Agenda item

THE PLANS LIST (0.18.55)

To consider the planning applications contained in the list.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the applications in the *Plans List.

Note: *List previously circulated and attached to the minutes

Applications dealt with without debate.

In accordance with its agreed procedure the Committee identified those applications contained in the Plans List which could be dealt with without debate.

RESOLVED that the following applications be determined or otherwise dealt with in accordance with the various recommendations contained in the list namely:

a) Application 22/01753/NMA - Non-material amendment for 21/01957/FULL to allow reduction of building width by 1.5m, increase the stair core height by 0.6m and addition of a fixed clear glazing panel above the East elevation windows at Garages and Forecourt, Shapland Place, Tiverton. Planning permission be granted as recommended by the Development Management Manager

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the decision: As set out in the report

b) Application 22/01668/TPO - Application to reduce limbs on south and southeast aspect of one Oak tree protected by Tree Preservation Order 94/00008/TPO by 3-5m, thin sub-lateral branches by 20%, reduce extended limb resting on floor to 4-5m from stem (truncating the limb) and truncate southwest limb at c.2.5m in height to c.3m from stem; crown reduce top height and northern aspect by c.1.5m and reduce the remainder of the south, southeast and west aspect by c.3-4m along with crown thinning of sub lateral branches c.10% at Land at NGR 295892 103149, Wyndham Road, Silverton. Consent granted

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the decision: As set out in the report

c) Application 22/00398/MFUL - Erection of swimming pool building, conversion of squash courts into a P.E. department, external services compound and associated landscaping at Land at NGR 297202 113154 (Blundells School), Blundells Road, Tiverton.

The Area Team Leader outlined the application by way of a presentation highlighting aerial images, pool elevations, floor plans, roof plans, planting plan and photographs of the site.

The officer explained that the application was to improve facilities and increase sustainability and that the application had given consideration to the conservation area.

Consideration was given to:

· The Squash Club would lose the facilities that they had rented for over 60 years

· The pool would not be open to the general public and would not impact the local leisure centres

· The views of the objector who stated that they had carried out extensive renovations to the existing squash courts over the years and that they would like it conditioned that new courts were made available before the old were converted

· The views of the agent who stated that the new facility would be for the benefit of the school and pupils and that the current squash courts were not being utilised by the school. The squash courts would be replaced at some time in the future but that in the meantime there were other squash facilities in the local area

It was therefore RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to conditions as recommended by the Development Management Manager

(Proposed by E J Berry and seconded by Cllr L J Cruwys)

Reason for the decision: As set out in the report

Notes:

· Cllr B G J Warren made a personal declaration as his children had attended the School

· Cllr B Holdman made a personal declaration as he knew Teachers at the school

· Mark Stimpson of Tiverton Squash Club spoke as the objector

· The agent Charles Derby spoke

d) Application 22/00665/MFUL - Retention of silage clamp and erection of roof over at Land at NGR 299554 112915 (Red Linhay), Crown Hill, Halberton.

The Planning Officer outlined the application by way of a presentation highlighting a site location plan, aerial image, proposed elevations, floor plans, roof plans and photographs of the site.

The officer explained that the clamp would only be filled from the applicant’s landholdings which were spread throughout the area. The clamp was not just to feed cattle but was also to stock the applicants silage business which produced silage pellets and cubes. Both activities were agricultural and therefore defined as agricultural use on an agricultural property.

There would be no additional traffic movements on the local highway network as the traffic movements had already been accounted for. The tractors were based at Red Linhay and already made regular trips to the applicant’s other landholdings in the area. There would be an increase in traffic movements bringing silage back to the clamp but this would not harm highway safety.

