Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman welcomed public speakers to the meeting. He also reminded

Members of the Committee that they should not vote on an application if they are not present at the meeting to hear the entire debate on the application.

Members declared interests as follows:

·      19/00461/FUL, Councillor Parker - Appendix A, Paragraph 14, and left the meeting while the application was determined.

·      19/00779/FUL, Councillor Cox - Appendix A, Paragraph 14,

     by virtue of the applicant being a close associate, and spoke but did not vote on the matter.

The Committee considered the reports of the Business Manager – Strategic

Place, together with comments of public speakers, additional information

reported by the officers and information detailed in the late representations

updates document previously circulated.

Councillor Parker declared an Appendix A, Paragraph 14 interest and left the meeting while the application was determined.

Public Speaker Supporter - There are no objections to the proposal and the officer recommendation is one of approval.

It was proposed by Councillor Keeling, seconded by Councillor Bullivant and

Resolved

Permission be granted subject to the following conditions:

1. Standard 3 year time limit for commencement

2. Development to be carried out in accordance with approved plans

(15 votes for, 0 against and 1 abstention)

Councillor Cox declared an Appendix A, Paragraph 14 interest by virtue of the applicant being a close associate, and spoke but did not vote on the matter.

Comments made by Councillors included: the proposal would not detract from the street scene because there are a variety of designs, and dormers; the proposed design of the front dormers would not be in keeping with the street scene; nos. 25 and 27 as a pair of semi-detached houses, and the pair either side are of a similar design, and step down in ridge height equally between the three pairs of semis. The proposal would unbalance the height equality between them; properties to the rear are overlooked with other dormer windows.

It was proposed by Councillor Clarance, and seconded by Councillor Wrigley that the application be approved, with conditions relating to the Standard time limit, and development in accordance with approved plans.

Resolved

Permission be granted subject to the following conditions:

1.     Standard time limit.

2.     Development in accordance with approved plans.

(12 votes for, 3 against and 1 abstention)

Note: Approval of the application was contrary to the advice of the Business Manager. The Committee considered the application acceptable for reasons set out below.

Statement of reasons

1.  The proposed front dormers will not result in a negative impact on the character and appearance of the street scene because the design of neighbouring dwellings is mixed and other dwellings have front dormers.

2.  The proposed dormers to the rear are of a similar scale and design to rear dormers of other neighbouring dwellings and therefore will integrate acceptably with the existing dwellings.

3.  The proposed rear dormers will not result in any greater level of overlooking to the property at the rear than any other neighbouring property with similar rear dormers. This is considered acceptable.  

The Planning Officer reported the following: Home England funding has been secured for the development of the SANGS; the facility will be promoted with leaflets to all new homeowners; a long lease was being negotiated to secure the long term management of the site.

Comments from Councillors included concern that there would be no parking provision near the top of the site to enable people with wheelchairs and pushchairs to access the top of the site.

In response, the Committee was advised that vehicular access at the top of the site at Old Matford Lane is not supported by County Highways; the development of the SANGS is to mitigate impacts of development on the Exe Estuary European; and there could be opportunity in the future for a car park to be developed higher up the site as more land comes forward for development.

It was proposed by Councillor Parker, seconded by Councillor J Hook and

Resolved

Permission be granted subject to the following conditions:

1. Development to be begun within five years from the date of this permission.

2. Development shall be carried out in accordance with approved plans;

3. Development to be carried out fully in compliance with landscape and ecological management plan hereby approved including ongoing maintenance;

4. Materials relating to the development shall not be stored against existing hedges;

5. Details of proposed dog proof fencing and gates shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority and agreed prior to installation;

6. Details of heritage interpretation board shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority and agreed prior to installation on site.

(16 votes for and 0 against)

The Planning Officer reported the following: Home England funding has been secured for the development of the SANGS; the facility would be promoted with leaflets to all new homeowners; a long lease was being negotiated for the long term management of the site. The hedgerows would be cut every 2-3 years, and annually for those abutting the highway. The site would be delivered before occupation of the new development. 

It was proposed by Councillor Parker, seconded by Councillor J Hook and

Resolved

Permission be granted subject to the following conditions:

1. Development to be begun within five years from the date of this permission.

2. Development shall be carried out in accordance with approved plans;

3. Development to be carried out fully in compliance with landscape and ecological management plan hereby approved including ongoing maintenance;

4. Materials relating to the development shall not be stored against existing hedges;

5. Details of proposed dog proof fencing and gates shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority and agreed prior to installation;

6. Details of interpretation board shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority and agreed prior to installation on site;

7. No development shall take place until the developer has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which shall be agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

(16 votes for and 0 against)

The Planning Officer advised that a further condition and an amended condition 3 was recommended and detailed in the updates document.

Comments from Councillors included that the facility would protect and sustain services for residents.

