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 Nigel Mason, Caroline McDonnell and Tom Tyson.

Having given due notice, Councillor Jon Clayden substituted for Councillor McDonnell.

Audio recording – 1 minute 15 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Nigel Mason, Caroline McDonnell and Tom Tyson.

Having given due notice, Councillor Jon Clayden substituted for Councillor McDonnell.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 23 October and 6 November 2025.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 23 October, as amended, be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 6 November be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 1 minute 37 seconds

Councillor Emma Fernandes, as Chair, proposed that the Minutes of the Committee held on 23 October be approved, with an amendment to include the additional response from the Development and Conservation Manager under Minute 75: ‘That the Therfield Heath Mitigation Strategy was a material planning consideration.’ and this was seconded by Councillor Ruth Brown and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 23 October be approved, as amended, as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Councillor Emma Fernandes, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Ian Mantle seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:Thatthe Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 6 November 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 – 3 minutes 54 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 confirmed the procedure for moving to debate on an item.

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

(6)         The Chair advised of a change to the order of the Agenda and that Agenda Item 7 would be taken before Agenda Item 6.

(7)         The Chair confirmed the cut off procedure should the meeting proceed at length.

Audio recording – 4 minutes 1 second

(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 confirmed the procedure for moving to debate on an item.

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

(6)   The Chair advised of a change to the order of the Agenda and that Agenda Item 7 would be taken before Agenda Item 6.

(7)   The Chair confirmed the cut off procedure should the meeting proceed at length.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

The Chair confirmed that the registered speakers were in attendance.

Audio recording – 7 minutes 11 seconds

The Chair confirmed that the registered speakers were in attendance.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Erection of two 3 bed dwellings and one 2-bed chalet bungalow with associated parking, amenity space and access to the site through the existing access off The Mount

RESOLVED: That application 24/00765/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager, and the addition of Condition 15 to add protection to tree roots on-site, with delegation of authority to be granted to the Development and Conservation Manager to finalise the wording of the Condition in consultation with the Chair of the Planning Control Committee.

Audio recording – 7 minutes 40 seconds

The Senior Planning Officer provided a verbal update on matters relating to application 24/00765/FP and advised that:

·                The application had been called-in by the Director – Place rather than Councillor Joe Graziano as referred to under the reason for referral to the Committee in the report.

·                The text referring to ‘Policy AHS1 of the ANP’ under paragraph 4.3.7 was an error and should be ignored by Members. 

·                Two consultation responses were received after the publication of the report from Barley Parish Council who had not changed their objection on the overdevelopment of the site, and Highways whose comments remained unchanged.

The Senior Planning Officer then presented the report in respect of application 24/00765/FP accompanied by a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

The following Members asked questions:

·                Councillor Ruth Brown

·                Councillor Clare Billing

·                Councillor Louise Peace

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

·                The proposed dwellings had smaller individual footprints than the previously proposed 4-bed dwelling, but the overall footprint and built form of the application remained the same.

·                The bungalow would have a mezzanine floor, resembling a chalet bungalow.

·                A Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) of 10% was not required as the application had been submitted a day before it became a statutory requirement.

·                All trees on-site would be protected under Condition 14 in the report. 

·                Harm to the Barley Conservation Area resulting from the application was less than substantial as the Conservation Officer had raised an objection due to the number of dwellings rather than to the development in principle.

The Chair invited the first Public Objector, Barley Parish Councillor Yvonne Lee to speak against the application. Councillor Lee thanked the Chair for the opportunity and provided the Committee with a verbal presentation, and highlighted the following:

·                Barley Parish Council were opposed to the quantity of dwellings in the application rather than development itself on the site.

·                The proposed development would erode the character of the site, be unsympathetic to the area, and harm the character and appearance of the conservation area which would have a marked change on the visual character of the area as acknowledged by the Conservation Officer and Senior Planning Officer.

·                The construction of three dwellings would have no great impact on local employment and new residents would provide little economic benefit to the village.

·                Three dwellings would not solve the five-year housing land supply deficit for the Council and would not make a material difference to housing delivery in Barley.

·                Sustainable features in the application should be considered as necessary rather than of benefit.