In response to public questions asked and statements made the officer stated:

· There would be no additional traffic movements as previously explained

· The number of tractor loads stated by the public had not been verified or confirmed but that the Highways Authority had no objections to the application

· It was not a material consideration how many cows would be fed from the clamp

· The advertisements made by the applicant confirmed that the clamp was being used for agricultural purposes

· The application before Members had to be considered on its own merits and did not include the Anaerobic Digester (AD) plant on site

Consideration was given to:

· The application was retrospective for the clamp which was already in place but the roof had not yet been constructed

· Environmental Health had no objections to the arrangements for surface water run off

· Officers had sought Counsel views on previous applications of a similar nature who had confirmed that the silage clamp was agricultural use

· The application before Members was separate from the Anaerobic Digester business on site

· Officers would not be able to condition to restrict exact activities the clamp could be used for as this would not be reasonable or meet the 6 tests of planning conditions as set out in the NPPF

· The views of the Parish Council who stated the application was bigger than one which had already been turned down on the site and that it should be conditioned that the clamp was solely for agricultural use

· The views of the Ward Member who suggested that a site visit was undertaken by Members and that it should be conditioned that the clamp could only be for agricultural use

· That although some Members had concerns about increased traffic movements, the Highways Authority had no objections to the application on road safety concerns

It was therefore RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to conditions as recommended by the Development Management Manager subject to an amendment to condition 4 and an additional condition 6:

Condition 4

Within three months of this decision a Landscape and Ecological Management Plan shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The management plan shall provide details of the following:

(a) Retained Ecological and Landscape Features

(b) Proposed Habitats, Ecological and Landscape Features including length, height, width and specification of the new hedge bank around the perimeter of the silage clamp

(d) Demonstrate a biodiversity net gain using the Natural England metric

(d) Monitoring and Review of Plan.

The development shall not be carried out other than in accordance with the approved details and planted up within the next planting season.

Condition 6

The building hereby approved shall be used only for agricultural purposes as defined in Section 336(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and if at any time the building ceases to be used or required for such purpose it shall be removed and the site re-instated in accordance with a scheme previously submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To ensure that the building is used for agricultural purposes only since it lies within a countryside location where restrictive planning policies apply.

(Proposed by the Chairman)

5 votes for. 5 votes against. 1 abstained. Chairman’s casting vote.

Reason for the decision: As set out in the report

Notes:

· Cllrs B G J Warren, D J Knowles, S J Clist, B Holdman and L J Cruwys all made declarations in accordance with protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing with planning matters as they had received correspondence

· Cllrs C P Daw, C Collis and R F Radford all made declarations in accordance with protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing with planning matters as they had attended a JAC meeting where the application was discussed

· Cllr D J Knowles made a personal declaration as he knew the applicant

· Cllrs B G J Warren, B Holdman, C Collis and L J Cruwys requested that their votes against the decision be recorded

· Cllr Ian Campbell spoke on behalf of Halberton Parish Council

· Cllr R F Radford spoke as Ward Member

· The following late information was received:

Officers consider that it is necessary to clearly define the recommendation for approval to ensure that the proposed silage clamp is used for agricultural purposes only. Additional condition no.6 is therefore proposed:

Reason: To ensure that the building is used for agricultural purposes only since it lies within a countryside location where restrictive planning policies apply.

e) Application 22/00706/MFUL - Construction of vehicular access onto Tiverton Road and construction of spine road and associated infrastructure to facilitate the North West Cullompton urban extension at Land North West of Cullompton, Tiverton Road, Cullompton.

The Area Planning Officer (Major Projects Cullompton) outlined the application by way of a presentation highlighting aerial photographs, a site location plan, phase 1 applications, indicative plans, road sections, Pegasus crossings, culvert access, construction traffic routes and photographs of views to and from the site.

Consideration was given to:

· The construction traffic could not be brought through the new spine road on other developers sites next to the application site as it had not been built out yet and that the other developers would not grant permission for their construction sites to be used

· Relevant policies in the Cullompton Neighbourhood plan had been fully taken into account and addressed in the officer report

· The views of the agent who stated that they had consulted with the Town Council on the proposals. The application was approved in outline but needed to be resubmitted as there were changes required outside of the original application site

· The views of the Town Council who welcomed the proposal in principle but felt that the construction plan was flawed and that the priority should be changed at the junction with the spine road

· The views of the Ward Members who requested a deed of variation should be entered into to restrict occupation of 50 dwellings until this section of the spine road was completed, concerns for wildlife crossing through the culvert under the road and a request that existing footpaths and bridleways remain open during the build. That there were concerns from the community about the length of time the spine road would take to construct that and that it did not comply with the Neighbourhood Plan

