To consider the planning applications contained in the list.
Minutes:
The Committee considered the applications in the Plans List *.
Note: * List previously circulated; copy attached to the signed Minutes.
a) 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.
No 5 on the Plans List (16/01184/LBC – Listed Building Consent for internal and external alterations including relocation of the kitchen at 10 Briton Street, Bampton, Tiverton) – Listed Building Consent be granted subject to conditions as recommended by the Head of Planning and Regeneration.
(Proposed by the Chairman)
b) No 1 on the Plans List (16/00750/FULL –Variation of condition (2) of appeal decision APP/Y1138/A/14/2211282 relating to planning application 13/01170/FULL to allow the substitution of previously approved plans at Land at NGR 284927 114041 (Edgeworthy Farm), Nomansland, Devon.)
The Area Planning Officer outlined the contents of the report and explained that the application sought to change the layout and appearance of the plant and equipment that together formed the anaerobic digester. This had become necessary as the company that were supplying the plant/equipment approved on appeal were no longer in business.
The Committee were shown how the site was set out at the moment as well as the proposed new layout. This was within the same red line as the original planning application and was well grouped with the existing buildings. Aerial photographs were shown of the buildings in question as were drawings illustrating various elevations. It was explained that the previous digester tanks were rectangular whereas the new proposed tanks were cylindrical. A gas flare had been installed to burn off excess gas. It was stated that all the equipment would be lower than the existing farm buildings thereby reducing the visual impact specifically addressing a comment which had been made by the Inspector.
She referred the Committee to a number of updates within the update sheet relating to Highway Authority comments and amendments to condition numbers 5,7 and 12.
She offered answers to questions posed within Public Question Time. There was not currently a proposed condition regarding the linking of the drainage system. Regarding the pipeline question the officer confirmed that should the application be approved it would be a re-approval of a previously agreed plan, this was merely a changed layout, everything else remained the same. There had also been a question about the electricity cable between Menchine Farm and Edgeworthy Farm, installed to provide a grid connection, she stated that this would be more difficult to achieve direct from Edgeworthy Farm.
Consideration was given to:
· Withdrawal of a previous objection from the Highway Authority regarding confirmation that there would be no change in feed stock volume;
· Traffic to Menchine Farm already being heavy;
· Feedstock being sourced within 6 kilometres of Edgeworthy Farm;
· The need for records to be kept on a quarterly basis showing the number of vehicles entering and leaving the site as well as their size, type and load weight;
· The site currently had a permit that controlled the amount of emissions;
· Concerns as to the passing of power between two plants;
· The expansion of previous conditions to address output and feedstock concerns.
RESOLVED that permission be granted subject to conditions as recommended by the Head of Planning and Regeneration with an amendment to conditions 5, 7, 12 and an additional condition 13 plus that delegated authority be granted to the Head of Planning and Regeneration to impose a further condition in relation to the submission of details of the drainage system to link the AD plant to the slurry lagoon in the event of an emergency spill.
Condition 5
Line 3, change “….point of origin or destination” to “…point of origin or ultimate destination” (add in word ultimate – but not in bold text)
Condition 7
Change to:
i) The feedstock for the anaerobic digester shall be slurry, manure, grass and arable crops only. The slurry and manure shall be that produced only at Edgeworthy Farm, Merrifield Hayes Farm and Pulsards Farm, Cruwys Morchard.
ii) A log book shall be maintained and completed detailing where and when the feedstock(s) for the AD plant have come from. The log book shall record name of farm, plot, supplier, number and gross and net weight of vehicles along with date and time of feedstock delivery.
iii) No other sites are to be utilised for feedstock source. Such log book records shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority quarterly or within and other frequency as requested by the Local Planning Authority.
iv) Records of feedstock input into the digester by weight from the hopper hall be kept and submitted to the Local Planning Authority in writing quarterly or within any other frequency as requested by the Local Planning Authority.
Condition 12
Change to:
The permission hereby granted is for a 200kw anaerobic digester only. Power generation from the development shall not exceed 200kw averaged over a quarterly period (such quarterly period to commence from the first Feed in tariff submissions and continue thereafter). Such records of power generation shall be kept and submitted quarterly in writing to the Local Planning Authority.
Additional condition – 13
The Local Planning Authority shall be afforded access at reasonable times to all on site monitoring systems associated with the operation of the AD plant hereby granted.
