Agenda and minutes

It was proposed by Councillor Connor, seconded by Councillor Mrs French and resolved that Councillor Mrs Davis be elected as Vice-Chairman of the Planning Committee for the remainder of the Municipal Year, 2020/21.

To determine the application

Nicholas Thrower presented the report to members.

Members received a presentation in support of the application, in accordance with the public participation procedure, from Mr Tim Slater the agent.

Mr Slater advised that he was speaking on behalf of the applicant and Peter Humphrey Associates (as agent) in relation to this proposal. He expressed the view that he is mindful over the provisions of LP3 and LP12 of the Local Plan, but it is clear that in this instance that other material considerations are relevant and should be given significant weight in decision making, particularly in respect to this site, reference is made to be numerous recent planning permissions along Gull Road, which have individually and cumulatively, fundamentally changed the character of this road and set a number of precedents, which are relevant to the proposal before the committee, but notwithstanding the fact that the councils public access mapping search function has not worked for over a week now, and the research that he has carried out indicates that there are about a dozen new plots approved along the stretch of Gull Road since the adoption of the Local plan in 2014.

Mr Slater stated that it is acknowledged that there have been refusals along Gull Road and it is contended that the character of this area has changed in the interim and that the open character with intermittent buildings that LP3 sought to protect is now no longer the case and this area is in essence now a linear settlement within which this proposal is infill within an existing gap and this change in circumstance is considered material to the determination of the application. He explained that he is aware that the Local Plan is now somewhat dated and is undergoing a review, and he hopes that the emerging plan will recognise the changing character of not only of Guyhirn, but other similar settlements.

Mr Slater expressed the view that the changing character of the settlement is acknowledged within the response of the Parish Council, who support the application, which he welcomes and that there are no technical or environmental constraints to the development going ahead. He stated that the previous applications on this site included additional land in Flood Zone 3, which he has now removed from this application to address the concerns in relation to flood risk.

Mr Slater stated that it is proposed to design the Reserved Matters submission to accord with the recommendation from the accompanying Flood Risk Assessment, with matters of scale and impact to be fully assessed at that stage, and it is noted that an objection refers to adverse impacts on residential amenity, however, it is reiterated that the application is made in outline only and that the layout and appearance of the buildings do not form part of this application and are intended for illustrative purposes only. He explained that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and much of the Government White Paper is seeking to deliver more new homes  ...  view the full minutes text for item P64/20

To determine the application

Alison Hoffman presented the report to members.

Members received a presentation, in accordance with the public participation procedure, from Mr Gareth Edwards, the Agent.

Mr Edwards explained that the application is for 6 dwellings at land west of the former Sunset Rooms, Station Road, Wisbech St Mary, with the application being before the committee with the support of officers, following the granting of permission for 3 other dwellings on the site and made the point that he has worked closely with Planning Officers making the revisions as required to obtain their recommendation of approval. He stated that the site is within Flood Zone 1, which is unlike most of the village, and it abuts the built form as it was part of the car park for the former Sunset Rooms, which is previously developed land and as the report states Wisbech St Mary is a growth village where development will be appropriate either within the existing urban area or as a small village extension.

Mr Edwards stated that the site is served via an existing access, which used to serve the Sunset Rooms and historically had a vast amount of traffic using it, with the proposal making the best use of the land and finishing off this part of the village. He asked the committee to support the officer’s recommendation and approve the application with the conditions recommended.

Members asked Mr Edwards the following questions:

·         Councillor Sutton asked for confirmation as to whether the land ownership also includes the road and also riparian ownership for the ditch, which is in a poor state. He asked for clarity as to how details of the riparian ownership will be conveyed to the new owners and whether an informative could be added so that the condition of the ditch can be improved? Mr Edwards stated that it is his understanding that as it is riparian then permission needs to be sought in order to carry out any works on the ditch with the opposite side. Councillor Sutton stated that he cannot imagine that the other party would not wish to engage to have works carried out on the ditch and he added that if the application was approved then an informative should be added.

·         Councillor Mrs French referred to the recent reports of flooding that she has been receiving and stated that there needs to be an element of follow up work undertaken with regard to ensuring that those responsible maintain the areas of dykes they are accountable for. She added that she will support the application if there is a condition included that the surface water is managed correctly and not left to flood the rest of Wisbech St Mary.

Members asked officers the following questions:

·         Councillor Sutton asked for clarity that the footprint for the outline planning permission is the same or very similar to the proposal before members. Alison Hoffman stated that it is a different form of development, so it is not exactly the same, but as part of  ...  view the full minutes text for item P65/20

To determine the application

Gavin Taylor presented the report to members.

Members received a written representation, read out by Gavin Taylor, from Councillor Bob Wicks, ward councillor.

