Agenda and minutes

This meeting is to be webcast and the Senior Democratic Services Officer will read the following announcement:

”I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the internet (or filmed) and will be capable of repeated viewing (or another use by third parties).

If you are seated in the lower public seating area then it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in the possibility that your image will become part of the broadcast.

This may infringe your human and data protection rights and if you wish to avoid this then you should move to the upper public gallery.

Could I please also remind Members to activate their microphones before speaking.”

The Senior Democratic Services Officer made a short address to remind everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the internet, and would be capable of repeated viewing, which could infringe their human and data protection rights.

The Chairman welcomed members of the public to the meeting and outlined the procedures and arrangements adopted by the Council to enable persons to address the Committee, during the determination of applications for planning permission. The Committee noted the advice provided for the public and speakers in attendance at Council Planning Committee meetings.

(Director of Governance)  To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting in accordance with Council Rule S1 in the Constitution (Part 4 “The Rules” refers).

The Committee noted the following substitution for this meeting:

(a)        Cllr Sunger for Cllr Stallan.

(Director of Governance) To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct.

(Director of Governance) To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 29 November 2017.

Click here for District Development Management Committee Minutes 29 November 2017.

Resolved:

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2017 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report for the complete refurbishment of Chigwell Primary Academy and enabling residential development comprising 59 no. residential properties together with associated off-street parking, a dedicated parking court for existing residents, garden space, new vehicular accesses from High Road (A113) and Vicarage Lane, external landscaping and associated development.

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached addendum report alongside the main report previously published.

The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) introduced a report for the complete refurbishment of Chigwell Primary School and enabling residential development comprising 59 residential properties together with associated off-street parking, a dedicated parking court for existing residents, garden space, new vehicular accesses from High Road (A113) and Vicarage Lane, external landscaping and associated development.

The Assistant Director reminded the Committee that it had deferred this application at the last meeting to allow further consideration of affordable housing matters. Following the last meeting, the Applicant had commissioned a new viability assessment rather than negotiate further on the original submission, which required a new reassessment by the Council’s consultants, Kift Consulting Limited (KCL). KCL concluded that the development could now provide an off-site affordable housing contribution of £4.8million, as opposed to the Applicant’s original offer of £2million, and the application was still recommended for refusal by Officers.

However, the Assistant Director explained that there had been some further discussions / negotiations this week regarding the affordable housing provision, and agreement had been reached with the Applicant. Consequently, the recommendations within the report were no longer valid and a revised report was being prepared by Officers. Advice had been sought from the Council’s Democratic Services section, and the Committee was now being strongly advised to defer this item. A special meeting had been arranged for Thursday 15 February 2018 to consider this application with a revised report, which would now recommend the granting of planning permission for the application, subject to a number of planning conditions and the agreement of a Section 106 Legal Agreement. Consequently, the Committee was now strongly urged to defer consideration of this application until the extra-ordinary meeting on 15 February 2018.

Cllr Knapman argued that if an affordable housing provision of £3million had been agreed between the Applicant and Officers then the Committee could determine this application and Officers could progress the detail of the Section 106 Legal Agreement. Cllr Knapman could not understand the reasons for further delay, and did not accept the Officers’ reason for deferral. Cllr Chambers and Cllr Heap also spoke out against deferring this application.

However, a number of other Councillors concurred with the recommendation of Officers to defer this application for another two weeks. Cllr Brady commented that this was a large scale application and the Committee should be in possession of all the facts when considering it. It was not the fault of the Council’s Officers that negotiations had only began two or three days before the meeting. Cllr Jones contended that the Committee could not vote on the application if it did not have a valid report in front of it. The Council was duty bound to attain the correct amount of affordable housing and this item should be deferred. Cllr Kane also agreed that the Committee could not determine an application when the report before it was not valid.

Cllr Pond also highlighted that it was good practice for the Committee to have a proper report before it,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report for the installation of a new vehicle cross-over.

The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) presented a report for the installation of a new vehicle crossover at 1 Bentons Cottages in Middle Street, Nazeing. This application was considered by Area Planning Sub-Committee West at its meeting on 17 January 2018 with a recommendation to refuse planning permission; the Sub-Committee voted to grant planning permission, but as this would be contrary to adopted planning policy then the application was referred to this Committee for confirmation.

The Assistant Director stated that the application site was located at the southern end of Middle Street, within the village of Nazeing, and was a small strip of land adjacent to Bentons Cottage to the north west. It would also be adjacent to four dwellings which had yet to be built. There was a robust screen of vegetation on its front boundary which was afforded legal protection as the site was within the boundaries of a conservation area, and the site was also located within the metropolitan Green Belt. The proposed development was for the construction of a new access onto Middle Street.

The Assistant Director reported that Planning Officers had concluded the proposal constituted inappropriate development in the Green Belt and would cause additional harm to its openness. The application would also cause significant harm to the character and appearance of the conservation area, to existing protected trees, and impact adversely on existing highways issues. Therefore, Planning Officers had originally recommended that the application be refused planning permission.

The Assistant Director informed the Committee that the Area Planning Sub-Committee West was of the opinion the proposal would improve the highway safety at the location, there would no adverse impact on the amenities of the Green Belt and therefore it was not inappropriate development in the Green Belt. Despite this view by the Members of the Sub-Committee, and that the new access would be further from the bend in the road, the Applicant was not proposing to close the existing access, and there had been no recorded accidents at this location for the last five years. Planning Officers had included possible planning conditions within the report for this application, but the Assistant Director counselled that if the Committee was minded to grant planning permission then it would have to identify the very special circumstances to outweigh the harm to the openness of the Green Belt.

The Committee noted the summary of representations received in respect of this application, including support for the application from Nazeing Parish Council. The Committee heard from the Parish Council and the Applicant’s Agent before proceeding to debate the application.

Cllr Whitehouse felt that it was helpful to listen and consider local views when determining planning applications, and the planning conditions listed in the report appeared reasonable for a site with protected trees. The existing access was unsafe and the Committee should insist the existing access was closed off if permission was granted. Cllr Chambers also noted that the Parish Council supported the application and there were no objections from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

(Director of Governance) Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 requires that the permission of the Chairman be obtained, after prior notice to the Chief Executive, before urgent business not specified in the agenda (including a supplementary agenda of which the statutory period of notice has been given) may be transacted.

It was noted that there was no other urgent business for consideration by the Sub-Committee.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Background Papers

Article 17 (Access to Information) of the Constitution defines background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

The Council will make available for public inspection one copy of each of the documents on the list of background papers for four years after the date of the meeting. Inspection of background papers can be arranged by contacting either the Responsible Officer or the Democratic Services Officer for the particular item.

It was noted that there was no business which necessitated the exclusion of the public and press from the meeting.