Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Application for approval of reserved matters relating to Phases 2 and 3 being appearance, landscaping, layout and scale pursuant to conditions 7, 8 and 9 of planning permission 21/00434/HYA for the erection of 48 dwellings and associated works.

RESOLVED: That application 24/02907/RM be GRANTED planning permission subject to the reasons and conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

Audio recording – 12 minutes 26 seconds

The Senior The Senior Planning Officer advised that there were no updated matters to report on since the publication of the agenda.

The Senior Planning Officer presented the report in respect of Application 24/02907/RM supported by a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Daniel Allen

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Bryony May

In response to questions, the Senior Planning Officer advised that:

·       Highways had not commented on the use of 26 tonne vehicles on the hard surfaced road.

·       The comments on the Planning Portal were varied, some were relevant to this item for example, boundary details were part of this phase of development. However, the comments about highways would have only been relevant to phase one.

·       When looking at energy efficiency the applicant decided to focus building performance, such as suitable insulation, rather than photovoltaic (PV) panels.

In response to questions, the Development and Conservation Manager advised that although the roads would not be formally adopted by the County Council, they would have to be built to adopted standards.

The Chair invited the Agent to the Applicant, Mr Mike Osbourn to speak in support of the application. Mr Osbourn thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

·       The application was a reserved matter with hybrid consent meaning that phase one was already under construction.

·       High quality landscaping was one of the priorities for the application.

·       This phase of the plan built upon the same approach of phase one for consistency, quality and design purposes.

·       The Applicant reflected on the recommendations of the officers and amended the application accordingly.

·       The applicant welcomed the recommendation put forward by officers and wanted to provide the houses needed in North Hertfordshire.

The following Members asked points of clarification:

·       Councillor Ian Mantle

·       Councillor Caroline McDonnell

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Bryony May

In response to points of clarification, Mr Osbourn advised that:

·       A new management company would be formed to maintain the landscaping of communal areas and this, in time, could be taken over by the new residents.

·       The application took a material first approach to energy efficiency, therefore PV panels were not a core part of the proposed scheme.

·       The highways stage of development, specifically the roundabout, would be one of the first things completed in this phase.

·       There was an open dialogue about the hedges on the southern boundary and the application was adjusted to reflect local comments.

Councillor Nigel Mason, as Chair, proposed to grant permission and this was seconded by Councillor Emma Fernandes.

The following Members took part in the debate:

·       Councillor Daniel Allen

·       Councillor Ian Mantle

 The following points were made as part of the debate:

·       Considering phase one was already approved, it would be unreasonable to refuse phase two.

·       There was no reason in the report to refuse this application.

Having been proposed and seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That application 24/02907/RM be GRANTED  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38