Minutes:
Mr P McCarthy, Design and Technical Director at Bloor Homes, spoke upon the application on behalf of the applicant. He stated that a number of changes to a revised scheme had been made to minimise the impact on adjacent residents and surplus land had been used to meet demand for an additional 28 small to medium semi/detached family homes. The application was said to continue to respect the Illustrative Development Framework plan as submitted at the outline stage.
Councillor M L Darr, Ward Councillor for the Oadby Brocks Hill Ward, spoke upon the application. He called for the application to be deferred pending further public consultation so to consult upon the subsequent amendments made to the scheme.
The Committee gave consideration to the application (at pages 18 - 25) and the agenda update (at page 1) as delivered and summarised by the Senior Planning Control Officer which should be read together with these minutes as a composite document.
A debate thereon was had whereby the Committee overall commended the revised scheme, particularly the proposed mix of dwellings and sizes, however raised some initial concerns in response to which the Senior Planning Control Officer advised that:
a. social-housing units were often clustered together to ensure their more efficient maintenance;
b. the relative small size of the children’s play areas were compensated by the generous allocation of garden space to most dwelling-houses and the provision of a large public amenity pitch on site;
c. each dwelling was allocated a suitable-sized car parking space(s) or garage so to prevent parking/obstructions on the highway;
d. boundaries between the existing and new developments were to be properly maintained after initial planting by their respective owner-occupiers; and
e. the section 106 Agreement was to provide for the site’s open spaces to be either maintained by the developer in perpetuity or adopted by the Council.
Furthermore, and although some Members believed a deferral on the grounds of further public consultation was justified, most Members felt that ample opportunity for consultation had been provided and that the application should be determined without delay and within the parameters of material planning considerations.
In reaching a decision it was reported that the scheme amounted to a low-density development of 30 dwellings per hectare and within the original outline permission granted, therefore dismissing concerns regarding the over-cramming of units.
The Committee was also advised that the Council, as the Local Planning Authority, had fully complied with its obligations in notifying residents and that any deferral in favour of holding a non-statutory public consultation would risk a cost-implicated appeal for non-determination on immaterial planning grounds and that, in any case and on balance, a further consultation period would not constructively add anything new.
It was moved by Councillor J Kaufman, seconded by Councillor D A Gamble and
DEFEATED THAT:
The application be deferred pending further public consultation.
Votes For 2
Votes Against 8
Abstentions 0
It was moved by the Chair, seconded by the Vice Chair and
RESOLVED THAT:
The application be GRANTED planning permission in accordance with the submitted documents and plans and subject to the prescribed conditions.
Votes For 9
Votes Against 1
Abstentions 0