MP for South Swindon (also speaking on behalf of Mr James Gray, MP for North Wiltshire)

Mr Kevin Fisher, a local resident

Mr Philip Smith, Planning Policy Manager, Swindon Borough Council

Cllr Nick Martin, Swindon Borough Council

Cllr Geoffrey Greenaway, representing Purton Parish Council

The Committee received a presentation by the Case Officer which set out the main issues in respect of the application.  She explained that the applicant had submitted an appeal in respect of this application on the grounds of non-determination, that is the Council’s failure to determine the application by the agreed date of 1 July 2011.  Consequently, no formal decision could be made by the Council in respect of the application.  However, in order to progress with the appeal and in the light of the call-in request, the opinion of the Committee was being sought in respect of the application had they been in a position to determine it and on what grounds the Committee might wish to contest the scheme at appeal, if at all.    She also drew Members’ attention to the late observations.  

A site visit had taken place earlier that morning in respect of this application, which had been attended by Cllr Mark Connolly, Cllr Andrew Davis, Cllr Peter Fuller, Cllr Charles Howard, Cllr Francis Morland, Cllr Stephen Petty, Cllr Leo Randall, Cllr Tony Trotman and Cllr Fred Westmoreland.  Cllr Jacqui Lay, Cllr Mollie Groom and Cllr Peter Colmer, as local Members had also attended the site visit.

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions after which the Committee received statements from members of the public as detailed above, expressing their views regarding the planning application.

Members then heard the views of Cllr Jacqui Lay, Cllr Mollie Groom and Cllr Peter Colmer as local Members, who expressed their objections to the proposal on the grounds of the size of the proposed development, which would have a significant impact on the surrounding rural area, eroding the rural buffer between Swindon and North Wiltshire and the inadequacy of the highway proposals.

Cllr Peter Doyle, as Chairman of the Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board, reported that the Area Board opposed the proposed development on account of its impact on the rural buffer between the rural villages of North Wiltshire and Swindon.

The Committee noted that Section 106 Agreement discussions had been taking place with the applicant during which the Local Authority had stated that with such a large scale development, it would require the developer to provide funding for a complete new primary school and also £700,000 towards the cost of a new secondary school. 

After some discussion,

Resolved:

Had the Committee been able to determine this application it would have refused Planning Permission and the officers were authorised to contest the appeal for the following reasons:

1.    The proposed development is in the countryside, outside the framework boundary of any settlement where residential development is not acceptable under Policy H4 of the North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011.

2.    In the absence of a site specific allocation of the application site in any adopted or emerging development plan document, it is considered that there is no policy derived basis for the development of this site.  It is proposed that the strategic growth of Swindon will be derived from other more suitable sites identified by Swindon Borough Council in their respect Core Strategy.

3.    The proposal is premature to the progression of both Wiltshire Council’s and Swindon Borough Council’s Local Development Frameworks (LDF), the Core Strategy Development Plan Documents for the area is therefore prejudicial to both councils’ plan-led approach to sustainable development, and the spatial vision for the development of Swindon and the surrounding area. As such the proposal is contrary to Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development and Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing.

4.    The proposed development is non-sustainable; it would be located where it is distant from adequate services with an insufficient public transport provision and will therefore increase the need for journeys to be made by private vehicles which is non-sustainable and in conflict with the advice given in PPG13, RPG 10 and Policies C1, C3 and T1 of the adopted North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011.

5.    In highway design terms, the proposed development, as illustrated by the Masterplan, is not capable of being built in an acceptable manner. The poor design will encourage speeding, severance, intimidation and safety issues which are contrary to national guidance in Manual for Streets 1 and 2, Policy C3 of the adopted North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011and current best practice for highway design.

6.    In the absence of an acceptable signed S106 agreement, the proposed development does not make any provisions for securing affordable housing and education on the site;  it also makes insufficient financial contributions towards  mitigating impacts of the development on nearby services and facilities and the maintenance of open space, waste receptacles and surface water attenuation measures on the site The application is therefore contrary to Policies C2, H5 and CF3 of the North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011 and the North Wiltshire Local Development Framework Affordable Housing SPD (April 2008).

7.    The proposed development would detrimentally impact upon the residential amenity of those residents living on through residential roads in the vicinity of the site as a consequence of the development and its associated and cumulative impact on the strategic transport network in the north and west of Swindon.  The proposed development is therefore contrary to Policy C3 of the adopted North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011.