Agenda and minutes

The Chair will ask the Committee Administrator to draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 6

The Senior Democratic Services Officer read out the procedure

A Vice Chair was not required

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Lisa Brett and David Veale and their respective substitutes were Councillors Nicholas Coombes and Sally Davis

Members who have an interest to declare are asked to state:

(a) the Item No and site in which they have an interest; (b) the nature of the interest; and (c) whether the interest is personal or personal and prejudicial.

Any Member who is unsure about the above should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting in order to expedite matters at the meeting itself.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the planning applications at Bath Spa University, Newton St Loe (Items 8 and 9, Report 11) as a former employee and would leave the meeting for their consideration. Councillor Sally Davis stated that, as Ward Councillor for the application at land between Barton House and Laburnum Cottage, Corston (Item 5, Report 11), she would make a statement and then leave the meeting for its consideration.

There were no items of Urgent Business

(1) At the time of publication, no items had been submitted.

(2) To note that, regarding planning applications to be considered, members of the public who have given the requisite notice to the Committee Administrator will be able to make a statement to the Committee immediately before their respective applications are considered. There will be a time limit of 3 minutes for each proposal, ie 3 minutes for the Parish and Town Councils, 3 minutes for the objectors to the proposal and 3 minutes for the applicant, agent and supporters. This allows a maximum of 9 minutes per proposal.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer reported that there were various members of the public etc wishing to make statements on the planning applications for consideration and that they would be able to do so when reaching those items in Report 11

To deal with any petitions or questions from Councillors and where appropriate Co-opted Members

There were no items from Councillors

To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 8^th June 2011 as a correct record

The Minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 8^th June 2011 were approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record

The Senior Professional – Major Developments to provide an oral update

The Development Manager reported that there were no updates on major developments and that, if Members had any queries, they should direct them to the Senior Professional – Major Developments.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson requested an update at the next meeting on the former Railway Land at Norton Radstock as regards renewal of permissions and issuing of Traffic Regulation Orders. The Development Manager responded in general terms on the aspect of permissions and said that traffic regulation orders were not part of the planning system. It was considered in the circumstances that it would not be appropriate to report on this matter at the next meeting and that Councillor Jackson could raise it directly with the appropriate Officers.

To note the report

The Chair commented on the generally high success rate of appeals being dismissed.

The Committee noted the report.

The Committee considered

• The report of the Development Manager on various planning applications

• An Update Report by the Development Manager on Item Nos. 1, 2, and 7 – 9, a copy of which is attached as Appendix 1 to these Minutes

• Oral statements by members of the public etc on Item Nos. 1 – 3 and 5 – 9, the Speakers List being attached as Appendix 2 to these Minutes

RESOLVED that, in accordance with their delegated powers, the applications be determined as set out in the Decisions List attached as Appendix 3 to these Minutes.

Item 1 Stowey Quarry, Stowey Road, Stowey – Restoration of Stowey Quarry by landfilling of Stable Non-Reactive Hazardous Waste (SRNHW) and inert wastes – The Council’s Consultant reported on this application and the recommendation to Permit subject to conditions. She referred to the Update Report which recommended some amendments to some wording of Conditions 9 and 14 and reported on various concerns raised by Members at the previous meeting.

The applicant’s agent made a statement in favour of the proposal. The Ward Councillor Vic Pritchard made a statement against the proposal followed by a statement from Councillor Jeremy Sparks as adjoining Ward Member for Clutton who raised various concerns.

Members asked questions about the proposal to which Officers responded.  Councillor Nicholas Coombes considered that there were various benefits from landfilling the site which outweighed the negative effects and therefore moved the Officer recommendation to Permit with conditions. Councillor Brian Webber felt confident about the proposal and its operation and seconded the motion.

Members debated the motion. Some Members supported the proposal whereas other Members still expressed concerns on the basis of the numerous objections received and the possible impact on watercourses and traffic congestion. The motion was then put to the vote. Voting: 6 in favour and 5 against with 1 abstention. Motion carried.

Items 2&3 No 4 James Street West – Construction of new hotel of 108 bedrooms with ancillary bar, restaurant, guest drop-off area, disabled parking, cycle storage, enclosed service bay and plant area following demolition of all existing buildings at 4 James Street West/1a and 2 Kingsmead North; and Demolition of all existing buildings at 4 James Street West/1a and 2 Kingsmead North – The Chair stated that the application for Consent to demolish (Item 3) would be considered first and asked the Case Officer to give his presentation. The Officer reported on the application to demolish these buildings and recommended that the wording of Condition 2 be amended. The Chair considered that the buildings had little merit and there was no justification for their retention. Councillor Les Kew agreed and moved the Officer recommendation to grant Consent with the amended Condition. This was seconded by Councillor Bryan Organ and put to the vote which was carried unanimously.

The Chair then asked the Case Officer to report on the application for a 108 bedroom hotel etc (Item 2). The Officer reported on this proposal and his recommendation to (A)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.