Agenda item

Saltby Airfield, Skillington Road, Sproxton

Application:	21/01223/FUL
Location:	Saltby Airfield, Skillington Road, Sproxton
Proposal:	Change of use of former airfield land to use for the import, storage and export (B8 use) of straw for commercial purposes; construction of weighbridge and welfare building (retrospective)

 

The Planning Officer (HW) addressed the Committee and provided a summary of the application and advised that 3 submissions had been received since despatch of the agenda from Denton Parish Council and from two local residents, none of which raised anything new that hadn’t been covered in the report. The application was recommended for approval subject to conditions set out in Appendix A.

 

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 3 minute presentation:

 

Tricia Laurance, Croxton Kerrial Parish Council

 

Following the speaker’s presentation, the following points were noted:

 

·       The meeting with the applicant and the community had discussed the routes and concerns for the hours of operation and the request for these to be altered but the applicant advised this was not possible

·       The majority of vehicles used the route from Croxton Kerrial and started early in the morning and continued in a regular pattern throughout the day

 

Keith Burnett, Objector

 

Following the speaker’s presentation, the following points were noted:

 

·       There were environmental concerns which were not in line with the Council’s policies, particularly EN10

 

Paul Watson, Agent

 

Following the speaker’s presentation, the following points were noted:

 

·       There was separation of inbound and outbound traffic by using different access routes into the site which was supported by both county councils

·       The application was not concerned with routing

·       If smaller lorries or trailers were used, there would be more vehicle movements to ensure the operation remained viable and the number of bales remained the same which was part of the application

·       There had been no discussions regarding access with the Glider Club as this was a separate business in different ownership

·       The operation of the business was raised in terms of length of time for straw storage and whether some straw became unusable due to prolonged storage

 

The Planning Officer advised that she did not consider policy EN10 as being relevant to this application as the proposal was for straw storage and was not a low carbon energy plant proposal.

 

Policies C9 (healthy communities part (d) - healthy homes) and D1 (design policy, part (d) - residential amenity) were mentioned as possibly being in conflict with the proposal.

 

During debate the following points were noted:

 

·       The application was not concerned with routing traffic and the Committee could not determine the application against the Lincolnshire and Leicestershire Highway Authorities’ advice which had raised no concerns on the proposal

·       The site could not be carbon neutral due to the business’s reliance on the road network to be able to function

·       The report was good and there was support for the recommendation

·       There was concern at the traffic impact on local residents

·       The climate change policy had been considered in the previous committee report at Appendix C along with other policies and that report and its appendices were also available on the Council’s website

·       The proposal was not an energy development concern but was for a storage facility therefore the discussion around carbon emissions was not relevant

 

Councillor Illingworth proposed that the application be approved. Councillor Chandler seconded the motion.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the application be APPROVED subject to the conditions set out in Appendix A.

 

(4 for, 2 against, 3 abstentions)

 

(Councillor Holmes entered the meeting at 6.17 pm and took part in the debate and the vote.)

(Councillor Pritchett entered the meeting at 6.27 pm and took part in the debate and the vote.)

(Councillor Browne left the meeting at 6.42 pm and returned at 6.43 pm and was present for the vote.)

 

REASONS

 

Appendix B contains the Committee report considered at the 13 October 2022 meeting of the Planning Committee and is included to provide information on the other material planning considerations, issues and representations raised in respect of this application separate from the clarification provided to address the Parish Council’s concerns and concerns of the neighbouring residents; and the proposed re-routing for vehicles exiting the site.

 

The reasons behind Committee’s resolution to defer the application on 13 October are considered to have been addressed.  It is emphasised that no concerns relating to highways safety have been raised by either Leicestershire or Lincolnshire County Councils as the relevant Local Highways Authorities (LHA) to any of the potential vehicle routes proposed, and it is not considered reasonable, necessary or enforceable to include a condition to limit the vehicle routing outside of the site.  The officer’s recommendation remains approval subject to conditions.