Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Les Fry, Jon Andrews, and Emma Parker. Councillor Stella Jones gave her apologies for the afternoon session.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registerable or non-registerable interests as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable interests were made at the meeting.

To receive questions or statements on the business of the committee from town and parish councils and members of the public.

Public speaking has been suspended for virtual committee meetings during the Covid-19 crisis and public participation will be dealt with through written submissions only.

Members of the public who live, work or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area, may submit up to two questions or a statement of up to a maximum of 450 words.  All submissions must be sent electronically to George.Dare@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by the deadline set out below. 

When submitting a question please indicate who the question is for and include your name, address, and contact details.  Questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda.

Questions will be read out by an officer of the council and a response given by the appropriate Portfolio Holder or officer at the meeting.  All questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. 

The deadline for speaking at this meeting is 8.30am on Friday, 4 February 2022.

Please refer to the Guide to Public Speaking at Planning Committee and specifically the "Covid-19 Pandemic – Addendum to the Guide to Public Speaking Protocol for Planning Committee meetings" included with this agenda.

Representations by the public to the Committee on individual planning applications are detailed below. There were no questions, petitions or deputations received on other items on this occasion.

To consider the applications listed below for planning permission

The Committee considered the applications below for planning permission.

Develop land by the erection of up to 80 No. dwellings, form vehicular access, associated open space and infrastructure.

The Senior Planning Officer introduced the application for the erection of up to 80 No. dwellings, form vehicular access, associated open space and infrastructure.

Committee members were shown the location of the site which is next to a care home and various photographs of the site. The officer’s presentation included details on the access to the site as well as details of the enhanced community infrastructure. Members were also informed of an increase in affordable housing. The Senior Planning Officer referred to policies 2, 20 and the neighbourhood plan. The recommendation was to grant planning permission subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement and conditions.

The Transport Development Manager outlined the access to the site. The access would include visibility splays with sufficient intervisibility between the access and the care home. There would be a footway connection from the new access to the existing footway with direct links to the town centre. There would be low traffic movement which would not affect safety.

The Technical Support Officer read the representations which are attached as an annexure to these minutes. 

Members’ Questions and Comments

Members asked questions and made comments relating to the following:

·         The enforcement of compensationary habitats and wildlife corridors in the southern section, secured through the section 106 agreement.

·         Inclusion of informal or permissive footpaths allowing people to walk across the site.

·         Benefits to the community, which included 25% affordable housing

·         Mitigation for biodiversity on the site. Members asked for particular attention to be given to serotine bats.

·         Clarification on the northern field being transferred to the town council and if there would be a sum of money with it.

·         Including a requirement for a contribution, as part of the Section 106 agreement, towards the maintenance for the large area of open space transferred to the town council.

·         The 5-year Housing land supply. The Housing delivery test below the required amount.

Proposed by Cllr Carole Jones, seconded by Cllr Brian Heatley.

The Committee were ‘minded to’ grant the application, subject to conditions and negotiation additional heads of terms in the Section 106.

The Head of Planning having considered the representations and the officer’s presentation and having taken into account the views of the committee, made the following decision under delegated authority: that the application be granted, subject to conditions and the negotiation of additional Section 106 heads of terms.

Decision: That the application be granted, subject to the conditions and the negotiation of additional Section 106 heads of terms.

Erect 55 No. dwellings with associated open space and infrastructure. (Reserved Matters application to determine appearance, landscaping, layout & scale; following the grant of Outline Planning Permission No. APP/N1215/W/19/3227559 (LPA Ref. 2/2018/0602/OUT).

The Area Lead Planning Officer introduced the application to erect 55 No. dwellings with associated open space and infrastructure. (Reserved Matters application to determine appearance, landscaping, layout & scale, following the grant of Outline Planning Permission No. APP/N1215/W/19/3227559 (LPA Ref. 2/2018/0602/OUT).

The context of the site was described: employment allocation to the east, no conservation areas, and a listed building to the southwest but would not be affected.

