Agenda and minutes

The Vice Chair, Councillor Posnett MBE,  in the Chair

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Glancy and Holmes.

Councillor Smedley was appointed as substitute for Councillor Glancy and Councillor Hewson was appointed as substitute for Councillor Holmes.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2020.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2020 were confirmed and authorised to be signed by the Chair.

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

Councillor Posnett declared a personal interest in any Leicestershire County Council matters due to her role as a County Councillor.

Long Clawson Dairy Entrance, Hickling Lane, Long Clawson

The Development Manager addressed the Committee and provided a summary of the application. She advised that concerns raised by the Parish Council were included in the report in relation to Phase 2 and discussions were ongoing between Planning Officers and Long Clawson Dairy on these matters. She mentioned that the comment concerning the ‘village green’ on page 30 referred to a genuine facility for the community which would be accessible by all villagers.

Pursuant to Chapter 2, Part 9, Paragraphs 2.8-2.28 of the Council’s Constitution in relation to  public speaking at Planning Committee, the Chair allowed the following to give a four minute presentation:

Richard Cooper, the Agent and Ashley Reek of Long Clawson Dairy shared the 4 minute allocation.

Following questions from Members, it was confirmed:

·         Should the application be refused, the company would struggle to expand further. Mr Reek explained that some parts of the buildings proposed for development were 90 years old and were no longer fit for purpose nor in line with the technical standards required

·         The Dairy would be happy to work with the Parish Council and villagers to achieve a mutually agreeable solution to the development

During discussion the following points were noted:

·         Members were impressed by the business and its processes demonstrated at the site visit and felt the company’s approach was both sympathetic and collaborative in working with others

·         The proposals represented sustainable growth for a business that was important to the Borough’s economy

Councillor Chandler proposed the recommendation for approval as Long Clawson Dairy was one of the Borough’s largest and well respected employers and the Council should support its development. Councillor Steadman seconded the motion and agreed that the Vale of Belvoir was reliant on the business the Dairy brought to the rural area.

RESOLVED

That application 19/00573/REM be APPROVED subject to the conditions set out in the report and for the following reasons :

(Unanimous)

The proposal comprises the rationalisation of the process carried out by the dairy which would ensure the continued operation from this site, a reduction in vehicles accessing the main village thoroughfare, the removal of buildings of limited visual merit and the erection of suitable replacement buildings. The proposal is therefore considered acceptable in principle, would be visually acceptable and would not be detrimental to residential amenity or highway safety.

Field OS 4011, Tofts Hill, Stathern

This item was withdrawn from the agenda.

Spinney Campus, Brooksby Melton College, Melton Road, Brooksby

The Assistant Director for Planning and Delivery  addressed the Committee and provided a summary of the application. He  advised that since despatch of the agenda Hoby and Rotherby Parish Council had expressed their disappointment  that due to the recent changes in Government policy, the application did not now need to meet a sustainable housing requirement and this meant there would be no opportunity for this type of housing in the area.  

During discussion the following points were noted :

·         Since the Government had amended the obligations for affordable housing, the applicant had become a fortuitous beneficiary of the change in regulations

·         There was disappointment that the appeal had been granted against the Committee’s wishes and since then the most significant benefits of the application had been removed

·         There was cynicism expressed about the application due to the change in the policy on the requirement for sustainable housing and that the Inspector’s decision had been undermined

·         The King Street site was deteriorating and the opportunity for sustainable housing in the town centre had now been lost which raised questions as to what would happen to the site. It was understood the site could meet the need for student accommodation but there was no reference to this in the college’s application

·         The Ward Councillor’s views were not included in the report and it was understood that although the Ward Councillor had arranged to speak at the meeting, he had been delayed. It was mentioned that Members were aware that he had concerns regarding the removal of the benefits, particularly the affordable housing. Mr Worley advised that no comments had been received from the Ward Councillor but he had been in touch since the report was published

·         When the previous decision was made the Local Plan was part way through its development process and the planning balance applied at that time would have outweighed any adverse impact as it took into account the significant community benefits to be gained from the application

Councillor Higgins proposed that the application be deferred to enable the applicant to engage with the Ward Councillor and Parish Council on the potential for community benefit including the provision of sustainable housing. Councillor Cumbers seconded the motion.

The Ward Councillor, Councillor Browne, here entered the meeting.

The Legal Advisor explained that the proposer and seconder could change the proposal after hearing the Ward Councillor’s presentation should they wish to do so.

Pursuant to Chapter 2, Part 9, Paragraphs 2.8-2.28 of the Council’s Constitution in relation to  public speaking at Planning Committee, the Chair allowed the following to give a four minute presentation :

·         Councillor Browne, Ward Councillor

Following the Ward Councillor’s presentation, the proposer and  ...  view the full minutes text for item PL184

Field OS 0002, Leicester Road, Melton Mowbray

The Assistant Director for Planning and Delivery addressed the Committee and provided a summary of the application. He  advised that since despatch of the agenda an update had been received from the Highways Authority being a small criticism which could easily be conditioned and its content  would have no impact on the remainder of the application.

Pursuant to Chapter 2, Part 9, Paragraphs 2.8-2.28 of the Council’s Constitution in relation to  public speaking at Planning Committee, the Chair allowed the following to give a four minute presentation:

·         Mr Galij, Planning Director, North Midlands Division, Barratt David Wilson Homes

It was confirmed by the Legal Advisor that in his view condition 5 was proper and not ultra vires as stated by the agent. It was explained that a condition for the protection of residential amenity relating to the timing of construction activities on site was usual in planning applications.

During discussion the following points were noted:

·         It was felt to not be unreasonable to extend the Saturday hours to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

·         It was mentioned that the application had been vastly improved since it was last presented to the Committee but there were still concerns as to the tandem parking and the potential for parking on pavements and roadsides by those with families and visitors, which was felt to be a  symptom of the whole development being too close and needing more care to make it a pleasant place to live

·         Traffic calming and screening and frontages had been improved

·         There was a discussion as to whether road widths could be increased which could ease the on-street parking situation and there could be staggered passing places

·         It was noted that road widths were as expected for a development such as this with the spine road being wider than the subsidiaries. The agent advised that the road widths were in line with the Leicestershire County Council’s requirements and no negative comments had been received from the Highways Authority on the road network

·         Other Members expressed support for tandem and double parking and in their experience this was not a problem on a residential estate and at times it encouraged drivers to take more care and was a speeding deterrent

·         It was understood that the County Council usually only objected where there were severe circumstances and this situation was more about the cramped design all the way around the development and how it would look and feel in 20-30 years

·         There was the opportunity to continue to work with the developer to achieve a desirable development to attract people to want to live and work in the Borough

Councillor Illingworth proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item PL185

The Assistant Director for Planning and Delivery to submit a report advising the Committee of current national performance indicator outcomes relating to the determination of planning applications for Q3 (October to December).

The Development Manager presented the Assistant Director for Planning and Delivery’s report which advised the Committee of current national performance indicator outcomes related to the determination of planning applications for Quarter 3 (October to December 2019). It also covered appeal results in the period concerned and section 106 agreements.

The team was congratulated on its hard work in meeting government targets. It was noted that policy SS3 decisions would be included in the next performance report.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To consider any other items that the Chair considers urgent

There was no urgent business.