Agenda and minutes

The Members had before them:

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated);

B.    A copy of the summary presentations from public participants invited to speak (previously circulated); and

C.   The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2016 (previously circulated).

A copy of documents A-B will be attached to the signed Minutes.

Mr S R Peters substituted for Mr R J Sutton.

An apology was received from Mr R Sutton.

Mr R C Adams declared interests in agenda item 5 as a public participant Mr Surman was an acquaintance of his through his farming activities and Mr Adam's wife was the Secretary of the local point-to-point equestrian event but she had no discussions with applicant or objectors about the application.

Mr D W Prodger declared an interest in Agenda item 8 as a Director of Worcester Racecourse.

The Council has put in place arrangements which usually allow one speaker each on behalf of objectors, the applicant and supporters of applications to address the Committee.  Speakers are chosen from those who have made written representations and expressed a desire to speak at the time an application is advertised.  Where there are speakers, presentations are made as part of the consideration of each application.

Those representations made are recorded at the Minute to which they relate.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2015. (previously circulated – pink pages)

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 March 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee considered a County Matter planning application for the proposed minerals extraction of about 1.4 million tonnes of sand and gravel and erection of a temporary wharf with progressive restoration to a landscaped lake on land at Ryall's Court, Ryall Court Lane, Ryall, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire.

The report set out the background of the proposal, the proposal itself, the relevant planning policy and details of the site, consultations and representations.

The report set the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy's comments in relation to alternatives, Worcestershire's landbank of sand and gravel reserves, best and most versatile agricultural land and sieve test/methodology, landscape character and appearance of the local area, residential amenity (including noise, dust and light impacts), the water environment, ecology and biodiversity, traffic, highway safety and impact upon public right of way, historic environment, restoration and aftercare of the site, other matters – economic impact, cumulative effects, impact upon tourism, consultation, Human Rights Act 1998, and land ownership.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that the proposed development seeks to bring forward the development of an allocated minerals site within the adopted Minerals Local Plan and an area of land immediately to the south, which had been identified as an area of known deposits. Sand and gravel would be extracted on a campaign basis, in 5 phases over an 8 year period and would be transport by barge along the River Severn to the existing Ryall House Farm processing plant. A separate application  had been made to the Mineral Planning Authority to retain this facility.

The NPPF advice was that minerals planning authorities should plan for a steady and adequate supply of aggregates by making provision for the maintenance of landbanks of at least 7 years for sand and gravel. Worcestershire's landbank was less than 1 year and consequently, the County Council currently did not have sufficient reserves of sand and gravel available with planning permissions to meet its share of the sub-regional apportionment and annual provision requirements based on sales in accordance with national planning policy and guidance.

The proposed development would be located on best and most versatile agricultural land. Policy 2 of the adopted Minerals Local Plan set out criteria for which sites that were not a preferred area of sand and gravel extraction should be assessed. The southern part of the application site needed to be judged against this sieve test. Best and most versatile agricultural land was a primary constraint within Policy 2, however, as Natural England had not raised an objection to the proposal on grounds of impact upon best and most versatile agricultural land or permanent pasture land, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that refusal of planning permission on these grounds could not be upheld on appeal.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that whilst there would be changes to the visual appearance of the site, these impacts would be localised in effect and mitigation measures would limit the extent of the disturbance visible  ...  view the full minutes text for item 939.

The Committee considered a County Matter planning application to vary Condition 15 of planning permission 407501, dated 18 June 2001 to enable the continued temporary retention of an aggregate wharf, aggregates processing plant, ancillary uses and structures, access and fresh water lagoons at Ryall House Farm Quarry, Tewkesbury Road, Ryall, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire.

The report set out the background of the proposal, the proposal itself, the relevant planning policy and details of the site, consultations and representations.

The report set out the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy's comments in relation to landscape character and appearance of the local area and residential amenity, the water environment, ecology and biodiversity, traffic, highway safety and impact upon public rights of way, restoration and aftercare, other matters – economic impact, historic environment, and crime and security.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions carried forward from the extant planning permission, the proposal would be acceptable in terms of its noise and dust impacts and would not cause any unacceptable overbearing, overshadowing or overlooking implications that detract from residential amenity due to its design, size and location and would have no adverse or detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the local area.

The Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority, South Worcestershire Land Drainage Partnership and Severn Trent Water Limited all raised no objections to the proposal. The proposal would not alter the existing wharf arrangements, drainage arrangements, or working practices at the site, therefore, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that there would be no adverse effects on the water environment.

Based on the advice of Natural England, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and the County Ecologist, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that subject to the imposition of appropriate condition carried forward from the extant planning permission and the imposition of conditions recommended by the County Ecologist, that the proposal would not have any adverse impacts on ecology and biodiversity at the site or on the surrounding area.

