Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

There were none.

To receive Declarations of Interest in relation to planning matters.

Councillor Jones made a statement regarding Item 4.2. He was a current Parish Councillor for Whitminster Parish Council who had raised an objection. He did not take part in that vote and had sought advice from the Monitoring Officer.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2024.

RESOLVED   That the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2024 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 4.2 Stroudwater Canal Phase 1B, Eastington, Gloucestershire 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. All matters reserved.

Councillor Schoemaker arrived a few minutes late therefore the decision was taken to begin the introduction again in order for Councillor Shoemaker to participate in determining the application.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager introduced the application and explained that it was for a mixed use, regeneration scheme situated at Sharpness Docks. He showed the Committee the plans for the outline application and highlighted the following key considerations:

·         The location was an allocated site as part of the Adopted Local Plan.

·         The Docks regeneration vision included leisure and recreation.

·         The site had a range of constraints detailed in the report which need to be considered such as viability. The scheme could not provide any affordable housing, or the full contributions required. This was detailed in the table on page 65 & 66 of the document pack.

·         There was a review mechanism in place to recalculate viability of the scheme during the development phase.

·         Sharpness was an active working Dock which was protected under the Southwest Marine Plan and the Minerals Plan. This was addressed in the outline application.

·         Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had a safety consultation zone surrounding Docks regarding the storage of ammonium nitrate. This would be for the applicant to address and had been included as part of the conditions.

·         The location was a sensitive site for ecology, a mix of mitigation had been proposed which could be found at pages 52-55 of the report.

·         The access proposed for the site was only indicative and would come forward for consideration at a later stage if approved. GCC Highways had not objected to the application.

·         There was an impact on the heritage and landscape identified which would be expected for a large-scale scheme however this would look to be mitigated as part of the reserved matters stage if approved.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager highlighted that 2 additional objections and an additional letter of support from the applicant had been received since the report had been published.

Councillor Gordon Craig, spoke as a Ward Member for the area. He read aloud a letter from Berkeley Town Council which raised the following points:

·         They were concerned that Oldminster Road was not a suitable access.

·         A lack of funding to mitigate the development on education.

·         A lack of contributions towards affordable housing.

·         There was a presence of hazardous substances on site.

·         The proposal would impact the existing capacity constraints M5 junction 14.

·         Car travel would be necessary to access the site.

·         Berkeley Town Council had already incurred costs to reduce the max speed along a section of the B4066 due development, this would be required again at further costs to the taxpayer.

·         They were concerned for the environmental impact on the nearby Ramsar site.

·         Safety concerns regarding the access of the development.

Councillor Gordon Craig continued with his own concerns for the site. The access road was unsuitable for the development, the viability of the development was concerning and would result in primary school children having to travel long distances to access  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.050

Reinstatement of the 'Missing Mile' section of the Stroudwater Navigation and development of associated infrastructure including locks, mooring basin, car parking, cafe and leisure facilities building with combined office and residence for basin manager.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager introduced the application and explained that it formed part of the wider canal restoration project. He explained that it was for the missing section of the canal that was filled in during the M5 road works. The scheme included various features such as: lock gates, pedestrian bridges, gas pipeline crossing, mooring basin with associated facilities, Leisure facility building, Car park, café, basin managers flat, 44 non-residential moorings and a pedestrian tow path.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager explained that the application was a key regeneration project for the district and was supported by Local Plan Policies CP15, ES11 and Eastington Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) and the Canal Strategy. He then highlighted the following key considerations:

·         The scheme would mitigate the ecological, noise and highway impacts through appropriate conditioned controls and through the section 106 agreement.

·         The flood risk was in a position where the risk could be managed and mitigated. 

·         It was not possible for the canal to travel its original route, however Officers were satisfied that the proposal retained its character and appearance and conservation for the area.

The Majors & Environment Team Manager explained a positive planning balance had been identified with the regeneration benefits, the social, wellbeing and economic benefits. He further explained that the late pages published included a whole new set of conditions including any updates which had been made to the previous conditions.

