Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. Eddie Lavery, with Cllr. Ian Edwards substituting and from Cllr. Duncan Flynn, with Cllr. Brian Stead substituting.

There were no Declarations of Interest made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

It was confirmed that in the absence of the Committee Chairman, Cllr Eddie Lavery, the Committee Vice-Chairman, Cllr John Morgan, would be the Chairman for the meeting.

It was confirmed that the meeting would be held in public, with the exception of agenda items 7 and 8, which related to planning enforcement. Items 7 and 8 would be heard in private.

Variation of condition 3 (Opening Hours) of planning permission Ref: 11924/APP/2013/1871 dated 27/11/2013 to allow use of property as a 24 hour, 7 days gym (Change of use from A1 (shops) to flexible use permitting A1 (Shops), A2 (Financial and professional services) or use as a Gymnasium, Dental Clinic or Health Centre).

Variation of condition 3 (Opening Hours) of planning permission to allow use of the property as a 24 hour 7 days gym (Change of use from A1 (shops) to flexible use permitting A1(Shops), A2 (Financial and professional services) or use as a Gymnasium, Dental Clinic or Health Centre).

Officers introduced the report and referred Members to the addendum sheet that had been circulated. The application sought to extend previously approved opening hours in order to enable the proposed gym to trade 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

It was noted that an additional objection had been raised, since agenda dispatch, in relation to the use of the gym as a 24 hours facility. This objection also objected to the lack of parking facilities in the area and that there were already other gyms trading in the area. Officers confirmed that noise related issues had been addressed in the report and could be conditioned accordingly. It was noted that the applicant had provided more information in relation to noise mitigation than in their previous application. It was also confirmed that the existence of other gyms in the area was not relevant to the determination of the application before the Committee.

It was proposed that four additional conditions in relation to noise mitigation be imposed. These had not been included in the grant of the previous application as this had not included 24 hour opening. Officers, having consulted with the Council's Environmental Protection service, considered that the proposals would not cause an unacceptable noise impact and therefore, recommended that the application be approved.

In accordance with the Council's constitution, a representative of the petitioners objecting the proposals addressed the meeting.

The petitioner objecting to the proposals made the following points:

·         A survey had been undertaken of 100 gym users to find out whether they would be prepared to pay for parking. All 100 had said 'no'.

·         The proposed increase in operational hours of the gym would lead to an increase in vehicles looking for parking in the area. This would result in parking overspill into neighbouring roads and would exacerbate existing parking difficulties caused by the station and local schools.

·         The Transport Statement used in association with the original application was out of date and a parking survey that targeted gym users should be undertaken.

·         The proposed gym was 7,000 sq ft in size. This was significant and the company behind the gym would have the marketing resources to attract a significant number of customers

Representatives of the applicant raised the following points:

·         The proposed gym was, in fact, 4,500 sq ft in size, rather than the 7,000 sq ft. stated by the petitioner.

·         The gym operator was a global fitness brand with gyms in 22 countries and within 50 local communities in UK. The business was expanding.

·         The application submitted was seeking to vary a previous submitted application, with the requested change being to permit 24 hour opening. All the firm's existing gyms were open 24 hours a day.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

RESOLVED: That:

1. That the enforcement action as recommended in the officer’s report was agreed.

2. That the Committee resolved to release their decision and the reasons for it outlined in this report into the public domain, solely for the purposes of issuing the formal breach of condition notice to the individual concerned.

This item is included in Part II as it contains information which a) is likely to reveal the identity of an individual and b) contains information which reveals that the authority proposes to give, under an enactment, a notice under or by virtue of which requirements are imposed on a person. The authority believes that the public interest in withholding the Information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it (exempt information under paragraphs 2 and 6(a) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 as amended).

RESOLVED: That:

1. That the enforcement action as recommended in the officer’s report was agreed.

2. That the Committee resolved to release their decision and the reasons for it outlined in this report into the public domain, solely for the purposes of issuing the formal breach of condition notice to the individual concerned.

This item is included in Part II as it contains information which a) is likely to reveal the identity of an individual and b) contains information which reveals that the authority proposes to give, under an enactment, a notice under or by virtue of which requirements are imposed on a person. The authority believes that the public interest in withholding the Information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it (exempt information under paragraphs 2 and 6(a) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 as amended).