Agenda and minutes

Northern Area Planning Committee - Tuesday, 28th October, 2025 10.00 am

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ. View directions

Contact: John Miles  01305 224877 - Email: [email protected]

Media

Items
No. Item

93.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

 

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs James Vitali and Carl Woode.

 

94.

Declarations of Interest

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.

 

Minutes:

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made at the meeting.

 

 

95.

Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 14th October 2025.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 14th October to be confirmed at the next meeting given the short time frame between meetings.

96.

Registration for public speaking and statements

Members of the public wishing to speak to the Committee on a planning application should notify the Democratic Services Officer listed on the front of this agenda. This must be done no later than two clear working days before the meeting. Please refer to the Guide to Public Speaking at Planning Committee.  Guide to Public Speaking at Planning Committee

 

The deadline for notifying a request to speak is 8.30am on 24th October 2025.

Minutes:

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.

97.

Saxon Maybank East Farm Grain Mills Bradford Abbas Sherborne DT9 6JN. pdf icon PDF 167 KB

Station 3 no. holiday lodges, install a package treatment plant & associated works.

Minutes:

With the aid of a visual presentation including plans and aerial photographs, the Case Officer identified the site and explained the proposal and relevant planning policies to members. A similar proposal was refused by the Committee in March this year due to the detrimental impact of adjoining properties, lack of information on the drainage and the flood risk. The current application sought to address the previous reasons for refusal. The applicant had now made an appeal against non-determination by the local authority so the matter is in the hands of the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) and so the Committee was being asked to determine the Council’s position for the appeal. The officer recommendation was for the purposes of the appeal, the Council would have been minded to grant permission.  The existing development consisted of 10 caravan type units, 6 barn conversions. The refused scheme and current proposal were shown. To try and mitigate the impact on neighbours, one lodge was moved approximately 1 meter away from number 11 and another lodge moved approximately 2 meters to the southeast. Lodge 18 moved slightly as it imposed on the right of way slightly. The current application was supported by a drainage strategy. 

 

Public Participation

Gabriel Chan

 

Statement of objection - Gabriel Chan, No. 7 Saxon Maybank

 

One of the reasons he objected to the application was because Dorset Planning Department had failed to comply with its Public Sector Equality Duty in the years since the first, and materially identical, planning application was submitted, notwithstanding that he had raised the issue repeatedly. 

 

Part of his demise, as clearly set out in the title registered at the Land Registry attached, was a garden at the back of his property. There was no direct access to the garden from his property. The normal access is via about 10 steps (approx. 15 feet) from the car park. 

 

There was also a gate at the bottom of his garden that allowed unrestricted access to and from the garden to the common area of Saxon Maybank currently maintained as a lawn area.  It was the only access for those with disability requiring wheelchairs and was protected by a right of way registered as pedestrian access in the attached title plan.

 

The title plan was constituted at a time when ‘disabled access’ was not a term used and recognised, or even in contemplation. So, the correct interpretation, as indeed as the law stands in England, was that ‘pedestrians’ include those who are disabled and require wheelchairs. It was illegal to interpret “pedestrians” as meaning only those who are able-bodied and can move about on foot unaided. In any event, in the context of the right of way to/from his garden, it was clearly used for the sole purpose of differentiating it from vehicular access.

 

Under the proposed plan, wheelchair users of no. 7 would face one of the following scenarios:

o   The lodge proposed to be built at the bottom of his garden would either  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

98.

Urgent items

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.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

99.

Exempt Business

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.  

 

 

 

Minutes:

There was no exempt business.

 

Decision Sheet pdf icon PDF 69 KB