Agenda and decisions

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.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Louise Peace.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 13 June 2024.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 13 June 2024 be approved, as amended, 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.

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.

(5)  The Chair advised of a change to the order of the published agenda and Agenda Item 7 would follow Agenda Item 8.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

The Chair confirmed that the registered speakers were in attendance.

RESOLVED: That application 22/03231/FP be REFUSED planning permission, contrary to the officer recommendation, subject to the following reasons:

(1)   The proposal would be inappropriate development within the Green Belt that would be harmful to its openness.  The Council considers that the benefits of the scheme, including the wider environmental benefits associated with the increased production of renewable energy (pursuant to paragraph 156 of the National Planning Policy Framework December 2023), would not amount to very special circumstances sufficient to outweigh the harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness and other harm. As such the proposal would be contrary to paragraphs 152 and 153 of the National Planning Policy Framework and Policy SP5 of the North Hertfordshire Local Plan 2011-2031.

(2)   The proposal would result in harm to the rural character and appearance of the application site and the surrounding area with a cumulative impact as a result of other major development in the vicinity. Whilst measures are proposed to mitigate the impact of the proposed development, and the proposal would not be permanent, there would nevertheless be harm over a long period to rural character and appearance of the area, including the visual amenities of users of the local public footpaths. The proposal would therefore conflict with Policies NE2 and NE12 of the North Hertfordshire Local Plan 2011-2031, which seek to avoid unacceptable harm to landscape character and appearance.

RESOLVED: That application 23/02572/S73 be GRANTED subject to the reasons and conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

RESOLVED: That application 23/02719/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 addition of a new Condition 22, to read:

“Condition 22

Notwithstanding the approved plans, the development shall not include the ‘Electric Fob Entry Gate’ shown on drawing ‘19359 1002A Planning Layout’ (excluding the gate pillars and pedestrian gate).

Reason: In the interests of maximising physical and social accessibility, and character and appearance.  To comply with Policy D1 of the Local Plan.”

The Development and Conservation Manager provided an update on Planning Appeals.