Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting.

Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.  

Audio recording – 1 minute 21 seconds

There were no apologies for absence.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 25 February and 06 March 2025.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meetings of the Committee held on 25 February and 6 March 2025 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 1 minute 30 seconds

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Martin Prescott seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meetings of the Committee held on 25 February and 6 March 2025 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 31 seconds

There was no other business notified.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda.  Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)  The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)  The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)  The Chair clarified matters for the registered speakers.

(4)  The Chair advised that Section 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution applied to the meeting.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 00 seconds

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)   The Chair clarified matters for the registered speakers.

(4)   The Chair advised that Section 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution applied to the meeting.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

The Chair confirmed that the registered speakers were in attendance.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 44 seconds

The Chair confirmed that the registered speakers were in attendance.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Erection of three detached dwellings (1 x 3-bed,1 x 4-bed and 1 x 5-bed) and with associated infrastructure and landscaping

RESOLVED: That application 24/02606/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the reasons and conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager, with the following amendment to Condition 10 and the addition of Conditions 20 to 23 as follows:

‘Condition 10:

No dwelling hereby permitted shall be occupied until the vehicle to vehicle inter-visibility splays of 2.4 metres by x 57 metres to the eastern direction and 2.4 metres by x 59 metres to the western direction shall be provided and permanently maintained as shown on the drawing (Ref-196661-001), Within which, there shall be no obstruction to visibility between 600 mm and 2.0 metres above the carriageway level. These measurements shall be taken from the intersection of the centre line of the permitted access with the edge of the carriageway of the highway respectively into the application site and from the intersection point along the edge of the carriageway.

Reason: To ensure construction of a satisfactory development and in the interests of highway safety in accordance with Policy 5 of Hertfordshire's Local Transport Plan.

Condition 20:

No development shall take place (including any ground works, site clearance) until a Biodiversity Method Statement has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The Statement shall be informed by the November 2024 Ecological Assessment Report and include the following:

a) Review of site potential and constraints.

b) Details of any necessary working methods to prevent harm to wildlife.

c) Type and source of materials to be used where appropriate.

d) Persons responsible for implementing the works.

The Method Statement must include a timetable for the delivery of measure on site and any agreed measures are to remain on site thereafter.

Condition 21:

No development shall take place until an Ecological Enhancement Plan (EEP) for the creation of new wildlife features such as hibernacula, the inclusion of integrated bird/bat and bee boxes in buildings/structures, as informed by the November 2024 Ecological Assessment Report, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The agreed measures are to be implemented on site prior to the first occupation of the first dwellinghouse hereby approved and shall remain on site thereafter.

Condition 22:

The effect of paragraph 13 of Schedule 7A to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is that planning permission granted for the development of land in England is deemed to have been granted subject to the condition "(the biodiversity gain condition") that development may not begin unless:

(a) a Biodiversity Gain Plan has been submitted to the planning authority, and

(b) the planning authority has approved the plan.

The planning authority, for the purposes of determining whether to approve a Biodiversity Gain Plan if one is required in respect of this permission would be North Herts Council.

There are statutory exemptions and transitional arrangements which mean that the biodiversity gain condition does not always apply.

Based on the information available this permission is considered to be one which will  ...  view the full decision text for item 152.

Audio recording – 6 minutes 09 seconds

The Area Planning Officer presented the report and supplementary document and advised that:

·       An update to the report had been published as a supplementary document and four conditions relating to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) had been included.

·       An additional map had been provided in the supplementary document, which was attached to the original s106, which had been located and provided for further clarification regarding existing landscaping conditions.

·       Condition 10 in the report required an amendment and instead of ‘Prior to the occupation of the development hereby permitted vehicle to vehicle inter-visibility splays…’, the condition should read ‘No dwelling hereby permitted shall be occupied until the vehicle to vehicle inter-visibility splays...’.  

The Area Planning Officer presented the report in respect of Application 24/02606/FP supported by a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Martin Prescott

·       Councillor Louise Peace

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

·       There had been no indication from County Highways that the 30mph zone would be extended and no objection or suggested conditions had been received.

·       There was no objection from the Inspector to the site being outside of the settlement boundary. The objection was related specifically to the size of plot 3.

·       There would be a connection point to existing rights of way, but this would be agreed at a later stage by condition.

The Chair invited Ms Lynne Bogie to speak against this application. Ms Bogie thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, including that:

·       Applications for this site had previously been rejected by this Committee.

·       There had been a similar application for a site in Barkway recently, which was outside of the village settlement, and the Officer recommendation in that case was to refuse due to the weight which should be placed on this consideration.

·       There were modest benefits to the scheme, but these did not outweigh the harm done.

·       The site was on a 60mph road with no provision for pedestrians.

·       A recent application for Tussocks in Therfield was deemed to be unacceptable within the village boundary without the provision of a pavement. This should be applied in this case.

·       This site had been specifically rejected from the adopted Local Plan.

