Meeting documents

     PLANNING ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

     Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on

     21 September 1998

     PRESENT

     Cllr R J Nagle (in the Chair)

Cllr J M Blanksby

Cllr D E Done

Cllr Mrs K M Draper

Cllr A A Dunford

Cllr S H Graham

Cllr Mrs A E Hardy

Cllr M D Huddy

Cllr Mrs V A Letheren

Cllr Mrs C C Martens

Cllr P J Moore

Cllr C B Oliver

Cllr Mrs K M Peatey MBE JP

Cllr R C Pushman*

(Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A Dunn, D A C Shakespeare and Mrs J E Teesdale).

(Councillors D J Coe, A Collingwood, A Gielgud and Miss D Lewis attended the meeting in their capacity as local Members).

* Standing Deputies

1.     MINUTES

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 15 June and  18 June (reconvened) and 28 July 1998 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The substantive Minutes discussed at Planning, Environment and Transportation Panel were as follows:-

Minute No 2 - Street Name for Development off St John=s Road, Tylers Green

The Panel resolved that the name AKite Wood Road@ be adopted for the new street situated at land off St John=s Road, Tylers Green.

Minute No 3 - High Wycombe Railway Station Development Brief

The Panel resolved that the Brief as submitted be adopted as supplementary planning guidance for the site with the condition of the addition to the Brief of secure cycle provision at both the north and south platforms.

Minute No 4 - Application for Environmental Action Grant

The Panel agreed to award a grant in the sum of ,653.70 to the Downley Common Preservation Society for essential maintenance works to the machinery used for the management of Downley Common.

Minute No 5 - Conservation Area Character Surveys for Frieth and Princes Risborough - Results of Public Consultation

The Conservation Area Character Surveys for Frieth and Princes Risborough were approved and adopted as an aid in development control considerations.

Minute No 6 - Wycombe Joint Transportation Strategy Panel - Matters Arising from the Meetings held on 6 May and 7 July 1998

The Panel resolved the following issues:-

Minute No 7 - Revenue and Capital Budgetary Controls

The Budgetary Provision was noted.

Minute No 8 - External Auditor=s Recommendations/Progress Report

The external auditor=s recommendations within the remit of the Panel were confirmed and progress noted.

Minute No 9 - Audit Commission Performance Indicators 1997/98 and 1998/99

The project outturn position for 1997/98 was noted and the 1998/99 target set for the services under the Panel=s responsibility confirmed.

Minute No 10 - Best Value - Policy and Service Review

The timetables as submitted for Building Control and Environmental Health were approved.

The issues arising from the Environmental Health Service overview and the policy and service review for dog control and health and safety were agreed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 20 July 1998 be received.

3.     PLANNING APPLICATIONS PANEL

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meetings of the Planning Applications Panel held on 3 June, 24 June, 29 June (reconvened), 15 July and 5 August 1998 be received.

The Committee received a report on the application for change of use to the display and sale of used cars, erection of a wall and railings and office building at the Old Coal Yard, London Road, Loudwater, Bucks which had been considered at the meeting of the Planning Applications Panel on 5 August 1998.  The Panel had not reached a  decision on the application, and it was therefore referred to the Committee for determination.

The local Members spoke about the site and the likely impact of the proposed development referring to Policy G2 of the Adopted Wycombe District Local Plan.

Members discussed the application bearing in mind the effect of the delivery of vehicles and additional car parking at the site noting the provisions of Policy G2 of the Adopted Wycombe District Local Plan which stated that development proposals would be expected to protect the amenities of the surrounding area.

RESOLVED: That conditional permission be refused in respect of application 98/06319/FUL for the change of use to the display and sale of used cars, erection of wall, railings and office building at the Old Coal Yard, London Road, Loudwater, Bucks, for the following reason having regard to the prominent location of the site and the predominantly residential character of the London Road frontage in this area, the nature, intensity and largely open form of the use proposed would be harmful to the character and appearance of the area and the amenities of neighbouring residential properties.  As such the proposal is contrary to Policy G2 of the Wycombe District Local Plan.

The Committee was advised of the provisions of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 and the need for the Council to license any premises which fell within the definition of a zoo within the Act.

