Issue - meetings

Change of use of land for the stationing of caravans for residential purposes for 5 no. gypsy pitches with the formation of hardstanding and amenity block.

Recommendation: That planning permission be granted.

Adam Ralton, Development Management Team Leader provide the following update:

In reviewing the report following publication, officers noted that there was no landscaping scheme condition in the report. Therefore, officers are proposing adding an additional condition requiring landscaping details to be submitted for approval.

Ms. Warner, representing the Toms Lane Action Group, spoke against the application.

The officer informed the Committee that HCC have not responded to their request for information on whether sufficient sites have been provided for travellers, although their website suggests that there is no capacity and other sites are full. Regardless of this, the comment says; “If this is not the case, then there is no case for very special circumstances”.  It’s important to note that the case for very special circumstances that the report has set out contains a number of different elements, which considered together to form a very special circumstances.

In response to a request describing the requirements for very special circumstances, the officer advised that they are set out in paragraph 7.11 through to 7.18 in the report, and provided a summary of those requirements.

Concerns were raised around the development being proposed in the Green Belt.

The officer explained that the officers’ judgement is that the circumstances of this case outweighs the harm to the Green Belt.

Members requested more detailed information on personal circumstances concerning this application to understand the evidence that is required to meet the personal circumstances criteria.

The officer explained that the condition would say that the site should not be occupied by people other than those who would be listed. As long as those individuals are the only ones on the site, it would conform with that planning permission. Should those names be no longer relevant; should they move somewhere else or pass away for example, the condition would still stand. It would be for the applicant to apply to vary the terms of that condition if there was an alternative person who wanted to be on that site, and the application would still need to come with evidence to support that particular change.

Furthermore, the officer explained that it would not be a reasonable condition to add for the occupants to have to provide evidence regularly that they are present on the site.

A question was raised by members of the Committee regarding the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the report.

The officer responded by informing the Committee that a planning inspector would consider the ECHR as a material consideration for these applications.

Councillor Philip Hearn moved, seconded by Councillor Chris Whately-Smith, that PLANNING PERMISSION BE GRANTED subject to the conditions, with the additional landscaping condition to be added.

On being put to the Committee the motion was declared CARRIED by the Chair, the voting being 4 For, 1 Against and 2 Abstention.

RESOLVED:

That PLANNING PERMISSION BE GRANTED subject to the conditions, with the additional landscaping condition to be added.