To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors PGH Cutter, GFM Dawe and AP Taylor

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

In accordance with paragraph 4.1.23 of the Council’s Constitution, Councillor P Jones CBE was a substitute member for Councillor PGH Cutter and Councillor MD Lloyd-Hayes was a substitute member for Councillor GFM Dawe.

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

There were no declarations of interest made.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2010.

RESOLVED:   That the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2010 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman.

The Chairman introduced all of the Officers present at the meeting.

To be noted.

The Committee noted the report.

Change of use of land - three log cabins for residential nomadic use.

The Principal Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application and updates /

additional representations received following the publication of the agenda were

provided; the schedule of committee updates is appended to these minutes.

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking, Mrs Foley, representing Linton Parish Council, and Ms Shaw, representing PrUB, spoke in objection to the application and Dr Murdoch, the applicant’s agent, spoke in support.

In accordance with paragraph 4.8.2.2 of the Council’s Constitution, Councillor H Bramer, the local ward member, commented on a number of issues, including:

·         The application was highly contentious and had resulted in a number of local objections.

·         It was perceived that gypsies and travellers had preferential treatment in the planning process.

·         The application was contrary to UDP policy H12 as the site was not a reasonable distance away from Gorsley.

·         The application was also contrary to H12 due to the inadequate landscaping proposed and the visual impact of the site.

·         The B4221 was a busy road with a 60mph speed limit and no lighting or footpath.

·         Gorsley did not have a supermarket, dentist or doctor’s surgery, all of these amenities were located in Ross on Wye which was a considerable distance away from the site.

·         The removal of trees to aid visibility on exiting the site had resulted in a lack of screening, new screening would take some years to mature.

·         There was clearly a requirement for gypsy sites within the county but they had to be in the right locations.

Members noted that the application had caused a considerable amount of interest within the local community. 66 letters of objection had been received by the Planning Department and Members stated that additional representations had been sent to them via email. Some Members noted that the emailed representations were of a similar nature and raised similar concerns.

Members noted that the applicant already owned a dwelling within a close proximity to the site and questioned the need for the log cabins. Concerns were also expressed in respect of condition 2 of the Officer’s recommendation. Members noted that the cabins could be occupied by any person fitting the criteria of a gypsy or traveller; they felt that any approval should be restricted to the applicant and his family.

The committee felt that the proposed application would harm the rural character and appearance of the area.  They also noted that the proposed landscaping would require a significant period of time to reach maturity and could therefore not provide timely or effective mitigation within a reasonable period.  Due to these concerns the committee deemed that the application was contrary to Policies S1, S2, DR1, LA2 and H12 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan in that the development failed to promote or reinforce the distinctive character of the locality.

The Committee had serious concerns regarding the sustainability of the site in terms of its accessibility to schools, medical facilities, and shops. It was noted that the nearest main village, Gorsley, was more than 2km away  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

Date of next site inspection       Tuesday 31 August 2010 [to be confirmed]

Date of next meeting                  Wednesday 1 September 2010

Members noted the dates of the next meeting and provisional site visit.