Details of the licensing process were reported and Members were advised that the only premises within the District requiring a licence was the Marlow Wildlife Centre, Pump Lane South, Little Marlow.  Planning permission had been granted retrospectively for part of the premises to operate as a zoo Wildlife/Education Centre.

It was proposed that the Director of Leisure, Health and Community be granted delegated powers in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee and appropriate local Members to grant, vary or refuse zoo licences in the future.

RECOMMENDED: That the Director of Leisure, Health and Community, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee together with appropriate local Members be authorised to grant, vary or refuse zoo licences under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981.

The Committee received a detailed report on the draft Local Plan Chapters on Retailing, Town Centres, Transport, and Recreation and Tourism.

Members were reminded of the Local Plan Chapters considered to date and the issues to be considered at the special meeting of the Committee to be held on 19 October 1998 including outstanding policy issues, the proposals map, accessibility zone maps, the Sustainability Appraisal of the Local Plan, the Introduction, Foreword, Acknowledgements, Contacts, Glossary and Index, as well as car parking standards.

In addition there would be a short seminar for Members prior to the Special Meeting to discuss accessibility zones and the revised car parking standards.

The Retailing Chapter was considered and approved with no amendment.

The Committee considered the policies relating to High Wycombe, Princes Risborough and Marlow  with a number of changes agreed to various elements of the Chapter.

A statement was read to the Committee in respect of the Portlands site in Marlow which had been designated for housing in the Deposit Draft of the Local Plan when it was considered at the meetings on 7 April and 15 June 1998.  The Council had also recognised the scope for additional food retail in Marlow and in January 1997 had identified the existing Waitrose site and adjoining land as a preferred location.  The owners of the Portland site were in the process of undertaking work on future proposals for this site but it was not considered appropriate at this stage to review the policy designations.  Further consideration would probably need to be given to the site during the deposit stage of the Local Plan.

Members noted the supplementary sheet proposing the replacement of Paragraph 6.60 Town Centres (Marlow) relating to additional convenience shopping in Marlow.

The Committee discussed the Transportation Chapter and various amendments were proposed.  The substitution of Paragraph 7.08 with a revised paragraph as submitted in the supplementary sheet was also agreed.

The following additional changes were also proposed in the supplementary sheet:-

!    

Members considered the Recreation and Tourism Chapter and particular attention was drawn to Policy RT12 Bourne End Marina which would be deferred to take account of additional comments received.  Policy RT5 Recreational Uses in the Countryside would also be deferred for consideration at the special meeting of the Committee on 19 October 1998.

RESOLVED: (i) That the following Chapters be approved for inclusion in the Deposit Draft Wycombe District Local Plan 1991 to 2011 subject to the detailed amendments set out at Appendix AA@:

The Committee was advised that the provisions for the future of major developed sites in the Green Belt were first made in 1995 in the revised Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Note 2 Green Belts.  The PPG sought to introduce a mechanism for controlling and managing development on major developed sites with the primary  aim of minimising further impact on the Green Belt or lessening any existing impact.

PPG 2 suggested uses that might constitute major developed sites such as factories, water and sewage treatment works, military establishments, civil air fields, and research and educational establishments.

Where such sites were specifically identified as major developed sites within an Adopted Local Plan, infilling and redevelopment might be permitted, subject to certain criteria and such development would no longer be classed as an inappropriate development.

The criteria for infilling and development set out in PPG2 were reflected in Policies GB8 and C13 of the Deposit Draft of the Wycombe District Local Plan approved by the Committee at an earlier meeting.  Some minor amendments to these policies to clarify their application were proposed for inclusion in the Local Plan.

Details of the criteria developed to select and define major developed sites were reported.  These included use, level of development, form of development, sites already subject to specific policies, pre-existing significant uses that pre-date Green Belt legislation, employment importance to district/region.

Several sites had already been agreed for inclusion in the Deposit Draft.  A number of additional sites were considered at the meeting for inclusion in the Deposit Draft of the Wycombe District Local Plan and details of these were reported.

