Proposed two additional mobile homes, two touring caravans and the construction of a day room, associated hard standing drainage and re - aligned access track. 

The application was approved in accordance with the Case Officer’s recommendation.

(Proposed two additional mobile homes, two touring caravans and the construction of a day room, associated hard standing drainage and re - aligned access track.) 

(Councillor Guthrie fulfilled the role of local ward member and accordingly had no vote on this application.)

The Senior 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, Mrs A Sutton, Clerk to Marden Parish Council spoke in opposition to the Scheme.  Mrs H Hamilton spoke in objection on behalf of The Vauld Community Group.  Mr P Baines of Herefordshire Travellers Support Group, spoke in support.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the local ward member, Councillor KS Guthrie, spoke on the application.

She made the following principal comments:

·        She had received many representations from local residents and Marden Parish Council had made comprehensive objections to the proposal.

·        The proposal represented quite an extensive expansion of the site, which was in the open countryside and set apart from the main village of Marden.

·        The site was outside the settlement boundary in the Neighbourhood Development Plan.

·        The national planning policy for traveller sites stated that planning authorities should ensure that the scale of such sites did not dominate the nearest settled community.  Local planning authorities should very strictly limit new traveller site development in open countryside that was away from existing settlements or outside areas allocated in the development plan.

·        The current permission allowed one touring caravan on the site.  However, two had frequently been observed in breach of conditions.  If the application was approved there was little confidence that there would be compliance with the conditions and that they would be enforced.

·        The proposal was contrary to policy RA3 because the site was outside the settlement boundary.

·        It was contrary to policy M2 of the NDP which sought to protect the rural integrity of hamlets within the parish and protect the rural landscape. 

·        Sustainability was an issue in that the site was 1.5km from Bodenham and 2.5km from Marden.  The C1125 off which the site was accessed was subject to speeding traffic and there had been accidents on the road.  Highway safety was therefore a concern.  There were no pavements.  There was not therefore reasonable access to services and facilities.

·        A possible extension to the site could have been submitted to the Call for Sites process undertaken for Herefordshire Council's Travellers' Sites Document Preferred Options consultation, or indeed to the Call for Sites for development for the Marden NDP.  No such submission had been made.

·        She supported the Parish Council’s conclusion set out at the end of section 5.1 on page 29 of the agenda papers, that there was not “a demonstrated need for additional pitches at this site, located in open countryside, and a significant distance from services and facilities. For this reason, the application is considered to be unsustainable and contrary to Policies RA3 and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118