Agenda item

Members of the Public may ask questions in accordance with procedure rules. A maximum period of 15 minutes will be allowed with a maximum of three questions and a period of three minutes per questioner.

The deadline for questions is no later than 12 noon two working days before the date of the meeting – Thursday 19 September 2019 at noon.

The public questions and members responses are attached to the minutes.

Members of the Public asked the following supplementary questions, the answer to which some would be provided in writing later in the week. [For ease of reference these answers are set out in square brackets below]:-

In response to the supplementary question regarding many local peoples concerns over the use of the car park late at night with shouting, slamming car doors and tooting horns, which would affect the amenity of the whole area. The questioner suspected that residents should have been notified by Planning Law. If that was the case does it invalidate the decision made at the February Planning meeting, which agreed to the DCFA request?

Response from the Portfolio Holder for Planning

[I would refer you to the Mid Devon Advertiser of 14th September 2018 (filed on page 5 of the TDC Planning Portal on the same day under ‘Advert’) in which the relevant public notice reads “18/01690MAJ NEWTON ABBOT - Devon County Football Association, Coach Road. Construction of an external 3G Artificial Turf Pitch (ATP) with fencing and associated hard standing and car parking area”.

Alongside this published public notice, further notification would have appeared in the form of a standard site notice which would have been affixed to adjoining fencing, a telegraph pole or a street lamp. You will note that the block plan of the application shows neither the pitch nor the car park directly abutting any residential properties. If, as suggested, no residents had received direct mail from the Council, then this may have been the reason for such an omission. I would note however that Coach Road residents living close to site were amongst the first to contact the authority regarding the proposals, which would seem to point to some properties nearby receiving individual notices. 

Finally, I would refer you to the Conditions Discharge Summary on the Planning Portal dated 4th June 2019. This shows that a number of conditions relating to site acoustics which are required are yet to be undertaken. It would be my expectation that these conditions will soon be met - and to this end I will forward ask the Planning Department for these measures to be followed up as quickly as possible, to the benefit of all those living near to the football pitch.]

In response to the supplementary question regarding the questioners shared 50 metre access boundary with the Devon County and the playing field being surrounded by trees which will made it an acoustic bowl. Car fumes would linger and will be blown over into the path of houses in Coach Road. Surely this goes against the local authority air quality plan.

The Leader responded that it was the council’s responsibility to monitor air quality in the area.

In response to the supplementary question regarding refusal in February 2019 of the Wolborough Barton development what steps are the council taking to ensure full transparency?

The Leader responded that it was important that the Council was as transparency as possible and he is working hard to ensure that this was the case.