Proposed new dwelling to support a family with local connections in Risbury.

The application was approved contrary to the Case Officer’s recommendation.

(Proposed new dwelling to support a family with local connections in Risbury.)

The Principal Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application, and updates/additional representations received following the publication of the agenda were provided in the update sheet, as appended to these Minutes.

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking, Mr W Jackson, Chairman of Humber, Ford and Stoke Prior Group Parish Council, spoke in support of the Scheme.  Mr P Lawley, a local resident, spoke in objection.  Mrs S Wilson, the applicant, spoke in support.

The local ward member, Councillor JW Millar, was unable to attend the meeting because of a prior commitment on Council business.  He had submitted a statement to members of the Committee in advance of the meeting.  The Chairman allotted time for members and the public speakers to read the submission.

The local ward member made the following principal points in his submission:

·         The application was not about a house in the countryside, but about a family home for a local family which would enable them to more easily manage their livestock.

·         The building would be innovative, utilising the disused quarry owned by the applicants as a site, and using a range of green and sustainable building methods.

·         The dwelling would be well screened, and would result in no additional traffic as the applicants currently travelled regularly up and down Poplands Lane to visit their livestock.

·         The report did not give sufficient weight to reasons why the development might be advantageous to both the applicant and the community.

·         If the proposed amendments to the Core Strategy were agreed, this would result in some increased housing outside traditional settlement boundaries.   This should be considered to be emerging policy.

·         The concept of sustainability continued to be unclear.   The report referred to the poor pedestrian access to local facilities and services.   The village of Risbury had no such facilities or services which may be accessed by any resident other than by vehicular transport.  Sustainability was not just about access to facilities, but about the construction and intent for a dwelling.  The application met this test by having green and sustainable construction methods and enabling the applicants to manage their lives in a more sustainable way.

·         The Parish Council supported the application and regard should be had to its local knowledge and its full response set out at paragraph 5.1 of the report.

·         He summarised the points made by those writing in support of the application and those writing in objection to it as set out at paragraph 5.2 and 5.3 of the report. 

·         He had sympathy with those living closest to the site but did not consider that the objections made refusal appropriate.   The site would be screened and the inconvenience to neighbours would be minimal.   The proposal was innovative and allowed a local family to more effectively and sustainably manage their livestock, whilst freeing up their former home.

·         On balance he therefore supported the application, which would deliver innovative design, add to the housing stock and support the vibrant rural economy and urged the Committee to approve it.

In the Committee’s discussion of the application the following principal points were made:

·         There was support for giving weight to the views expressed by the local ward member.  It was noted that the development would provide a family home for a local family.  There was consensus that the building would be of innovative design and therefore permitted by paragraph 55 of the NPPF.

·         Weight should also be given to the Parish Council’s support for the application.

The Development Manager commented that he remained of the view that the recommendation that the application should be refused was correct.  A number of similar applications had been dismissed at appeal. The development was in the open countryside in an isolated location, unsustainable and contrary to policy.

RESOLVED: that officers named in the Scheme of Delegation to officers be authorised to grant planning permission subject to conditions considered necessary on the grounds that the proposal met a local need and was innovative and sustainable.