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

3.2             The Chairman advised the Committee that the meeting would be filmed/recorded by a member of the public by means of a handheld device.  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.  He gave a brief outline of the scheme and the procedure for Planning Committee meetings.

4.1             Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Mrs G F Blackwell.  Councillor Mrs J E Day would be acting as a substitute for the meeting. 

5.1             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.

5.2             The following declarations were made:

To approve the Minutes of the meetings held on 21 April and 26 May 2015.

6.1             The Minutes of the meetings held on 21 April and 26 May 2015, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as correct records and signed by the Chairman. 

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7.1             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.

14/00876/FUL – Ex Coach Station Car Park, Oldbury Road, Tewkesbury

7.2             This application was for the erection of retirement living housing for the elderly (category II type accommodation), including communal facilities, landscaping and car parking.  The Planning Committee had visited the application site on Friday 5 June 2015.

7.3             Since the publication of the Schedule, the Planning Officer advised that an additional 230 letters had been received in objection to the revised plans.  Whilst they were largely based on similar grounds to those already raised, there was an additional objection relating to lack of affordable housing provision.  The Oldbury Partnership had submitted a further objection in relation to inadequate parking and overdevelopment of the site.  Members were advised that County Highways had originally requested additional information from the applicant to enable full highway consideration of the application but had now undertaken its own assessment.  On the basis of that assessment it was considered that the loss of parking spaces at the site would not have a severe cumulative impact on car parking capacity in the town.  It was also considered that the proposed access would be safe and suitable and, as such, it had been recommended that there be no highway objection, subject to conditions relating to access, parking facilities and the submission of a construction method statement.  The Economic and Community Development Manager had recommended a contribution towards improved facilities such as the Tewkesbury Riverside Walk.  Two letters had been received from a member of the public setting out their intention to judicially review the decision made on the application.  The Officer recommendation was to refuse the application for the reasons set out at Page No. 9 of the Schedule, subject to the removal of reason 4 in light of the comments received from County Highways.

7.4             The Chairman invited Councillor Simon Carter from Tewkesbury Town Council to address the Committee.  Councillor Carter indicated that the application had been considered at a full meeting of Tewkesbury Town Council where Members had voted unanimously to refuse the application.  The building would practically be in the back gardens of the residential properties adjoining the site in Gravel Walk and it was considered that the development would be overpowering in the streetscene.  Tewkesbury Town Council was known for being in direct contact with local people and he did not know of a single person in the town who felt that permitting the development would be a good idea.  The Oldbury Partnership had done a superb job of setting out a case for refusal and it was made clear that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a

8.1             Attention was drawn to the current appeals and appeal decisions update, circulated at Pages No. 47-50.  Members were asked to consider the current planning and enforcement appeals received and the Communities and Local Government (CLG) appeal decisions that had been issued.

8.2             A Member indicated that he was very interested in application reference: 12/01158/CLE for a caravan site used for static caravan parks at Cotswold Grange Country Park, Meadow Lane, Twyning which had been allowed on appeal.  The Legal Adviser explained that the appeal was in respect of a certificate of lawful use granted in 1973 and the main issue related to whether a planning permission for continued use of land as a holiday site, granted in 1983, had been necessary and extinguished any established use rights confirmed in the certificate.  Although originally an Inspector had upheld the Officer decision to refuse the application, that Inspector’s decision had been challenged in the High Court and quashed.  On re-determination, a second Inspector had ultimately concluded that, although the planning permission allowed the issuing of a site licence, this was not necessary in either planning terms, or to avoid enforcement action.  As such, the planning permission had not affected the certificate of lawful use and the appeal against the Council’s decision had been allowed.

8.3             It was

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

9.1             Attention was drawn to the Advanced Site Visits briefing, circulated at Page No. 51, 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.

9.2             The Development Manager clarified it was a list of those applications which would be subject to a Committee Site Visit at some point and did not necessarily mean that all the sites listed would be visited prior to the next Committee meeting.  Committee Site Visits would take place on the Friday before the Planning Committee meeting and the dates would be circulated to Members via email.  A Member queried whether the application for 300 houses at Bishop’s Cleeve would be subject to a Committee Site Visit and the Development Manager undertook to add this to the list.  He confirmed that Members would be sent a list of the applications due to be considered at a Committee meeting approximately one week before the Committee Site Visit.  He acknowledged that this did not allow much time for Members to request site visits as regards any application not already noted on that list for a site visit, however, Members were regularly informed of planning applications in their areas and there was nothing to prevent them from requesting a site visit well in advance of the list being circulated.

9.3             It was

RESOLVED          That the Advanced Site Visits Briefing be NOTED.