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.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ruth Brown, Elizabeth Dennis, Sadie Billing and Amy Allen.

Having given due notice Councillor Jon Clayden substituted for Councillor Brown, Councillor Val Bryant substituted for Councillor Billing and Councillor Sean Nolan substituted for Councillor Allen.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 8 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ruth Brown, Elizabeth Dennis, Sadie Billing and Amy Allen.

Having given due notice Councillor Jon Clayden substituted for Cllr Brown, Councillor Val Bryant substituted for Cllr Billing and Councillor Sean Nolan substituted for Cllr Allen.

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 35 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 – 2 minutes 41 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 – 4 minutes 18 seconds

The Chair confirmed that the registered speakers were in attendance.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Erection of custom/self-build detached 5-bed dwelling with shared vehicular access.

RESOLVED: That application 24/01962/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the reasons and conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager subject to an additional Condition 12.

“Condition 12

Prior to the commencement of the works hereby granted a footpath diversion order shall have been applied for to the Local Planning Authority under the Town and County Planning Act 1990 Section 257 and a temporary diversion/stopping up order granted by the Hertfordshire County Council Public Rights of Way department. At no point shall the public footpath be blocked or access impeded until such time as both the above criteria are satisfied. Guidance on the application can be found at https://www.north-herts.gov.uk/public-footpath-diversions or by contacting the officer delegated on 01462 474431.

Reason: To ensure that the route of the public footpath remains open for use by members of the public at all times. To comply with Policy D1 of the North Herts.”

Audio recording – 4 minutes 59 seconds

The Senior Planning Officer provided an update regarding the Supplementary Document that had been published on 2 December 2024.

The Senior Planning Officer presented the report in respect of Application 24/01962/FP supported by a visual presentation consisting of photographs and plans.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Louise Peace

·       Councillor Tom Tyson

·       Councillor Sean Nolan

·       Councillor Jon Clayden

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

·       A self-build planning application was exempt from Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) regulations. 

·       The height of the mature hedge was noted as 2.5 meters on all plans submitted.

·       This scheme reflected the changes approved by the Council following the appeal that was upheld.

·       The applicant would have to apply separately to North Hertfordshire to divert the public footpath under the Town and Country Planning Act and this would have to addressed as a separate issue to this application.

·       When this application was approved it was prior to the BNG regulation being made a mandatory requirement.

In response to questions, the Development and Conservation Manager advised that as the Council was not a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Authority, there were no adopted processes or procedures to control self-build/custom occupation, which was a possible exemption from the Levy. There were no separate processes to control the self-build/custom build exemption for BNG and therefore the Council relied on the information provided by the applicant for a self-build planning application. It was understood that the Government was looking into this exemption.

The Chair invited Peter Gartside to speak against the application. Mr Gartside thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, including that:

·       He had lived in Kelshall for 35 years and was representing the Parish Council this evening.

·       It was the view of the Parish Council that this application was not suitable for an infill site.

·       The previous application for this site had originally been refused by the Council.

·       This infill site was only suitable for a small single dwelling not a property of this size.

·       He requested the Committee not to permit any further building on this site.

There were no points of clarification from Members.

The Chair thanked Mr Gartside for his presentation and invited William Looker to speak against the application. Mr Looker thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, including that:

·       He had been a resident of The Street in Kelshall for ten years.

·       There were ten footpaths that would be within clear visibility of the site.

·       This house was large and would have a negative impact on the landscape.

·       The original use of the land was for agricultural use.

·       There had already been 20% housing growth in this Category B village which exceeded the allocation in the Local Plan.

·       This property would be one and a half meters above the ridge line so would be very visible.

·       He asked the Committee to refuse planning permission as this property was out of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Change of use from care home (use class C2) to supported hostel accommodation (sui generis) and provision of additional car parking, refuse/recycling store and cycle storage. Erection of single storey store (as amended by plan nos. 1300-S2-P04, 1350-S2-P03 (002), 1181-S2-P06 and CCTV layout plans received 13.11.2024).

RESOLVED: That application 24/02173/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to subject to the reasons and conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager subject to:

(a)   The receipt of formal comments from the NHS Herts and West Essex Integrated Care team within the statutory consultation period.

(b)   The Committee to delegate authority to the Development and Conservation Manager in consultation with the Chair of the Planning Committee to resolve any issue arising from the consultation response from the NHS.

(c)   Subject to the addition of Condition 12 (as outlined in the Supplementary Document) and the addition of Condition 13.  

“Condition 12

Prior to the commencement of the use hereby permitted full details of a resident nominations agreement for Andersons House to include the role of North Hertfordshire District Council as local housing authority, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be implemented in perpetuity in accordance with the approved nominations scheme unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To ensure that the development meets a local housing need and to comply with paragraph 60, Section 5 of the National Planning Policy Framework. (2023).

Condition 13:

Prior to the commencement of the use hereby permitted details of an enhanced boundary treatment scheme along the southern boundary, to include a minimum fence height of 2 metres, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved scheme.

Reason: In the interests of the amenity of adjacent residents and to comply with Policy D3 of the North Herts Local Plan.”

Audio recording – 51 minutes 59 seconds

N.B. Councillor Val Bryant moved to the public speaking gallery at the start of this item to act as an Objector Member Advocate.

The Senior Planning Officer provided an update regarding the Supplementary Document that had been published on 2 December 2024.

The Senior Planning Officer presented the report in respect of Application 24/02173/FP supported by a visual presentation consisting of photographs and plans.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Sean Nolan

·       Councillor Jon Clayden

·       Councillor Louise Peace

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

·       The NHS had been consulted following concerns raised by residents during the consultation process on the impact of the local infrastructure.

·       This application was for an existing building which made it easier to develop than some of the other similar planning applications in the district.

·       The allocation of parking spaces was deemed sufficient as the majority of the spaces would be used by staff and visitors as many of the clients would not own cars.

·       The height of the mature hedge along the southern boundary varied in height and was not at a consistent height of 1.8 meters.

In response to a question, the Strategic Housing Manager advised that the figures for housing demand could be found in the report and although the Council had several layers of requirements for housing in the district, demand always exceeded supply.

The Chair invited Neil Dodds to speak against the application. Mr Dodds thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, including that:

·       This was a change of use for Anderson House to provide sheltered accommodation to 86 homeless people, who would have complex needs.

·       Hitchin Forum had objected to the scale of this application as it was inappropriate in a quiet residential street.

·       This application neglected the safety and wellbeing of the neighbours.

·       The police had been informed of this scheme and seemed satisfied, but he had not seen any report.

·       This scheme had advanced quickly with One YMCA stating in August that they had agreed to obtain Anderson House.

·       Anderson House would be more suitable if used for affordable housing in the district.

There were no points of clarification from Members.

The Chair thanked Mr Dodds for his presentation and invited Heather Cotton to speak against the application. Ms Cotton thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, including that:

·       She was a neighbour to Anderson House and lived there with her family.

·       There was much diversity in the area and young families and single people felt safe.

·       She had supported the Sanctuary development with 23 units which was of the right size for the area.

·       The size and scale of the proposal for Anderson House was disproportionate for the area and went against policy DS23 in the Local Plan.

·       Security inside Anderson House may be secure, but this would not ensure the safety to residents outside in the local area.

·       There was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

To update Members on appeals lodged and any decisions made.

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

Audio recording – 1 hour 51 minutes 51 seconds

The Development and Conservation Manager provided an update on Planning Appeals and advised that there had been one appeal for a dwelling in Hitchin which had been dismissed.