Council and democracy

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Planning Committee meeting held on 22 November 2018

The minutes of the Planning Committee held on 22 November 2018 were approved as a correct record.

The Chair informed the Committee that items 9, 10 and 11 on the agenda had been withdrawn and were no longer being heard at Committee this evening.

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To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

Councillor Rice asked alongside other Planning Committee Members for an update from Officers regarding the application no. 18/00944/FUL – Former Harrow Inn, Harrow Lane as it had been over two months since it was referred to the Secretary of State and there had been no information shared. Officers confirmed that as soon as there was a decision made all Members of the Committee would be made aware. The Assistant Director of Planning, Transport and Public Protection advised the Committee that this would be followed up after the meeting. 

The Chair declared on behalf of himself and Councillor Rice that they received correspondence in regards to application no. 18/01709/FUL – Thurrock Rugby Club, Long Lane, and the applicant explained the pitches would be protected throughout the process.

The Vice-Chair, Councillor Liddiard also declared he had received an email from another member of the Rugby Football Club in regards to application no. 18/01709/FUL – Thurrock Rugby Club, Long Lane, highlighting the same information.

The report provided information regarding the planning appeal performance.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee noted the report.

The Principal Planner presented the report to the Committee. The application proposed the construction of a two storey building to be used as a new secondary school, with an intake of 120 students for September 2019 and 120 in addition for September 2020. The proposal also included an increased parking area and refurbishment of the existing Thurrock Rugby club facilities to be used in conjunction with the school. At the end of the 2 years the school, would have a permanent site, at which time the building would become a centre of sporting excellence for the Academy Schools, the rugby club and local people.

The Principal Planner advised that application site lies in the Green Belt and the proposal was not one of the forms of development considered deemed as acceptable in the NPPF or the Core Strategy. Accordingly the proposal represented inappropriate development, which is therefore objectionable in principle. However the applicant had put forward a number of matters which they consider to be the very special circumstances

On balance, it was considered that the matters put forward would clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt. It was considered therefore that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of the impact on the Green Belt.

The new school building would be a modern flat roof extension and the finishing materials and appearance of the building would be of a high quality and similar design the recently refinished William Edwards School. The rugby club would also be updated externally to match the new building.

In relation to parking the proposal was to uplift parking to 178 spaces along with 96 cycle spaces and 7 motor cycle spaces. The Highways Officer was satisfied with the level of provision and a travel plan was to be conditioned to be supplied as part of the approval.

The proposal had been considered by Sport England, who had raised no objections, but had recommended conditions relating to community use of the premises and details of the legacy use.

The Chair expressed the desperate need for schools within Thurrock, he asked Officers how the Council had allowed it to get to this, and wanted provisions in place to prevent this from happening in the future.

The Assistant Director of Planning, Transport and Public Protection informed the Committee that Officers were working closely with the Education Department to look at the immediate needs before the new Local Plan was adopted and in the long term with the significant need for growth in the borough.  The Local Plan would need to ensure that infrastructure was provided commensurate with the level of the population growth. It would need to be explored in the Local Plan however until it had been adopted there would need to be suitable provisions in place. 

Councillor Rice stressed how close the Lower Thames Crossing would be to the proposed building and raised concerns with children attending school in a polluted area. The Officers advised that the application was only temporary for the school  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda.

The Principal Planner presented the report to the Committee. The application sought full planning permission for the construction of a mixed use development, compromising of two retail/leisure and commercial units. At upper level of the proposed building would be 47 residential units with an under croft and surfaces car park with 53 parking spaces. It was confirmed by the Officers that the Church view from King Street would still be visible if the application were to be approved. The proposed building would be up to 5 storeys at its maximum height. A previous planning permission was granted back in 2012 which had since lapsed and expired.

The Vice-Chair asked whether this proposal was going to provide electric charging points. It was confirmed by the Senior Highways Engineer that there had been no request at this time. 

The Chair raised concerns with the current parking situation in Stanford Le Hope and the proposed parking which would be available for the public as currently there are 76 spaces which would be reduced to 43. The local businesses would struggle for parking if this proposal was to be approved. The Chair asked if this would go against the Council’s policy for parking spaces. The Officers confirmed the current parking situation and the proposed level of parking with the development and that would remain in the public car parking areas confirming that there were no objections from Highway’s with regard to policy and the draft Parking Standards. The Chair asked if the proposal would affected the town centre through the loss of parking as there was no retail use on the site and in terms of the proposal two new retail/commercial units would be provided at the site which would promote the vitality and viability of the town centre in accordance with Core Strategy policies and the up to date NPPF.

The Chair asked whether there were any implements in place to stop residents using the public parking spaces despite having an additional 3 spaces for visitors.

Mr Taylor highlighted that currently there was an increase in shops in Stanford Le Hope and a reduction on parking spaces. The Officers explained that this was a town centre location and members of the public would have the opportunity to use other modes of transport to access the town centre through walking, cycling, bus services and rail the nearby railway station.

The Ward Councillor, Councillor Shane Hebb, was invited to the Committee to present his statement of objection.

The Agent, Mr Simmonds, was invited to the Committee to present his statement of Support.

Resident, Mr Terry Piccolo, was invited to the Committee to present his statement of objection. During his statement he mentioned that a petition had been sent into the Council with around 500 signatures against this application. The Officers confirmed that they had not received this petition and that this would need consideration prior to determining the planning application. 

The Officers addressed the comments raised in Mr Piccolo’s speaker statement regarding the conditions with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

The Principal Planner presented the report to the Planning Committee. The application sought planning permission for the extension and redevelopment of the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).

The Principal Planner advised that application site lies in the Green Belt and the proposal was not one of the forms of development considered deemed as acceptable in the NPPF or the Core Strategy. Accordingly the proposal represented inappropriate development, which is therefore objectionable in principle. However the applicant had put forward a number of matters which they consider to be the very special circumstances

The Committee queried whether vehicles would share the new entrance with HGV’s and Lorries. The Officers confirmed that all vehicles would come in at the northern side of the site and there would be a turnaround area for all vehicles. But the entrance would be shared with all vehicles.

Councillor Hamilton was concerned with the exit to the site merging with other cars. The Officers explained that currently HGVs and cars are using the same entrance and exit and there had been no concerns with the proposed layout.

The Committee asked whether there would be a separate lane for vehicles accessing the Waste Recycling Centre as it could be dangerous with vehicles overtaking on the main road to avoid waiting in queues. The Officers confirmed there would be a ghost junction right turn lane provided to prevent any accidents.

The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Aaron Watkins, was invited to the Committee to present his statement of support.

The Committee agreed this was a positive application and were happy to welcome this new proposal.

It was proposed by Councillor Hamilton and seconded by the Vice-Chair, Councillor Liddiard that the application be approved subject to: (i) referral to the Secretary of State, and (ii) conditions.

For: (8) Councillors Tom Kelly (Chair), Steve Liddiard (Vice-Chair), Graham Hamilton, Victoria Holloway, Angela Lawrence, David Potter, Gerard Rice and Sue Sammons.

Against: (0)

Abstain: (0)