Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors P Cooper and D Town.

Councillor S Lewin attended as a substitute for Councillor P Cooper.

Councillor M Rand attended as a substitute for Councillor D Town.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held 4 September 2024.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held 4 September 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

It was acknowledged that committee members had received correspondence in relation to application 23/02313/APP that had not been submitted through the Local Planning Authority prior to the meeting. No member declared that they felt predetermined.

Proposal: Installation of a renewable energy generating solar farm comprising ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays together with substation, tower connection, transformer stations, switchroom, site accesses, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure and landscaping and biodiversity enhancements.

The Case Officer introduced the application, and outlined several updates to the original report. These had been detailed and published to the council’s website in the interest of transparency as part of a reports update pack prior to the meeting. Updates included deletions of duplicated paragraphs and typographical errors, and minor adjustments to conditions 4, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 27 for the sake of clarity and completeness, but these did not impact the officer’s overall recommendation.

Speakers

Local Member: Cllr Peter Brazier

Parish Council: Cllr Daniel McGinty

Applicant: Mr Richard Turner and Mr Robert Honan

It was proposed by Councillor R Stuchbury and seconded by Councillor S Lewin that the application should be approved, subject to the conditions detailed in the case officer’s report, as updated in the report update pack. This motion was defeated at a vote.

It was proposed by Councillor S Morgan, seconded by Councillor C Cornell and

RESOLVED

That application 23/02313/APP be refused for the following reasons:

1. The proposed development, by virtue of its siting, layout and scale would result in the loss of the historic agricultural landscape to the detriment of the significance of designated heritage assets. The proposed development does not contribute to the preservation of the setting of a number of designated heritage assets, including Ascott House, Ascott House Registered Park and Garden, Mentmore Conservation Area, Keepers Lodge, Gate, Piers and Railings (of Mentmore Towers), Stone Lodge, Longfields, Ledburn Manor, Manor Cottage, Wing Conservation Area, Domestic Stables (Ascott House), Curtilage Listed (to Ascott House) Huntsman’s Park and House, Mentmore Towers, Red House, The Old Laundry, Laundry Cottage and Mentmore Registered Park and Garden.  The harm to the designated heritage assets would be less than substantial and while the significant public benefits of the proposal in terms of renewable energy are acknowledged, the harm would not be outweighed by these which are not reliant on this location.  Furthermore, there is also harm to the setting of non-designated heritage assets namely; Rosebery House, Hop Cottage, Barley Cottage, Ascott Home Farm, The Gas House, The Coach House and the Old Vicarage which on balance contribute to further harm to the heritage matters.  The development is contrary to Policies C3, BE1, BE2, NE4 of the VALP (2021) and the principles set out in section 16 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2023).

2. The proposed development by virtue of its siting, scale and nature and in conjunction with other existing solar farms at Long Meadow Farm (Ivinghoe), Great Seabrook Farm (Cheddington) and Church Farm (Slapton) would result in undue cumulative visual effects from sensitive public vantage points, which would result in adverse impacts on landscape character and visual amenities of the area, contrary to Policies C3, BE2, NE4 of the VALP (2021) and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Proposal: Householder application for installation of an Air Source Heat Pump.

Speaker: None

It was proposed by Councillor A Osibogun, seconded by Councillor C Cornell and

RESOLVED

That application 24/01801/APP be approved, subject to the conditions detailed in paragraph 8 of the case officer’s report.

Proposal: Change of use from dwellinghouse (Use Class C3b) to a children's home (Use Class C2).

Speaker

Ms Jo Baschnonga (on behalf of applicant Martin Burgess)

It was proposed by Councillor P Gomm, seconded by Councillor F Mahon and

RESOLVED

That application 24/02491/APP be approved, subject to the conditions detailed in paragraph 8 of the case officer’s report.

Note: Due to their relevance to the same site, the committee heard and considered applications 23/02685/APP and 23/02916/APP together, including public speaking. However, each application was voted on separately.

Proposal: Change of use of land from agricultural to mixed agricultural and equestrian and development of American Barn for stabling and ancillary equestrian storage of feed and bedding for personal recreation and leisure use.

The case officer introduced the application alongside several updates that had been detailed and published to the council’s website for transparency purposes, as part of a reports update pack. The updates were made following advice from the council’s legal team and resulted in adjustment to two conditions.

1.      The proposed time period for the removal of the building in the event of cessation of the use as set out in Condition 11 had been extended to a period of six months (from three months).

2.      Condition 12 had been updated to specify that the temporary internal access track would be installed prior to commencement of the construction of the American Barn.

Speakers

Local Member: Cllr P Brazier

Objector: Mr Charlie Sabel

It was proposed by Councillor R Stuchbury, seconded by Councillor M Rand and

RESOLVED

That application 23/02685/APP be approved, subject to the conditions detailed in the case officer’s report, as updated in the report update.

Note: Due to their relevance to the same site, the committee heard and considered applications 23/02685/APP and 23/02916/APP together, including public speaking. However, each application was voted on separately.

Proposal: Change of use of land to equestrian and provision of manège for personal recreation and leisure use.

The case officer introduced the application alongside several updates that had been detailed and published to the council’s website for transparency purposes, as part of a reports update pack. The updates were made following advice from the council’s legal team and resulted in adjustment to three conditions and one informative, though these did not alter the case officer’s recommendation. The updates were as follows:

1.      Condition 3 had been updated to clarify that the permitted external materials to be used in the development would be retained as such following development.

2.      Condition 6 had been updated to clarify that the temporary internal access track would be installed prior to commencement of the construction of the manège.

3.      Condition 15 had been updated to reference the manège, rather than the American Barn.

4.      Informative 1 had been updated to clarify that both the planting and seeding season ran from October through to the following March unless otherwise specified.

Speakers

Local Member: Cllr P Brazier

It was proposed by Councillor R Stuchbury, seconded by Councillor C Cornell and

RESOLVED

That application 23/02916/APP be approved, subject to the conditions detailed in the case officer’s report, as updated in the report update.

To confirm Members’ availability to undertake site visits if required.

Details on any site visits deemed appropriate by the Chairman to occur prior to an application’s consideration at the next scheduled meeting of the Committee would be communicated to Members as necessary.

4 December 2024

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting of the committee was 4^th December 2024.