Issue - meetings

RESOLVED: That application 22/00170/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the reasons set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

Audio recording – 66 minutes 04 seconds

Councillor David Levett noted for the Committee that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had made a call to account to explore how the Urgent Decision was taken. This call to account would take place at the Extraordinary Overview and Scrutiny meeting on Wednesday 28 September. While this would not take into account the planning decisions, in the interest of transparency, he would recuse himself from the Committee and sit in the public gallery.

The Development and Conservation Manager advised that there was one correction to the report, in which paragraph 4.1.1 referred to 24 bedrooms, this should be 21 bedrooms.

The Conservation and Development Manager presented the report in respect of application 22/00170/FP supported by a visual presentation consisting of photographs and plans.

In response to a question from Councillor Daniel Allen, the Development and Conservation Manager confirmed that secondary glazing had not yet been installed as it would require Listed Building Consent, as requested in Item 7 tonight.

The Chair invited Mr Scot Moir and Ms Emily Best-English to speak against the application.

Mr Moir thanked the Chair for the opportunity to address the Committee and advised the Committee of the following:

·         He was a neighbouring resident to the Lord Lister hotel, joined by Ms Best-English who was the landlady at the Half Moon pub.

·         At the previous meeting it was confirmed that this was accommodation with support and this was a relevant planning consideration, but the 24/7 support was only temporary.

·         Keystage have plans to install kitchenettes in rooms which would turn them into self-sustained flats.

·         There was a lack of amenity space in the building, with one shared kitchen between all residents and no specific place to eat.

·         The proposals should be safe, accessible and inclusive, but there is no separate female accommodation, no wheelchair access throughout the site and the bathrooms were not accessible. This means these proposals fail to provide accommodation suitable for all.

·         The Secure by Design measures means the waste bins would be 30m from the boundary of the property, contrary to North Herts Council policy, and collection of these would cause obstructions on the public highways.

·         There is no access for emergency vehicles, who have frequent attendance on site.

·         The Highways consultee had acknowledged that the sites vehicle access was narrow, with no details of how access via the gate would work.

Ms Best-English thanked the Chair for the opportunity to address the Committee and advised the Committee of the following:

·         She had owned the pub for 5 years and the change of use of Lord Lister has had a negative impact on the business and the lives of local residents.

·         Regular pub users were no longer attending, musicians no longer wanted to perform following abuse and there was a loss of revenue from hotel residents.

·         Bradshaw and Johnson Accountants had prepared a financial statement comparing revenue from 3 months when the Lord Lister operated as a hotel, compared to 3 months when it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6