Agenda, decisions and minutes

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

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

87.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillor T A Spencer.  Councillor R Furolo would be acting as a substitute for the meeting. 

88.1           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.

88.2           The following declarations were made:

88.3           There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 April 2016.

89.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 April 2016, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

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90.1           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.

15/01344/FUL – 1 Cleeve Road, Gotherington

90.2           This application was for a new two bedroom chalet style bungalow in the rear garden of 1 Cleeve Road, Gotherington.  The Committee had visited the application site on Friday 6 May 2016.

90.3           The Chair invited the applicant, Robert Sharp, to address the Committee.  Mr Sharp explained that planning permission for the existing residential property  had been granted by the Planning Committee in 2011 having taken into account the comments of the County Highways Officers.  The key points had included the support of the Parish Council based on local knowledge of the access and the speed of vehicles at that point.  Access was deemed to be as good, or better, than many in the village and a caravan had safely used the established access for 30 years.  Overall, the conclusion in 2011 had been to permit the application as it was unlikely to result in a highway issue; as at 2016 that had been proved to be a valid opinion.  The access had been safely in use for five years covering the build phase and subsequent domestic use; all vehicles left the access in a forward gear, unlike many in the village which could be witnessed reversing onto the road on a daily basis; visibility was good, particularly to the right, and well in excess of the 54m required based on County Highways speed assumptions.  This enabled drivers to safely turn left and edge forward to see traffic from the other direction if turning right, again this was far superior to many existing driveways in the village.  The small two bedroom dwelling would create a minimal additional impact in terms of traffic volumes and the initial guidance had been that, as planning permission had been granted in 2011, access would not be an issue and he should focus on the actual building plans.  He had worked co-operatively with the Planning Officer and used a planning consultant to create an application which was acceptable in principle to Tewkesbury Borough Council.  A former Borough Councillor, who was a Member of the Planning Committee in 2011 when the original application had been approved, was a current Member of Gotherington Parish Council which supported the application, based on local knowledge and experience.  In conclusion, based on the fact that the access was currently safely in use; visibility was good, particularly to the right; cars would exit in a forward gear; and the application had the support of the Parish Council, he requested that the Planning Committee permit the application.

90.4           The Chair advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90a

To consider the provision of a shuttlebus service following a decision to defer the application at the last Planning Committee meeting.

90.31         Attention was drawn to the report of the Senior Planning Officer, circulated at Pages No. 66-141, which asked Members to permit planning application 13/01003/OUT Land South of A46 and North of the Tirle Brook, for a proposed garden centre, retail outlet centre and ancillary facilities, together with associated infrastructure works including access, car parking and landscaping, subject to the suggested planning conditions and Section 106 Agreements to mitigate the impact on Tewkesbury town centre; to address transportation issues and to ensure that land was safeguarded for potential highway improvements to the A46 and Junction 9 of the M5. 

90.32         Members were reminded that the application had been deferred at the last meeting of the Committee in order to negotiate the provision of a shuttlebus linking the proposed development with Tewkesbury town centre.  Officers had been working with the applicant and it was agreed that the best way to achieve this would be via a condition, which had been included as condition 42 of the list of suggested conditions set out at Appendix 5 to the report.  The condition required that a scheme be submitted prior to the commencement of building for the provision of the shuttlebus service linking the development with Ashchurch Railway Station and Tewkesbury town centre.  The scheme should include days of operation, hours of operation, frequency of service, ticketing arrangements, thresholds for its provision and mechanism for review after three years.  Members were reminded that the application was subject to a Section 106 Agreement requiring transport contributions and £1.2M of mitigation measures for Tewkesbury town centre.

90.33         Having considered the information provided, it was

RESOLVED          That the application be PERMITTED subject to the suggested planning conditions and Section 106 Agreements to mitigate the impact on Tewkesbury town centre; to address transportation issues; to ensure that land was safeguarded for potential highway improvements to the A46 and Junction 9 of the M5; and subject to referral to the Secretary of State who must decide whether he wishes to determine the application himself.

To note the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s report to Council proposing the continuation of the Scheme for Public Participation at Planning Committee as shown at Annex A and to determine whether the Committee wishes to make any comments to the Council to be considered alongside the report.

91.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, circulated at Pages No. 142-172, which set out the Committee’s report to Council proposing the continuation of the Scheme for Public Participation at Planning Committee.  Members were asked to note the report and to determine whether the Planning Committee wished to make any comments to the Council to be considered alongside the report. 

91.2           The Democratic Services Group Manager explained that, at its meeting on 14 April 2015, the Council had resolved that a Scheme for Public Participation at Planning Committee be introduced for a one year trial period starting with the new term of the Council in May 2015 and so commenced with the Planning Committee in June.  At its meeting on 23 February 2016, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had established a Working Group to review the scheme which had been chaired by the Vice-Chair of the Planning Committee, Councillor R D East.  The Working Group had met on four occasions with the first two meetings focused on speaking to users and administrators of the scheme to gather their views.  Members were informed that there had been a lot of engagement and positive comments about the Committee, the scheme and the way it operated.  The third meeting of the Working Group had focused on best practice and a draft report had been presented at the final meeting which had subsequently been adopted by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting in April and was attached at Annex A to the report.  The report would be taken to the Council on 17 May 2016 and the Planning Committee was asked to determine if it wished to make any comments to be considered alongside the report.  The Chair of the Working Group reiterated the positive nature of the comments which had been received from users of the scheme.  The feedback had resulted in some minor amendments, as set out in the report, which it was hoped would enhance the scheme going forward.

91.3           Some Members raised concern regarding the layout of the Planning Committee meetings which had been amended to accommodate the public speakers.  It was explained that some of the users of the scheme had commented that Members had their backs to the speakers due to the way the room had been laid out and an alternative configuration had been trialled for the last two meetings as a result.  The Democratic Services Group Manager clarified that a different arrangement could be tried in future and this would not change the report which was being put forward to Council.  Another Member commented upon the changes to the Planning Committee procedure in respect of the debate and the opportunity for questions and he was informed that this was not related to the Scheme of Public Participation and was a matter for the Planning Committee to consider at another time if appropriate.

91.4           It was subsequently

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s report to Council proposing the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

92.1           Attention was drawn to the current appeals and appeal decisions update, circulated at Pages No. 173-176.  Members were asked to consider the current planning and enforcement appeals received and the Communities and Local Government (CLG) appeal decisions issued.

92.2           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. 

93.1           Attention was drawn to the Advanced Site Visits Briefing, circulated at Page No.177, 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.

93.2           It was

RESOLVED          That the Advanced Site Visits Briefing be NOTED.