The Case Officer presented to members. They were shown the layout of the site which included 17 affordable housing and various photographs. Members were shown elevations of the dwellings and street scenes, which showed the proposed appearances of the buildings as well as planting details including street trees. There would be feature buildings with green sandstone. Members were informed that each house would have some form of electric car charging infrastructure. The Case Officer informed members that the site was near a listed building, but it would not be impacted. The committee was also informed that infrastructure to allow solar panels would be installed, as a matter of conditional approval, to allow residents to install solar panels. The recommendation was to grant planning permission.

The Transport Development Manager outlined the access to the site and confirmed that changes would be made to the junction of the A30 with the B3081 to make it safer.  The site access was approved in the outline application, which included details of the position of the junction and the associated off-site highway works. In addition, there would be an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing provided for residents to have a safe crossing point across the B3081.

The Technical Support Officer read the representations which are attached as an annexure to these minutes. 

Members’ Questions and Comments

Members asked questions and made comments relating to the following:

·       Lighting for the development

·       The site being near to an AONB but not within it

·       Referred to condition 5 about extending the maintenance of trees and making it more robust.

·       Solar infrastructure for a diverse market

·       Members were pleased that this site would be making a nod to green energy with the infrastructure.

·       Sufficiency of solar panels for the positioning of the houses.

·       30% affordable housing

Proposed by Cllr Val Pothecary, seconded by Cllr Carole Jones with the extra landscaping condition of extending the maintenance of trees.

The Committee were ‘minded to’ grant the application, subject to conditions.

 The Head of Planning having considered the representations and the officer’s presentation and having taken into account the views of the committee, made the following decision under delegated authority: that the application be granted, subject to conditions and an extended landscaping condition.

Decision: That the application be granted, subject to the conditions.

Erect 40 No. dwellings with associated parking and access. Reserved Matters application to determine appearance, landscaping, layout, scale and access, following the grant of Outline Planning Permission No. 2/2017/1716/OUT.

The Area Lead Planning Officer introduced the application to erect 40 No. dwellings with associated parking and access. Reserved Matters application to determine appearance, landscaping, layout, scale, and access, following the grant of Outline Planning Permission No. 2/2017/1716/OUT.

The Committee were shown the location of the site and various plans. It was noted that the original application proposed 50 dwellings on the site it was conditioned to limit the number to 40no. dwellings. Hence, proposal was for 40 dwellings with 40% affordable housing. Members’ attention was drawn to the elevations of street scenes and the proposed landscaping, which showed the appearance of the site. The Case Officer also informed members of footpaths, linking the development into existing developments without impacts to privacy. The recommendation was to grant planning permission.

The Transport Development Manager outlined the access to the site and details of the visibility splays. There were sufficient footways, but uncontrolled pedestrian crossings needed to be agreed. Members were informed of a speed table being included to keep speeds low. In addition to this, an analysis had been completed to ensure there was enough space for refuse vehicles to access the development. Visitor parking in additional to private parking spaces was also included.

The Technical Support Officer read the representations which are attached as an annexure to these minutes. 

Members’ Questions and Comments

Members asked questions and made comments relating to the following:

·       Conditioning a button-controlled crossing

·       Car recharge points for dwellings

·       40% affordable housing

·       Members praised the designs of the development.

Proposed by Cllr Belinda Ridout, seconded by Cllr Carole Jones.

The Committee were ‘minded to’ grant the application, subject to conditions

The Head of Planning having considered the representations and the officer’s presentation and having taken into account the views of the committee, made the following decision under delegated authority: that the application be granted, subject to conditions.

Decision: That the application be granted, subject to the conditions.

Cllr Stella Jones left the meeting.

At 12.45 the Committee adjourned for lunch until 14.00. Upon reconvening a vote was taken to extend the meeting as the duration was longer than 3 hours. Proposed by Cllr Penfold, seconded by Cllr Pothecary. The vote was carried.

Residential development comprising 7 new dwellings with ancillary car parking. (As amended 25/02/21 by Flood Risk Assessment and Surface Water Strategy and revisions to Plot 1).

The Senior Planning Officer introduced the application for a residential development comprising 7 new dwellings with ancillary car parking. (As amended 25/02/21 by Flood Risk Assessment and Surface Water Strategy and revisions to Plot 1).

The Case Officer presented to members. Members were shown the location of the site and various photographs. They were shown the site plans and proposed building materials. The committee was informed that the surrounding land of the site was prone to flooding so the dwellings had been arranged to avoid this. Members were also informed of the arrangements put in place to prevent flooding. The recommendation was to grant planning permission.

