Present:
Cllr P Fisher (Chair)
Cllr S Tudor
Cllr I Moran
Cllr A Hemming
Cllr E Philpott
Cllr D Bentley
Cllr V O’Dunne
Cllr C Hurst
Also In attendance:
Mrs K St Leger (Clerk)
8 members of the public
A member of the public made representation with regards to Planning Application 21/33687/FUL, it was important to note this is in the centre of the village; Wedgwood College Land was an agreed site; this is pure green belt which separates the City of Stoke on Trent from the surrounding area, if building is permitted this could lead to ribbon development. It was noted the planning approval for Old Road Garages and Nursery Gardens had been built upon, which were brown field sites. There is an issue of surface water and drainage into the brook at Brookhouse Drive. Cllr Fisher advised the issues mentioned would be addressed under the agenda item.
1 Apologies – Cllr G Jones (Borough Council) sent his apologies, it was resolved to accept these.
2 Declarations of Interest – There were no declarations of interest.
3 Written applications for dispensations under the Localism Act 2011 – There were no written applications for dispensation.
4 Minutes of 5 January 2021 were accepted as a true record.
5 Planning Application Reference 21/33687/FUL at Land Between Trent Canal and Old Road Barlaston described as Rural Exception Housing Development for the erection of 42 affordable dwellings including access onto Old Road, a SUDS attenuation basin and equipped children’s play area.
It was noted the Parish Council first became aware of the planning application when we received a screening assessment for this site. Consequently, enquiries revealed the owners had been in consultation with the Borough Council with regards to this site.
The Parish Council put out feelers to gauge the opinion of residents without knowing the scale of the proposed development. Looking into the reasoning for the application, they believed this land could be used for affordable housing which would mean an exemption from conforming to the formal planning process. We approached Urban Vision to advise us with regards the position of Neighbourhood Plan.
In establishing the identity of the prospective developers, a copy of the Neighbourhood Plan was forwarded to them by the Parish Council for consideration on submission of their planning application. No acknowledgement was received. On receipt of the full application to Stafford Borough Council, it was observed that no consideration had been given to the Neighbourhood Plan. As a consequence, the Parish Council approached Urban Vision as their Planning Consultants for their advice on this omission.
We were advised that there were a number of grounds for objection which are as follows:
- The development constitutes inappropriate development in the green belt by virtue that it is previously undeveloped land and does not meet the very special circumstances in which development would be allowed. The proposed development is not compatible with uses considered appropriate in the green belt;·
- The proposed development is outside of the settlement boundary and does not meet the criteria for rural exception. It is contrary to national, Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan policies;
- The proposed development for a new residential development in this location is contrary to policies H1 and H2 in the Barlaston Neighbourhood Plan July 2019 by virtue that it is development outside of the settlement boundary and not within one of the sites allocated for housing;
- The scheme comprises a standard suburban layout, rather than a site-specific response to the local context;
- The scheme harms the character of the area, encroaching into the open countryside; and
- The proposed development would set a precedent for inappropriate development in the green belt.
They also formulated a letter for consideration which was circulated to the Councillors. This would be available on the Planning Portal following the submission to the Borough Council.
The Planning Committee were asked to decide if (a) they wished to accept or reject the planning application and (b) if the Councillors wished to approve the submission of the letter from Urban Vision as the Parish Council submission. The resolution was unanimous to (a) reject the planning application and (b) submit the Urban Vision letter to the Planning Authority as the response from the Parish Council.
Cllr Fisher noted that should Stafford Borough Council pass this application they would be acting unlawfully based on the law as it stands at the moment.
It was noted affordable housing provision had been taken into account on the Wedgwood Memorial Site through the Lichfield Plan, which had been adopted through the Neighbourhood Plan. It was also noted that Stafford & Rural Homes had planning permission passed for 13 bungalows on Barlaston Park, these would free up family homes to meet the housing need. They were using information for this development from a survey which was prior to the Neighbourhood Plan.
An ex Cllr gave an overview of the call in process.
The Councillors were asked if they wished for their Borough Councillor representative to call this application in. An ex Cllr gave an overview of the call in process and recommended the Parish Council take this route. Cllr Fisher has been in consultation with Urban Vision and their recommendation was not to call it in as this would be the wrong approach. One Cllr abstained from this vote as they were not familiar with the call-in process. The remainder of the Cllrs resolved to follow the advice of Urban Vision and not to call this in but to follow due process. The resolution was to reject utilising the call-in process.
6 Planning Application Reference 21/33661/FUL at Treetops Thirty Seven Holding Cocknage Road Rough Close described as Removal of Condition 7 on Application 10/14212/FUL. It was noted this property was in the green belt, the building had already been developed by 231% of the original footprint. Clause 7 was applied by the Borough to stop further development in the green belt. It was resolved to reject this application as inappropriate development in the green belt.
7 Planning Application Reference 21/33708/HOU at Daisy Bank Blurton Road Barlaston described as Detached single storey garden gazebo. There were no objections to this application, however it was resolved to request a restriction be applied to ensure this development is not changeable.
8 Proposed Upgrade on the existing base station at Stoke on Trent RFC, Hartwell Lane, Stone, Staffordshire ST3 7NG (NGR:391217,338707). There were no objections to this application.
9 Date of next Meeting 2 March 2021