Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
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Agenda and minutes

Venue: King Edmund Chamber, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich. View directions

Contact: Committee Services 

Items
No. Item

86.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE/SUBSTITUTIONS

Minutes:

Apologies of Absence were received from Councillors Rachel Eburne, Richard Meyer and Wendy Turner.

 

Councillor Kathie Guthrie substituted for Councillor Richard Meyer.

 

Councillor John Matthissen substituted for Councillor Rachel Eburne.

 

Councillor Andrew Stringer substituted for Councillor Wendy Turner.

87.

TO RECEIVE ANY DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY OR NON-PECUNIARY INTEREST BY MEMBERS

Minutes:

All Councillors declared a Local Non-Pecuniary interest in application DC/19/02688 as the application came from a fellow Councillors brother.

 

Councillors Guthrie, Hadingham, Hicks, and Muller declared a Local Non-Pecuniary interest in application DC/19/04553 as the Applicant had previously been the Chair of the Conservative Party in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.

 

Councillor John Field declared a Local Non-Pecuniary Interest in application DC/18/04695 as the County Councillor for the area.

 

 

 

88.

DECLARATIONS OF LOBBYING

Minutes:

Councillors Field, Hadingham Hicks, Mansel, and Muller declared that they had been lobbied on application DC/19/02688.

 

Councillor Matthew Hicks declared that he had previously had conversations about development on the site for DC/19/04553 where he had attended a village meeting 2 years ago.

 

 

89.

DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL SITE VISITS

Minutes:

None declared.

90.

NA/19/15 CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 22 JANUARY 2020

To follow.

Minutes:

The Governance support Officer advised the Committee that a draft of the minutes of the meeting held on the 22 January 2020 had not been completed and checked by the Area Planning Manager and Planning Lawyer. The Governance Officer advised that these would be presented to the Committee at the next meeting.

91.

TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COUNCIL'S PETITION SCHEME

Minutes:

None received.

92.

NA/19/16 SCHEDULE OF PLANNING APPLICATIONS pdf icon PDF 147 KB

Note:  The Chairman may change the listed order of items to accommodate visiting Ward Members and members of the public.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In accordance with the Council’s procedure for public speaking on planning applications a representation was made as detailed below:

 

Application Number

Representations From

DC/19/02688

Julia Ewans (Woolpit Parish Council)

Derek Curry (Objector)

Ben Moore (Agent)

Andrea Scott (Applicant)

Cllr Sarah Mansel (Ward Member)

Cllr Helen Geake (Ward Member)

DC/19/04429

Phil Cobbold (Agent)

DC/19/04273

Sam Sinclair (Agent)

DC/19/04796

Susanna Sanlon (Agent)

DC/19/04553

Chris Goldsmith (Kenton Parish Council)

Phil Cobbold (Agent)

Cllr Kathie Guthrie (Ward Member)

DC/18/04695

None

 

Before the start of the item the Chair announced that the application would be taken in the following order:

 

1.     DC/19/02688

2.     DC/19/04553

3.     DC/19/04429

4.     DC/19/04273

5.     DC/19/04796

6.     DC/18/04695

93.

DC/19/02688 LAND ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF, RAGS LANE, WOOLPIT, SUFFOLK pdf icon PDF 441 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

93.1 Item A

 

Application          DC/19/02688

Proposal             Outline Planning Application (Access and Layout includes all other matters reserved) – Erection of 5 no. detached dwellings, associated garages and vehicular access. 

Site Location       WOOLPIT- Land on the South side of, Rags Lane, Woolpit, Suffolk

Applicant             Mr L Scott

 

93.2 The Case Officer presented the application to the Committee outlining the proposal before Members, the layout of the site, the changes to the proposal since it was last presented to the Committee, and the officer recommendation of approval.

 

93.3 Members considered the representation from Julia Ewans of Woolpit Parish Council who spoke against the application.

 

93.4 The Planning Lawyer advised Members that the officer recommendation and Section 106 Agreement would be open ended with regards to the ecological mitigation proposed.

 

93.5 Members considered the representation from Derek Curry who spoke as an Objector.

 

93.6 Members considered the representation from Ben Moore and Andrea Scott who spoke as the Agent and Applicant respectively.

 

93.7 The Agent and Applicant responded to Members’ questions on issues including: that the proposal had been accepted by the Ecological Consultee and Suffolk County Council’s Highways Department as being acceptable.

 

93.8 Members considered the representations from the Ward Members, Councillors Helen Geake and Sarah Mansel.

 

93.9 The Ward Members responded to Members’ questions on issues including: the importance of the hedgerow.

 

93.10 Members debated the application on the issues including: the amount of hedgerow that was proposed to be removed, whether there had been any serious accidents on Drinkstone Road, the proposed Ecological mitigation, and the number of houses on site.

