Agenda item

RESOLVED: That application 21/00434/HYA be GRANTED planning permission subject to the reasons and conditions outlined in the report of the Senior Planning Officer along with the following additional condition:

 

·         Condition 30 to be added with the following:

 

Prior to commencement of each phase of the development herby permitted, detail of the installation of fire hydrants for that phase shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with the Highway Authority.  The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

 

Reason: To ensure there are adequate water supplies for use in the event of an emergency for the proposed development.

 

Audio Recording: 3:00

 

The Senior Planning Officer advised that there was one update to the report which had been attached to the agenda as a supplementary agenda pack, which related to the Primary Education contribution referenced at Paragraph 3.3 and 5.4.104 of the report. The amount in the report should be £859,510 and not £859,838. The contributions to the County Council will be index linked. The Senior Planning Officer also reported that the County Council has requested that the matter of fire hydrants not be dealt with in the S106 agreement but as a condition.

 

The Senior Planning Officer presented the report in respect of application 21/00434/HYA supported by a visual presentation consisting of photographs and plans.

 

The following Members asked questions:

 

·         Councillor Ian Mantle

·         Councillor Tom Tyson

·         Councillor Mike Rice

 

 

In response to a question from Members, the Senior Planning Officer advised:

 

·         The trees alongside the northern end of the site were to be retained but weren’t part of the planned site.

·         There is a national government order that says that for applications in the green belt over a certain size, the application should be referred to the Secretary of State for them to consider to call in.

·         The County Council are the education authority and it is for them to determine how the money is spent. The applicant has agreed to offer the contribution that has been sought towards education and it is a matter of the County Council how that money is spent to mitigate the impacts of this development.

 

The Chair invited Neil Dodds and Alissa McDonald to speak against the application.

 

Mr Dodds and Ms McDonald thanked the Chair for their opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation including:

 

·         Mr Dodds is speaking on behalf of Hitchin Forum, an amenity group which has about 100 members;

·         Hitchin Forum have noted significant concerns, including overloaded sewage infrastructure, high surface water levels, closure of the gap between Hitchin and St. Ippolyts and access problems onto and from the B656 London Road;

·         The government inspector reviewing the proposed updating of the local plan has expressed concerns about the number of houses required and the use of greenbelt land to provide for them;

·         Inappropriate development in the greenbelt should only happen in very special circumstances;

·         South of this proposed site is another proposed development in the greenbelt involving 52 dwellings, which also accesses the same B656;

·         Ms McDonald stated that the Environmental Agency predict rivers to be 30% higher in winter causing flooding, and 80% higher in the summer by 2050. Hertfordshire has been identified as the driest county in England;

·         The Lead Local Flood Authority had, until recently, a number of objections which have now become conditions as part of the application;

·         Issues of sewage does not seem to have been addressed either. The Planning Application suggests that the proposed development will connect with the current sewage system, which the residents will testify has had its problems;

·         It is noted that the S106 funding the applicant will provide to the Council is currently earmarked for Highover Farm and The Prioriy School are both over 2 miles away from the site, which seems inappropriate;

·         The Three Moorhens Roundabout has been identified as a pollution black spot.

 

The Chair invited Robert Moore and Simon Hoskin to speak in favour of the application.

 

Mr Moore and Mr Hoskin thanked the Chair for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation including:

 

·         Mr Moore is the St. Ippolyts Parish Councillor for the ward in which this development falls;

·         Have actively engaged with the applicant over several years, securing meaningful improvements across several areas of the developments;

·         A comprehensive Parish-wide consultation with residents took place about this application. A sizeable majority expressed support for this development;

·         Some of that support was only as a result of the expectation that the Parish as a whole would benefit from the S106 contributions, especially to the much needed expansion of St. Ippolyts primary school;

·         Mr Hoskin is speaking on behalf of the applicant, Osprey Homes;

·         The site has been allocated for residential development in the Emerging Local Plan and is referred to as site HT2;

·         Expected to make an important and early contribution to meeting the urgent need for new housing in the district;

·         The Emerging Local Plan is close to adoption and therefore should be afforded significant weight in accordance with Paragraph 48 of the National Planning Policy Framework;

·         Proposals seek up to 84 new homes, in line with the dwelling estimate referred to in Policy HE2;

·         The proposed development will deliver substantial benefits which include affordable housing of a mix and type which has been agreed with North Herts Council Housing Officer.

 

In response to a question of clarification from Councillor Michael Muir, Mr Moore advised that there are 3 nominated sites within the Local Plan, totalling 160 houses. Plus another 100 houses are identified as infill or windfall. Overall Mr Moore’s objective is to ensure the S106 contributions go to where they are needed most.

 

In response to a question of clarification from Councillor Tony Hunter, Mr Hoskin advised that there is a statutory duty for sewage undertakers to provide capacity to deal with new housing. The developer has been in contact with the sewage undertakers and they are aware of capacity issues.

 

The Chair invited Councillor Claire Strong to speak in support of the application.

 

Councillor Claire Strong thanked the Chair for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation including:

 

·         Good to see the Parish Council working with the developers for this application;

·         Paragraph 56 of the NPPF says that planning condition should be kept to a minimum and imposed only when necessary and relevant to the planning, this is a large development and it is necessary to ensure the educational needs of the new families and those in the area are met;

·         The decision makers should consider current school capacity and whether it is sufficient to accommodate proposed development within the relevant school place area;

·         The parents won’t want to send their children outside of the village and on the other side of Hitchin;

 

The Chair then asked Antony Proietti of Hertfordshire County Council to advise on any points of clarification raised by the speakers and by Members. He advised that despite St Ippolyts proximity, the development sits within the Hitchin Priory planning area; therefore the County Council has to look at the capacities of the schools in the Hitchin Priory area rather than St. Ippolyts village.

 

The following Members asked questios:

 

·         Councillor Ian Mantle

·         Councillor David Levett

·         Councillor Val Bryant

·         Councillor Michael Muir

 

In response to questions from Members Antony Proietti advised:

 

·         This is a constrained site, there is no ability to expand into adjacent land, therefore the 0.3 SC of expansion is the totality of the expansion capability of that school;

·         The Council puts a high consideration on carbon, but the Council is not proposing that the children from this village will go to the schools previously mentioned;

·         There is limited capacity for this expansion at St. Ippolyts, at least 2/3s of this development contribution will be unable to go St. Ippolyts;

·         Any further developments in St. Ippolyts will be the same in that S106 contributions will not go to the St. Ippolyts expansion project;

·         The education forecast is available on the Hertfordshire County Council website, which shows what figures are for the current years and the predicted next 4 years.

 

The following Members took part in the debate:

 

·         Councillor David Levett

·         Councillor Ian Mantle

·         Councillor Tom Tyson

·         Councillor Tony Hunter

 

Councillor David Levett proposed and Councillor Ian Mantle seconded and, following the vote it was:

 

RESOLVED: That application 21/00434/HYA be GRANTED planning permission subject to the reasons and conditions outlined in the report of the Senior Planning Officer along with the following additional condition:

 

·         Condition 30 to be added with the following:

 

Prior to commencement of each phase of the development herby permitted, detail of the installation of fire hydrants for that phase shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority in consultation with the Highway Authority.  The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

 

Reason: To ensure there are adequate water supplies for use in the event of an emergency for the proposed development.