Reason: To ensure the AD plant operates in accordance with the parameters and limitations as approved and as set out within the application and its supporting information.
(Proposed by Cllr Mrs H Bainbridge and seconded by Cllr Mrs C Collis)
Notes:
(i) Cllr Mrs F J Colthorpe declared a personal interest as some of the people involved with the application were known to her and the site in question was within her county division as a County Councillor;
(ii) Cllr Mrs G Doe declared a personal interest as she had family members who lived in Nomansland;
(iii) Cllr R J Dolley declared a personal interest as he knew some of the objectors and had had a meeting with them;
(iv) Cllr R F Radford declared personal interest and chose to leave the meeting during the discussion thereon as he was a chicken farmer;
(v) Cllr R L S Stanley declared a personal interest as he knew some of the objectors and had had a meeting with them;
(vi) Mr Michael Scott (CPRE Devon Branch representative) spoke in objection to the application;
(vii) Mr David Manley spoke as a representative of the applicant;
(viii) The following late information was provided:
Highway Authority comments received 5th October 2016
Observations:
I confirm the conversation, discussions with the Planning Officer, the comments received from the Developer and with the imposition of the condition in respect of the output and feed stock. The Highway Authority withdraws its objection and is confident that the Local Planning
Authority will have appropriate control and that there will be no material increase in traffic from this application.
Recommendation:
THE HEAD OF PLANNING, TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENT, ON BEHALF OF DEVON COUNTY COUNCIL, AS LOCAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY,HAS NO OBJECTION TO
THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
Updates for Plans list item 1
The report states that planning permission has previously been granted for the installation of an Anaerobic Digester at Edgeworthy Farm. Permission was granted on appeal under reference 13/01170/Full. While works have started on site, not all of the pre commencement conditions have been discharged and therefore the works that have taken place are technically unauthorised. On 21st August 2015 the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) set out changes to national planning policy to make intentional unauthorised development a material consideration that should be weighed in the determination of planning applications (the Statement has a specific focus on impact on Green Belts).
With regards to the development at Edgeworthy Farm, the unauthorised works did not take place in advance of planning permission being obtained. Planning permission had been granted but the pre commencement conditions had not been discharged prior to starting on site works. While the Local Planning Authority have taken the DCLG statement into account when assessing this current Section 73 application, it is not considered that the applicants failure to discharge the pre-commencement conditions (on a scheme that will no longer be implemented), overrides the planning merits and acceptability of the currently proposed development.
c) No 2 on the Plans List (16/00817/FULL – Construction of an all-weather riding arena at Land at NGR 311229 111913 (Hayden End), Blackborough, Devon)
The Area Planning Officer outlined the contents of the report by way of presentation and section drawings highlighting the boundaries, landscaping plans and lay of the land. She reminded the Committee that the application had been deferred from the previous meeting to further consider drainage and possible flooding issues. An investigation report from UKDN Waterflow had been submitted, the details of which were on the update sheet. Their findings had not altered the officer recommendation which was still to grant approval with conditions to specifically address the impact upon the neighbours privacy, drainage and impact upon the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Consideration was given to:
· The high clay elements within the soil and the movement of water around it;
· Previous drainage issues at the neighbouring property;
· Safety issues regarding the movement of horses on adjacent roads;
· The housing and exercising of horses over the winter months;
· The proposed arena would be on a lower site than the property.
RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to conditions as recommended by the Head of Planning and Regeneration.
(Proposed by Cllr F W Letch and seconded by Cllr Mrs H Bainbridge )
Notes:
(i) Ms Rachel Bennett (Objector) spoke;
(ii) Mr Richard Bentley (Applicant) spoke;
(iii) Cllr T G Hughes spoke as Ward Member;
(iv) The following late information was reported:
30th September 2016
Two additional reports have been submitted.
An investigation report from UKDN Waterflow has been submitted by Ms Criddle (objector).
· The report concerns inspection results and observations of the drainage system
· Summary of works carried out at the property: there was damage to the septic tank and water backing up from the soakaway system, a new system was recommended.
· Percolation tests revealed a high water table, it was determined a traditional septic tank and soakaway system was not viable. A pump station, sewage treatment plant and low level drainage field was installed in May 2016.
· Sub topography of the soil is a mixture with a high clay element. The report states that in these circumstances it is impossible to accurately forecast the course of surface water.