The Transport Development Manager outlined the access to the site. Visibility splays would be created by removing part of a hedgerow. There would be space for parking on the site. There would be low traffic movement which would not have an impact on safety. Members were also informed of maintenance being the responsibility of the developer or by a private contractor.

Cllr Piers Brown, the Ward Member, raised his concerns regarding the development. This was because of there being no affordable housing as well as residents having to pay for the costs of maintenance. In addition to this, he was concerned about the lack of car parking and the impacts of flooding on neighbouring fields. He described the site as not fit for purpose.

The Technical Support Officer read the representations which are attached as an annexure to these minutes.

Members’ Questions and Comments

Members asked questions and made comments relating to the application. In response, officers confirmed:

·       Refuse collection was acceptable in the visibility splays

·       There was an assessment of flooding in all areas to prevent other potential risks of flooding

·       There were contingency plans to ensure attenuation tanks were fit for purpose and could hold sufficient capacity of water if there was an increase in flooding from climate change

·       How the attenuation tanks would release the flood water

·       There was a decrease in number of dwellings from previous applications on the site, to avoid flooding

·       There were passing places on lanes by the site, however a weight limit for vehicles on those lanes would be difficult to enforce.

Proposed by Cllr Mary Penfold, seconded by Cllr Tim Cook

The Committee were ‘minded to’ grant the application, subject to conditions

The Head of Planning having considered the representations and the officer’s presentation and having taken into account the views of the committee, made the following decision under delegated authority: that the application be granted, subject to conditions.

Decision: That the application be granted, subject to the conditions outlined in the appendix attached to these minutes.

Erect 6 No. dwellings, create new vehicular access.

The Senior Planning Officer presented the application to members. They were shown the location of the site for the development of 6 No. dwellings, as well as various photographs of the site. Members’ attention was drawn to elevations of the proposed development and proposed site plan, which included a footway to the site from the adjacent trailway. The development would be accessed within the 30mph zone of Bournemouth Road. The recommendation was to grant planning permission.

The Transport Development Manager outlined the access to the site which was improved in 2019. These improvements included better visibility splays and provided an internal turning area. Members were informed that maintenance and refuse collection would be the responsibility of developers or residents. Members were assured that although traffic flow in the area was high, visibility was acceptable. The Highway Authority would only be supportive of this application if there was a condition to close the southern access to the site because this access was sub-standard.

The Technical Support Officer read the representations which are attached as an annexure to these minutes. 

Members’ Questions and Comments

Members asked questions and made comments relating to the following:

·         Members raised concerns regarding emergency vehicles having space to access the development. They were assured that there would be space for these vehicles, but the fire services would need to provide a smaller vehicle if needed.

·         An overdevelopment of the site and building sizes in an unsuitable location, outside the settlement boundary.

·         The trailway no longer being as easily assessable

·         Problems with the proposed site layout and gradient of the access to the site

·         Concerns regarding residents having to pay for services, such as waste collection that other people get for free.

·         Members also expressed their concerns regarding wheelchair users crossing the road and accessing the site.

·         The sufficiency of the visibility at the site access.

·         Vehicles passing each other on the site

·         Conditioning a non-slip surface for the steep gradient and to retain throughout the lifetime of the development.

At 16:14 the meeting was adjourned until 16:36. Upon reconvening there was a vote taken to refuse the application.

Proposed by Cllr Carole Jones, seconded by Cllr Belinda Ridout.

The Committee were ‘minded to’ refuse the application.

The Head of Planning having considered the representations and the officer’s presentation and having taken into account the views of the committee, made the following decision under delegated authority: that the application be refused.

Decision: That the application be refused.

Reasons for refusal:

The proposed development is located outside of the defined settlement boundary and, as such, would be contrary to Policies 2 and 20 of the North Dorset Local Plan Part 1 (2016), which provide that development should only be permitted where there is an overriding need for it to be located in the countryside. The proposed layout has not been designed to promote accessibility, and would fail to provide an inclusive design, due to the excessive gradient of the site, which would exceed the gradient contained within the guidance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 3 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.

There was no exempt business.