Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor P Cooper, Councillor T Egleton and Councillor N Marshall.

To agree the minutes of the Strategic Sites Committee meeting held on 21^st November 2024.

Resolved: The minutes of the meetings held on 21^st November 2024 were agreed as an accurate record and were signed by the Chairman.

Councillor M Rand declared a non-prejudicial personal interest in application 23/03875/APP as a Local Ward Member. He confirmed that he had not made any previous comments on the application, and could participate fully in the consideration of the application.

Following points raised in recent correspondence, and in consultation with planning and legal officers, and the Chairman, it had been agreed that application 23/01636/ADP be withdrawn from the agenda.

Proposal: Development of a battery energy storage system (BESS), connected directly to the national Grid with associated infrastructure including access, drainage and landscaping (amended plans received).

The Case Officer introduced the application and drew attention to the report update, which had been published on the Council's website in the interests of transparency prior to the meeting. The update covered the following:

·       The application sat across the Grendon Underwood, Great Brickhill, and Winslow wards and the Granborough, East Claydon and Hogshaw Parish Councils/Meeting.

·       An overview of the updates to Paragraph 168 in the revised NPPF, including a new requirement to give significant weight to the benefits of renewable and low carbon generation in applications.

·       A clarification of the officer’s application of Schedule 4, paragraph 5(e) of the EIA Regulations 2017 regarding cumulative impact in response to correspondence from Granborough Parish Council.

Speakers

Local MP: Mr Greg Smith MP (Member for Mid Buckinghamshire)

Local Members: Councillors J Chilver, P Gomm and A Macpherson (statement read out by DSO)

Parish Councils: Councillor P Oakland and Dr. C Jordan (Granborough Parish Council) and Councillor C Ingham Clark and Dr. C Jordan (East Claydon Parish Council)

Objector: Mr Stephen Slater and Dr. C Jordan

Applicant: Mr Oliver Troup, Mr Dave Etheridge, Mr Chris Palmer and Mr Simon Johnson (Statera)

It was proposed by Councillor P Fealey, seconded by Councillor A Bond and

RESOLVED

By seven votes to two, that application 23/03875/APP be REFUSED, because the proposal which is a large-scale energy development will be introduced into a strongly agricultural landscape and would be significantly incongruous. It will have, despite the proposed mitigation, significant adverse impact on visual amenity and on the landscape character at the site, local and landscape character area levels. Furthermore, the cumulative effects of the proposal with Tuckey Farm (consented permission) and the existing East Claydon sub-station would lead to cumulative visual and landscape character effects which would be significantly adverse. Together this would change the existing predominantly pastoral landscape to one defined by energy development. The proposal is contrary to Policy C3, BE2 and NE4 of the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP) 2021 and RC2 and RC3 of the Granborough Neighbourhood Plan 2022 and paragraph 187 of the NPPF (2024).