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; and

C.   The Minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2016.

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

None.

An apology was received from Mr R J Sutton.

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 1 November 2016. (previously circulated – pink pages)

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2016 be confirmed as a correct and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee considered a County Matter planning application for the proposed change of use of agricultural buildings and associated land to Material Reclamation Facility (MRF) at Weights Farm, Weights Lane, Redditch, 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 the waste hierarchy, the location of the development, the Green Belt, the landscape character and visual impacts, residential amenity (noise, dust and odour), traffic and highway safety, the water environment, ecology and biodiversity and other matters – economic impact, heritage impacts, integrity of the railway line, infrastructure assets and sustainable development.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that as the proposed development would involve the bulking up of various sources of waste in preparation for transfer and subsequent recycling by specialist operators it would comply with the objectives of the waste hierarchy.

Policy WCS 3 of the Waste Core Strategy required waste management facilities that enable re-use or recycling of waste, including treatment, storage, sorting and transfer facilities, to be permitted within all levels of the Geographic Hierarchy, where it was demonstrated that the proposed location was at the highest appropriate level of the Geographic Hierarchy.  The proposal would be located in Level 1 of the geographic hierarchy for waste management in Worcestershire (the highest level), and therefore, complied with Policy WCS 3 of the Waste Core Strategy.

The proposed development would re-use farm buildings and associated land and therefore, would comply with Policy WCS 6 of the Waste Core Strategy, relating to compatible land uses.

The proposed development would be located wholly within the West Midlands Green Belt. The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that the proposal would not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt than the existing agricultural buildings and would not conflict with the five purposes of Green Belt. It was considered that the proposal would fall under the Green Belt exemptions (paragraph 90: 'the re-use of buildings provided that the buildings are of permanent and substantial construction'), and therefore, would be an appropriate form of development in the Green Belt.

Based on the advice of the County Landscape Officer, it was considered that the proposed development would not have an adverse or detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the local area, subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that, subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions relating to operating hours, construction hours, requiring a detailed lighting scheme and implementation of the mitigation measures outlined in the submitted Noise Assessment, there would be no adverse air pollution, noise or dust impacts on residential amenity or that of human health.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy was satisfied that the proposal would not have an unacceptable impact upon traffic and highway safety, subject to the imposition  ...  view the full minutes text for item 966.

The Committee considered an application under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 1992 for the construction of a single storey building to form an Early Years cabin and Forest School boot room at Blackwell First School, St Catherine's Road, Blackwell.

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 the need for the nursery building, the location of the development, residential amenity, traffic and highway safety, and other matters – design.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that the applicant stated that there was a recognised need for nursery places in the local area, and for a nursery that would be convenient for working parents.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of need for the nursery in accordance with Section 8, paragraph 72, of the National Planning Policy Framework, which accorded great weight to the need to expand or alter schools, and Policy S28 of the development plan. Furthermore, the proposal was considered to be acceptable in terms of location when assessed against Policy DS4 of the development plan, subject to being compatible with other policies of the development plan. In view of the above, the great weight accorded to the need for the nursery must be balanced against the other concerns surrounding this application.

A letter of representation raised an objection on the grounds of harm to residential amenity (amongst other objections). The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy recognised that the proposal would cause impacts in terms of construction, highways concerns and lighting. However, in terms of the development plan, the proposal would be acceptable through the imposition of planning conditions and the recommendation for a management solution to the problems associated with pick up and drop off times, which are common at many schools throughout the County.

Another objection was raised on the grounds that the proposal would over-develop the Blackwell School site. The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy would have preferred the small amount of open space to not be developed. However, it was considered that the proposal would not result in the loss of such a significant amount of open space as to be seen as unacceptable in terms of the development plan.

The proposal would also result in additional children and staff accessing the site at pick up and drop off times, although the applicant states that these would be staggered to avoid those of the main school. The County Highways Officer had no objections to the proposal, subject to a condition requiring the installation of cycle storage facilities. The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy therefore considered that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of traffic and highways safety.

In assessing the application as a whole, the great weight accorded to the need to expand  ...  view the full minutes text for item 967.

The Committee considered an application under Regulation 3 of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 1992 for a change of use from mixed use D1 (Libraries) and B1 (Offices) to mixed use D1 (Libraries), B1 (Offices) and A2 (Financial and Professional Services) at Redditch Library.

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 the reduction in library floorspace, the location of the development, traffic and highway safety and other matters – storage and collection of waste, drainage, and indicative plans.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of the overall loss of floorspace in accordance with Policies CS.5 and C(CF).1 because the applicant stated that there would be no reduction in the provision of core library services. Furthermore, the proposal would contribute to protecting the library service by assisting the applicant in meeting their savings targets.

The proposal would be acceptable in terms of the location of the development because Policies CS.7 and E(TCR).1 directed development that would attract large numbers of people and public office provision respectively towards Redditch town centre. Policy CS.7 also indicated that the proposal would be acceptable in terms of traffic and highways safety because Redditch Library was located in a sustainable town centre location.

In terms of other matters, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that arrangements for waste, drainage and the indicative plans were acceptable in terms of the development plan.

Taking in to account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies CS.5, CS.7, B(BE).13, B(BE).14, B(BE).28, E(TCR).1, E(TCR).4, C(CF).1 and C(T).12 of the Borough of Redditch Local Plan No.3 2006 and Policies 1, 2, 5, 15, 20, 30, 31, 36, 37, 38 and 39 of the Draft Borough of Redditch Local Plan No. 4, it was considered the proposal would not cause demonstrable harm to the interests intended to be protected by these policies or highway safety.

Mr P Blaydon an objector to the proposal was unable to attend the meeting to read out his presentation. The Chairman allowed the members of the Committee a few moments to read his presentation summary.

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

·         In response to a query about the capacity of the large meeting rooms, Mrs Adorisio from Place Partnership acting on behalf of the applicant commented that the meeting rooms had been designed to be as flexible as possible. Bigger groups could be accommodated in those meeting rooms

·         Would the proposals to reduce library space have an impact on the number of books? The representative of the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy advised that there was no intention to reduce book storage and mobile shelving and staff had confirmed that there would be no impact on the availability of books

·         There was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 968.