Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

DCC.031

Apologies

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Patrick.

 

DCC.032

Declarations of Interest

To receive Declarations of Interest in relation to planning matters.

Minutes:

There were none.

 

DCC.033

Minutes pdf icon PDF 214 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2021 were approved.

 

DCC.034

Planning Schedule and Procedure for Public Speaking pdf icon PDF 177 KB

(Note: For access to information purposes, the background papers for the applications listed in the above schedule are the application itself and subsequent papers as listed in the relevant file.)

Minutes:

Representations were received and taken into account by the Committee in respect of Application:

 

1

S.21/1050/REM

 

DCC.035

Site for Sports Pitches North of Parcels H10 & H11, Great Oldbury (S.21/1050/REM) pdf icon PDF 650 KB

Engineering works to facilitate the creation of phase 1 sports pitches and associated landscaping (approval of reserved matters under Outline permission S.14/0810/OUT).

Minutes:

The Principal Planning Officer (Majors) introduced the application and explained that it was a reserved matters application which related back to the outline consent for the Great Oldbury site (S.14/0810/OUT). He showed the Committee the plans of the site and the proposed works.

 

The Principal Planning Officer (Majors) drew the Committees attention to the main points of the proposal:

  • Earth works would be needed to level the site.
  • It was for the creation of 3 sports pitches. 2 smaller pitches 40mx70m and one larger pitch 60mx100m.
  • The landscaping areas proposed included various native shrubs and trees which was in response to Biodiversity Officers’ comments.
  • The erection of a fence along Great Oldbury Drive to prevent balls from rolling onto the road, was included in response to Highways comments.

 

The Principal Planning Officer (Majors) explained that this was only the first stage of this development and the next stage would involve a further 3 pitches, 2 buildings and a car park. The site would still retain its public rights of way, although they had been realigned in the proposal.

 

The Principal Planning Officer (Majors) gave the following answers in response to questions asked:

  • The first phase of pitches was likely to be for informal use due to the lack of changing facilities which were included within phase 2.
  • To be used for League games the pitches would need to meet the suitable requirements which would likely involve waiting for the changing facilities to be built.
  • Highways had confirmed they were content that the surrounding highway had capacity to hold cars for the interim use of the pitches until the car park was built in phase 2.

 

Councillor Ryder questioned who would be responsible for the booking and the management of the pitches. The Principal Planning Officer (Majors) confirmed there was a management company who would be responsible for the maintenance and could also be responsible for the booking however, in other areas it was the Parish Council who took responsibility for the booking of the pitches.

 

Councillor Fenton questioned whether the land could be used for a variety of activities or a skatepark and asked why it had just been used for football pitches. The Principal Planning Officer (Majors) explained there was no application for a skatepark and the pitches could also be used for other games when used informally. He also informed the committee that the next stage of the Great Oldbury development included equipped play spaces around the development.

 

Councillor Ryder proposed and Councillor Gray seconded.

 

Councillor Brine joined the meeting.

 

Councillor Hall expressed his support for the application. He also noted that Eastington Parish Council had not sent anyone to object to this proposal.

 

Councillor Ryder debated the parking and explained in his previous experience, Sports England usually had a ratio of parking spaces to sports pitches which could be included in the plans for phase 2 with the buildings.

 

Members debated the parking issue at length.

 

After being put  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.035

DCC.036

Establishment of Development Management Advisory Panel pdf icon PDF 277 KB

To seek the Committee’s approval for the establishment of a Development Management Advisory Panel, as an officer/member working group considering matters relating to development management performance, enforcement policy and performance, and appeal performance.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Development Management introduced the report and explained that it was for the creation of an informal Working Group. The Working Group was recommended as part of the planning enforcement audit that was taken to Audit and Standards Committee in November 2021. She explained that the group was not a decision making committee and would have no powers to make decisions or take votes.

 

She drew the Committees attention to page 39 of the document pack, the proposed Terms of Reference (ToR) and in particular the functions. She further explained that the terms of reference were different from other working groups and this is why it was recommended that the new panel be chaired by an Officer.

 

The Head of Development Management explained the recommendation was for her to chair the Working Group however,  the Committee may prefer a Member to chair the Working Group. If so, Councillor Baxendale would be an ideal candidate but they would need to agree to amend the ToR.

 

In response to a question raised, the Head of Development Management further confirmed that the Monitoring Officer felt that due to the quasi-judicial nature of the committee and the issues that were dealt with by Development Control Committee (DCC), the Working Group should be chaired by an Officer. This would also further highlight the fact that the Working Group was not a Sub-Committee of DCC.

 

Councillor Brown proposed the amendment that the Working Group be chaired by the Chair of the Development Control Committee. Councillor Brine Seconded.

 

Councillor Brine raised a point that if a Member chaired the group then it would free up the Officer to be fully involved with discussions.

 

Councillor Brown raised a further point that if the Working Group was led by an Officer it would feel more like self scrutiny rather than the recommended member oversight.

 

Councillor Ryder questioned whether the Working Group would remain non political if it was led by a Member and explained that an Officer would still be able to guide discussions and bring their own experiences to the meeting and still fulfil the role of Chair.

 

The Head of Development Management confirmed:

  • The Working Group would not take votes or make decisions however, if something needed to be addressed it could be brought to the attention of DCC.
  • As it was a completely new Working Group, there was a recommendation to review it in 12 months’ time.

 

Councillor Bullingham questioned how the decision would be reached to bring something to the attention of DCC if the Working Group could not take a vote. The Chair confirmed it would be down to a consensus.

 

The Development Team Manager highlighted that the statistics of the department were now circulated twice a year to DCC and explained that the Working Group would be a forum for discussing any issues with the figures and any changes from Central Government. He further explained it would be much more of a discussion for the Members and Officers in the Working  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.036

 

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