·                The application would be infill development within an infill site.

·                The three pillars of sustainability would not be supported by the application, and it would provide no positive benefits, therefore, even with the tilted balance engaged, the proposal was unbalanced and should be refused.

There were no points of clarification from Members.

The Chair thanked Parish Councillor Lee for their presentation and invited the second Public Objector, Deborah Robinson  ...  view the full minutes text for item 101.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Variation of Condition 2 (revised plans) of planning permission 19/01669/FP granted 11.02.2025 for erection of 14 dwellings including new vehicular access off Sperberry Hill (serving 10 dwellings) and new vehicular accesses off Stevenage Road (serving 4 dwellings).

RESOLVED: That application 25/01579/S73 be GRANTED planning permission subject to the conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

Audio recording – 54 minutes 51 seconds

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) provided a verbal update on matters relating to application 25/01579/S73 and advised that an updated response had not been received from the Highways Officer and consequently, the conditions on the parent application relating to highways had been rolled forward to this application.

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) then presented the report in respect of application 25/01579/S73 and provided a visual presentation accompanied by plans and photographs.

The following Members asked questions:

·             Councillor Dave Winstanley

·             Councillor Louise Peace

·             Councillor Ruth Brown

In response to questions, the Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) advised that:

·             To comply with building regulations, the proposed dwellings would be required to have either air source heat pumps or solar panels to offset the gas boilers.

·             Larger dwellings would have air source heat pumps and the smaller dwellings would have solar panels, however, it was unknown whether this had been done in conjunction with the dwellings that would be sold as affordable housing. 

·             It was unknown whether every dwelling would contain a gas boiler or if it was just those with solar panels.

The following Members took part in the debate:

·             Councillor Ruth Brown

·             Councillor Martin Prescott

·             Councillor Val Bryant

The following points were made as part of the debate:

·             Air source heat pumps and solar panels were positive and there was no reason to reject the application. 

·             If gas boilers were soon to be banned, then why were they being installed at all.

In response to points raised in the debate, the Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) advised that until building regulations were updated, developers would continue to install gas boilers due to financial reasons.

Councillor Emma Fernandes proposed and Councillor Winstanley seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That application 25/01579/S73 be GRANTED planning permission subject to the conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

Erection of two proposed agricultural buildings and retention of extended excavated area.

RESOLVED: That application 25/01707/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

Audio recording – 1 hour 4 minutes 50 seconds

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) advised that there were no updated matters to report on since the publication of the Agenda.

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) presented the report in respect of application 25/01707/FP and provided a visual presentation consisting of plans and photographs.

The following Members asked questions:

·             Councillor Ruth Brown

·             Councillor Jon Clayden

In response to questions, the Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) advised that:

·             If the applicant wished to convert the agricultural buildings into residential dwellings, they would have to wait at least ten years after they were constructed before submitting a suitable application for the Council to consider.

·             The buildings would be open sided to allow for the use of a forklift to stack hay bales as an enclosed building would not accommodate this.

As part of the debate, Councillor Ruth Brown highlighted that there would no visual impact from this application on the surrounding area and therefore, there was no reason to refuse it.

Councillor Emma Fernandes proposed and Councillor Martin Prescott seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That application 25/01707/FP be GRANTED planning permission subject to the conditions set out in the report of the Development and Conservation Manager.

REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION MANAGER

To update Members on appeals lodged and any decisions made.

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) provided an update on Planning Appeals.

Audio recording – 1 hour 10 minutes 44 seconds

The Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) presented the report entitled ‘Planning Appeals’ and advised that:

·             Three appeal decisions had been received since the last Committee meeting with two appeals dismissed and one allowed.

·             The appeal at Friends Green Farm had been allowed as the Inspector had accepted the proposal for a one-way system which resolved the objection raised by Highways. However, this would not be implemented until a decision on the enforcement appeal against the application had been made.

·             An update on this enforcement appeal and others would be given at a future meeting.

·             Two appeals had also been lodged since the last Committee meeting which were detailed within the report.

In response to a question from Councillor Val Bryant, the Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) advised that representation for the appeal at Friends Green Farm had been provided internally by officers rather than externally.