Proposed site for up to 80 dwellings, garages, parking, open space and indicative road layout at land off Ashfield way, Bromyard, Herefordshire, HR7 4BF.

The application was approved in accordance with the case officer’s recommendation.

During consideration and determination of the application Councillor Seldon acted as the local ward member and exercised no voting rights.

The principal planning officer provided a presentation on the application and confirmed that following the consultation response of the Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) an allocation of funding had been included in the heads of terms to deliver improvements to the local surgery.

In accordance with the procedure for public speaking at planning and regulatory committee, Mr R Page of Bromyard and Winslow Town Council, spoke in opposition to the application. Mrs C Hughes, a local resident, speaking on behalf of residents of Ashfield Way spoke in objection.

Councillor A Seldon, the local ward member, spoke on the application and made the following points:

·           The response from the CCG had acknowledged the strain on the local surgery and an allocation of section 106 funding was required. The surgery was one of the busiest in Herefordshire and a large influx of residents would undermine the provision of primary and secondary healthcare to new and existing residents.

·           The site was a windfall development and had not previously been allocated in any local plans.

·           Core Strategy Policy BY1 identified the construction of a minimum of 500 houses and 5 hectares of employment land up to 2031 and took account of infrastructure requirements.

·           Under Policy BY2 the site at Hardwick Bank had been identified as the preferred strategic housing site after consultation with the Town Council. Taking into account the housing proposed for the Hardwick Bank site, the likely re-development of the highways depot and the current application Bromyard could potentially experience an increase of 900 houses and it was doubted whether the infrastructure was in place to support this expansion.

·           It was important for the committee to consider each application brought before it on an independent and individual basis. However, a strategic oversight of the impact of a high level of housing development on Bromyard should be borne in mind.

·           The impact of additional housing on St Peters primary school was raised. The school was close to capacity and the application would have significant impact on educational infrastructure.

·           Councillor Seldon declared a personal interest as Vice Chairman of the Governing body of St Peters primary school.

·           The application had not identified employment land and was contrary to policies SS5 and BY1.

·           The reasons proposed to approve the application, particularly the lack of 5 year housing supply and the absence of a neighbourhood plan at Bromyard, were questioned. A solar farm had recently been refused on an adjacent site due to impact on landscape, policy LD1 had been cited in the reasons for the refusal. Recent legal precedent supported the refusal of the application on landscape grounds.

·           In the event that the application was approved a condition was requested which ensured that local residents and the town council was involved at an early stage in discussions concerning a reserved matters application.

In the committee’s discussion of the application the following principal points were raised:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47