Agenda and minutes

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

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

Cllr S. Bonfante for Cllr J.P Skoczylas.

Apologies of absence were received from Councillors J.P Skoczylas and

J. Weston, as well as Councillor M. Holloway who was due to substitute for Councillor Weston.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2023 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2023 were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Assistant Director (Planning).

Report of the Assistant Director (Planning) on the erection of a detached building comprising of three two-bedroom flats and one detached townhouse following demolition of the existing garages.

The application is presented to the Development Management Committee (DMC) because North Mymms Parish Council have submitted a major objection.

Members were advised that since the publication of the report, the recommended condition regarding renewable energy has not been included. Should Members be minded to approve application, the wording on the officers presentation will constitute that condition.

The application site is previously developed land located in the village of Brookmans Park to the north of Green Close. Green Close is as an area of fairly high density featuring a variety of housing types constructed in the past 10 years. The application site is an irregular shape and is comprised of a partly demolished garage block and a narrow parcel of land situated between a block of carports and No.10 Green Close. The northern boundary of the site backs onto the rear gardens of a number of properties in Peplins Way, to the west of the site is a three-storey block of flats and beyond this the East Coast Mainline Railway.

In total, five neighbour objections have been received.Welwyn Hatfield Council Parking Services have commented that they are satisfied with the parking of the Townhouse, but they object to the shortfall of parking for the flats. Further representations were received from the council's Client Services Team, Public Health and Protection Team and the Local Flooding Authority, no response was received from Hertfordshire Ecology.

The application site benefits from extant permission for the erection of 3 two-bedroom flats following demolition of existing garages. This permission was approved in January 2021, it is important to note that each flat is allocated one car parking space and a total of three. The proposed flats would be similar to that which has already been approved within application 6/2020/1801/FULL.

Under the proposal, the flats would be repositioned towards the western boundary with a single storey element removed, which allows for the addition of the townhouse to the scheme. The proposed house would be three storeys, similar to numbers 1 to 16 Green Close and has been designed to reflect the surrounding properties.

The proposed flats would meet the nationally described space standards. The floor plans for the townhouse show a study which is slightly under the floor area required for a bedroom, as advised by the National Described Space Standards. However, given its size and shape, it's likely the study will be used as a bedroom and therefore the townhouse has been assessed as a three-bedroom dwelling.

The townhouse would provide a good standard of accommodation overall. It has a rear garden that is functional in size and shape to provide adequate outdoor space. Each flat would be afforded private amenity space to the rear of the building, and although the space would be modest, it would meet the minimum expectations of a garden. In terms of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

Report of the Assistant Director (Planning) on Appeal Decisions 31/12/2022 to 03/02/2023.

Report of the Assistant Director (Planning) detailing recent appeal decisions for the period 31 December 2022 to 3 February 2023.

RESOLVED:

Members noted the content of the report.

Report of the Assistant Director (Planning).

Report of the Assistant Director (Planning) providing the Committee with a summary of planning applications that may be presented to DMC in future.

Officers noted that final DMC of the municipal year is 9 March. The first meeting of the new municipal year will be held on 15 June due to the Purdah and Elections. Members though there were normally meetings held in April. Officers said they would confirm.

Post meeting note: As it is extremely rare for DMC to discuss a planning application that is deemed to be non-controversial, the Returning Officer would advise against holding any DMC meetings during the pre-election period.  The committee timetables for 22/23 and 23/24, as approved by Full Council, do not have any DMC meetings taking place during April. 

RESOLVED:

Members noted the content of the report.