·       There was already a significant level of development in Therfield and the village could not support further luxury housing outside of the settlement boundary.

In response to a point of clarification from Councillor Ruth Brown, Ms Bogie advised that the site referenced in Barkway was a greenfield site.

The Chair thanked Ms Bogie for her contribution and invited Mr Simon Warner to speak as the agent to the applicant in support of this application. Mr Warner thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, including that:

·       This application represented a positive contribution on a brownfield site and was policy compliant.

·       Any negatives from the site would need to demonstrably harm  ...  view the full minutes text for item 152.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

To consider confirmation of Tree Preservation Order TPO/00216 (2024) – G1 – 8 Oak Trees.

RESOLVED: That TPO/00216 was CONFIRMED.

Audio recording – 39 minutes 38 seconds

The Planning Officer presented the report and advised that:

·       Some sections of the report had been incorrectly carried over from a previous report and therefore these needed to be updated.

·       At Paragraph 6.1, reference was made to trees needing work or in decline, but this was incorrect and should instead include reference to the requirement to provide evidence for emergency works to the trees covered by the TPO.

·       Paragraph 9.2 of the report could be disregarded.

·       Paragraph 9.3 of the report referred to trees not being protected, but this was incorrect as most of the trees were covered by an existing TPO.

·       This TPO was seeking to remove 2 of those trees, one from eastern end and one from 31 Garden Fields, and add a new tree, adjacent to the parking area at the western end.

·       The reason for the addition of the new tree was following a request to complete works to the tree at the western end, at which point the tree was identified as one which required protection.

The Planning Officer presented the report in respect of TPO/216 supported by a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Louise Peace

·       Councillor Emma Fernandes

In response to questions, the Planning Officer advised that:

·       A management company was responsible for the tree proposed to be included in this TPO.

·       It was not proposed to fell any of the trees, but to remove them from the TPO, and therefore a condition could not be added for a replacement.

The Chair invited Ms Claire McNulty to speak as an objector to the application. Ms McNulty thanked the Chair for the opportunity and advised that:

·       She and neighbours had previously made objections to this when notified in July and November 2024.

·       The proposed TPO was unnecessary and would hinder the management of the tree, as it was on land managed by a management company and they were responsible for consideration of any works required.

·       The proposed new tree to be included was not neglected or at risk and was already well looked after by residents.

·       There were trees already covered in the existing TPO which posed a risk to children playing in gardens.

The Chair thanked Ms McNulty for her presentation.

The following Members asked points of clarification:

·       Councillor Sadie Billing

·       Councillor Martin Prescott

·       Councillor Nigel Mason

·       Councillor Amy Allen

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Caroline McDonnell

In response to points of clarification, Ms McNulty advised that:

·       The current process was that requests for works went to the directors of the management company to consider. The directors were happy to see the gardens maintained and, once works were approved, they would arrange a company to conduct the works.

·       There was some confusion with residents unsure which trees were covered by the TPO and what was proposed in this new TPO. Therefore, some comments related to trees already covered by the existing TPO.

·       It would have been beneficial for the directors  ...  view the full minutes text for item 153.

INFORMATION NOTE OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER.

To provide Members with a quarterly update on planning enforcement.  

The Principal Planning Officer (Conservation and Enforcement) presented the Information Note entitled ‘Planning Enforcement Quarterly Report – Part 1’.

Audio recording – 1 hour 12 minutes 57 seconds

The Principal Planning Officer (Conservation and Enforcement) presented the Information Note entitled ‘Planning Enforcement Quarterly Report – Part 1’ and advised that:

·       This was a short summary of work undertaken in 2024.

·       Details of work to promote publicly S106 contributions were included at paragraph 6.2 of the report.

·       The Infrastructure Funding Statement had been developed and was going through internal review before it would be added to the website.

·       There were 2 Enforcement Notices served in 2024 – to The Cabinet, Reed and High Street, Graveley – and both of these had been appealed.

In response to a question from Councillor Ian Mantle, the Principal Planning Officer (Conservation and Enforcement) advised that:

·       A lot of work to date had been picking up on work already taken place and brining together, and reviewing, processes to ensure these worked effectively. It was important that a clear understanding of the issues was held by the whole team to ensure consistency.

·       Currently the team was sufficiently resourced, but the situation could change in the future.

·       Established procedure guides and best practice were being developed to ensure consistency in case of any changes to the team.

To consider passing the following resolution: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Audio recording – 1 hour 16 minutes 38 seconds

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Ruth Brown seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

INFORMATION NOTE OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER.

To provide Members with a quarterly update on planning enforcement.  

The Principal Planning Officer (Conservation and Enforcement) presented the Information Note entitled ‘Planning Enforcement Quarterly Report – Part 2’.

N.B. This item was considered in restricted session and therefore no recordings are available.

The Principal Planning Officer (Conservation and Enforcement) presented the Information Note entitled ‘Planning Enforcement Quarterly Report – Part 2’.