 

93.11 Councillor Lavinia Hadingham proposed that the application be approved as detailed in the officer recommendation with the addition that:

 

-        The Section 106 Agreement for ecological meadow area shall be in perpetuity.

93.12 Councillor Dave Muller seconded the motion.

 

93.13 Members continued to debate the application on the issues including: that the application was not plan led as detailed in the National Planning Policy Framework, the securing of the meadow area, and the weight of the Draft Joint Local Plan and the Woolpit Neighbourhood Plan.

 

93.14 It was noted that Councillor John Matthissen could not vote on the item as he arrived after the commencement of application DC/19/02688 but took part in all subsequent items.

 

93.15 By 5 votes to 1

 

93.16 RESOLVED

 

That authority be delegated to the Chief Planning Officer to Grant Outline Planning Permission:

 

(1)  Subject to the prior agreement of a Section 106 Planning Obligation on appropriate terms to the satisfaction of the Chief Planning Officer to secure:

 

• The implementation and retention of the ecology compensation as recommended that sit outside of the red line plan and that is shall be in perpetuity.

• The improvements to Drinkstone Road.

 

(2)  That the Chief Planning Officer be authorised to Grant Planning Permission upon completion of the legal agreement subject to conditions as summarised below and those as may be deemed necessary by the Chief Planning Officer:

 

· Standard time limit (3yrs for implementation of scheme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

94.

DC/19/04553 ANCHOR STORAGE, EYE ROAD, KENTON, STOWMARKET, SUFFOLK, IP14 6JJ pdf icon PDF 582 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

94.1 Item E

 

Application          DC/19/04553

Proposal             Outline Planning Application (some matters reserved – access to be considered) – erection of up to 32No dwellings (existing buildings to be demolished).

Site Location       KENTON – Anchor Storage, Eye Road, Kenton, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 6JJ

Applicant             Anchor Storage Ltd     

 

 

94.1 The Case Officer presented the application to the Committee outlining the proposal before Members, the layout of the site, and the officer recommendation of refusal.

 

94.2 The Case Officer responded to Members’ questions on issues including: that the floor space was too large to be a Class Q application, that the development of the site would be in Flood Zone 1, the response from the Heritage Team, recent Appeal decisions in the area, the response from Suffolk County Councils Highways Department.

 

94.3 Members considered the representation from Chris Goldsmith of Kenton Parish Meeting who spoke against the application.

 

94.4 The Parish Council representative responded to Members’ questions on issues including: the increase in housing in the village, the response from the Parish Council, the amount of traffic that would be generated from the site, and the change from HGV use.

 

94.5 Members considered the representation from Philip Cobbold who spoke as the Agent.

 

94.6 The Agent responded to Members’ questions on issues including: the intention to relocate the business to a location with better transport links, the decontamination of the site, and the detail required by the floods team.

 

94.7 Members considered the representation from the Ward Member, Councillor Kathie Guthrie.

 

94.8 Members debated the application on the issues including: the sustainability of the proposal, that the community did not now support the application, and the distance to the nearest school.

 

94.9 Councillor Dave Muller proposed that the application be refused as detailed in the officer recommendation. Councillor John Matthissen seconded the motion.

 

94.10 By 7 votes to 1.

 

94.11 RESOLVED  

 

That the application is REFUSED planning permission for the following reasons:

 

1. The proposed development, remote from local services and lacking accessible sustainable transport modes, will result in a high level of car dependency for future occupants. The density and scale of the development would result in landscape harm. The identified adverse impacts outweigh the scheme’s public benefits, and therefore the proposal does not constitute sustainable development, contrary to Policies FC1 and FC1_1 of the Core Strategy Focused Review 2012 and the National Planning Policy Framework 2019.

 

2. The proposal would also lead to the loss of employment land, with no significant benefit or alternative schemes provided, contrary to the directions of Saved Local Plan policy E4 and E6. Similarly, the area has not been shown to be one in high demand for housing such that the employment uses present on site should be replaced in line with the provisions of paragraph 121 of the NPPF.

 

3. While it is acknowledged that the removal of the existing buildings from the site would be read as a benefit to the setting of Sycamore Farmhouse, the replacement of these buildings would still result in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

95.

DC/19/04429 LAND NORTH OF WILLOW HALL, NORWICH ROAD, THWAITE, IP23 7ED pdf icon PDF 386 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

95.1 A short comfort break was taken between 11:30-11:37 after the completion of application DC/19/04429 but before the commencement of DC/19/04273.

 

95.2 Item B

 

Application          DC/19/04429

Proposal             Outline Planning Application (Access to be considered, all other matters reserved) – Erection of 1No attached dwelling.