Councillor Davies, a Ward Members for the area, and a member of Stroud Valley Canal Company and Connected Canals Company spoke in favour of the application. He highlighted that Whitminster and Eastington Parish Councils supported the canal but were disappointed to see the café and the accommodation included as part of the application.

Mr Mitford-Slade, spoke on behalf of the applicant and asked the Committee to approve the application for the following reasons:

·         The application was part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund project to reconnect the restored section of the canal in stroud to the National Canal Network at Saul junction.

·         This was a significant strategic project for the district and Cotswold Canals.

·         It was the largest heritage funded project in the Southwest and had strategic economic community and environmental benefits.

·         The proposal sought to create a new destination for tourism. The café and the connected tow path would work as mitigation to draw people away from the Severn Estuary and therefore protect the key habitat.

·         The moorings would provide a key revenue stream for future maintenance and operation of the canal. The Café would further support the canal boat users utilising the moorings.

·         The tow path would be for multiusers to reconnect the communities both East and West of the M5.

·         New wetlands area south of the River Frome would create new habitats and provide a wildlife corridor.

·         The proposal included a residence for the mooring basin manager who would be on site to provide out of hours service and respond to safety and security matters. The use of the accommodation would be restricted through  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.051

Redevelopment and expansion of existing employment site with new bespoke buildings (Eg) new access points and associated parking, landscaping, biodiversity enhancements and associated works.

The Principal Planning Officer introduced the application and explained that it was for the redevelopment and expansion of an existing site. The site was occupied by the ATC Loudspeaker Technology LTD who produced loudspeaker units and complete sound reproduction systems. She highlighted the following considerations of the site:

·         The site had a Public Right of Way (PROW) which runs to the North of the site.

·         It was within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and in the open countryside.

·         The application had been called into Committee under paragraph 183 of the NPPF which was summarised on page 159 of the document pack.

·         The existing site comprised of 5 buildings which had been re-purposed and temporary storage added as the company grew.

·         The turnover and the staffing had increased exponentially over the last 5 years, and this was an exemplar company with over 90% UK suppliers.

·         They had an extensive list of clients and were the only company in the UK to manufacture all of its components inhouse and was 1 of 3 companies worldwide to provide monitors to recording studios.

·         They had expanded its production to and beyond the limits of the site and therefore they were looking to expand the buildings.

·         The applicant had undertaken an assessment of alternative sites against their requirements and found that its existing site represents the best location for this bespoke business operation.

·         Officers concluded that the need for the development and the impact on the local economy if the business were to be lost to the district were adequately demonstrated to allow the principal of major development to be considered within the AONB.

·         The proposal increased the footprint from 1520sq – 9000+ to future proof the growth of the company.

·         The materials proposed were all natural with a variety of patterns to appear cohesive.

·         The applicant had addressed the landscape impact with proposed planting of native trees and completed a 15-year prediction on the main viewpoints.

·         The Cotswold Conservation Board supported the scheme as a justified exceptional site and recommended supplementary planting and a phased development to bring forward the planting in the initial phase of development.

Councillor Chloe Turner, a Ward Member for the area, spoke in favour of the application and stated that she was pleased to see an initiative employer who had made a considerable effort to mitigate any landscape impact, they were an asset to the Ward.

Mr Woodman, the applicant, asked the Committee to approve the application for the following reasons.

·         They sought early engagement from the Council, Ward Members and any relevant stakeholders.

·         They wanted the development to be something that the local area could be proud of.

·         Their Company moved to the site in 1985 which was also their home.

·         The companies who purchased their products went on to become very successful in live music.

·         They focused on high performance, low distortion, accurate reproduction of audio which was why they make the product in its entirety. 

·         Their products were built to last a lifetime and  ...  view the full minutes text for item DCC.052

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.

The report was circulated prior to the committee meeting, there were no comments.

RESOLVED To note the outturn forecast for the General Fund Revenue budget for this Committee.