To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors ACR Chappell, GFM Dawe and PJ Watts

To receive details any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

Councillor KG Grumbley was appointed named substitute for Councillor PJ Watts.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

Councillor KS Guthrie declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8 (DMCW/092985/F - Land at Brook Farm, Marden)

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meetings held on 10 and 24 February, 2010.

RESOLVED:     That the Minutes of the meeting held on 10th and 24th February, 2010 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman.

The Chairman drew attention to it being St Patrick’s Day.

To note the attached report.

The Committee noted the report of the Head of Planning and Transportation about the planning appeals which had been received or determined since the last meeting

Outline planning application for construction of a three bedroom dwelling.

This application was first considered at the meeting held on 10 February 2010.

Ward - Pontrilas

The Development Control Manager advised that at its meeting on 20th January the Committee had decided to grant permission and consequently under the provisions of the Council’s Constitution the Head of Planning and Transportation had requested a deferral for a Further Information Report. The report detailed the required information and set out the suggested Section 106 Agreement and conditions. 

The Development Control Manager said that the suggested agreement/conditions included a requirement for the dwelling to be tied to the business and that any future sale would need to be at an affordable level to serve local need.  He said that on of the proposed conditions was that the sale price should not exceed 50% of the open market value and he explained the factors that had been taken into consideration in arriving at this percentage. He also submitted the following updates and said that a further letter of objection had been received from a local resident:

ADDITIONAL REPRESENTATIONS

A letter has been received from Herefordshire CPRE. This objects as the development is contrary to planning policy, will be prominent in the landscape and does not meet the criteria for dwellings to serve rural businesses.

OFFICER COMMENTS

There are errors in Paragraph 1.1 of the Report.

The paragraph should be deleted and replaced with the following:-

“This application was reported to the meeting on 10 February 2010 where it was resolved that it be approved subject to appropriate conditions. In accordance with Section 4.8.10 of Part 4 – Section 8 – The Planning Rules of the Constitution, the Head of Planning and Transportation and the Monitoring Officer advised that as they considered that an approval of the application raised fundamental policy issues a further information report was necessary in order to address appropriate conditions.”

In accordance with the provisions for public speaking, Mr McCrae spoke against the application and Mr Heath, the applicant, spoke in favour. Mr Heath asked the Committee to consider waiving the requirement for a future sale to reflect local need because this would adversely affect his ability to secure the necessary funding for his proposals.

Councillor RH Smith the Local Ward Member voiced concerns about the imposition of the restriction for the future disposal of the house and felt that the 50% limit was too restrictive and should be either set aside or set at no less than 75%.  The permission was for an agricultural business serving the local community and the applicant should be offered every opportunity to succeed. He was also concerned that he had not been consulted about the proposed heads of terms in the Section 106 agreement and at the lengthy delay in the application being dealt with. 

The Development control manager said that the suggested conditions complied with the Council’s planning policies for such uses and that a previous application had been withdrawn with the current one submitted in September 2009. It had been delayed because of the Constitutional changes and the cancellation of the January meeting.

Members discussed the proposed conditions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

Retrospective change of use of land from agriculture to provide accommodation and related facilities for seasonal agricultural workers.

Ward – Sutton Walls

A report was presented by the Development Control Manager  He said that the former Central Area Planning Sub-Committee had previously granted an application for polytunnels on the farm but refused an application for accommodation for up to 1000 workers.  The application was now for provision for up to 850 workers. The officers felt that the application was reasonable given the undertakings by the applicants, the rearranged layout of the site and steps taken to mitigate the impact on the local community including the part-funding of a parish liaison officer to provide a link between the workers and local community.  He added that the applicants had requested a ten year permission but he felt that five years was reasonable. He presented the following updates:

ADDITIONAL REPRESENTATIONS

A further letter has been received from the applicant’s agent. This welcomes the recommendation but expresses concern that the permission would be limited to five years.  It points out that due to the close links to the polytunnel development, for which the permission from 2009 is for ten years, it is logical for any permission for the accommodation for seasonal workers to be for the same duration. It is considered that such a short duration could cause commercial difficulties as changes need to be introduced in the layout and landscaping will hardly be implemented before the permission expires and doubt about the future will impair planning and investment.

OFFICER COMMENTS

Following negotiations between your Officers, the applicant and Marden Parish Council, the applicant has agreed to enter into a planning obligation, which will be provided through a Section 106 agreement, the Heads of Terms of which are set out below.

HEADS OF TERMS

Proposed Planning Obligation Agreement Section 106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Planning Application: DMCW/092985/F

Proposal: Change of use of land from agriculture to a site for the accommodation of seasonal agricultural workers in caravans/mobile homes stationed continuously on the site. Retention of demountable portable buildings used in connection with and strictly ancillary accommodation used respectively as a dormitory block, staff operations centre, health and fitness centre, staff shop, kitchen units, social units (services) shower and toilet units (retrospective).

Site: Land at Brook Farm, Marden, Herefordshire HR1 3ET

i)        The applicant covenants with Herefordshire Council to pay annually to Herefordshire Council the sum of £5500 which shall be used as a contribution towards the salary of the ‘Parish Officer’ who shall be employed by West Mercia Constabulary (or any successor agency), on behalf of Marden Parish Council.

ii)       The sum referred to in paragraph 1 shall be reviewed concurrently with any future application which seeks to vary or amend the planning permission to which this agreement relates.

iii)     The requirement to pay the financial contribution referred to in paragraph 1 will only be payable on the grant of planning permission for the proposal and will end on the sooner of a) the cessation of the post of Parish Officer, b) the cessation of the use of the land for the accommodation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100.

Additional Meeting - Tuesday 30 March

Provisional site inspection - 13 April

Next scheduled meeting - 14 April

Additional Meeting - Tuesday 30 March

Provisional site inspection - 13 April

Next scheduled meeting - 14 April