Reserved matters application under Regulation 3 of the T & C P General Regulations 1992 notification by NDC pursuant of the outline application of 73606 -  Outline application for 180 dwellings together with all associated infrastructure) (amended plans/documents). Report by the Lead Planning Officer (Major applications) (attached).

The Corporate and Community Admin Assistant read out the following statement:

“Any observations which are made during the course of this site visit by Members of the Planning Committee are limited to those issues identified by the Planning Manager in consultation with the Chair of the Planning Committee and the Ward Member or Members of the area where the application site is located, as set out in Part 3, Annexe 2 of the North Devon District Council constitution.

Such observations are made after viewing the site and on the basis of the limited information available on site.

Any such observations are not, nor should they be taken as an indication that the application is acceptable or unacceptable. A full presentation and consideration of all the planning issues will be made when the matter was determined by the Planning Committee.”

The Committee:

• Arrived at on the northern most part of the Site.
• The Planning Officer outlined the site plan.
• Noted the route into the site as well as the proposed route through the site.
• The Planning Officer noted that the report due to go to Planning Committee was not yet complete but would be ready to go to the next Planning Committee.
• Noted the outline plan for the individual dwellings and car parking arrangements.
• Noted the outlined plan for ‘Area One’ and observed the northern area of the proposed plan.
• Noted the proposed block of flats, which would be six stories high, one story higher than the Old Leisure Centre building.
• Noted the view of the proposed site from the north side of the river.
• Noted the open green spaces proposed on the plan and their relation to the site.
• Walked around the southern edge of the development towards the Long-stay Car Park.
• Noted the quality of materials proposed in the plan and that they were selected to try and match the heritage of residential buildings across the river to the site.
• Noted that the Environment Agency was a consultee and had contributed to the plan regarding the flood risk of the dwellings. The result was that the ground floor of the proposed block of flats would be a blank solid stone wall.
• Walked along the southern bank of the river to the bottom of the Long-stay Car Park and noted the proposed outline/location for ‘Area Two’ of the plan.
• Noted that the proposed dwellings would be individual dwellings and a mix of two or three stories. Dwellings would have two parking space allocated.
• Noted the proposed plans for ‘Block C’ and ‘Block D’ and their relation to the site.
• Noted the proposed riverside elevation of Block D and that they would have a dwarf wall of 1.4 meters high on the edge of the garden closest to the river.
• Noted that some of the trees along the development would be retained but a lot would be removed. It was also noted that landscaping to the site would be added.
• Noted the proposed location of a maintenance alley between Block C and Block D and that the police had not raised any issue with its location in regards to potential anti-social behaviour.
• Noted that the timescale for starting the project was ‘as soon as possible’, with the site broken down into phases.
• Noted the proposed location of ‘Area Three’ and its relation to the site.
• Noted the location of the proposed site and its distance to the new Leisure Centre, the new Play Park and Rock Park in terms of amenities.
• Walked to the Southern part of the Long-stay Car Park to note proposed elevation of the site.
• Noted ‘Area Four’ and how it overlooked the new Leisure Centre.

It was agreed by the Planning Committee that:

• The Lead Planning Officer (South) would send a link via email to the Members of the Planning Committee regarding the best locations to view the proposed development.
• Any amended plans for the development would be sent to the Members of the Planning Committee via the Service Manager for Planning, Housing and Health.