Agenda item

Demolish existing buildings and construct a Class E(a) retail store and associated parking, servicing arrangements and landscaping.

The Legal Business Partner presented the report for the application which had first been considered at the meeting held on 3 September. At that meeting, the committee had resolved to grant planning permission subject to conditions.

Members were advised that a letter from Lidl’s solicitors had been received asserting that the Committee had not given reasons for its decision following which officers sought legal advice. The advice to members was that, while the Committee had given reasons for its decision, it had not expressly set out the harms against which the benefits it had identified had been balanced and there was therefore a risk that the reasons could be regarded as not sufficiently full. Members were also informed that the full wording of the proposed conditions was now included in the updated report.

The committee was shown the location of the site within the wider area, its relationship to the surrounding heathland and Green Belt, and its position within the immediate surroundings. The extent of the area falling within the Green Belt was identified. Images of the site from various viewpoints were displayed, along with photographs of nearby residential buildings and the site itself. A summary of the proposed development was provided, including a food store of approximately 1,780 square metres with a height of 6.3 metres, associated car parking and a new vehicular access. Members were shown the site plan for the proposed food store and parking, the site as existing and as proposed and the proposed elevations.

The recommendation before the committee was to expand upon the wording of the original decision and to approve the full wording of the proposed conditions.

It was proposed by Cllr Flower and seconded by Cllr Goringe, that the application be granted subject to conditions set out in the officer report. Cllr Flower stated that it was understood that the proposed development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt and therefore contrary to policy, however he considered that the provision of supermarkets in the area was inadequate in choice and affordability. There had also been significant housing growth in Wimborne with more planned.  The additional choice of an affordable supermarket would have a wider community benefit as would the reduced need to travel outside of the area by car. The proposed development was also on an existing bus route, which would allow access via public transport. He considered that the impact on the Green Belt was limited although he recognised that it attracted substantial weight, and that the retail impact was also limited as well as harm from the impact on employment which was given limited weight based on the evidence in the Averson Young letter dated 29 August 2025.  Other harms including landscape and visual impact could be acceptably mitigated via conditions. Taking all matters into consideration members judged that the benefits clearly and demonstrably outweighed the harm and established very special circumstances justifying the development in the Green Belt. It was acknowledged that the site was outside the settlement boundary, other than in accordance with the Town Centre hierarchy but it was judged that the very special circumstances were a material consideration justifying departure from the Development Plan.

One member asked for further clarification over the process of bringing back an application that had previously been determined at committee. The Legal Business Partner explained that the new recommendation to approve the application was as a result of the committee’s previous decision at the September meeting. Members were advised that officers had considered additional representations made by objectors since the last meeting but there had not been a change in circumstances and no new issues were being raised. Officers were therefore not recommending that Members make a different decision but the options available to members were not restricted in any way.

Decision: That planning permission be granted subject to the conditions set out in the appendix to these minutes.