Agenda and minutes

Any information received after the agenda has been published, relevant to the applications on the agenda to be considered by the Committee will be published here.

          Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Lowndes (Vice Chair) and Councillor Benton.

          Councillor Winslade attended as substitute.

There were no declarations of interest.

          There were no declarations from Members of the Committee to make representation as Ward Councillor on any item within the agenda.

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2010 were approved as a true and accurate record.

            The Committee agreed to vary the speaking scheme for item 5.3, 80 Lincoln Road. There were numerous objectors in attendance who had registered to speak and in order to ensure a fair hearing the scheme was varied to allow up to 20 minutes for objectors and 20 minutes for applicants and supporters.

The application sought permission to relocate the existing vehicular access approximately 1.5m to the south. The existing access would be closed off.  Damage had been caused to a length of the existing wall due to the positioning of two false Acacia trees which had been removed and the wall needed to be taken down and rebuilt. The existing hard asphalt surface which formed the existing access would be taken up, kerbs raised and the grass verge extended across the disused entrance.

The application site contained a Grade II Listed Building with formal gardens to the south and north and paddock area to the west (designated within the Adopted Peterborough Local Plan (First Replacement) as an allocated housing site (H10.04).  The site was located close to the historic centre of Glinton and within the Conservation Area boundary and was enclosed by a 1.2m high stone wall which was protected under policy DA9 of the Adopted Peterborough Local Plan (First Replacement).  The surrounding area was predominantly residential in character and contained a number of listed properties, the church and church yard lay to the south-east and many of the properties were bounded by continuous stone walls, trees and   hedges, all of which contributed to the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. 

The application site with its boundary wall with trees behind provided a positive ‘end stop’   when viewed from North Fen Road, west along The Green. 

The Planning Officer addressed the Committee and stated that the application was for listed building consent. The Committee was only able to consider the impact the proposal would have on the historic wall, consideration could not be given to other matters such as highway visibility. There had been previous applications for proposals at the site which had made reference to a garage,

Members were reminded that the application before the Committee was in relation to the wall only. The applicant also had aspirations to build an additional property, subsequent to any consent that was granted, this matter was also not to be taken into consideration by the Committee.

Members were informed that the view of the Conservation Officer was that the wall formed an important feature within the Conservation Area and if the entrance point was moved to the left it would reduce the impact of the long section of wall. A punctuation of the highway verge would also occur.

Mr David Briggs, the applicant, addressed the Committee and responded to questions from Members. In summary the issues highlighted to the Committee included:

·        The applicant did not wish to do anything to the house which would detract its aesthetics from the village. A new driveway would improve the aesthetics and the existing driveway would be lawned, giving a better outlook to the front of the house

·        The two false acacia trees which had been removed had cracked the wall and therefore the wall needed repair

·        Along the footpath, which was the only footpath to the Glinton surgery, the roots of the false acacia trees  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Permission was sought for the construction of a two storey front and side extension in order to create a 1 bedroom granny annexe containing a lounge, dining room, bedroom and bathroom. The extension would also allow for the enlargement of an existing bedroom and the creation of an en suite. The agent proposed to create an L shaped dwelling with side gable.

Wyndham Park was a fairly modern estate of detached dwellings in modest plots. The appearance of the estate was uniform in terms of size and design of dwelling but was punctuated by some substantial extensions in a similar vain to that proposed under the proposed application. Numbers 22, 26, 33, 35 and 42 being the most notable examples. The application site was bordered by a landscaping strip to the south; the neighbouring dwellings sat to the north and east.

The Planning Officer addressed the Committee and stated that there would be no issues with overlooking as the two windows which faced the adjacent property were at first floor level and were obscured glazed. Revised drawings showing the windows as obscured glazed had been submitted therefore the submission element of condition number 3, as detailed in the committee report, could be removed.

Members were advised that Councillor Stokes had referred the item to the Committee and not Councillor Allen as stated in the committee report.

            There were no speakers on the item and after a brief debate a motion was put forward and seconded to approve the application. The motion was carried unanimously.

RESOLVED: (unanimously) to approve the application, as per officer recommendation subject to:

1.      The conditions numbered C1 to C4 as detailed in the committee report

2.      The update to condition numbered C3 as detailed in the update report

Reasons for the decision:

Subject to the imposition of the conditions, the proposal was acceptable having been assessed in the light of all material considerations, including weighting against relevant policies of the development plan and specifically:

-  The proposal was similar in extent to other extensions within Wyndham Park and would not result in unacceptable levels of overshadowing or overbearing to the occupiers of neighbouring dwellings and would not result in a significant adverse impact on the street scene; in accordance with policy DA2 of the Peterborough Local Plan (First Replacement).

Councillor Lane left the meeting.

            Councillor Thacker declared that she knew Mr Jeremy Roberts, a speaker on the item, but this would in no way affect her decision.

Full planning permission was sought under planning reference 10/00502/FUL for six two bed houses, one four bed house, fifteen one bedroom flats and twelve two bedroom flats together with access, car parking and landscaping. Conservation Area consent was sought under reference 10/00510/CON for the demolition of all the existing buildings on site, including the main Thurston/Gayhurst Victorian villa.                     

Twenty seven flats were to be provided in two three storey buildings. Twelve two bed flats would be sited within Block A and fifteen one bed flats within Block B. Block A would front onto Lincoln Road and its design would reflect the large terrace of houses opposite. Block B was the second of the two three storey blocks and would be set eighteen metres to the rear of Block A. Each flat would have one car parking space. Twenty one of these spaces would be sited to the rear of block A, the remaining six spaces were to be sited to the front of block B.

