Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Andrew Appleby, Simon Cole and Brian Harvey.

Councillor Louise Marston was also unable to attend the meeting. 

There were no substitutes present at the meeting. 

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2018 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2018 were unanimously received by the Committee as an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman. 

Report No: DEV/FH/19/001

Outline Planning Application (Means of Access to be considered) - 10 no. dwellings. As amended by plan received on 26 June 2018 and further amended on 30 August 2018 with the inclusion of the Means of Access to be considered

(Councillor Peter Ridgwell advised the meeting that he lived a short distance East of the development site.  He had sought the advice of the Monitoring Officer and stated that the application would have no financial impact on him personally.  He, therefore, was not declaring any form of interest and was not considering the matter with a closed mind.)

Outline Planning Application (Means of Access to be considered) - 10 no. dwellings. As amended by plan received on 26 June 2018 and further amended on 30 August 2018 with the inclusion of the Means of Access to be considered

This application was referred to the Development Control Committee at the request of Councillor Christine Mason, Ward Member: Brandon East.

A Member site visit was held prior to the meeting and Officers were recommending that the application be approved, subject to the completion of a Section 106 Agreement and conditions, as set out in Paragraph 77 of Report No DEV/FH/19/001.

The Committee was advised that earlier that afternoon a formal response to the application had been received from Brandon Town Council who stated that they objected to the application “based on the access along Gas House Drove being unsuitable for traffic”.

As part of her presentation the Principal Planning Officer explained that the application was for outline planning permission, with matters of appearance, landscaping, layout and scale being ‘reserved matters’; and the S106 Agreement would deliver the required 30% affordable housing along with education and library conditions.

Speaker:      Mr David Watson (neighbouring resident) spoke against the application

Councillor Peter Ridgwell posed a number of questions concerning the application in relation to:

·         The access rights along Gas House Drove;

·         Fire hydrant provision;

·         Cesspit sanitation; and

·         The S106 education contribution.

Councillor Ridgwell also stated that he believed that alternative access was needed for the site.

In response, the Planning Officers present explained that:

·         Access rights were not a material planning consideration and the Committee was required to determine the application before them with the access proposed;

·         Fire hydrant provision was made reference to in the report and was addressed by way of a proposed condition within the recommendation;

·         The Suffolk County Council Flood & Water Team had not objected to the sanitation proposed and this was also covered by way of conditions; and

·         The Committee was advised that Suffolk County Council as Local Education Authority continually reviewed demand for education in the county, which was influenced by a number of factors.  This accounted for the difference in contributions requested by way of the S106 Agreement, over the course of the life of the application.

Councillor Ruth Bowman raised questions with regard to contaminated land, which had been made reference to by the public speaker. 

The Principal Planning Officer explained that the Council’s Environment Team agreed that the site could be appropriately managed in respect of contaminated land by attaching planning conditions requiring the necessary investigative and remedial works.

Councillor David Bowman spoke in support of the application and made reference to a former gas  ...  view the full minutes text for item 346.