Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Paul Bass, Councillor Mohammad Fayyaz, Councillor Patrick Fealey and Councillor Nic Brown.  Councillor Trevor Egleton attended as a substitute for Councillor Bass.

To agree the minutes of the Strategic Sites Committee meeting held on 7 April and 21 April 2022.

Resolved:  The minutes of the meetings held on 7 and 21 April 2022 were agreed as an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.

Councillor Jonathan Waters confirmed, once again, that he had called in the application due to areas of concern; he had followed the guidance and it was a neutral call-in.  Councillor Waters stated that he had not pre-determined the application and he would maintain an open mind and make a decision following the debate. 

Councillor Richard Newcombe, once again, declared that he wished to make the same declaration of interest as on 24th February 2022 in exactly the same terms as recorded in the minutes.  In essence, Councillor Newcombe stated that he was on the Chilterns Conservation Board (CCB) as a representative of Buckinghamshire Council but he had had no part in considering this application during the course of his membership of the Board notwithstanding the fact that there were observations made about this application by the CCB.

Proposal:  Outline application (including details of access and layout) for erection of 101 dwellings with all other matters reserved (amended plans received).

Chris Steuart, Team Leader, Development Management, provided an overview of the last meeting as a reminder for the committee members and for the benefit of Councillor Egleton.

Declan Cleary, Principal Planner, provided a verbal update and stated that Members had received communications from Little Missenden Parish Council and Hazlemere Parish Council as well as the legal transcript from appellant’s QC, Paul Tucker.

Rachel Steele, Lawyer, provided a statement on the legal position regarding the relevant policy and the legal opinion submitted by the appellant since the last Committee meeting. 

It was proposed by Councillor Peter Cooper and seconded by Councillor Trevor Egleton that the Committee be minded to grant planning permission for the proposed development subject to the satisfactory completion of a Legal Agreement and satisfactory planning conditions, or if these were not achieved, that the application would have been refused.

On being put to a vote the motion was declared to be lost.

The committee members adjourned from 17.15 to 17.48 pm.

Upon reconvening, it was proposed by Councillor Richard Newcombe and seconded by Councillor Jonathan Waters and agreed at a vote.

Resolved: 

that the Committee would have been ‘minded to refuse’ planning permission for the proposed development for the following reasons:

1.            In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, the proposed development would not deliver a comprehensive development of the site and as such fails to ensure that high quality place making and design, within HW8 as a whole, would be delivered. By reason of its overall layout and context proposed development would fail to provide a cohesive development, and would fail to maintain the appropriate sense of separation between Hazlemere and Holmer Green. Consequently, the proposed development would not, by definition, meet the key design principals required to achieve high quality sustainable well designed places contrary to Policies CP1 (Sustainable Development), CP7 (Delivering the Infrastructure to Support Growth), CP9 (Sense of Place), CP10 (Green Infrastructure and the Natural Environment), HW8 (Land off Amersham Road, including Tralee Farm), DM33 (Managing Carbon Emissions: Transport and Energy Generation), DM34 (Delivering Green Infrastructure), DM35 (Placemaking and Design Quality) and DM39 (Managing Flood Risk and Sustainable Drainage Systems) of the Wycombe District Local Plan (2019), Policies DM11 (Green Networks and Infrastructure) and DM14 (Biodiversity in Development) and DM16 (Open space in new development) of the Wycombe District Delivery and Site Allocations Plan for Town Centres and Managing Development (2013), Guidance contained within the Residential Design Guide SPD, and advice within the National Planning Policy Framework (2021).

2.            In the absence of a Legal Agreement the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.