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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Democratic Services 

Items
No. Item

57.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 41 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2022.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2022 were approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

 

58.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Joy Aitman, Rosa Bolger, Steve Good and Ben Woodruff.

 

Councillor Andrew Prosser substituted for Councillor Dan Levy.

59.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations from Members of the Committee on any items to be considered at the meeting.

Minutes:

Councillor Prosser declared an interest in applications 21/03643/FUL and 21/03644/LBC – 46 Market Square, Witney because he had been in attendance at the Witney Town Council meeting when the item was discussed.

 

During the course of the meeting, he advised that he had voted on the application and the Chairman therefore asked him to remove himself from the meeting for the deliberation of the items.

60.

Applications for Development pdf icon PDF 528 KB

Purpose:

To consider applications for development, details of which are set out in the attached schedule.

Recommendation:

That the applications be determined in accordance with the recommendations of the Business Manager – Development Management.

 

Minutes:

21/03720/FUL – 44 Common Road, North Leigh.

 

The Senior Planner, David Ditchett introduced the application for the demolition of an existing residential property; along with the erection of ten detached and semi-detached, two storey dwellings, construction of a new access, with associated garaging, parking, landscaping and all enabling works.

 

The following members of the public addressed the meeting:

 

Ms Sarah Veasey – North Leigh Parish Council, objecting;

Mr Soave – local resident objecting; and

Mr Tim Northey – applicant.

 

A copy of Ms Veasey’s submission is attached to these minutes, however a summary of the other speakers is as follows:

 

Mr Soave advised that he was objecting on behalf of a number of residents who had raised concerns about the removal of trees which could have protected their views.  He advised that consultation with the local community should have been considered, the ridge heights of some proposed dwellings were too high and there would be a loss of amenity due to the new access road.

 

Mr Northey described this as previously developed land and a sustainable site.  The proposed designs were in keeping with the character and appearance of the area, similar to Common Close but lower density.  He also referred to the need of more affordable, three bedroomed properties and highlighted the biodiversity net gain.

 

Following a question from Councillor Fenton, Mr Northey confirmed that the biodiversity net gain on and off site would be achieved by installing swift and bat boxes alongside native planting.  Offsite provision would be achieved via a credit with a third party operator within West Oxfordshire.

 

The local ward member Councillor St John addressed the committee in objection to the application. In his address he referred to the historic use of number 44, previous applications and the removal of mature trees and loss of ecology.  Councillor St John also made reference to S106 contributions, the impact on the linear character and previous refusal reasons. He therefore asked the committee to consider deferring the application to allow a site visit to take place.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Crossland, Councillor St John advised that none of the mature trees that had been removed had been protected.

 

The Senior Planner then presented his report containing a recommendation of provisional approval.  He provided clarification on the previous applications relating to the site and how the refusal reasons for those had been addressed by the applicant.  Officers were satisfied that two of the refusal reasons had been overcome, one (drainage) could be overcome, and two were partly overcome.

 

Councillor Langridge addressed the meeting and thanked the officer for the clear summation of the case.  He felt the application was finely balanced and noted the concerns of the objectors and the Parish Council.  He therefore proposed that the application be deferred to allow a site visit to take place and this was seconded by Councillor Haine.

 

Councillor Leverton highlighted the need to ensure that any drainage conditions agreed by officer were robust and could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

61.

Applications Determined under Delegated Powers and Appeal Decisions pdf icon PDF 78 KB

Purpose:

To inform the Sub-Committee of applications determined under delegated powers and any appeal decisions.

Recommendation:

That the reports be noted.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report giving details of applications determined under delegated powers was received and noted.

 

Senior Planner, David Ditchett outlined the Appeal Decisions report and provided an update on the current position with each application.

 

The Chairman took this opportunity to thank those Members not standing for re-election in May, namely Councillor Rosa Bolger and Councillor Maxine Crossland.  He expressed his gratitude to Councillor Crossland for her many years’ service to the Lowlands Area Planning Sub-Committee and wished her all the best for her retirement.

 

He concluded by wishing luck to all those Members who were standing for election next month.