Agenda item

Kenneth Carter and Beau Roberts spoke in objection to the application.

Keren Worsnop spoke in support of the application.

The Team Leader introduced the application which was for the erection of a building for equipment and tractor storage. It was recommended that planning permission be granted, subject to the conditions outlined in the report. The location of the site was shown, alongside the proposed elevations of the storage unit. The officer considered that the proposal was not prominent in location, scale or in use of materials and would not have a significant negative impact.

There were no technical questions.

Members of the public then spoke as detailed above.

The local member, Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, spoke against the application on the grounds that it was not in the style of a typical agricultural building. The councillor also considered the building to be in a sensitive location and questioned whether the piece of land was being used for agriculture.

In response to points raised in the public forum, the Team Leader confirmed that a previous decision by a Planning Inspector that had been referred to in respect of this site, only applied to the residential curtilage and not the agricultural area of the site.

In the debate that followed, the Committee agreed that the application was not suitable for the site, and it was felt that there was not evidence of agricultural use on the site which had been levelled, and that the style of the proposal was out of character for its proposed use and siting. Members agreed that the issues of the glazing, doors, roofing, and log stores would need to be addressed to make the application suitable.

Cllr Sturgis, moved that authority be delegated to the Head of Development Management to grant planning permission subject to the receipt of a design to address the aforementioned issues, and conditions to restrict later amendments to the development, a requirement that it only be used for agricultural storage and that no external lighting be permitted. It was also requested that it be investigated by the Council’s Enforcement Team as to whether the site had undergone alterations without consent. The motion was seconded by Cllr Greenman. In response to questions from the Committee, the Team Leader advised that under such a delegation the revised plans would be consulted on and would come back to this committee if they did not accord with the recommended changes.

Resolved:

To DELEGATE authority to the Head of Development Management Services to grant planning permission subject to design alterations as follows:-

-           Remove fenestration and glazing to door opening;

-           Alter door design to single panel without exposed oak frame;

-           Remove both log stores lean too structures;

-           Alter roof design to standard agricultural building roof material e.g. onduline  or eternit profiled sheets;

And subject to conditions to be determined by officers, including an amendment to condition 3 to restrict the use of the building to agricultural usage, and additional conditions to restrict external lighting and to prevent later modification to the development. The wording of these conditions was delegated to officers and subsequently agreed as:

The building hereby permitted shall solely for the purposes of agricultural storage and in association with the land identified in this application red line boundary plan dated 19 April 2017

REASON: The building is sited in a position where the Local Planning Authority, having regard to the reasonable standards of residential amenity, access, and planning policies pertaining to the area, would not permit a wholly separate dwelling.

No external lighting shall be installed on site until plans showing the type of light appliance, the height and position of fitting, illumination levels and light spillage spillage in accordance with the appropriate Environmental Zone standards set out by the Institute of Lighting Engineers in their publication “Guidance Notes for the Reduction of Obtrusive Light” (ILE, 2005)”, have been 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: In the interests of the amenities of the area and to minimise unnecessary light spillage above and outside the development site.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015  (or any Order revoking or re- enacting or amending those Orders with or without modification), no development within Part 6, Class B (a) shall take place on the building hereby permitted.

REASON:  In the interests of the amenity of the area and to enable the Local Planning Authority to consider individually whether planning permission should be granted for additions, extensions or enlargements.

And to require officers to undertake consultation with interested parties including objectors in respect of revised design plans;

And to request that an enforcement investigation be undertaken in respect of works undertaken at the site including land levelling; installation of an access track and erection of a fruit growing cage.