Agenda, decisions and minutes

When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.   

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

9.2            The Chair gave a brief outline of the procedure for Planning Committee meetings, including public speaking.

10.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillor T J Budge.  There were no substitutes for the meeting. 

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 24 January 2023 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 February 2023, as set out in Minute No. CL.72, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

11.1          The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 24 January 2023 and took effect on 1 February 2023. 

11.2          The following declarations were made:

11.3          There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 May 2023.

12.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 25 May 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

13.1          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 Members prior to decisions being made on those applications.

PROPOSAL: Erection of dwelling and new access drive.

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION: Permit.

13.2          This application was for erection of a dwelling and new access drive.  The application had been deferred at the Planning Committee meeting on 25 May 2023 for a Planning Committee Site Visit to assess the safety of the access.  The Planning Committee had visited the site on Friday 16 June 2023.

13.3          The Planning Officer advised that the application sought full planning permission for the erection of a detached two storey, four bedroom dwelling.  The site currently formed part of the residential curtilage of 2 Moorfield Road, a detached property on a corner plot within the designated development boundary of Brockworth.  The proposed new dwelling was designed with a hipped roof with grey tiles and the walls would be faced with render on a brick plinth.  The Officer recommendation was to permit the application as set out in the Committee report.

13.4          The Chair indicated that there were no public speakers for this item.  The Officer recommendation was to permit the application and he sought a motion from the floor.  It was proposed and seconded that the application be permitted in accordance with the Officer recommendation.  A Member drew attention to Page No. 31, Paragraph 8.24 of the Committee report in relation to the condition which would be attached regarding the protection of any retained trees and raised concern that condition 7 was not strong enough to ensure the two existing mature trees on the site were protected.  The Planning Officer confirmed the trees would be retained and protected and the condition would ensure measures were in place as stated in the Tree Protection Plan.  The Member asked if it was possible to strengthen the wording by removing the reference to ‘any retained tree’ and instead specifying the two mature trees.  In response, the Legal Adviser explained that the proposed condition was intended to protect the trees during construction.  Going forward it may be possible to seek a Tree Protection Order for particular trees but that was a separate process.  Another Member drew attention to condition 5 regarding pedestrian visibility splays and sought clarification as to whether the hedge shown in the photograph at Committee was required to be further reduced in order to comply with the height restriction in the condition.  The County Highways representative explained that the Manual for Gloucestershire Streets required visibility splays of two metres by two metres and this access would be in excess of 10 metres, therefore the condition was satisfied in terms of visibility.  The Member asked for clarification as to whether the hedge needed to be reduced any further in height and, if not, whether that could be enforced.  The Development Management Team Manager (South) explained that the condition was there to ensure that the area set out in the condition was kept free from obstructions for the lifetime of the development – anything within that area would need to be 0.6 metres or below.  His interpretation was that there was plenty of space without encroaching into the hedge that was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13a

PROPOSAL: Proposed single storey detached residential annex and garden storage used ancillary to the host dwelling (Elm Gardens) following demolition of existing residential outbuilding.

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION: Permit.

13.7          This application was for a proposed single storey detached residential annex and garden storage used ancillary to the host dwelling (Elm Gardens) following demolition of the existing residential outbuilding.  The application was deferred at the Planning Committee meeting on 25 May 2023 for a Planning Committee Site Visit to assess the appropriateness of the development in Green Belt policy terms.  The Planning Committee had visited the site on Friday 16 June 2023.

13.8          The Planning Officer advised that the application site comprised a detached dwelling with a large outbuilding to the rear, it was located on the western side of Badgeworth Road within the Green Belt.  The existing block plan showed the location of the existing structure to the rear and the kennels had now been added along with the temporary mobile home which would be removed in six months and therefore was not shown on the proposed block plan.  Members were advised that the annex would provide a disabled accessible single storey one bedroom unit with an attached garden store.  The proposed building would have a simple linear pitched roof design which would be finished in render and slate.  It would be smaller than the building it replaced and would have a lesser impact on the openness of the Green Belt.  It was considered to be acceptable in terms of design and appearance and, given the substantial curtilage and separation from other nearby properties, there would be no adverse impact on any other occupiers.  As such, it was recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions as set out in the Committee report.

13.9          The Chair invited the applicant’s agent to address the Committee.  The applicant’s agent advised that the proposal was for a single detached residential annex building to be used ancillary to the host dwelling at Elm Gardens, following demolition of the existing residential outbuildings within its residential curtilage.  He made reference to the personal circumstances of the applicant and the need for level access accommodation and pointed out that the Tewkesbury Borough Plan was supportive of the provision of such annexes to support households and dependent family members.  The Planning Officer agreed that the principle of development was acceptable as set out in the Committee report.  The applicant’s agent went on to explain that the new building was formed following the removal of a pair of ancillary residential outbuildings within the established curtilage which had become redundant for use.  It was acknowledged that the site lay within Green Belt; however, as set out by the Planning Officer, replacement residential buildings were allowed in the Green Belt where the new residential building was not materially larger than the one it replaced.  In this instance, the new building would have a 29% smaller footprint, a 28% reduction in volume and a 300mm reduction in height over the original outbuildings to be removed.  Therefore, the proposals were materially smaller than the existing buildings.  Not only would this meet national and local policy requirements but it would have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13b

PROPOSAL: Erection of a first floor rear extension and installation of a rear roof dormer.

