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Agenda and minutes
 

Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

Virtual meetings procedure - briefing and etiquette

Chair to report.

Minutes:

The Chair outlined the virtual meeting procedure and etiquette to the Committee and attendees.  The clerk confirmed the attendees present.

 

2.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor Chesters, Councillor Prowse (who appointee Councillor Biederman to be his substitute) and Councillor Tucker.

 

Apologies were also received from Councillor Mack, who, although had recently been elected to the Committee, had not yet received the required training to allow him to take part in the meeting.

 

3.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10th March 2021 pdf icon PDF 227 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 10th March 2021 (circulated previously) be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

4.

Items brought forward which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered by the meeting as a matter of urgency

Minutes:

The Chair advised the Committee that the two items being covered by the site visit of 21st April 2021 would be brought to a special meeting on 28th April 2021 for consideration.

 

5.

Declaration of Interests

(Please complete the form provided at the meeting or telephone the Corporate and Community Services Team to prepare a form for your signature before the meeting.  Items must be re-declared when the item is called, and Councillors must leave the room if necessary)

 

 

Minutes:

The following declaration of interest was announced:

 

Councillor Crabb:     Planning application 72536 declared a pecuniary and personal interest as the applicant.

 

6.

72536: Erection of 3 dwellings (amended plans and additional information) at Former Ebberley House, Avenue Road, Ilfracombe, Devon. EX34 9AT pdf icon PDF 611 KB

Report by Senior Planning Officer (North) (attached).

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Crabb declared a Pecuniary and Personal Interest and left the meeting during the consideration thereof.

 

The Committee considered a report by the Senior Planning Officer (North) (circulated previously).

 

The Lead Planning Officer (North) addressed the Committee and advised:

 

·         The applicant was Councillor Crabb, a North Devon Council Councillor who was a member of the Planning Committee.

·         The site was in the town centre and was within the conservation area. It was within the development boundary.

·         He showed the Committee a photo of the site and advised that the site had looked similar to that over a number of years.

·         The application included five parking spaces.

·         The site was within Flood Zone one and a Critical Drainage Area.

·         The recommendation was for approval subject to a Section 106 agreement and conditions.

 

Mr Nigel Gale (architect) addressed the Committee.

 

In response to questions from the Committee, the Lead Planning Officer (North) advised:

 

·         Although planning permissions had previously been granted at the site they had not been built-out. He thought that the site ownership had changed since they were granted.

·         The windows from the neighbouring property were partially obscured.

·         There was room to turn vehicles before exiting the site onto Avenue Road. This would not be compromised if all the spaces were in use.

·         There were no issues regarding the garden of the adjacent property (to the east of the site) being overlooked as there was some distance between the properties.

·         It was not usual for a noise assessment to be carried out for domestic developments.

·         The operators of the dance studio, which was adjacent to the site, had not raised any issue regarding noise, only that of the potential loss of light. The dance studio was used to teach children tap, ballet and modern dance. It was not a dance club/venue.

 

RESOLVED (unanimous) that the application be APPROVED as recommended by the Senior Planning Officer.

 

Councillor Crabb re-joined the meeting.

 

7.

72588: Erection of 3 dwellings incorporating biodiversity enhancements, parking, landscaping and entrance works at Land to the south of Arley House, High Street, Combe Martin, Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 0EB pdf icon PDF 616 KB

Report by Senior Planning Officer (North) (attached).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report by the Senior Planning Officer (North) (circulated previously).

 

The Lead Planning Officer (North) addressed the Committee and advised:

 

·         The application was called in by the Ward Member; Councillor Gubb.

·         The plans show the three proposed open-market dwellings to the North of the site. Each had a small front garden (to the South) and a decking area to the rear.

·         There had been no representations from the home owners of the properties in front of the site. There was a distance between the existing and proposed properties which included the parking spaces.

·         The site was included within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) however it was within a developed area of Combe Martin.

·         The archaeology report had been accepted by Devon County Council (DCC).

·         A Section 106 agreement would be required.

·         The parking provision of two spaces per dwelling was acceptable.

·         The main issue with the application was in regards to the highways.

·         The site access was a narrow sloped access road from the A399.

·         The access route had inadequate visibility.

·         The site would create 18 to 24 additional vehicle movements per day.

·         The opinion of was that the application did not comply with Policy DM05 of the North Devon and Torridge Local Plan and had significant impact on the highway.

·         An access width of 4.1m was the standard of a private drive. The width of the proposed access to the site would be 3.3m

·         The Highways consideration (covered on pages 38 to 40 of the agenda) was read out (in part) to the Committee.

 

John Woodward (agent) addressed the Committee.

 

In response to questions from the Committee, Paul Young of Devon County Council (DCC) Highways confirmed:

 

·         DCC Highways had raised a number of objections.  The objection in relation to the drainage on site had now been resolved.

·         The main issue was the access onto the highway. The junction had poor visibility from the access road to the A399. To the immediate west was on-street parking which provided parking for up to one hour.  This was well used and cars were able to park overnight at the location. When vehicles were parked the available visibility was reduced to 12 metres.

·         The preferred width of an access road was 4.1m. The proposed access would be only 3.3m. This was sub-standard.

·         The gradient of the access would be 1 in 7; increasing to 1 in 4 / 1 in 5. The preferred standard was 1 in 15.  If there was any rain or ice on the road surface it would be difficult to access the site.

·         The access radii was substandard on to the A399. Vehicles would have to straddle the centre of the A399 to gain access or encroach on to the yellow hatch area outside the fire station.

·         Despite the fact that there had been no recorded accidents for the junction over the past five years, the lack of data did not prove that the location was safe. Highways maintained that the proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

72974: Listed building consent for internal alterations at 8A-9 Butchers Row, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 1BW pdf icon PDF 535 KB

Report by Senior Planning Officer (North) (attached).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report by the Senior Planning Officer (North) (MB) (circulated previously).

 

The Lead Planning Officer (North) (BP) addressed the Committee and advised:

 

·         The application had been called in for consideration as the property was owned by North Devon Council.

·         The property was classed as a Heritage Asset.

·         The principle consultee was the Conservation Officer who was content with the partial removal of the wall.

·         There was no impact on any wildlife species.

·         The internal wall could be re-erected in future to re-divide the property into two units.

 

RESOLVED (unanimous) that the application be approved as recommended by the Senior Planning Officer.

 

9.

Appeals Report pdf icon PDF 433 KB

Report by the Senior Planning Support Officer (Appeals) (attached).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee noted a report by the Senior Planning Support Officer (circulated previously) regarding planning and enforcement appeal decisions received since those reported at the last meeting of the Committee.