Agenda item

To determine the application.

David Rowen presented the report to members and drew members attention to the update that had been circulated.

Members received a presentation, in accordance with the public participation procedure, from Robert Wickham, the agent.  Mr Wickham referred to the bundles of paper that he had with him, which is evidence of the work that has been undertaken over 3 years with officers to evolve a scheme which is now recommended for approval.  He made the point that the initial proposal was for 9, which has been reduced to 4 and officers were keen on the idea of Almhouses, low rise, subservient to the Church, which he has gone along with.

Mr Wickham expressed the view that the development will not interfere with anybody or provide any harm to the Church.  He stated that the Minister of the Parish at the time was keen for small homes and they have to balance the duties under the Charities Act with a need to provide a mix of housing.

Members asked questions of the officers as follows:

·         Councillor Mrs French asked for clarification on where the surface water is going and whether it was towards the A141 into the dyke at the front of the Church?  Officers responded that this is one of the options available, but from the Internal Drainage Board comments there is also an option to the East and this is why there is a condition requiring the details of this.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Cornwell stated that he too is attracted by the 2-bed property idea rather than the luxurious dwellings that surround the area.  He feels it is a gorgeous site, surrounded by trees and is a very genteel area, which is crying out for development and thinks what is being proposed is appropriate.  Councillor Cornwell expressed the view that the proposal protects the Church Hall, which is very much a community facility, and protects the car parking around the Hall, which is important.

·         Councillor Mrs Mayor referred to the trees, which are splendid, and there is an in-depth arboricultural report and believes that some trees will be removed, but she would hate to see the whole site decimated.  She asked that care is taken and the root structures protected during the development as those trees do hide a multitude of sins from the buildings at the back.

·         Councillor Mrs French stated that St Marys Church was badly affected by flooding on 23 December 2020, with the County Council having to pump the Church Hall out 3 times, and there is a riparian dyke, with half of it belonging to the County Council and half belonging to the Church, and on certain occasions when there is heavy rain some of the graves actually move, which has been a problem for several years because it is clay and part of the original pilings.  She explained that the dyke has now been cleared out after about 30 years, and the layby to the right of the site has been a flooding issue for many years, but last year she managed to get the County Council to repair the footpath and put a proper drainage system in the footpath because the surface water from the A141 drains backwards into riparian dykes. Councillor Mrs French stated that she has read the Middle Level report and she is concerned if all this water is coming down one way, taking into consideration the development next door, which is Lime Tree Close, which is in the process of being developed and has a drainage issue and they have been told they cannot put the surface water into these dykes and have to take it 1.3 kilometres away, which she find amazing.  She does understand that the 8 dwellings to the rear that are completed have linked up to a sewerage system in St Martins Avenue, with the permission of FACT as it crosses their drains, and she believes that the 9 dwellings at Lime Tree Close are in the process of trying to buy a piece of land to the rear which belongs to March Food so they can link up to a sewerage system as the whole of Westry does not have a sewerage system.  Councillor Mrs French made the point that she has no problems with the dwellings being built near to the beautiful church and lovely area, but is concerned about flooding issues.  She expressed the view that if the surface water goes into that front dyke which goes up too KFC then under the A141 to Middle Level, and the problem is that KFC has repeatedly had to have the County Council to slurry it out and she is waiting for a report back from County Council on what the problem is.  Councillor Mrs French expressed the view that when KFC and Cobblestones were built there was a broken pipe under the main road which caused severe flooding so the more water you put down into this drain the more problems you are going to get.  She asked that this development is not allowed to drain into that front dyke, but goes out to the rear.

·         Councillor Miscandlon referred to the removal of some trees during the construction of the development and asked if a condition could be placed on any approval that mature replacement trees are located somewhere within the site to replace any that are removed.  Councillor Mrs French pointed out that the officer’s report does say that 8 trees are to be removed, but these are not the TPOs these are poor quality trees that have self-seeded over the years so she does not think they need to be replaced, but if there is room it would be nice to see them replaced.  Councillor Miscandlon stated that it may be found that some of these TPOS do need replacing due to their condition and they should be replaced.  Councillor Mrs French responded that the Tree Officer and Enforcement Officer are out doing visits on a regular basis.

·         Councillor Mrs French asked that her comments on flooding and surface water are taken into consideration on any approval.  David Rowen responded that Condition 7 deals with this issue.

Proposed by Councillor Booth, seconded by Councillor Skoulding and agreed that the application be APPROVED as per the officer’s recommendation.

(Councillors Mrs French and Skoulding registered, in accordance with Paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct on Planning Matters, that they are members of March Town Council, but take no part in planning issues)