Site Location       THWAITE- Land North of Willow Hall, Norwich Road, Thwaite, IP23 7ED

Applicant             Messrs M. and O. Passmore     

 

95.3 The Case Officer presented the application to the Committee outlining the proposal before Members, the layout of the site, the previous applications on the site, and the officer recommendation of refusal with the updated recommendation regarding policy numbers.

 

95.4 The Case Officer responded to Members’ questions on issues including: the response from Suffolk County Council’s Highways Department, and previous applications on the site.

 

95.5 Members considered the representation from Philip Cobbold who spoke as the Agent.

 

95.6 Members considered the written representation from Councillor David Burn which was read out by the Chair.

 

95.7 Members debated the application on the issues including: previous applications that had been approved on site that had not been implemented, the access to the site from the highway, the reports on crashmap that showed traffic incidents in the area.

 

95.8 Councillor John Field proposed that the application be refused as detailed in the officer recommendation. Councillor John Matthissen seconded the motion.

 

95.9 By a unanimous vote.

 

95.10 RESOLVED

 

 That the application is REFUSED planning permission/ for the following reasons:-

 

1.     This application seeks outline planning permission with access only for the erection of a detached dwelling and is considered to represent unsustainable development in a countryside location, contrary to the provisions of polices CS01, CS02 and H07 of the adopted Development Plan.

Whilst paragraph 11 of the NPPF provides a presumption in favour of sustainable development, it is necessary to consider whether any adverse impacts of granting planning permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in the Framework taken as a whole; or specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted. The assessment of the application has identified that the proposal does not comply with the development plan and it is further considered that the unsustainable location in relation to its connectivity to services and facilities which results in a heavy reliance on a motor vehicle and encroaching built form into the open countryside. This harm significantly and demonstrably outweighs the benefits of the development when considered against the Framework as a whole.

 

2.     Development on the application site would make Willow Hall (Grade II listed building) part of a row of modern dwellings, rather than being on the edge of modern development. This would reduce its prominence and erode what remains of its historic open rural setting, as well as diminish its connection to the countryside to the north. This impact is contrary to policies GP1, H15 and HB01 which seek to protect the character of the surrounding area and setting of a listed building.

 

Great weight is given to this as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

96.

DC/19/04273 LAND WEST OF WATTISFIELD ROAD, WALSHAM LE WILLOWS, SUFFOLK pdf icon PDF 423 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

96.1 Item C

 

Application          DC/19/04273

Proposal             Submission of details under Outline Planning Application 1352/17 – Appearance, landscaping, layout and scale for erection of up to 60 no. dwellings

Site Location       WALSHAM LE WILLOWS- Land West of, Wattisfield Road, Walsham Le Willows, Suffolk

Applicant             Lovell Partnerships

 

96.2 The Case Officer presented the application to the Committee outlining the proposal before Members, the layout of the site, and the officer recommendation of approval which had been updated to remove the third bullet point regarding sustainability as this was incorrect.  

 

96.3 The Case Officer responded to Members’ questions on issues including: that the sustainability condition could have had to have been applied at the outline stage of the proposal, that the proposals conformed with National Space Standards.

 

96.4 Members considered the representation from Sam Sinclair who spoke as the Agent.

 

96.5 The Agent responded to Members’ questions on issues including: the proposed orientation of the buildings, links to the public right of way, and the sustainability of the proposal.

 

96.6 Members debated the application on the issues including: the orientation of the buildings, the lack of sustainability measures.

 

96.7 Councillor Andrew Stringer proposed that the application be refused for the reason as follows:

 

-        NPPF para 153 and FC01.

 

96.8 Councillor John Matthissen seconded the motion.

 

96.9 By 4 votes to 4. The Chair used his casting vote against the motion.

 

96.10 The motion fell.

 

96.11 Councillor Lavinia Hadingham proposed that the application be approved as detailed in the officer recommendation. Councillor Kathie Guthrie seconded the motion.

 

96.12 By 4 votes to 4. The Chair used his casting vote for the motion.

 

96.13 RESOLVED

 

That authority be delegated to the Chief Planning Officer - Growth & Sustainable Planning to Grant reserved matters, subject to the following conditions:

 

· Approved Plans and Documents;

· Landscape Management Plan, as recommended by Council Landscape Consultants;

· Those already imposed as part of Outline Planning Permission Ref: 1352/17.

97.

DC/19/04796 LAND OPPOSITE, BROAD MEADOW, WALSHAM LE WILLOWS, SUFFOLK pdf icon PDF 300 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

97.1 A lunch break was taken between 12:45-13:19 after the completion of DC/19/04273 but before the commencement of DC/19/04796.

 

97.2 Item D

 

Application          DC/19/04796

Proposal             Application under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act. DC/17/02783 (Erection of up to 22 dwellings) as amended by DC/18/04327 without compliance with condition 21 (Ecology) and Condition 27 (Ecology).

