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Issue - meetings

17/01622/1 The Station, Station Approach, Knebworth, SG3 6AT

Meeting: 20/09/2018 - Planning Control Committee (Item 39)

39 17/01622/1 - THE STATION INN, STATION APPROACH, KNEBWORTH SG3 6AT pdf icon PDF 240 KB

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Erection of 3 storey building to provide 9 x 2 bed flats; conversion and extension of store to 1 bed house and new vehicular access off of Station Approach (as amended by drawings received 12th and 25th October 2017).

Additional documents:

Decision:

Audio Recording of Meeting – Session 1 – Start of Item - 5 minutes 58 seconds

 

RESOLVED:  That, in respect of application 17/01622/1, the recommendations contained in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager be agreed.

 

The Chairman announced that there would be a short break to allow members of the public to leave the meeting.

Minutes:

Audio Recording of Meeting – Session 1 – Start of Item - 5 minutes 58 seconds

 

Erection of 3 storey building to provide 9 x 2 bed flats; conversion and extension of store to 1 bed house and new vehicular access off of Station Approach (as amended by drawings received 12th and 25th October 2017).

 

The Development and Conservation Manager updated Members regarding the appeal timetable.

 

Confirmation had been received from the Planning Inspectorate that the planning inquiry would take place on 4 December 2018 at 10.00 am and it was anticipated that it would last for four days.

 

The rest of the timetable remained as detailed in the report.

 

The deadline for the Council to submit its Statement of Case to the Inspectorate was 28 September 2018 and the Save Our Station Pub Group was confirmed as a Rule 6 party on 12 September 2018 and the deadline for them to submit their Statement of Case was 10 October 2018.

 

A Rule 6 party could participate fully in the inquiry and could provide their own evidence, experts and advocates and could be cross examined.

 

Proofs of Evidence would be exchanged 4 weeks before the start of the inquiry this being 6 November 2018. This was the date at which the Council had to provide the evidence being used to defend each of the reasons for refusal.

 

The Development and Conservation Manage presented a report in respect of planning application 17/01622/1 supported by a visual presentation consisting of plans, drawings and photographs of the site as presented at the meeting held on 19 April 2018, when the application was originally refused permission.

 

Mrs Alison Young, Save Our Station Pub Action Group, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee in objection to application 17/01622/1.

 

Mrs Young informed Members that she was a planning consultant appointed by the Save Our Station Pub Action Group, incorporating the Parish Council, to appear at the forthcoming public inquiry into the proposals.

 

The pub was a designated Asset of Community Value and was the only pub within the village of Knebworth and therefore had a vital role to play in the social sustainability of the village, which should not be underestimated.

 

This was a family, dormitory village and as such any operator of this, the only pub, would need to be able to accommodate a wide variety of patrons, including children and the elderly in order to be viable. This would not be possible with the restrictions that the proposed plans would place on the long term viability of the pub.

 

When the proposals were considered in April 2018, Members quite rightly recognised that the loss of much of the pub garden, parking, noise and odour problems together with the loss of proper servicing and the outbuildings, would very seriously reduce the ability of the public house to be run as a viable business. The result would then likely be the loss of the public house as a community asset.

 

The reasons for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39