· Due to the high water table the report advises that any development or building works which increase the flow of water to the property could cause damage to the new drainage system, causing saturation and the system to cease to function to specification.
An updated Technical Note – Flood risk Assessment by Stuart Michael Associates has been submitted by the applicant, this has been informed by a topographical survey of the site by South West Surveys.
· The technical note is based upon a topographical survey of the site showing contours at 0.1m intervals, ordnance survey mapping, submitted plans and infiltration test results, British Geological Survey information and Environment Agency Information.
· A drawing of the existing site has been prepared showing the direction of surface water runoff across the field.
· The topographical survey shows that the existing ground levels, in the area where the arena is proposed, fall approximately 1.2m from the highest point to the lowest point.
· The site has a very low risk of flooding from surface water. The field is close to the local high point so the catchment area affecting the field to the north is small.
· The existing ground levels in the vicinity of the proposed arena show that surface water would flow directly southwest towards the southwest boundary of the site.
· The arena will not generate increased runoff or increase flood risk because any rain falling on the arena will infiltrate through the permeable surface of the arena construction and through to the impermeable clay layer where it will flow along the top of the clay and either dissipate into the surrounding soil or if the soil is saturated continue downhill, as currently, towards the southwest boundary of the field.
· It is recommended that the arena base is laid the shallow falls in a southwest direction to mimic the existing situation rather than the direction shown on drawing GH/Bentley/04.
· The plateau formed by the arena and its sub-surface permeable construction will have a small attenuation effect on the flow of water through the arena construction when compared with saturated ground on top of the impermeable clay.
· In extreme events, when the ground and arena are saturated, there would be no increase in flood risk.
· The topographical survey provides evidence that the majority of the field is sloping towards the southwestern boundary. Surface water runoff from the area where the arena is proposed to be located cannot flow towards 2 Haydon End and will not affect the drainage system.
· This report confirms that flood risk will be managed acceptably and that the proposed arena should not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere.
4th October 2016
A revised drainage plan has been submitted in accordance with the findings of the topographical survey, this amends the direction of the gradient that the arena base is laid to.
d) No 3 on the Plans List (16/00922/FULL – Erection of a dwelling at The Three Tuns, Exeter Road, Silverton.)
The Area Planning Officer outlined the contents of the report by way of presentation outlining the site location plan, the details of the proposed development, the access route, proposed site layout and the area of parking. She also outlined the history to the application and showed photographs of the rear of the properties on Exeter Road.
Referring to questions raised during Public Question Time she stated that two new planning applications had been registered with the Planning Authority one of which related to the conversion of the pub to three dwellings. The second one had been regarding the erection of two houses. Twelve parking spaces would be retained for use by the pub thereby ensuring adequate parking and complying with policy DM8.
The Planning Authority did understand that no. 4 was tenanted.
Consideration was given to:
· The size and re-siting of the proposed development compared to the original application;
· Potential loss of privacy and light to a neighbouring property;
· Whether approval of the application would lead to over development;
· The applicant had amended the plans in the light of concerns raised and had ensured adequate parking and a smaller rear extension;
· A need to look at the whole scheme holistically particularly with regard to access issues, delivery vehicles and the parking of visitors;
· The need to only consider the application before the Committee and not potential applications in the future;
· In the opinion of the Highway Authority as the current application stood there was sufficient parking proposed. The impact of the two newly received applications on parking would be considered as part of their determination.
RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to conditions and the provision of a Section 106 Agreement as recommended by the Head of Planning and Regeneration.
(Proposed by Cllr P J Heal and seconded by Cllr Mrs C Collis)
Notes:
(i) Cllr Mrs F J Colthorpe declared a personal interest as she had been contacted by supporters and objectors to a previous application on this site;
(ii) Cllr Mrs J Roach declared a personal interest as she had been contacted by the objectors and spoken at a Parish Council meeting about this application;
(iii) Mr John Jackson (Objector) spoke;
(iv) Ms Maria Bailey (Agent) spoke;
(v) Cllr Mrs J Roach spoke as Ward Member;
(vi) Cllr Mrs J Roach requested that her vote against the decision be recorded;
(vii)A proposal to refuse planning permission was not supported.
e) No 4 on the Plans List (16/00964/FULL – Conversion of redundant stables to dwelling to Hackpen Stables. Blackborough, Devon)
The Area Planning Officer outlined the contents of the report by way of presentation highlighting the proposed floor plans and elevations. The position of the sewerage treatment plant and alteration to the position of the gates was also referred to.