Five dwellings were to be accommodated in Blocks D (a row of three terrace properties) and E (a pair of semi detached properties) and would all be two storey in height. Two dwellings would be located in block C, a two bed house being two storey in height attached to a four bed dwelling being two and half storey in height. Nine parking spaces would be set aside for these seven dwellings.

All of the residential units would be affordable. A total of twenty secure cycle parking spaces were to be provided for the flats and each of the dwellings would have cycle storage. The site would be accessed from Lincoln Road.

The site was located within the city centre boundary and Park Conservation Area as defined by the Local Plan.  The site was located on the west side of Lincoln Road.  It was positioned to the south of St Mark’s Church and the Beeches Primary School site, and to the north of the Craig Street surface level public car park and NHS building.  To the west of the site were the rear gardens of the two storey residential houses on Craig Street. 

The site covered an area of 5,070 sq metres.  It was occupied by a large substantial Victorian brick built villa, which was in commercial use at the time, located in the centre of the plot, along with various minor outbuildings at the western end of the site.  The main building had many surviving original features and was a good example of the Victorian buildings that were characteristic of that part of Lincoln Road.  The site was also characterised by its mature tree lined southern and eastern boundaries and the spacious nature of the plot.   

The Planning Officer addressed the Committee and stated that the application was a resubmission, following refusal at a previous Planning Committee meeting of a scheme which had included forty dwellings and a recognition centre.

Members were advised that the key issues for determination  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Full planning permission was sought for:

·        The construction of a new two storey high Academy school building (9713m2); which included the library (524m2), young people’s (124m2), and early year centres (96m2)

·        The demolition of the existing school, library and Sheridan buildings (8500m2)

·        The provision of associated external areas, including playing fields, a floodlit all weather pitch, public plaza, car parking, with associated access, alterations to the cycle way and boundary treatments 

·        An extension to the existing Bushfield sports centre (93m2), the re-       cladding of its front elevation, and the construction of a new colonnade feature around the frontage of the sports and main school buildings 

·        The refurbishment and extension (11m2) to the changing room pavilion building, with the addition of a new entrance canopy        

·        Relocation of the grounds maintenance depot from its exiting position on the east of the site to the west, adjacent to the car park 

The site covered an area of 10.8 hectares and was comprised of the existing school buildings, library, sports centre, maintenance depot, car park and sports fields and pitches. The site was located on the edge of the Orton District centre as defined by the Local Plan.  

The surrounding land uses were residential to the north and west, recreational playing fields to the east, and the Orton shopping centre (including the community centre, health centre, elderly persons housing, and car park) to the south.  

The Planning Officer addressed the Committee and gave an overview of the proposal.        

Members’ attention was drawn to additional information contained within the update report. There were a number of additional conditions and informatives which had been requested by the Highways Department. Comments had also been received from Sport England and four additional conditions had been proposed. The Landscape Officer had also provided comments in relation to the proposal, no objections had been raised, and three additional conditions had been proposed. Three further ecology conditions had also been proposed.

Late representations had been received from Anglian Water, the Local Wildlife Trust and CBRE, the owners of the Orton Centre. No objections had been raised, but CBRE had commented that part of the application site involved their land, however, there was no objection to the proposal in principle and CBRE would welcome discussions with the Council in respect of the future of the Orton Centre.    

After debate, queries were raised regarding the turning circles for vehicles on site and the point of entrance into the school. The Highways Officer addressed the Committee in response to these queries and stated that work had been undertaken on the turning circles and tracking plots had been done for the largest vehicles. With regards to accessing the school, at that time the Orton Centres’ land had to be used. Going forward this was not desirable therefore other points of access were to be looked into. 

After further debate, a motion was put forward and seconded to approve the application. The motion was carried unanimously.

RESOLVED: (unanimously) to approve the application, as per officer recommendation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

A report was submitted to the Committee which highlighted proposed revisions to the Enforcement Strategy.

Members were advised that an Enforcement Strategy was in place so that all those engaged in the service knew the approach of the service and the standards of service that could be expected to be delivered. The new Enforcement Strategy reflected the new performance targets and revised approach to planning enforcement that had come in to place since the beginning of 2010. The document clearly set out what customers could expect from the in terms of service standards and also gave an overview of the enforcement process.

A query was raised regarding confidentiality. If a member of the public reported an enforcement breach, would this remain confidential? Members were advised that if a member of the public reported a possible breach, the information would be held confidentially, however, there may be occasions when the member of the public would be required to give evidence at court in order to prove the breach.

After further discussion, Members positively commented on the revised strategy, in particular the prioritisation of enforcement cases, and stated that it was a good piece of work and the changes were welcomed.

RESOLVED: to note the revised Enforcement Strategy.

A report was submitted to the Committee which highlighted proposed revisions to the Local Validation List.

Members were advised that several years ago, the Government had introduced a single planning application form (1App as it was commonly known) and a standard (validation) list of information which had to be submitted alongside an application. The introduction of the single list had been undertaken as each Council had been designing its own form with different requirements to be satisfied by applicants. This was making it difficult for applicants to submit applications in different parts of the country with the confidence that the Council would accept and start to process the application. In order to ensure that Councils were able to reflect local circumstances, the Government allowed Councils to amend the standard list (to make it a local validation list) with the recommendation that any such revisions be the subject of public consultation.

After discussion, Members commented that the suggested revisions were good and that the piece of work overall was commendable.

RESOLVED: to note the revised Validation List prior to its submission for public consultation.