Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Morse.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED That: the minutes of the meetings on 12 July 2018 and 1 August 2018 were approved as an accurate record.

None.

It was confirmed that the item on the agenda was marked Part I and would be considered in public.

Erection of 6 x 3-bed/5-person houses and 4 x 4-bedroom/6-person houses, involving demolition of vacant depot building

Recommendation: Approve + Sec 106

RESOLVED: That the application be approved subject to a S106 agreement.

Erection of 6 x 3-bed/5-person houses and 4 x 4-bedroom/6-person houses, involving demolition of vacant depot building

It was confirmed that the petitioners' letter dated 9 February 2018 had been circulated to Committee Members prior to the meeting. Officers presented the application and highlighted the information in the addendum. Members were advised that the application proposed to construct 10 dwelling houses in two separate terraced blocks; each property would have two allocated parking spaces and associated landscaping.  Officers had negotiated this revised design as the original proposal had been for 11 units in a single terraced block. Councillors were informed that the site had been identified as surplus to requirements and there were no national or local planning objections in principle to the loss of the previous depot use on the site. Additionally, the Committee was advised that there was no adverse impact on visual amenity and there would be no material loss of residential amenity. There was also a Section 106 proposed for the site which was detailed in the report. The application was recommended for approval.

With reference to the landscaping condition on page 12 of the report, the Head of Planning commented that, as this was a major application, there was a requirement for 4 active and 4 passive electrical charging points. However, as this was a Council application, it was suggested that a more sensible approach might be to provide electrical charging at a publicly accessible location which would serve a wider number of people. If Members were to agree, the recommendation could be to provide 5 active charging points at a publicly accessible site in the local area.

A petitioner spoke in objection to the application. The main points raised included:-

·         The ground in question was an old dump containing hospital waste, old batteries, asbestos, aluminium casings and WWII munitions. Petitioners believed that the Council had not consulted the Environment Agency about this application. Residents were concerned that, once the work commenced, the fumes and dust would affect them adversely; especially those with breathing problems. Soil tests had been conducted by the Council but no results had been seen to date. A Council land inspection in 2001 had confirmed that the land was toxic and residents wanted to know how many truckloads of toxic waste would be removed from the site and how this would impact on traffic congestion and safety in the area. Residents were also concerned that the development would result in an additional 68 residents plus visitors with only 2 parking spaces allocated per house;

·         With regard to amenities, there was concern that there were insufficient GPs and primary school places in the area;

·         Residents to the south side of Strone Way would lose privacy to gardens to the rear of their houses and light and sun would be excluded especially during the winter months; number 12 would be particularly affected as the proposed work extended past the building line;

·         Residents requested that the existing building be re-instated as a Council depot.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.