“Thank you for the opportunity to present this further information. As you are all aware that prior to Christmas we had substantial rainfall which resulted in an amount of flooding in the county and failure of a number of Sewerage pumping stations in the Coates, Eastrea and Turves ward. These pumping stations were at Coates, Eastrea (Drybread Road) and Aliwal Road. While the failure of the Eastrea station did not cause the same outcome as in Coates, residents of Springfield did experience a backup of effluents which did result in the restriction of their access to sanatory provision. This was particularly the case at the far end of Springfields, close to the proposed development. The actual cause of the failure is being investigated at this time by Anglian Water”.

Members received a presentation, in accordance with the public participation procedure, from Mr David Broker, the Agent.

Mr Broker expressed the view that this is another marginal location where it does not quite fit with policy, but is very close to doing so and he compared it with Wype Road also in Eastrea. He stated that there are 3 reasons for the recommendation of refusal, one of which is Policy LP3 of the Local Plan with Eastrea being a small village where limited scale of residential infill will beallowed, secondly Policy LP12 Part 3 where development in the open countryside and thirdly details of the means of access.

Mr Broker highlighted each aspect in turn and stated that Planning Committee members have considered similar locations elsewhere in Fenland and have ruled in favour of the necessity to sustain the growth of the rural settlements and pointed out that, at the last Planning Committee, members approved residential development in Wype Road Eastrea, which was supported by the Planning Officer and determined as infill. He expressed the opinion that infill has always been limited to 1 or 2 dwellings between existing residential units close by and he added that in that location there are no less than 6 dwellings, 3 very large houses previously approved and under construction, a farm access and 3 further dwellings which have been approved. He stated that further 2 dwellings have been constructed beyond the original last dwelling on that side of the road extending again into open countryside in a most prominent position.

Mr Broker pointed out that previously the Committee have questioned the terminology of open countryside again supporting limited development in such locations and added that whilst not wishing to get entwined with Wype Road Eastrea, the two sites draw very close comparisons as they are both at opposite ends of the village, both opposite to existing residential properties and both backing onto open farmland/countryside. He added that the application site before members is far less prominent with regard to being seen by the public and less obtrusive of  ...  view the full minutes text for item P66/20

To determine the application

Alison Hoffman presented the report to members:

Members received a presentation, in accordance with the public participation procedure, from Mr Rob Edwards, the Agent

Mr Edwards stated that he represents the applicant, Adapt Biogas, as they seek to gain full planning permission for the construction of an anaerobic digestant lagoon at Somerset Farm, which will replace an identical lagoon that gained planning permission from Fenland District Council in 2018, but remains unbuilt and the proposed location of the new lagoon is 105 metre to the east of the previous site proposed in 2018. He made the point that the footprint of the new lagoon partly overlaps that of the existing permission and the reasonfor changingthe locationis toavoid theneed todivert aditch, whichpasses throughthe westernpart of the previous application area and the new location also better integrates into the existing field boundaries.

Mr Edwards explained that the nearest propertiesto theapplication siteare thoseon CantsDrove tothe northand GullDrove tothe south and the new location does not involve building any closer to these properties than was previously proposed in the 2018application. He stated that the applicant wishes to acknowledge that construction of the lagoon banks has already commenced, but this was completedunder thecontrol ofthe previoussite management and thenew sitemanagement team,which hasbeen in place since early January, has since ceased works to await the planningdecision.

Mr Edwards stated that the proposed lagoon is intended to serve the adjacent anaerobic digestion plant, trading as Murrow AD Plant Ltd, and the plant itself has been in operation for approximately 10 years, producing clean and renewable biogas from agriculturalfeedstocks. He stated that the sitehas recentlysuccessfully developeda connectionto theNational Gridgas transmission network, allowing biogas to be directly injected into the gas distribution and supply network, displacing fossil-fuel based natural gas use and this is the first development of its kind anywhere in the UK and is seen by National Grid as an exemplar project that it wishes to promote to other similar businesses in support of its decarbonisationagenda.

Mr Edwards explained to members that digestate is a bi-product of the anaerobic digestion process and it has a significant value for agricultural irrigation andfertilisation, replacingmains waterand chemicalbased fertiliserrespectively withassociated environmental benefits. He stated that as irrigation and land-spreading is generally only required seasonally, storage capacity in the form of a lagoon is required which will fill during the winter months and be emptied over the growing season.

Mr Edwards advised that, in 2013, Fenland District Council gave planning permission for a digestate storage lagoon at this location and, in 2018,a secondlagoon wasgranted planningpermission tothe eastof theexisting ADplant, but construction ofthis lagoon wasnot completedat thetime, andit isnow proposedto constructat anamended locationas  ...  view the full minutes text for item P67/20

To consider the appeals report.

Nick Harding presented the appeals report to members.

Members agreed to note the contents of the appeals report.