Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Gray.

To receive Declarations of Interest in relation to planning matters.

Councillor Miles stated that she was a Member of the Housing Committee who were the applicants of the second item however this would not affect her decision-making capacity. The Chair confirmed that legal advice had been sought prior to the meeting regarding this matter.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 25 July 2023.

RESOLVED    That the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 July 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 4.1 Land at Sharpness Docks, The Docks, Sharpness, Gloucestershire S.17/0798/OUT had been circulated to Committee prior to the meeting and were also made available during the meeting.

Mixed use development which includes up to 300 dwellings (C3), industrial and distribution development (B1c,B2,B8) on 6.6 hectares of land 2 no. marinas, up to 1250m2 of ancillary retail / food and drink uses (A1,A2,A3 and A4) up to 7,000m2 of commercial floor space (B1 office/light industrial of which no more than 4300m2 to be B1 office), up to 100 holiday lodges/camping pitches, hotel, public open space, landscaping, visitor parking, new access road and associated infrastructure.

The meeting was adjourned for a few minutes to allow the Members of the committee to read through the late pages.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager introduced the application and showed the plans for the site. He explained that it was an outline application for a mixed-use regeneration scheme with tourism and leisure at its heart. The proposal included 3 main elements: a commercial element, a marina area and the residential section. The Majors & Environment Team Manager highlighted the following considerations:

·         The residential area was key for enabling the other elements of the site. The indicative plan for the residential area showed space for up to 300 dwellings with additional open space.

·         There was an error on page 21 of the reports pack, this was an outline application with full matters reserved.

·         The site was allocated as a strategic location within the current local plan.

·         The application had undergone independent viability tests which showed that not all of the policy requirements could be met therefore the application did not include any affordable housing or educational contributions.

·         The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had proposed a consultation zone around the docks in order to effectively manage the risks of any hazardous substances.

·         The application included ecological mitigation, such as contributions and bat houses, as it was sited along the Severn Estuary. There would also be an ongoing landscape management plan to maintain the open spaces.

·         The proposed access was indicative and full details would be available at the reserved matters stage of development if the application was permitted. The application sought to make local infrastructural improvements and would include a travel plan to mitigate the M5 capacity issues.

·         The proposed site had multiple heritage assets such as listed buildings, conservation & archaeological areas and other various assets throughout. The impact for these could be mitigated as part of the reserved matters application and a condition had been included to protect the archaeological areas. 

·         The environmental impact had been considered and a landscape visual impact assessment had been completed that concluded the impact would be mitigated over time. Further mitigations could also be implemented at the reserved matters stage if required.

·         There had been 1 additional objection raised, regarding the ecological impact, since the report had been written.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager asked the committee to consider the key issues raised above when weighing up the planning balance. He stated that should the committee be minded to permit the application they would be seeking delegated authority to Officers to permit the scheme subject to the end of the EIA consultation, the HRA sign off by Natural England and S106 agreement and subject to conditions outlined in the report.

Councillor Green, a Ward Member for the area, highlighted her concerns for the application which included:

·         Sharpness docks was a fully working, industrial docks. The site was already a large employment area providing job opportunities for local residents and managing a wide variety of cargo. It was a strong business which had already seen  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.021

Variation of condition 2 (approved plans) of application S.19/1054/FUL - Alteration to design of 8 affordable dwellings, with associated vehicle parking and landscaping, following the demolition of the existing buildings.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager introduced the application and explained that it was a variation to an existing planning permission due to building control regulations, the changes were outlined as follows:

·         Chimneys had been removed and gable details had been altered in order to allow for the provision of solar panels.

·         The layout of the scheme had been amended and the position of dwelling and parking spaces altered.

·         A retaining wall feature had been added to the garden.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager highlighted the key considerations of the site:

·         With the addition of the retaining wall, concerns had been raised regarding the local hedgehog populations. In response to these comments, additional wildlife corridors and gaps in the fencing had been created to mitigate the impact on hedgehogs.

·         The garden area had been levelled to allow for increased accessibility, however this had created the additional retaining wall, to reduce the impact of this on neighbouring properties the ground level had been reduced.  

He concluded by informing the committee that the revised plan numbers would be included in the application and the conditions would be updated to reflect the changes in ecology and additional conditions for the boundary treatment and retaining wall.

Councillor Tucker spoke as a Ward Member for the area. He informed the Committee that he had not been made aware of the latest ecological additions to the site which were reflected in his concerns as below:

·         Vehicles exiting the site would need to reverse out onto a busy road, which had not been helped by the new revised layout.

·         The original plans showed a lack of consideration for local wildlife including hedgehogs which were known to forage around the site. 

·         The addition of the retaining wall created issues for ground animals traveling through the site and would cause them to travel in either direction towards busy streets.

·         Although they were not a protected species, hedgehogs were listed as a declining species and steps should be taken to mitigate any impact.

·         The retaining wall on the border of the site would be topped with a 1.8m high fence which would significantly affect the view and light in the neighbouring property.

Councillor Braun spoke as a Ward Member for the area and expressed her support for the New Council Homes to be built. She provided a brief overview of the history of the site and explained that, if approved, the development would provide 8 affordable homes for up to 35 people. She echoed that the changes were a result of building regulations compliance and expressed her gratitude for the additional ecological amendments asking the Committee to approve the application.

Miss Robbins, Trainee Project Manager, spoke on behalf of the applicant Stroud District Council (SDC). She asked the committee to support the application for the following reasons:

·         The Town Council, Ward Members and adjacent residents for the area had been consulted on all proposed changes and feedback received.

·         The need for affordable housing within the district remained high, and SDC were  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.022

To present the 2023/24 forecast outturn position against the revenue budgets that the Committee is responsible for, in order to give an expectation of possible variances against budget

There were no questions or comments.