Agenda and draft minutes

SWT Planning Committee
Thursday, 16th December, 2021 1.00 pm

Venue: The John Meikle Room - The Deane House. View directions

Contact: Tracey Meadows Email: t.meadows@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk 

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

80.

Apologies

81.

Minutes of the previous meeting of the Planning Committee

    Minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee to follow

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    (Minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 25 November 21 circulated with the agenda)

     

    Resolved that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 25 November 21 be confirmed as a correct record.

     

    Proposed by Councillor Hill seconded by Councillor Habgood

     

    The Motion was carried.

82.

Declarations of Interest or Lobbying

    To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests or lobbying in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

     

    (The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.)

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-

     

    Name

    Description of Interest

    Reason

    Action Taken

    Cllr M Blaker

    Wiveliscombe

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr S Coles

    SCC & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr Mrs Hill

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Lithgow

    Wellington

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Morgan

    Stogursey

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Palmer

    Minehead

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr R Tully

    West Monkton

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr B Weston

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr L Whetlor

    Watchet

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

     

    No further declarations were declared.

83.

Public Participation

    The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

     

    For those members of the public who have requested to speak, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.

     

    Temporary measures during the Coronavirus Pandemic

    Due to the temporary legislation (within the Coronavirus Act 2020, which allowed for use of virtual meetings) coming to an end on 6 May 2021, the council’s committee meetings will now take place in the office buildings within the John Meikle Meeting Room at the Deane House, Belvedere Road, Taunton. Unfortunately due to capacity requirements, the Chamber at West Somerset House is not able to be used at this current moment.  

     

    Following the Government guidance on measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), the council meeting rooms will have very limited capacity.  With this in mind, we will only be allowing those members of the public who have registered to speak to attend the meetings in person in the office buildings, if they wish (we will still be offering to those members of the public that are not comfortable in attending, for their statements to be read out by a Governance and Democracy Case Manager).  Please can we urge all members of the public who are only interested in listening to the debate to view our live webcasts from the safety of their own home to help prevent the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19).

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Application No.

    Name

    Position

    Stance

    10/21/0016

    Mrs Rifath

    Cllr Henley (via Zoom)

    Applicant

    Ward Member

    In favour

    In favour

    36/21/0012

    Mr P Tillen

    Applicant

    In favour

     

84.

10/21/0016 - Replacement of bungalow with a two-storey detached dwelling at Beaches, Taunton Road, Churchinford pdf icon PDF 153 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

     

    Comments from members of the public included;

    (summarised)

     

    ·       The existing building was suffering from structural degradation and was non-compliant with building regulations;

    ·       The proposal sat within the existing footprint and aligned with the neighbouring properties ridge line;

    ·       The development would be of a low embodied carbon construction method;

    ·       The proposal would not touch existing vegetation;

    ·       The proposal complied with Local Plan Policies, DM1,CP8 and the NPPF;

    ·       The proposal complied with the Blackdown Hills ANOB Policy PD2;

    ·       The proposal was not in the village of Churchinford and was within the farming community;

    ·       No objections were received from consultees;

    ·       This was an exemplar new development in the Blackdown Hills;

    ·       No added traffic concerns;

     

    Comments from Members included;

    (summarised)

     

    ·       Concerns with the use of modern materials for the proposal;

    ·       The proposal was in the wrong location as it sat in a prominent position in the Blackdown Hills;

    ·       Concerns that the metal cladding did not fit in with the surrounding area;

    ·       Concerns with the layout and lack of voltaic panels on the roof;

    ·       Incongruous building in this location;

    ·       Concerns with the interior design;

    ·       Concerns with transport issues;

    ·       The building needed to be replaced and the materials replicated the existing building;

    ·       The footprint would not be increased;

    ·       Content that the building would be carbon neutral;

    ·       The proposal was in a rural community and needed to be innovative to survive and prosper;  

     

    Councillor Hill proposed and Councillor Aldridge seconded a motion for the application to be REFUSED as per Officer recommendation.

     

    The motion was carried.

     

     

85.

36/21/0012 - Erection of extension to summerhouse for use as welfare facilities for harvesting and Christmas tree farm at the Pump House, Curload Road, Curload, Stoke St Gregory (part retention of works already undertaken) pdf icon PDF 102 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

     

    Comments from members of the public included;

    (summarised)

     

    ·       The proposal was needed to provide staff with welfare facilities;

    ·       As responsible owners the public footpath would be maintained every fortnight during the growing season;

    ·       Portable facilities brought on sight would be dangerous due to the current entrance of the land being on a blind bend;

    ·       No plans to turn this proposal into a home;

     

    Comments from Members included;

    (summarised)

     

    ·       Satisfied that the applicant was trying to make a go of this business;

    ·       The building would be good for the welfare of the staff;

    ·       Small business trying to get going;

    ·       Happy with the amended condition;

     

    Councillor Hill proposed and Councillor Aldridge seconded a motion for Conditional Approval to be approved as per Office recommendation with an amendment to condition 3 to read;

     

    The building hereby permitted shall be used as a welfare facility strictly necessary for the well-being of employees, solely linked to agricultural activities taking place on site during reasonable daytime working hours and shall be used for no other purpose;

     

    Reason – To ensure the building is not used for any overnight stay, leisure use or any other use not directly linked to necessary agricultural welfare, which is appropriate to this rural location and in line with Core Strategy policy DM2;

     

    The motion was carried.

86.

38/21/0429 - Erection of a single storey extension to the rear of 27 The Avenue, Taunton pdf icon PDF 82 KB

87.

Access to Information - Exclusion of the Press and Public

     

    During discussion of the following Item 9 it may be necessary to pass the following resolution to exclude the press and public having reflected on Article 13 13.02(e) (a presumption in favour of openness) of the Constitution.  This decision may be required because consideration of this matter in public may disclose information falling within one of the descriptions of exempt information in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.  The Planning Committee will need to decide whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption, outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

     

    Recommend that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the next items of business item 9 on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 respectively of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Exclusion of the press and public at this point in the meeting.

     

    Proposed by Councillor Hill and seconded by Councillor Habgood.

     

    The motion was carried.

88.

Confidential Enforcement Report

89.

Latest appeals and decisions received pdf icon PDF 399 KB