· Members concerns that a crossing should be provided on Tiverton road was not supported by the Highways Officer present who confirmed that a safety audit had concluded that this was not a requirement

· The construction traffic going through the town would not affect the Heritage Action Zone Grants

· A road crossing could not be conditioned for this application but that it could be considered in phase 2 of the development

It was therefore RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to conditions as recommended by the Development Management Manager subject condition 7 be replaced with the following condition:

‘The development shall proceed in accordance with the Written Schemes of Investigation prepared by Cotswold Archaeology (CA project refs: CR0641 & CR0905 Revision C, dated 6th May 2022) and submitted in support of this planning application. The development shall be carried out at all times in accordance with the approved schemes. The development shall not be brought into its intended use until (i) the post investigation assessment has been completed in accordance with the approved Written Scheme of Investigation and (ii) that the provision made for analysis, publication and dissemination of results, and archive deposition, has been confirmed in writing to, and approved by, the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To ensure, in accordance with Policy DM25 of the Mid Devon Local Plan 2013-2033 and paragraph 205 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021), that an appropriate record is made of archaeological evidence that may be affected by the development, and to comply with Paragraph 205 of the NPPF, which requires the developer to record and advance understanding of the significance of heritage assets, and to ensure that the information gathered becomes publicly accessible.’

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the decision: As set out in the report

Notes:

· Cllr E J Berry made a declaration in accordance with protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing with planning matters as the property was in his County Ward and he knew residents in the area

· Cllr S J Clist made a declaration in accordance with protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing with planning matters as he had received correspondence

· Cllr S J Clist requested that his vote against the decision be recorded

· The Agent David Matthews spoke

· Cllr Martin Smith spoke on behalf of Cullompton Town Council

· Cllr N Woollatt spoke as Ward Member

· Cllr J Buczkwoski spoke as Ward Member

· The Development Management Manager left the meeting at 18.07pm

· The following late information was received:

28/09/22

Paragraph 6.12 of the report recommends a condition requiring a Written Scheme of Investigation in respect of archaeology to be submitted and approved by the Local Planning Authority and this is recommended to be secured by condition 7. The Written Scheme of Investigation has now been approved by Devon County Council’s Historic Environment team and it is therefore recommended that condition 7 be replaced with the following condition:

f) Application 22/01255/MFUL - Erection of 70 affordable dwellings including associated roads, footpaths, landscaping and amenity area at Land at NGR 298768 113600, Uplowman Road, Tiverton.

Area Planning Officer (Tiverton Eastern Urban Extension) outlined the application by way of a presentation highlighting site constraint plans, illustrative framework plan, proposed block plan, proposed aerial views, selection of housing types and photographs of the site.

Consideration was given to:

· Passivhaus Standards had been applied; a high performance building standard to ensure low energy demand and low energy bills

· The site was an allocated site in the Local Plan

· The development had outline permission without the need for the linking road between the new A361 road junction and Blundell’s Road to be completed.

· The views of the applicant who stated that occupants of the development would be from the Council’s housing needs list currently at circa 300 applicants. The existing contours of the site had been considered and that open spaces had been connected with pathways. Public Consultation on the plans had been completed

· The Design Review Panel supported the principles of development

It was therefore RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to conditions as recommended by the Director of Place.

(Proposed by Cllr J M Downes and seconded by Cllr D J Knowles

Reason for the decision: As set out in the report

Notes:

· Cllrs P J Heal, E J Berry, S J Clist, C Collis, L J Cruwys, C P Daw, B Holdman, D J Knowles, J M Downes, R F Radford ad B G J Warren all made a declarations in accordance with protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing with planning matters as it was an MDDC application

· Cllr S J Clist made a declaration in accordance with protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing with planning matters as he was a Cabinet Member when the application was first discussed

· Cllr D J Knowles made a declaration in accordance with protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing with planning matters as he was Ward Member and had received objections

· The following late information was received:

29/09/22

Since the officer report was finalised confirmation has been received from Royal Devon University Healthcare Foundation Trust (23 September 2022) that their contribution request has been withdrawn; this on the understanding that the development is 100% affordable housing.

Supporting documents:

Plans List, item 72. PDF 2 MB