It was proposed by Councillor Kerswell, seconded by Councillor Bullivant and

Resolved

1. The development hereby permitted shall begin before 18 May 2021;

2. Development shall be carried out in accordance with approved plans/documents;

3. Within three months of the development commencing, details of hard and soft landscaping (including boundary treatments) shall be submitted and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

4. Prior to the commencement of work to the stone walls, a sample panel of stonework shall be constructed on site and shall be inspected and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority;

5. The roof of the building hereby approved shall be constructed in accordance with the slate details as set out on Page 2 of the submitted Materials and Resilient Construction Report;

6. Prior to works above dpc level, details of window recession, colour of window frames and details and specification of rainwater goods, including fascia’s shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority;

7. The development hereby approved shall proceed in accordance with the approved Construction Environmental Management Plan;

8. The development hereby approved shall be carried out at all times in accordance with the approved archaeology report;

9. The development hereby approved shall proceed in accordance with the submitted surface water drainage management system details;

10. External Lighting shall be carried out in accordance with the approved External Lighting Assessment as prepared by Smith Consult (dated 8 February 2018). All external lighting to be maintained in accordance with this document;

11. Within three months of the building hereby approved being brought into use, the provision of a minimum of two bird boxes shall be fixed to the building, in accordance with paragraph 5.8 of the approved Ecological Survey;

12. Development to be carried out in accordance with the updated and hereby approved Flood Risk Assessment (Bovey Tracey Community Centre, JRC

Consulting Engineers, April 2018), including the requirement for Finished Floor levels to be no lower than 29.2m AOD;

13. The development hereby approved shall be constructed in accordance with the flood resilient construction measures as set out on Page 3 of the submitted Materials and Resilient Construction Report;

14. Prior to the development hereby approved being brought into use, a Flood

Warning and Evacuation Procedure Plan shall be submitted to and agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

15. Prior to its first use on the building, a sample of the material to be used on the gables shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

(16 votes for and 0 against)

Public speaker, supporter – Considers all reason for refusal of the 2004 similar application have been addressed, including the traffic has decreased with the new link road;  and single storey as opposed  to two storey addressing the detrimental effect on the amenities of neighbours.

It was proposed by Councillor Haines that there was merit in a site inspection to assess the effect of the building line on the surrounding area. This was seconded by Councillor Parker.

Resolved

Consideration deferred pending a Member site inspection.

(15 votes for and 1 against)

The Senior Planning Officer made the following comments:

·      An amendment to the recommendation to include an education contribution of £3,211 within the s106 in line with the comments received from Devon County Council education department. 

·      The proposal seeks to convert an existing restaurant/bar and guestroom to 9 flats. A virtually identical scheme was refused under delegated powers in July 2018 and an appeal was subsequently dismissed in March 2019. The single reason for the dismissal of the appeal was on the grounds of a lack of an affordable housing contribution.

·      The current application would provide the previously requested affordable housing contribution of £75,884 via a s106 agreement. This figure includes a discounted rate from Policy WE2 in the Local Plan following consideration of national guidance which seeks to ensure that affordable housing contributions do not disproportionately burden small scale developers. This figure was not challenged as unreasonable or contrary to policy in the inspector decision of March 2019 and it is therefore considered reasonable to re-request this amount.

·      It is recommended that the s106 will include a requirement to pay an indexed linked offsite affordable housing contribution providing the Council with funds to support the delivery of suitable alternative affordable housing in perpetuity. The Housing Enabling Officer advises the funds should be held for a maximum period of 10 years to enable a suitable opportunity to be found within the parish of Kenton, the funds only cascading out into neighbouring parishes and beyond once all eventualities have been exhausted within the parish of Kenton. This will ensure that Kenton benefits from the contribution.

·      The proposal will provide 15 on-site parking spaces. Devon County Council Highways have confirmed there is no objection to this provision as trip calculations show that the existing trips generated by the existing use would result in more trips than the proposed use. Since the appeal decision received in March 2019 the Kenton Neighbourhood Plan has been submitted for its regulation 16 consultation and therefore limited weight should be given to this plan.  Policy K T2 in the plan would require 20 parking spaces to serve the proposal however the policy notes that if standards are to be provided below this requirement the justification should consider if the site is located in an accessible location, the proximity to and availability of public transport and the type and mix of development. In this instance considering the existing use, and the assessable location in close proximity to a bus stop the parking provision is considered to be adequate and not contrary to the requirements of the neighbourhood plan.

·      There are not considered to be any other material changes in policy since the March 2019 appeal decision.

Public speaker, objector – the Parish Council objects to the application; concern that the off-site affordable housing would not provide the much needed affordable housing in Kenton; paragraph 3.17 of the report circulated with the agenda is incorrect in stating that the Dolphin Inn is an outlet for food; 15 off-street parking spaces  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.