Based on the advice of the County Highways Officer and County Footpath Officer, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy was satisfied that the proposal would not have an unacceptable impact upon traffic, highway safety or Public Rights of Way.

With regards to the restoration of the processing plant, the applicant had confirmed that extant planning permission (Application Ref: 407501) required Ryall House Farm Quarry and Wharf to be restored in accordance with approved drawing no. RYA3/6. The applicant did not propose to deviate from this requirement and had confirmed that significant stockpiles of soils remained within the site for eventual use in the restoration of the plant site and wharf. A condition was recommended to require the restoration of the plant and wharf area.

Taking into account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies WCS 1, WCS 2, WCS 5, WCS 5, WCS 6, WCS 8, WCS 9, WCS 10, WCS 11, WCS 12 and WCS 14 and Policies  ...  view the full minutes text for item 940.

The Committee considered a retrospective County Matter planning application for the variation of Condition 7 of Planning Permission reference number 407544 to extend the existing operating hours of an existing waste transfer station at Lydstep, Cleeve Road, Middle Littleton, Evesham, Worcestershire.

The report set out the background of the proposal, the proposal itself, the relevant planning policy and details of the site, consultations and representations.

The report set out the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy's comments in relation to residential amenity, and traffic and highways safety.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that letters of representation had been received objecting to the proposal on residential amenity grounds. The Environment Agency, Worcestershire Regulatory Services and the County Highways Officer were consulted on the application and had raised no objections subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions. Accordingly, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy was satisfied that the proposed development would have no adverse or detrimental impact upon the residential amenity of the surrounding area in accordance with Policy 31 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy was satisfied that there would be no adverse impact on highways safety and that the proposal was therefore acceptable on highways grounds.

Taking into account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies WCS 1; WCS 3; WCS 8; WCS 9; WCS 11; WCS 12; WCS 14 and WCS 15 of the adopted Worcestershire Waste Core Strategy; and Policies SWDP 1; SWDP 2; SWDP 4; SWDP 7; SWDP 21; SWDP 22; SWDP 25; SWDP 31 and SWDP 33 of the South Worcestershire Development Plan, it was considered the proposal would not cause demonstrable harm to the interests intended to be protected by these policies or highway safety.

RESOLVED that planning permission be granted for the variation of Condition 7 of Planning Permission reference number 407544 to extend the existing operating hours of an existing waste transfer station at Lydstep, Cleeve Road, Middle Littleton, Evesham, Worcestershire, subject to the following conditions:

a)    The existing vehicular access in the south-east corner of the site shall be gated and not used by vehicles in connection with the skip hire and waste transfer business;

b)    All vehicles connected with the skip hire and waste transfer business shall use the access to the north-east of the waste transfer area;

c)    No materials or substances shall be incinerated on the site;

d)    The hardstanding shall be cleared of waste at the end of every working day and any waste remaining on site shall be in skips or other approved containers;

e)    Waste Transfer operations (including vehicle movements into and away from the site) shall only take place on the site between 07:00. and 18:00 hours Mondays to Fridays inclusive, and 07:30-13:00 hours on Saturdays. No Waste Transfer operations (including vehicle movements to and from the site) shall take place on Sundays or Public Holidays. The use of any screening plant shall not take place before 10:00 hours  ...  view the full minutes text for item 941.

The Committee considered the annual review of activities carried out by the County Council to discharge its duties under the Safety at Sports Grounds (SatSGs) and related legislation during 2015/2016.

The report set out the background to the safety at sports grounds, details of the safety certificates and Safety Advisory Groups findings for Sixways Stadium Worcester Warriors RFC, Aggborough Stadium – Kidderminster Harriers FC and Worcester City FC, The Grandstand – Worcester Racecourse, and Victoria Ground – Bromsgrove Sporting FC, additional safety management advice, and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (FSO).

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         Were there any implications resulting from the Hillsborough Inquiry report for the safety at sports grounds in Worcestershire? The Emergency Planning Officer commented that issues that issues arising from the Inquiry related to capacity calculation, issuing of the certificate and checking of the certificate. In Worcestershire all certificates were monitored annually and all the capacity calculations were submitted by the safety officers so the ground capacity for each stadium was known. Every time there was a change to the capacity of a stadium a new certificate would need to be issued because it affected the circulation flows of spectators at the ground

·         In response to a concern expressed about evacuation procedures at Worcester Warriors RFC following the bomb scare at Old Trafford, the Emergency Planning Officer explained that the appropriate safe locations to evacuate spectators had been taken into account to avoid the danger of secondary explosions.

RESOLVED that the 2015/16 Annual Review of activities carried out by the Council to manage and implement the Safety at Sports Grounds legislation be noted.