Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Worcester

Contact: Simon Lewis  Committee Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

Available papers

The Members had before them:

 

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated); and

 

B.    The Minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2016 (previously circulated)

Additional documents:

969.

Named Substitutes (Agenda item 1)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

970.

Apologies/Declarations of Interest (Agenda item 2)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Ms P Agar, Dr C Hotham, Mr J A D O'Donnell and Mr P A Tuthill.

971.

Public Participation (Agenda item 3)

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None.

972.

Confirmation of Minutes (Agenda item 4)

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2016. (previously circulated – pink pages)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

973.

Proposed extensions and alterations to the existing school including a six classroom two-storey extension, to accommodate expansion from a one form entry to a two form entry school, and external works which include additional parking and hard play areas at Red Hill C of E Primary School, Midhurst Close, Worcester (Agenda item 5) pdf icon PDF 275 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered an application under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 1992 for proposed extensions and alterations to the existing School including a six classroom two-storey extension, to accommodate expansion from a one form entry school to a two form entry school, and external works which include additional parking and hard play areas at Red Hill C of E Primary School, Midhurst Close, Worcester, 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 visual impact, residential amenity and historic environment, sports provision, water environment, ecology and biodiversity, traffic and highway safety, and sustainable development.

 

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions, that the scale, massing and design of the proposed development would not have an adverse or detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the local area. Furthermore, the development would not cause any unacceptable overbearing, overshadowing or overlooking implications that detracts from residential amenity due its design, size and location. A Noise Assessment accompanied the application which concluded that the noise impact from the increase in pupil numbers would be very small and not considered material or adverse.

 

Based on the advice of Sport England, the proposal would not have an unacceptable impact on the functional playing field and would result in the overall improvement of sports provision at the school.

 

Subject to the imposition of an appropriate requiring a SuDS management plan, there would be no adverse effects on the water environment, and the proposed extensions of the original SuDS scheme was welcomed. Based on the advice of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and the County Ecologist it was considered that subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions that the proposed development would have no adverse impacts on the ecology and biodiversity at the site or in the surrounding area, and would enhance the application site’s value for habitats, species and biodiversity.

 

Based on the advice of the County Highways Officer, County Footpath Officer and Ramblers Association, the proposal would not have any adverse impacts upon the adjacent Public Right of Way, traffic or highway safety, subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions.

 

The proposal included a number of sustainable measures such as high insulation levels, and airtightness, installation of solar PV panels, natural ventilation, a SuDS scheme and the proposal would be subject to a BREEAM Assessment with a target grading of ‘very good’. In view of this, and the preceding sections of this report, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy, therefore, considered that the proposal was a sustainable development, in accordance with the NPPF in relation to its presumption in favour of sustainable development.

 

Taking into account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies SWDP 1, SWDP 2, SWDP 4, SWDP 5, SWDP 6, SWDP 21, SWDP 22, SWDP  ...  view the full minutes text for item 973.

974.

Proposed change of use and the conversion of the existing house, including the attached garage block to provide a children's home, complete with ancillary facilities, to accommodate up to four children and young adults at the Riddings, Bricklehampton (Agenda item 6) pdf icon PDF 164 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered an application under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 1992 for a proposed change of use and the conversion of the existing house, including the attached garage block, to provide a Children's Home, complete with ancillary facilities, to accommodate up to four children and young adults at The Riddings, Bricklehampton.

 

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 location of the proposed development, traffic and highways safety, residential amenity, landscape and historic environment.

 

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that the proposed development would involve the material change of use from a residential dwelling to a children's home in a predominantly rural area. The main issues to consider in the application were the sustainability of the location, traffic and highways safety, residential amenity, landscape, and the historic environment.

 

In terms of the location of the development, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that, on balance, the merits of the proposal in terms of the benefits to the children and young adults that would be accommodated in the rural location would outweigh the counterarguments in terms of sustainable transport in accordance with the comments of the County Highways Officer. The proposal would also accord with Policy SWDP14 in terms of local amenity provision. Therefore, the proposal would be acceptable in terms of its location.

 

In terms of traffic and highways safety, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that traffic levels generated by the transport of children and the staff's shift patterns would not conflict with Policy SWDP4. Therefore, the proposal would be acceptable in terms of traffic and highways safety.

 

Regarding residential amenity, the proposal would not conflict with Policy SWDP31 in terms of its impact on neighbouring human health and wellbeing and the operation of neighbouring land uses.

 

The proposal would have no adverse impact on the surrounding landscape (including the AONB), or the historic environment.

 

Taking into account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies SWDP 1, SWDP 2, SWDP 3, SWDP 4, SWDP 6, SWDP13, SWDP 14, SWDP 21, SWDP 22, SWDP 23, SWDP 24, SWDP 25, SWDP 26, SWDP 27, SWDP 28, SWDP 29, SWDP 30, 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.

 

The representative of the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy introduced the report and commented that members had visited the property and its immediate surroundings.

 

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

 

·         The logic of locating vulnerable young people in this rural location away from their family and friends was queried. The Assistant Director for Children, Families and Communities responded that locating children in rural settings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 974.

975.

Safety of Sports Grounds Annual Review 2017 (Agenda item 7) pdf icon PDF 110 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered an annual review of activities carried out by Worcestershire County Council (WCC) Directorate of Public Health Emergency Planning team to discharge statutory duties under the Safety at Sports Grounds (SatSGs) and related legislation during 2016/2017.

 

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

 

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

 

·         In response to a query about the change in status of the Aggborough Stadium, Nick Riding, the Emergency Planning Manager commented that due to changes in legislation the Aggborough stadium was no longer defined as a designated stadium because of the non-league status of Kidderminster Harriers FC. Should Kidderminster Harriers enter the Football League then that status would change

·         In assessing the requirements for a safety certificate, what factors were taken into account for music events? Nick Riding responded that the dynamics of the spectators attending concerts differed as spectators were more likely to be stood up for the duration of the event. Steward numbers, first aid, facilities access to water, toilets and catering generally needed to be increased. Also greater attention needed to be given to access and egress arrangements. The SAG would be responsible for monitoring the Event Management Plan

·         Concern was expressed about the gap in communication between the stadium owners and event organisers in terms of crowd numbers. Nick Riding commented the management of all-ticket matches made it easier to predict steward numbers. However where customers paid on the day, it was important that the match was properly advertised and extra stewards and facilities were made available. The incident at the Victoria Ground, Bromsgrove resulted from the inability to count the attendance through the turnstiles

·         Concern was expressed about the Council's ability to control facilities outside its legislative responsibilities and the potential reputational risk. Nick Riding gave an assurance that the Council had procedures for such facilities because it was important that the Council to provided a safety advisory service in its community leadership role. The responsibility for other events, notably music concerts rested with the event management company who were required to put together an Events Management Plan. The role of the SAG was to monitor proceedings to ensure every safety aspect had been considered

·         Would the anticipate attendance levels determine how an event was assessed in safety terms and where did responsibility for the safety of private events rest? Nick Riding commented that as a general rule private events fell outside the legislation. Attendance was not a defining factor necessarily as it depended on the nature of the event and the level of risk associated with it, for example, the grant of an alcohol license would increase the level of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 975.