Agenda and minutes

The Members had before them:

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated); and

B.    The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2017 (previously circulated).

None.

An apology was received from Mr J A D O'Donnell.

Mrs P Agar declared an interest in Agenda item 5 as a member of Worcester City Council's Planning Committee.

Mr N Hudson, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Planning declared an interest and did not take part in the meeting.

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.

None.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2017. (previously circulated – pink pages)

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2017 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee considered an application under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 1992 for proposed Flood Alleviation Works to improve the flood resilience of the A44 road at New Road, Worcester.

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 Planning Development Manager's comments in relation to justification for the proposal, traffic and highways safety, landscape character, heritage environment and visual impact, water environment, ecology and biodiversity, amenity and health and other matters: Policy SWDP38: Green Space, construction compound, and cumulative effects.

The Planning Development Manager concluded that In terms of justification for the proposal, economic and social aspects of the development would present clear benefits to residents and businesses in Worcester City and throughout Worcestershire in accordance with Policy SWDP1. The proposed development would achieve this by enabling the A44 New Road to remain open for a longer period of time during times of flood equivalent to the flood events of 2014 and 2007, which caused significant negative economic and congestion impacts. The applicant had also set out an economic case for the proposal, which concluded that it would represent High Value for Money as part of a package of flood alleviation schemes across Worcestershire. However, it was considered that these benefits must be weighed against the environmental considerations of the proposal in a planning balancing exercise to fully accord with Policy SWDP1.

In this regard, the Planning Development Manager considered that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of the development plan for a range of other considerations including traffic and highways safety, the water environment, ecology and biodiversity, amenity and health, and other matters including Policy SWDP38: Green Space and the construction compound, subject to appropriately worded conditions.

The key judgement that must be made in relation to this proposal related to the impact on landscape character, the heritage environment, and the visual impact. In this regard, the proposed removal of trees along New Road had been identified by the Environmental Statement as constituting a permanent loss that would result in a slight adverse impact to the Riverside Conservation Area. The Planning Development Manager considered that this anticipated impact would, overall, make the development fall short of meeting the aims of Policies SWDP6, SWDP21, SWDP24, and SWDP25. The Planning Development Manager considered that the applicant had provided valid and reasonable practical reasons why these trees could not be replaced in their existing locations.

In view of the above considerations, the Planning Development Manager considered that, on balance, the wider public benefits that would result from the proposal in terms of reduced economic harm and congestion impacts for the city of Worcester and surrounding area during times of flood would outweigh the loss in terms of landscape character, the heritage environment, and visual impact. In terms of mitigation, conditions were recommended to ensure adequate kerb materials and footpath resurfacing, and the detailed culvert inlet and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 980.