Agenda item

To approve the response to Wychavon District Council in respect of application 18/00771/OUT and to delegate authority to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make minor spelling, grammatical, cross-referencing or typographical errors and presentational changes prior to final submission. 

28.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 22-33, which set out a draft consultation response to Wychavon District Council in respect of application 18/00771/OUT – Land East of Bredon Road, Mitton.  Members were asked to approve the draft response for submission on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council and to delegate authority to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make minor spelling, grammatical, cross-referencing or typographical errors and presentational changes prior to the final submission.

28.2           A Member proposed that Tewkesbury Borough Council’s draft response is not approved and that instead the response is that the application was premature and should be presented with other strategic sites in the review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.  There was no seconder for this proposal.  It was subsequently proposed and seconded that the draft response, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved for submission on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council and that authority be delegated to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make minor spelling, grammatical, cross-referencing or typographical errors and presentational changes prior to the final submission, in accordance with the recommendation on the papers. 

28.3           A Member indicated that he could not support a draft response when it undermined the planning process required for strategic development sites, particularly one with serious implications for the health and safety of local residents regarding flooding, traffic, medical care and educational provision.  He felt that the applicant had sought to circumnavigate the need to provide an Environmental Impact Assessment by presenting a phased application of 500 houses - land under the applicant’s control could result in 1,000 dwellings and, if this proposal was allowed, another 500 would surely follow.  An application for 1,000 dwellings would have triggered the requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment which would have further highlighted the extent of the issues that would affect Tewkesbury town.  Whilst Tewkesbury Borough Council had a duty to co-operate across borders, this did not mean it should disregard strategic planning processes.  The site was not named as a strategic planning site in the South Worcestershire Development Plan – Wychavon District Council’s equivalent of the Joint Core Strategy – but it should be a strategic site and subject to the same investigation as those in the Joint Core Strategy otherwise it would be allowed to slip through without proper consideration or consultation.  Furthermore, he felt that the draft response undermined the Bredon Parish Neighbourhood Plan which had been adopted in July 2017 with huge support from residents.  The applicant had made the intention to build houses on the site known long ago so the Bredon Parish Neighbourhood Plan had been prepared with that knowledge.  He questioned how Tewkesbury Borough Council would feel if the situation were reversed and pointed out that the Joint Core Strategy was due for periodic review so the site should be considered as part of that process. 

28.4           The Planning Policy Manager clarified that the South Worcestershire Development Plan had been developed prior to the Joint Core Strategy and the issues around the site at Mitton had been discussed as part of that examination process.  Policy SWDP2 stated that due consideration would be given to the housing needs of other local planning authorities in circumstances where it had been clearly established through the local plan process that those needs must be met through provision in the South Worcestershire Development Plan area, and the footnote supporting the policy specifically referenced the Joint Core Strategy authorities and the land at Mitton.  Subsequently, the site had been discussed at the Joint Core Strategy examination where the Inspector considered that its development would be suitable for meeting the needs of Tewkesbury Borough, and subsequently a planning statement was signed between Tewkesbury Borough Council and Wychavon District Council establishing an agreement to co-operate in respect of the site.  On that basis, the site had been included in the Joint Core Strategy as part of the housing supply for Tewkesbury Borough.  In terms of the Bredon Parish Neighbourhood Plan, Policy NP1 set out that development proposals on sites allocated under the strategic policies of an adopted local plan would be supported and references that the Joint Core Strategy policies could be considered as an adopted local plan.  Whilst the site at Mitton was not an allocation in the Joint Core Strategy, as it was outside of Tewkesbury Borough, it was supported by strategic policy SPD2 which identified the site as making a contribution towards the housing supply of Tewkesbury Borough.  The proposal would make a significant contribution towards Tewkesbury Borough’s housing needs and would shortly contribute towards the five year housing land supply; this site was expected to come forward to help achieve that and any delay could have an impact on the ability to demonstrate a five year supply in the future.

28.5           A Member indicated that she had great sympathy with the concerns raised given that the site was not within Tewkesbury Borough Council’s strategic development plan originally; whilst it would contribute towards the five year housing land supply, the New Homes Bonus money would go to Wychavon District Council and the issues of traffic, health provision and schools would all be foisted upon Tewkesbury Borough.  She had real concerns about traffic, which was already at a standstill around Tewkesbury.  Whilst she felt that this application could be the first of many for the site, she recognised that the Planning Committee must only take into consideration the current proposal.  The proposer of the motion shared these concerns and indicated that there would always be difficulties with large settlements which crossed or abutted other local authority boundaries.  He reminded Members that the application was to be determined by Wychavon District Council in accordance with its own planning processes - Tewkesbury Borough Council would not take kindly to another authority interfering with its own planning process and Members needed to accept the fundamental point that this site had been recommended by a Planning Inspector and that could not be overturned.  His view was that Tewkesbury Borough Council should do its best to work sensibly to accommodate the inevitable infrastructure difficulties which would always accompany a strategic sized development such as this.  He pointed out that the Inspector’s view was that the infrastructure issues in this instance could be effectively mitigated.  Whilst he took on board the points that had been made, and understood the reasoning behind them, he felt the draft response summed up what Tewkesbury Borough Council should be saying and he fully endorsed it.

28.6           In response to a Member query, the Planning Policy Manager confirmed that Bredon Hancock’s Endowed First School was located within Bredon itself.  The Member raised concern that this meant that children from the new development would be going to schools within Tewkesbury Borough.  This was the first taste of the duty to co-operate and, whilst this was largely inevitable, he stressed the importance of securing appropriate Community Infrastructure Levy/Section 106 contributions given that Wychavon District Council would be the collecting authority.  He felt that there should be something stronger on the duty to co-operate saying that this should be accompanied by a duty to put forward sustainable infrastructure improvements.  The Planning Policy Manager confirmed that there was a Joint Planning Statement between the two authorities which included wording on infrastructure contributions and recognised the impact on Tewkesbury Borough.  The two County Councils were in discussion about the best way to address the education provision - in an existing school or a new education facility.  He agreed that it was crucial to get this right.

28.7           A Member questioned who would be responsible for securing a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and overseeing the implementation of any drainage features.  He was advised that this would fall to Wychavon District Council as the local planning authority; whilst the exact details were yet to be agreed, discussions would take place between Worcestershire County Council - as the Lead Local Flood Authority for the area - Gloucestershire County Council and the Environment Agency to ensure that an acceptable solution was delivered.  The Member felt that the response should highlight Tewkesbury Borough Council’s requirements in respect of flooding and land drainage and the Planning Policy Manager confirmed that the draft response stated that Wychavon District Council should take account of Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Flood and Water Management Supplementary Planning Document.  Another Member went on to point out that the sewerage system on the outskirts of Tewkesbury was gravity-fed and, when the Meadows were built, a pumping system had been installed to feed into that system.  There had always been problems with this as the sewage system could not cope with the additional properties and she asked whether Severn Trent Water had commented in that regard.  The Planning Policy Manger confirmed that Severn Trent Water was a consultee but had not yet responded; however, he could raise this, and the issues around drainage, as an additional point if Members felt it would be helpful.  The proposer and seconder of the motion indicated that they would be happy to make this amendment and, upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED          1.   That the response to Wychavon District Council in respect of application 18/00771/OUT, set out at Appendix 1, be APPROVED for submission on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council, subject to the inclusion of additional points around drainage.

2.   That authority be delegated to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make minor spelling, grammatical, cross-referencing or typographical errors and presentational changes prior to the final submission.