To receive a report of the Head of Planning and Regeneration regarding this application.
Minutes:
The Committee had before it a * report of the Head of Planning and Regeneration regarding the above application. The Area Planning Officer outlined the contents of the report by way of presentation, highlighting the fact that the Planning Committee had considered matters in relation to the off- site highway works required as part of the proposed school and housing development at Newton St Cyres at its meeting on the 7 September.
Members had considered two recommendations. Whilst they resolved to approve Recommendation 1, the 2nd recommendation which was in regard to the scope of works to be delivered at the junction of Station Road and the A377, as required by condition 10 of the outline planning permission and as shown on the drawing at appendix B, was not approved. The resolution which was passed was as follows:
Resolution: The managed one way scheme at the junction of the A377 and Station Road which is now proposed to satisfy condition 10 not be agreed and be refused on the following grounds that in the opinion of the Local Planning Authority the proposed managed one way system would be likely to lead to unacceptable inconvenience and highway danger to road users arising from the concentration of traffic flows at peak times resulting in unacceptable queuing and reversing movements contrary to policies COR9 Core Strategy (Mid Devon Local Plan Part 1) and DM2, Development Management Policies (Local Plan Part 3).
Following this, Members of the Committee had an informal briefing on 26th September, with updates from the land promoters team as to how they had sought to progress matters since the meeting on the 7th September. This included:
· The scope of the ongoing discussions to acquire the 3rd party land in order to deliver a two way arrangement in full.
· The programme to deliver the new school in Newton-St-Cyres and how it was currently affected by the ongoing discussions regards the junction works.
· The scope of the improvements to the junction that had been built into the revision D design, and the implications that were considered likely focusing on the members reasoning given at the last meeting as set out above.
Consideration was given to:
· The additional land which had now been acquired by the developer and had been conveyed to the Highway Authority;
· Both phases of the improvement works could now be delivered;
· Contracts had been exchanged with the landowner that morning;
· There would be a 7m section of road that would require a priority system;
· The amount of traffic using the road at weekends to attend sporting events in the recreation field was often more than during the school day;
· Traffic movements would be closely monitored.
Following the Officer presentation and the ongoing discussions that followed the Committee agreed that the approach to managing the delivery of the junction works on a phased basis as set out in the committee report pack was an acceptable approach.
It was explained by the Area Planning Officer that the recommendation as set out in bold: that neither the new school and associated facilities not the housing shall be occupied until the off-site highway works for the provision of a junction improvement scheme, at the junction of Station Road and the A377 as shown on drawing number 4058 rev D hereby approved have been constructed and made available for use: would be confirmed through the minutes of the meeting and as part of the decision on planning application 16/01222/FULL which is currently pending consideration.
(Proposed by Cllr Mrs J Roach and seconded by Cllr Mrs G Doe)
Notes:
(i) Cllrs Mrs F J Colthorpe, R J Dolley, P J Heal, R F Radford and R L Stanley made declarations in accordance with the Protocol of Good Practice for Councillors dealing in planning matters as they had received correspondence regarding the application.
(ii) Mr David Graham (objector) spoke;
(iii) Mr Paul Jones (Agent) spoke;
(iv) Cllr Jim Enright (Newton St Cyres Parish Council) spoke;
(v) Cllr P H D Hare-Scott spoke as Ward Member;
(vi) The following late information was reported:
3rd October 2016
Page 132.
As stated at point 3 of the report an informal presentation to the planning committee was undertaken on Monday 26th September. The meeting was well attended with various presentations from the developers team. The notes of the meeting have been circulated to the members with comments from a number of key speakers.
The comments as set out below add further to report in terms points i) and ii) reflecting on that meeting and further submissions to yours officers since the update report was drafted.
i) Third Party land: Discussions have progressed and it has been agreed that the additional section of land currently owned by the by the occupiers of the corner property will be acquired by Kingswood Homes and transferred to Devon County Council. This will enable the Highway Authority to complete phase 2 as indicated on the junction improvement plan which was submitted to support the outline planning application and as produced at appendix A of the report.
Members will have received a letter from Newton St Cyres parish Council putting forward the following recommendation:
That approval be given to the proposal for an amended one way system as presented by Kingswood Homes and DCC Highways on condition that once the new School is occupied this system is fully monitored for 12 months and, if after 12 months, there is a problem then the full widening scheme should be implemented on land that will then be owned by Devon County Council.
ii) At the presentation on the 26th September Mr Joliffe, the Executive head of the Primary school clarified further the benefits of the new school as proposed and the scope of the travel planning survey work that is ongoing in relation to how pupils and parents will travel to the new school. The notes as circulated confirm that Mr Joliffe stated that:
The building was no longer fit for purpose and disabled access was virtually impossible. The safeguarding of the children was severely compromised in that there was no secure entrance whereby identity checks could be undertaken. The road on which the school was located was extremely busy and very steep meaning that parents found pushing a buggy up it very difficult. The community fully supported the building of a new school with neighbouring properties willing to sacrifice their views for the betterment of the community.
A new school would have full disabled access, all the children would be under one roof, would provide a secure entrance and be in a safer location with off street parking.
A survey had been undertaken with parents asking them how they travelled to school. The results had shown that if the school moved to the new site, car usage would drop to 35%. There was a great willingness amongst parents to bring children to school on foot. A walking bus would be encouraged and the numbers of cars actually entering the school would drop from 40 to 10. The breakfast and after school clubs would mean that the comings and goings of vehicles using the busy junction would be staggered. In addition to this 466 members of the community had signed an on-line petition in support of the new school.
Alison Beacham from the Education Funding Authority confirmed that the funding allocated to the project would only be released once there was an agreed programme to complete the necessary infrastructure as required by the terms of the planning permission.
Finally since the update report was drafted 28 letters of support for the building of the new School have been received.
In summary since confirming their resolution on this issue at the meeting on the 7th September, clarification of the matters which were a concern to the members has now been provided. Clarification as to how the new junction arrangements would operate with the phase 1 works completed have been clearly set out in the various reports presented to members. These are the scope of works shown on drawing number 4058 RevD which members are requested to approve in terms of allowing condition 10 to be discharged. The phase 2 works would then be completed in compliance with a programme to be set by Devon County Council who will own the land and the necessary rights to complete the works following the completion of the land transfer.
Supporting documents: