Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Green, Miles and Schoemaker.

To receive Declarations of Interest in relation to planning matters.

There were none.

Councillor Ryder stated that as a Ward Member for the area and his role within the Parish Council he had sought advice from the Monitoring Officer regarding his ability to take part in the item. It was agreed that he would not speak in the slot for Ward Members and instead would participate with the debate.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2022.

RESOLVED    That the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2022 were approved as a correct record.

(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.)

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

Late Pages relating to Scheduled Item S.22/0460/FUL had been circulated to Committee prior to the meeting and were also made available during the meeting.

Full planning permission for residential development (Use Class C3), community hub (Use Class E), local retail and commercial space (Use Class E), allotments, bio-diversity habitat and associated infrastructure and landscape works.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager introduced the report and explained it was a full application for residential conversion and allocation of allotments. He showed the committee the plans for the site in relation to the wider ‘Hunts Grove’ site and highlighted the following key points:

·       The application was split into two parts on either side of the motorway.

·       The application was for 76 dwellings. 

·       There was an overlap with another section of the Hunts Grove scheme of approx. 6 houses. Those houses would be included in this proposed scheme.

·       There was a mix of housing and the committee was shown the range of properties.

·       The existing farmhouse on the site was proposed to be converted into commercial space.

·       The proposal included a building in the middle of the housing area with 2 retail units on the ground floor and flats above.

·       To provide space for the additional housing and commercial buildings the area for allotments had been reduced at the original location. To offset the loss, further allotments had been proposed on the other part of the application site which was situated across the M5 motor-way from the original site. This additional provision would increase the overall area for allotments.

·       The proposal met the 30% affordable housing requirement although all of the affordable units were flats.

·       The proposal departed from the original master plan for the site which affected the agreed ecological mitigation for the protected species of Greater Crested Newts (GCN) on the site. Significant weight was given to the loss of the ecological mitigation from the original plan.

·       The County Council had confirmed that if the proposal was approved they would not seek contribution towards school transport.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager explained that they had weighed up the merits of the scheme against the harm and recommended refusal.

Mrs Turner-Wilkes, a Parish Councillor, spoke on behalf of Hunts Grove Parish Council in support of the application. She asked the committee to approve the proposal for the following reasons:

·       There were substantial benefits from the application for the Parish and residents.

·       The negatives of the application had been overstated and the balance was different from what had been presented.

·       The proposal brought back the ‘heart of the village’ which was lost during the 2017 changes to the master plan. This meant that there were proposed communal facilities in the centre of Hunts Grove.

·       The proposed facilities were greatly desired by the residents.

·       The allotment allocation was proposed to increase by 16%. The second parcel of allotments was accessible by a Public Right of Way (PROW) and closer to some residents than the original location.

·       Neutral weight was given to the community and commercial aspects despite shops being available at the heart of the village and space for local businesses.

·       Without the proposed community facilities, Hunts Grove would only have a neighbourhood centre which had been relocated to the edge of the village.

·       The proposed converted farmhouse would provide a base for the Parish Council to hold their meetings.  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.100