Agenda and minutes

It was moved and seconded that Councillor Nicholas Coombes be elected to Chair the meeting in the absence of the regular Chair, Councillor Gerry Curran, and it was resolved accordingly.

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 desired

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Gerry Curran and Doug Nicol whose substitutes were Councillors Jeremy Sparks and Dine Romero respectively

At this point in the meeting, declarations of interest are received from Members on any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number and site in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There was none

There was none

The Senior Democratic Services Officer informed the meeting that there were various people wishing to make statements on planning applications and that they would be able to do so when reaching their respective items in Report 10

There was none

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 1^st August 2012

The Minutes of the meeting held on 1^st August 2012 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair subject to:

Minute 35 Page 6 - Fairash Poultry Farm, West Harptree – In the 2^nd paragraph, after the 1^st sentence add: “… and who was largely in favour of the proposal.”

Minute 36 Page 9 - Tree Preservation Order 29 Flatwoods Road, Bath – In the 3^rd paragraph at the end of the 2^nd sentence, delete “fairly healthy” and insert “retained”.

The Senior Professional – Major Developments to provide an oral update

The Senior Professional – Major Development updated Members on the progress of major development schemes at:

·  the former Cadburys site, Somerdale, Keynsham – various issues to be considered before an application could be submitted by Taylor Wimpey

·  K2, Keynsham – the wording of conditions was being considered on the appeal decision - the development would be undertaken in phases up to 7 years - contamination issues were being considered

·  Bath University, Claverton Down, Bath – discussions were being undertaken on 3 applications and a traffic management plan which would be submitted to the Committee

·  the former Bath Press site, Lower Bristol Road, Bath (Tesco) – another application would be submitted to the next Committee meeting

Councillor Neil Butters raised the issue of electrification proposals for the railway network within B&nes. The Officer stated that discussions were being held with Network Rail in order to minimise the impact on the World Heritage Site but a significant amount of the proposals would come under Permitted Development. Members asked questions concerning the K2 development to which the Officer responded.

The Committee noted the report.

The Committee considered:

·  a report by the Development Manager on various planning applications

·  an Update Report by the Development Manager on Item Nos 1, 4 and 6, a copy of which is attached as Appendix 1 to these Minutes

·  oral statements by members of the public etc on Item Nos 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7, 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 Town Hall, The Centre, Keynsham – Erection of new buildings to provide offices, library, one stop shop, retail with associated highway works; new public realm works and landscaping following demolition of all the buildings currently on site (excluding the multi-storey car park which will be extended) – In response to the Chair, the Senior Legal Adviser gave an explanation of why the Committee were determining this application by the Council and how Members should address the issue of declaration of interests. The Case Officer reported on the application and his recommendation to permit with conditions subject to £700K being put aside for off-site improvement works in terms of transportation improvements and public access/public realm improvements. He drew attention to the Update Report which amended some conditions and added 2 more conditions. He reported on the specific issues of Highways, Impact on the Conservation Area and Design. He stated that, although there were some disbenefits to the scheme, on balance it was worthy of approval.

The public speakers made their statements on the application which were followed by statements by Ward Councillors Brian Simmons and Charles Gerrish who raised concerns about the proposal.

Members asked questions about the proposal for clarification purposes to which Officers responded as appropriate.

Councillor Bryan Organ opened the debate. He considered that the existing buildings were in a very poor condition. Although major retail outlets had left the town, there was still a vibrant community. There were still some problems with the development but he felt that permission should be delegated to the Officers. Some Members raised concerns about the design of the buildings and felt that it needed to be revised. Councillor Bryan Organ considered that there should be some amendments to the design which could be brought back to the Committee. The Development Manager advised that, whilst it was clear from the debate that there was some concern about the design of the scheme, as with all applications, it was not appropriate for Members to attempt to redesign the proposals. Members needed to consider the right of the applicant to have their submitted proposals determined within a reasonable timeframe. However, the applicant was present at the meeting and had heard the debate regarding the design. It would be preferable for Officers to bring a report back to Committee following further discussions with the applicants which would outline any changes that could be agreed. In response to a query about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

The Committee considered the report by the Development Manager on planning appeals.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson queried the application decision on the appeal lodged on No 6 High Street, Midsomer Norton (page 118) which read “Permit”; also, whether the appeal lodged on Parcel 8593, Woollard Lane, Publow (page 117) was one of the possible sites for travellers. The Development Manager responded that it was likely that the decision should read “Refused”. Regarding the travellers site, she would respond to Councillor Jackson subsequent to this meeting.

The report was noted.

Members requested at their previous meeting that a monthly update report be submitted to Committee. The appropriate Officer(s) will make an oral report.

Referring to the Minutes of the previous meeting, the Development Manager reported that the Planning Inspectorate had not agreed to the enforcement notice appeals being held in abeyance. On the basis that they were still proceeding, statements of case ie documentation required prior to a public local inquiry, needed to be provided by 20^th September. She informed Members that the Inquiry would probably be held in January next year and last approximately 3-6 days. In response to a Member’s query, the Development Manager stated that the owners in the meantime had indicated that they were disinclined to continue with the pre-application submission for a residual waste facility.

The Committee noted the report.