Site Location       WALSHAM LE WILLOWS- Land Opposite, Broad Meadow, Walsham Le Willows, Suffolk

Applicant             Sunnyside Farms

 

97.3 The Case Officer presented the application to the Committee outlining the proposal before Members, the layout of the site and the officer recommendation of approval to amend the conditions.

 

97.4 The Case Officer responded to Members questions on issues including: the footpath, the protection of the trees, and the reasoning behind the 15m was a committee decision.

 

97.5 Members considered the representation from Susannah Sanlon who spoke as the Applicant.

 

97.6 The Applicant responded to Members questions on issues including: when the works would begin, and that the lighting scheme would tie in with the application.

 

97.7 Councillor Kathie Guthrie proposed that the application be approved as detailed in the officer recommendation.

 

97.8 Councillor John Field seconded the motion.

 

97.9 By a unanimous vote.

 

97.19 RESOLVED

 

That the application to vary Conditions 21 and 27 of Outline Planning Permission ref: DC/17/02783 is GRANTED and includes the following conditions:-

 

That authority be delegated to the Chief Planning Officer to Grant Permission:

 

(1) Subject to the prior agreement of a legal agreement on appropriate terms to the satisfaction of the Chief Planning Officer to secure:

 

- Planning obligations previously secured under the Section 106 agreement, associated with host planning permission ref: DC/17/02783, being:

o Onsite provision of 35% Affordable Housing

o School Transportation Contribution

 

(2) That the Chief Planning Officer be authorised to Grant Permission upon completion of the legal agreement subject to conditions as summarised below and those as may be deemed necessary by the Chief Planning Officer:

 

1) Standard time limit for submission of reserved matters application and commencement (as per timescales previously imposed by way of host Outline Permission ref: DC/17/02783);

2) Approval of reserved matters;

3) Approval of location and phasing of affordable Housing;

4) Agreement of Materials;

5) No alterations to unmarked Track to north of site;

6) Archaeology Written Scheme of Investigation;

7) Archaeology analysis, publication and dissemination of result and archive deposition;

8) Play Space Provision;

9) Refuse Bins and collection areas;

10) Construction Hours;

11) Local Water Authority adoption agreement;

12) Provision of Footway linking site to existing footway at Mill Close;

13) Access details prior to commencement;

14) Details of locations for storage of Refuse and Recycle Bins;

15) Details of Estate Roads and Footpaths;

16) Highway Carriageways and Footways to at least binder course level prior to occupation;

17) Construction deliveries management plan;

18) Details of on-site manoeuvring and Parking prior to commencement;

19) Highways Access Visibility Splays;

20) Fire Hydrant details;

21) Compliance with recommendations of Ecology Report (Varied as per current proposal);

22) Lighting Scheme;

23)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

98.

DC/18/04695 BY-PASS NURSERIES, BRAMFORD ROAD, BRAMFORD, SUFFOLK pdf icon PDF 390 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

98.1 Item F

 

Application          DC/18/04695

Proposal             Submission of details under Outline Planning Permission 0408/17 Appearance, Landscaping, Layout and Scale to be considered for 20 No. dwellings. 5 No. to include live/work units 7.No to be Affordable Housing.

Site Location       BRAMFORD-  By-Pass Nurseries, Bramford Road, Bramford, Suffolk

Applicant             M.C.C Developments Ltd

 

98.2 The Case Officer presented the application to the Committee outlining the proposal before Members, the layout of the site, the contents of the tabled papers, and the officer recommendation of approval with conditions.

 

98.3 The Case Officer and Area Planning Manager responded to Members’ questions on issues including: the proposed shared employment use, the affordable housing provision, Permitted Development rights.

 

98.4 Members considered the email representation from Councillor James Caston which was read out by the Chair.

 

98.5 Councillor John Field proposed that the application be approved as detailed in the officer recommendation with the additional note as detailed below:

 

-        Note – removal of PD condition refers to outbuilding associated only.

 

98.6 Councillor Andrew Stringer seconded the motion.

 

98.7 By a unanimous vote

 

98.8 RESOLVED

 

That authority be delegated to Chief Planning Officer to

 

(1)   That the Chief Planning Officer be authorised to Approve Planning Permission subject to conditions as summarised below and those as may be deemed necessary by the Chief Planning Officer:

· Approved Plans (Plans submitted that form this application)

· Phasing Condition (To allow phasing of the development and allows spreading of payments under CIL)

· Removal of pd rights on live/work units

 

(2)   And the following informative notes as summarised and those as may be deemed necessary by the Chief Planning Officer:

 

-        Pro-active working statement

· Support for sustainable development principles

99.

SITE INSPECTION

Note: Should a site inspection be required for any of the applications this will be decided at the meeting.

 

Minutes:

99.1 None requested.