Particular attention was drawn to the site at Finnamore Wood as Members had requested that the site be considered for inclusion in the Deposit Draft of the Wycombe District Local Plan as a major developed site in the countryside.  The site was examined under the criteria set out in the report.  However, it was found that it could not be classed as a major developed site as it did not conform to the criteria formulated to define such sites.

RESOLVED: (i) that the additional sites proposed to the Committee and set out below be included in the Deposit Draft of the Wycombe District Local Plan as major developed sites in the Green Belt:

Green Belt (Policy GB8)

Wycombe West School, Downley

Uplands Conference Centre, Four Ashes

Pipers Corner School, Great Kingshill

Binders Yard, Cryers Hill

Amersham and Wycombe College, Flackwell Heath;

(ii) that the proposed amendments to Policies GB8 and C13 as submitted be approved for inclusion in the Deposit Draft of the Wycombe District Local Plan ; and

(iii) that no site-specific policy be applied to Finnamore Wood.

The Committee received details of a consultation in respect of recovery of costs of public local inquiries held into planning matters.

The consultation proposed the introduction of charges for planning appeals that were heard by public inquiry.

The DETR had expressed concerns about the high costs and amount of time taken by the minority of cases that went to public inquiry and the consequent impact on service delivery across the whole of the appeal system.

It was proposed to introduce a daily charge to be paid by appellants to cover the Planning Inspectorate=s administrative and operational costs.  The charge would not be levied on local authorities where they ask for a public inquiry as it was recognised that local authorities normally provided accommodation for the inquiry free of charge.  It was also noted that it was not proposed to recover costs in cases where it appeared unreasonable to do so, for example where the Inspectorate had insisted on the public inquiry and the appellant had wished to use an alternative process.

The Committee supported the proposals set out in the consultation paper but concerns were expressed that no account had been taken of costs incurred by local authorities.  It was therefore considered that the proposal should be extended to require at least a contribution towards Councils= costs.  It was felt that this could be dealt with on the basis of a standard daily rate similar to that set by the DETR to cover its own costs.

RESOLVED: That the comments set out at Paragraphs 9.9 and 9.10 of the report as submitted form the basis of this Council's response to the DETR consultation.

The Committee considered a report outlining details of the DETR=s consultation paper on Telecommunications Development Control.  The consultation paper outlined Government policy with regard to telecommunications.  The policy stated that development of telecommunication services offered a number of significant social and economic benefits such as creating a climate conducive to business development and providing access in the home to a growing range of entertainment, leisure and commercial services.  The Government=s environmental objectives were also addressed in terms of the need to protect the countryside and urban areas.  However, it was considered that the development of the telecommunications network should not be achieved at a disproportionate environmental cost.

Operators were currently able to carry out certain forms of development without the need for planning permission.  These included the siting of telephone boxes or masts of up to 15 metres in height outside certain protected areas such as Conservation Areas and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  The development was however, first subject to a Aprior approval procedure@.  Under this procedure the local planning authority had 28 days to decide if it wished to approve details of an installation=s siting and appearance, to obtain those details and determine them.  Failure to make a determination within 28 days meant that the development could proceed.  This timescale was clearly restrictive and meant there was  very limited scope for consultation.

The main change proposed in the consultation paper was to alter the procedure in respect of ground base masts only in order to allow greater scope for public consultation.  The proposed procedure would be a two stage process.  The first stage would be for initial consideration by the local planning authority to determine whether prior approval of the detailed siting and appearance was required.  The second stage would be for the local planning authority to seek representations and form a view as to whether approval should be granted or refused.  The Government had invited views on how long the two periods should be and suggested 14 days for the initial period followed by a site notice placed by the operator which gave 21 days notice of a further 42 day period.

The proposed changes were supported as they represented an improvement on the current arrangements.  However a number of reservations in respect of the timescale and procedure were discussed.  

In discussing mast installations a number of Members expressed concern with regard to public concern about possible health risks and emphasised the need for further research to be undertaken as a matter of urgency.

RESOLVED: (i) That the comments as submitted at Paragraphs 10.10 to 10.19 form the basis of the Committee=s response to the DETR consultation paper, Telecommunications Development Control; and

(ii) that the commitment to the issue of Government advice in the form of a circular be welcomed.  However this must include clear and unambiguous advice dealing with the widespread and strongly held public concerns about the perceived health risks from masts, especially where these were sited close to dwellings, or other sensitive locations such as schools.  If further research was necessary, the Government should commission this as a matter of urgency.  