Consideration was given to:
· The fact that there was still a caravan and storage container on the site;
· Whether the proposed one bedroom property could house a whole family;
· The results of the percolation test;
· The effects of enforcement on the applicant;
· The current housing situation of the applicant;
· Support for the proposal from the local community;
· Whether approval would be setting a precedent and the fact that the proposal went against policy.
RESOLVED that planning permission be refused for the following reasons as recommended by the Head of Planning and Regeneration:
It is the opinion of the Local Planning Authority that the building fails to meet the preliminary character test of Policy DM11. Despite being considered a rural building by virtue of its rural location, this stable block of a modern construction is not of a shape, form or materials that are worthy of retention. The building is not considered to be of any intrinsic merit, architectural or otherwise and isn't thought to positively contribute to Mid Devon's rural character. In addition there is no evidence to suggest that the buildings permitted use is entirely redundant, and the proposed works, effectively stripping the building to its frame, results in significant alteration and rebuilding, contrary to Policy DM11. The proposed development is considered to be harmful to the character, appearance, setting and special qualities of the Area of Outstanding Beauty, due to the proposal securing the long term presence of the building within the rural landscape and the resultant domestic paraphernalia associated with a dwelling in this location. In addition, the existing building is located outside of an adopted settlement limit and is considered to be in an isolated location, as proposed the development would constitute a new isolated home in the countryside, contrary to policy. No evidence has been submitted to demonstrate that any of the other special circumstances set out in paragraph 55 of the National Planning Policy Framework have been met so as to justify a dwelling in this location. Overall, the proposed development is considered to be contrary to Policies COR2 and COR18 of the Mid Devon Core Strategy (Local Plan Part 1), and Policies DM11 and DM29 of the Local Plan Part 3 (Development Management Policies) and the National Planning Policy Framework. The application is therefore recommended for refusal.
(Proposed by Cllr Mrs J Roach and seconded by Cllr P J Heal)
Notes:
(i) Cllr Mrs F J Colthorpe made a declaration in accordance with the Protocol of Good Practice for Councillors in dealing with planning matters as she had received correspondence regarding the application;
(ii) Mr Jack Perry (Objector) spoke;
(iii) Mr Ian Firth (Agent) spoke;
(iv) Cllr T G Hughes spoke as Ward Member;
(v) The following late information was reported:
30th September 2016
A percolation test has been undertaken in accordance with the Building Regulations 2010 H2 document the results found the site to be within the suitable range for a soakaway and sewage treatment plant to support a single bedroom dwelling.
The applicants have suggested the following conditions should Planning Committee be minded to approve the application:
· Timing – Standard Condition – commencement of proposed development within 3 years of approval – reason: in the interests of proper planning
· Materials – Standard Condition – To supply and agree external materials with the council prior to their use on site - reason: in the interests of proper planning
· Generator – the development shall not be occupied as a dwellinghouse until the provision of a fixed mains electrical power supply is installed at the property – reason: to improve the residential amenity of the area (in accordance with DM11) and in the interest of improving the peace and tranquillity of the Blackdown Hills AONB
· Landscaping, Planting & Hedgerow maintenance – the development shall not be commenced until details of a planting scheme and management plan has been received and approved in writing by the council – reason: in the interest of maintaining and enhancing the Blackdown Hills AONB (Condition as proposed by the AONB partnership)
· Bat boxes/ biodiversity enhancement – development shall be completed in accordance with the attached biodiversity report recommendations – reason: to ensure that net biodiversity gains result from the proposed development.
· Lighting plan – the development shall not be occupied until a lighting plan has been submitted and agreed in writing by the LPA – reason: to ensure that the residential amenity of the area is not adversely affected by the proposal and to limit light pollution in the Blackdown Hills AONB Restriction on permitted development rights - a planning condition which restricts permitted development rights for subsequent extensions and alterations – reason – to comply with Policy DM11 and para 2.9 of the 2013 Mid Devon local plan.
· The applicant would be prepared to restrict the property to ‘local needs’ housing.
3rd October 2016
Three additional letters of support have been received, they are summarised as follows:
· There is a shortage of low cost affordable housing.
· No effect on the environment nor are there any other reasons that the planning application cannot go through. Removal of the generator would be an improvement.
Supporting documents: