Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor P Cooper and A Waite.

Councillor S Morgan sat as a substitute for Councillor P Cooper.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held 12 February 2025.

It was

RESOLVED

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 12^th February 2025 be agreed as a correct record.

Councillor R Newcombe declared a non-pecuniary interest in application 23/02077/APP, as a representative of Buckinghamshire Council on the Chilterns Conservation Board, which oversaw the Chiltern’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty/National Landscape, which was in close proximity to the application site. He confirmed that he had made no comments related to the application prior to the meeting, and therefore felt able to participate fully in the consideration of the application.

Councillor B Chapple OBE declared a non-pecuniary interest in application 24/03507/APP, as a family member was due to start attendance at the school in the coming academic year. He confirmed that he had made no comments related to the application prior to the meeting, and therefore felt able to participate fully in the consideration of the application.

Councillor S Morgan declared a non-pecuniary interest in application 24/02612/APP as a local ward member. She confirmed that she had made no comments related to the application prior to the meeting, and therefore felt able to participate fully in the consideration of the application.

This item was deferred at the meeting on 12 February 2025 pending a site visit which will take place on 18 March 2025 and an update report on the site visit will follow. The original case officer’s report to the 12 February meeting is attached.

Proposal: Installation of a solar farm comprising ground mounted solar PV panels with a generating capacity of up to 40MW(AC), including mounting framework, inverters, underground cabling, stock proof fence, CCTV, internal tracks and associated infrastructure, landscaping, biodiversity net gain and environmental enhancements for a temporary period of 50 years.

The case officer introduced the application, and drew members’ attention to the update report, which was published prior to the meeting. The update confirmed that an alternative temporary access point to the site suggested by the applicant following the committee meeting on 12^th February had been rejected by the case officer, as it did not constitute permitted development, and would therefore necessitate full consultation. The submitted details were not accepted as part of the application, as they were deemed to materially change the proposal, and as such it was clarified that they could not be considered in the application’s determination.

The update also gave a summary of the comments received in a further 22 letters of objection submitted since the 12^th February 2025 meeting.

A verbal update was also given to inform members that SGN (Scotia Gas Networks) had submitted a late objection to the application. The nature of the objection was not in conflict with the application, and sought assurance for the safety of and access to their nearby pipeline should permission be granted. An additional condition was therefore to be added to the officer recommendation, to read as follows:

No development shall commence, until final written confirmation has been received from SGN, that the proposal will not adversely affect the integrity and safety of any major accident hazard pipelines.

Reason: To prevent development that could compromise the safe operation of the pipeline.

Speakers: The Chairman confirmed that as per the council’s constitution, page 86, para. 3.21; given that there had been no significant amendments or changes to the substance of the application since it was deferred from the 12^th February meeting, there would be no public speaking on the item.

It was proposed by Councillor R Newcombe, seconded by Councillor M Caffrey, and

RESOLVED

That application 23/02077/APP be refused for the following reasons;

The proposed development, due to its scale and visual prominence, particularly from the footpaths surrounding and accessing the site, would cause significant adverse effects on the landscape character and visual amenity, including harm to the setting of the Chilterns National Landscape.

The development of the solar farm would lead to the proliferation of energy infrastructure in a largely undeveloped countryside, impacting its intrinsic character and beauty, and thereby introducing an alien and discordant feature within the pastoral setting. Due to the sloping nature of the largest field within the site, the solar arrays would be visually prominent from a wider area, and effective mitigation is unachievable, resulting in an adverse impact on visual amenity. The proposal's visibility from key viewpoints along The Ridgeway (National Trail) within the Chilterns National Landscape, such as Whiteleaf Hill and Beacon Hill, and the sloping nature of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Note: Councillors R Khan BEM and M Collins both left the meeting prior to the consideration of this application.

Proposal: Extension to existing secondary school to accommodate 10FE expansion, including extension of multi-use games area (MUGA) and bin store, additional vehicle and cycle parking, amended drop off area and associated landscaping.

The Case Officer introduced the application, and drew members’ attention to the update report, which had been published prior to the meeting. The update made some adjustments to the wording of conditions 6, 13, 14, 17 and 22 for the sake of clarity and accuracy. These changes did not alter the officer’s recommendation.

Speakers

Agent/Applicant: Paula Campbell-Balcombe (applicant), Emily Warner (agent) and Nancy Simpson (Headteacher).

It was proposed by Councillor D Thompson, seconded by Councillor N Brown and

RESOLVED

That application 24/03507/APP be approved, subject to the conditions detailed in the case officer’s report, as updated in the report update.

Proposal: Erection of 4.8-metre-high fence to provide external garden centre including external lighting and pedestrian access from the store, provision of storage compound in rear service yard, external alterations to the building and reconfiguration of customer car parking spaces including the provision of 3No. electric vehicle charging spaces together with associated charging infrastructure and the provision of a cycle shelter.

The officer introduced the application, and drew members’ attention to the report update, which had been published prior to the meeting. The update corrected the relevant drawing number referenced in the report.

Speakers: None.

It was proposed by Councillor S Morgan, seconded by Councillor F Mahon and

RESOLVED

That application 24/02612/APP be approved, subject to the conditions detailed in the case officer’s report.

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

Details of 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.

9 April 2025

9^th April 2025.