Agenda for Development Management Committee on Thursday 8th October 2020, 7.30 pm

Agenda and minutes

Contact: Sharon Keenlyside 

Media

Items
No. Item

133.

APOLOGIES

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A.Chesterman and B.Fitzsimon.

134.

SUBSTITUTIONS

To note any substitution of Committee Members made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following substitution of Committee Members had been made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules:

 

Councillor R.Lass for Councillor B.Fitzsimon

Councillor L.Musk for Councillor A.Chesterman

135.

MINUTES

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2020 (previously circulated).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2020 were approved as a correct record and noted by the Chairman.

 

The hard copy of the minutes would be signed by the Chairman as soon as it was reasonably practicable or alternatively, electronic signatures would be arranged after the meeting.

136.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST BY MEMBER

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on the Agenda.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor S.Boulton declared non-pecuniary interests in items on the Agenda as appropriate by virtue of being a Member of Hertfordshire County Council.

137.

34 VINEYARDS ROAD, NORTHAW, POTTERS BAR EN6 4PA - 6/2020/1365/FULL - ERECTION OF A 5-BEDROOMED DETACHED DWELLING INCLUDING FORMATION OF NEW VEHICULAR CROSSOVER pdf icon PDF 508 KB

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) on the erection of a 5 bedroomed detached dwelling including formation of new vehicular crossover.

 

The application site consisted of a vacant area of land which was located on the south side of Vineyards Road, Northaw. Vineyards Road was lined by residential properties to the south which tapered away from the village centre, forming a pattern of ‘ribbon’ development.

 

The application plot measured approximately 0.08 hectares in area. Aerial imagery suggested the site previously comprised semi-natural vegetation in the form of trees, shrubs and rough grassland. It had recently been cleared of the majority of the vegetation and now consisted of undeveloped land with limited boundary vegetation and two trees towards the rear of the plot. The land was generally level in the vicinity of the proposed house, but sloped downwards from north to south from the front boundary to the rear boundary by approximately 4m. There was a slight incline from the east to the west of Vineyards Road. 

 

The application was presented to the Committee because Northaw and Cuffley Parish Council had submitted a Major Objection to the proposed development for the reasons below:

 

“This land is located within the green belt and no exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated to allow this application to proceed. The property is in an unsustainable location. The plot goes boundary to boundary so it is considered overdevelopment given the size of the plot and plans. It also appears from the plans and after a site visit that neighbours will be overlooked due to the size of the development.”

 

The application had also been called-in by Councillor Bernard Sarson for the following reasons:

 

“I would like to call in the above planning application for the following reasons given in a resident’s email:

 

    The plot is within a Green Belt site and prior to January consisted of 19 plus trees, shrubs and bushes. All but 2 of the trees and all the other vegetation has been cut down and burned which has damaged the view and vista of Northaw village. The pond on the plot was also removed;

    The size, scale and position of the proposed dwelling appears to be too large for the size of the plot. There is no justification as to why it should jut out further forward towards the road than surrounding properties;

    The proposed dwelling will not lie within a continuous built up frontage as the street view or scene along Vineyards Road varies, with the type of properties being cottages, bungalows and detached properties and also with woodland, green belt land and fields;

    The house at 32 Vineyards Road has suffered subsidence damage from the roots of unmaintained trees on the application site. The proposed building is close to the boundary line between the sites and will require pile foundations of 4-5 metres into the ground which will worsen the cracks caused by subsidence;

    Northaw village is not considered to be sustainable  ...  view the full minutes text for item 137.

138.

14 PLEASANT RISE, HATFIELD AL9 5DS - 6/2020/0255/HOUSE - ERECTION OF A SINGLE STOREY FRONT, FIRST FLOOR SIDE, TWO STOREY REAR EXTENSION AND ALTERATIONS TO THE ENTRANCE PORCH pdf icon PDF 662 KB

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) on the erection of a single storey front, first floor side, two storey rear extension and alterations to the entrance porch.

 

The application site consisted of a two storey detached dwelling and a single storey garage with a flat roof to the side. The dwelling was located on the south eastern side of Pleasant Rise, close to the Ryde School. The area was residential in character and featured two storey properties on the southern eastern side of the road and bungalows on the opposite side.

 

The application dwelling was one of a row of six similarly designed dwellings, though their characters had been changed as they had been extended. They maintained a degree of similarity.  However, they were all sited in reasonably wide and deep plots.

 

The application was presented to the Committee because Hatfield Town Council had submitted a Major Objection to the proposed development for the reasons below:

 

“The proposed extensions, by virtue of their siting, bulk and design, would not respect the form and scale of the existing dwelling and would not be subordinate to the existing dwelling. In addition, the rear extension results in an overly dominant addition that fails to respect the form and scale of the original dwelling. Members do not consider that these plans have taken previous reasons for refusal into account adequately”.  

 

The agent, R.H.Griffiths provided a statement which was read out during the meeting. The intention of the project had been to follow the basic design which had been approved and constructed at number 12 Pleasant Rise. Amendments to the proposed property had been made in accordance with the Case Officers recommendations.

 

Councillor J.Bennan, Hatfield Town Council, submitted a statement which was read out at the meeting. In light of the officers report, based on the resubmitted and revised plans submitted in July, Hatfield Town Council recognised that the new plans resolved the issues with the length and width of the rear extension and the conditions on construction ensured privacy for number 16 Pleasant Rise with obscured glass and a Juliette balcony. Therefore, Hatfield Town Council was no longer raising objections to this planning application.

 

Following discussion, it was proposed and seconded by Councillors S.Wrenn and J.Broach and

 

RESOLVED:

(Unanimous)

 

That planning permission be APPROVED subject to the conditions as set out in the report.

139.

SECTION 106 PLANNING OBLIGATIONS REPORT pdf icon PDF 197 KB

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) on the Section 106 Planning Obligations report 2019/20.

 

Planning obligations are an effective tool to secure the necessary infrastructure and services required as a result of development.  They also ensure that the negative impacts of a development are adequately mitigated, for example increasing/improving public transport provision, increasing school capacity, enhancing open spaces, requiring that a given portion of housing is affordable, etc.  It is important to note that they cannot be used to mitigate the impact of any shortfall in existing infrastructure.

 

The purpose of planning obligations are to make development acceptable that would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms.  The National Panning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out in paragraph 56 that planning obligations can only be sought where they meet the following tests:

 

      necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;

      directly related to the development; and

      fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.

 

Ward Members were advised that s106 contributions could be sought from future developments above 10 residential units and to consider this in identifying potentially related infrastructure requirements. Contributions could also be sought from developments including employment or retail uses.

 

Ward Members were also asked to consider how they would like the Council to secure and spend Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) contributions in the future.

 

There was an update to Appendix 1 in the officer’s report and funds listed are now as of 1 September 2020.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Members note the contents of this annual report which relates to a) how the Borough Council collects and spends s106 monies, and b) details monies still to be spent. 

140.

APPEAL DECISIONS pdf icon PDF 155 KB

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) detailing recent appeal decisions for the period 25 June to 15 September 2020.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That appeal decisions during the period 25 June to 15 September 2020 be noted.

141.

PLANNING UPDATE - FUTURE PLANNING APPLICATIONS pdf icon PDF 145 KB

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) providing the Committee with a summary of planning applications that might be presented over the next one or two months.  Members noted that if the call-in or application was withdrawn, the item would not be presented to the Committee.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That future planning applications which might be considered by the Committee be noted.