Agenda, decisions and minutes

58.1           The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.

58.2           Members were reminded that the Council had resolved to introduce a Scheme of Public Speaking at Planning Committee for a 12 month period, starting with the new terms of the Council in May 2015, which had therefore commenced with the meeting on 9 June 2015.  The Chairman gave a brief outline of the scheme and the procedure for Planning Committee meetings.

59.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

59.2           The following declarations were made:

59.3           There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 December 2015.

60.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 December 2015, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

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61.1           The Development Manager submitted a Schedule comprising planning applications and proposals with recommendations thereon.  Copies of this had been circulated to Members as Appendix A to the Agenda for the meeting.  The objections to, support for, and observations upon the various applications as referred to in Appendix 1 attached to these Minutes were presented to the Committee and duly taken into consideration by them prior to decisions being made on those applications.

14/01201/FUL – Todpool Cottage, The Leigh

61.2           This application was for the demolition of three pre-fabricated concrete garages/lean-to and construction of a two storey detached dwelling house.  The application had been deferred at the last Planning Committee meeting for a Committee Site Visit to assess the impact of the proposed development on the surrounding area.  The Committee had visited the application site on Friday 15 January 2016.

61.3           The Development Manager indicated that the Parish Council had raised concern regarding the tone of the Officer report which had been presented at the last meeting and the problems which a refusal may cause for the emerging Neighbourhood Plan.  He had tried to allay those fears at the last meeting and he reiterated that the consideration of individual planning applications was very far removed from the delivery of the development plan document which the Neighbourhood Plan group was working on.  The point of the plan-led system was to ensure that an element of control could be exerted in order to prevent unregulated development; permitting this application could open the door to similar applications which would be difficult to resist.  The local community clearly wanted some additional development in the area and that was something which Officers would seek to support through the plan-led process.  At the previous Committee meeting, the applicant had suggested that Officers would have been supported the dwelling had it been an ultra-modern design; however, the Development Manager was of the view that a more traditional approach would be the most appropriate solution for that particular location.  The proposal represented an attempt at a modern design which fitted in with the traditional style of the area but, unfortunately, he did not feel that it had been particularly successful in combining the two genres.  Whilst he recognised that the length of time it had taken for the application to reach this stage since it had originally been submitted was unacceptable, and that was something for which he could only apologise, he reminded Members that it was not a material planning consideration in terms of the determination of a planning application.

61.4           The Chair invited the applicant, Colin Withers, to address the Committee.  Mr Withers indicated that, in the year since the application had been submitted, two reports had been completed by Officers; the first to permit and the current to refuse.  Both reports had concluded that the Joint Core Strategy and local development plan programmes were at early stages and should carry limited weight with national guidelines in the National Planning Policy Framework being the driving direction.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61a

62.1           Attention was drawn to the current appeals and appeal decisions update, circulated at Pages No. 30-33.  Members were asked to consider the current planning and enforcement appeals received and the Communities and Local Government (CLG) appeal decisions issued.

62.2           It was

RESOLVED          That the current appeals and appeal decisions update be NOTED.

To note those applications which have been identified as being subject to a Committee Site Visit on the Friday prior to the Planning Committee meeting at which they will be considered. 

63.1           Attention was drawn to the Advanced Site Visits Briefing, circulated at Pages No. 34-35, which set out those applications that had been identified as ones which would be subject to a Committee Site Visit on the Friday prior to the Planning Committee meeting at which they would be considered.  Members were asked to note the applications in the briefing.

63.2           It was

RESOLVED          That the Advanced Site Visits Briefing be NOTED.