10.     WYCOMBE JOINT TRANSPORTATION STRATEGY PANEL

Members were reminded that the membership of the Wycombe Joint Transportation Strategy Panel had been discussed at the meeting of the Committee on 18 June 1998 at which time it was decided to reappoint the existing Members of the Panel until September 1998 and then to consider the matter further.  

Details of the Panel meetings and its operation were reported.

RESOLVED: That the following Members and Standing Deputies be appointed until the end of the current Council year:-

Members - Cllrs J M Blanksby, P J Cartwright, R B Colomb, S H Graham, Mrs A E Hardy, M D Huddy, R J Nagle and Mrs K M Peatey MBE JP.

Standing Deputies

Cllrs Mrs F W Alexander, D J Coe, A A Dunford, Mrs E Hall, Mrs V A Letheren, Mrs P I O=Rourke and Mrs J E Teesdale.

Cllr Mrs V A Letheren introduced the following Notice of Motion which had been seconded by Cllr Mrs K M Peatey MBE JP and referred to the Committee by Full Council for its consideration:-

AThis Council fully supports the redevelopment of brownfield sites, but recognises that in many cases  because of contamination or the need to relocate existing uses, this cannot be achieved without considerable investment.  This Council therefore calls upon the Government to provide funding to make  the redevelopment of such sites a feasible and more attractive proposition, when it is clear that such redevelopment would be financially unviable@.

Members discussed the Notice of Motion noting SERPLAN=s views on the redevelopment of brownfield sites.

The Committee noted that the Government=s White Paper APlanning for the Communities of the Future@ proposed the establishment of an Urban Taskforce to examine how to use recycled land especially in urban areas.  The Urban Taskforce was established in April 1998 and as part of its work had sought the co-operation of local authorities to participate in the production of a national land use database.

RECOMMENDED: (i) that the Motion should be supported; and

(ii) that this Council=s comments be forwarded to the Urban Taskforce.

12.     INFORMATION SHEETS

The Committee received Information Sheets insofar as they affected this Committee since the last meeting (Issue Nos: 57/98, 61/98, 62/98, 68/98, 69/98, 70/98, 71/98, 72/98, 73/98, 74/98, 75/98 and 77/98).

13.     FILE ON ACTION UNDER DELEGATED POWERS

The Committee received the file on action under delegated powers since the last meeting.  (File sheets numbered 53-57).

14.     LITTLE MARLOW SEWAGE WORKS LIAISON GROUP

This item was submitted to the Committee as a matter of urgency with the agreement of the Chairman in order to appoint a Member to the Little Marlow Sewage Works Liaison Group in time for its first meeting.

The Committee received and considered a request from the County Council to appoint a Member to serve on the Little Marlow Sewage Works Liaison Group.

RESOLVED: That Cllr A A Dunford be appointed as the Council=s representative on the Little Marlow Sewage Works Liaison Group until the end of the current Council year; and

(ii) That Cllr R W Jennings be appointed as Standing Deputy to the Little Marlow Sewage Works Liaison Group until the end of the current Council year.

(The meeting commenced at 7.00pm and concluded at 10.16pm).

     __________

     CHAIRMAN

The following officers were in attendance at the meeting:-

Mr C A Swanwick           -     Director of Planning, Transport and Development

Mr M J Barrett               -     Assistant District Solicitor

Mrs J N F Child               -     Principal Administrator, Committee Services

Ms C Jones               -     Planning Officer (Policy)

Mr C Mansfield               -     Town Centre Manager

Ms V Powers               -     Senior Planning Officer (Policy)

Mr D Riddington               -     Development Control Manager (East Team)

Mr R Slevin               -     Buckinghamshire County Council (Transport Manager)

Ms L Taylor               -     Planning Officer (Policy)

Mr D Turner               -     Head of Planning Policy and Economic Development

Mr J Unsworth               -     Planning and Transport Projects Manager

Mr I Westgate               -     Head of Environmental Services

Mr G Zanré               -     Principal Policy Officer