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION: Permit.

13.14        This application was for erection of a first floor rear extension and installation of a rear roof dormer.  The application was deferred at the Planning Committee meeting on 25 May 2023 for a Planning Committee Site Visit to assess the impact of the proposal on neighbouring amenity and the visual impact on the streetscene.  The Planning Committee had visited the application site on Friday 16 June 2023.

13.15        The Planning Assistant advised that this was a householder application in respect of a detached dwelling located in the village of Alderton.  A Committee determination was required as Alderton Parish Council had objected to the application on the grounds that the proposal would be of an inappropriate and poor design, out of keeping with the village vernacular, overbearing on the neighbouring dwellings and would result in insufficient parking.  No objections had been received from the statutory consultees but there had been eight letters of representation following neighbour consultation, all objecting to the application.  As set out in the Additional Representations Sheet, attached at Appendix 1, two further letters of representation had been received since publication of the Committee report which also objected to the application.  It was the Officer view that the proposal would not result in any undue harm to the streetscene or the occupants of the neighbouring dwellings, therefore, it was recommended that the application be permitted.

13.16        The Chair invited the applicant’s agent to address the Committee.  The applicant’s agent advised that the application related to a recently built property within the main built-up area of the village of Alderton.  It involved a small first floor extension above an existing single storey element and a dormer window in the roof space to maximise use of that space – the property as built had proved too small in terms of bedroom space which had hindered its sale viability.  As Members would be aware, planning applications must be determined in accordance with the expectations and thresholds set out in local and national policies. In this case, Officers had identified the key policies, those being the householder extension policies of the Tewkesbury Borough Plan, and using their knowledge and experience of determining similar applications within the Borough, had set out clearly in the Committee report the threshold for what was acceptable from a design and amenity point of view.  The applicant’s agent believed Officers were right in concluding that the proposed extension met those design and amenity policy expectations and, in the interests of consistency, had accordingly recommended that planning permission be granted.  In particular, Officers had identified that the proposed extensions would not breach the 45 degree code which was often used to assess the impact on neighbouring outlook and amenity; furthermore, at a distance of over 25 metres from the dormers and 22 metres from the new rear extension, the extensions exceeded the minimum back-to-back, window-to-window distances between properties.  The Committee report also confirmed that the Council’s Conservation Officer – who represented the main party tasked with assessing design  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13c

PROPOSAL: Agricultural access and hardstanding (amended description).

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION: Refuse.

13.20        This application was for agricultural access and hardstanding (amended description).  The application had been deferred at the Planning Committee meeting on 25 May 2023 for further negotiations to establish whether changes could be made to the proposal to reduce the visual harm to the undeveloped rural landscape.  The Planning Committee had visited the application site on Wednesday 24 May 2023.

13.21        The Development Management Team Manager (South) indicated that Members had the benefit of a site visit last month and had been shown the position and extent of the access and turning circle.  As set out in the Committee report, the principle of agricultural and associated development was established; however such development had to be balanced to limit any harm to the countryside.  In this case there is no identified ecological harm, nor any objections from County Highways.  Notwithstanding this, the entrance to the site would create very significant change to the character of Chargrove Lane, in an area of valued landscape, and those concerns were reflected in the significant number of objections received.  For that reason, and because the development would appear conspicuous as it extended into the field and detached from existing development, there was conflict with Policies AGR1 and LAN2 of the Tewkesbury Borough Plan.  The application was deferred by the Planning Committee in May 2023 to allow for further negotiations to establish whether changes could be made to the proposal to reduce the visual harm to the landscape.  In response, a detailed landscaping scheme had been provided which would be appropriate in terms of the type of planting proposed, which would provide some benefits; however, the access road would remain unchanged and identified harms to the character of the lane in particular would remain.  Officers had carried out a balancing exercise, taking into account the economic benefits to the rural economy, employment and site mitigation measures from additional planting but the visibility splay/bellmouth would remain unaltered at 60 metres and the clearing would allow views of the access and turning head into the field. Members were advised that the field could already be accessed by an existing field gate on the corner of Chargrove Lane and the South Park access track.  On balance it was considered that the benefits would not outweigh the identified harm to the countryside and landscape and the application was recommended for refusal as set out in the Additional Representations Sheet, attached at Appendix 1.  It was noted that a furtherletter of representation had been received the previous night which had been copied to Members and could be summarised as: the proposed landscaping would not mitigate the impact of the industrial scale opening onto Chargrove Lane; the 60 metre splay and access would create a huge area of hardstanding which could be used as a layby for parking and traffic; the owner may want to restrict parking in that area and introduce a chain and posts; the land was not owned but tenant farmed; cattle were brought  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13d

To consider current planning and enforcement appeals and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities appeal decisions.

14.1          Attention was drawn to the current appeals and appeal decisions update, circulated at Page No. 87.  Members were asked to consider the current planning and enforcement appeals received and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities appeal decisions issued.

14.2          Accordingly, it was

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

To confirm that future meetings of the Planning Committee should commence at 9:30am. 

15.1          It was proposed, seconded and

RESOLVED          That Planning Committee meetings commence at 9.30am going forward.