Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 2022, having been circulated, were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The consultation procedure undertaken was outlined in the report together with background information in respect of the site.

Members were advised that a total of 6 representations were received to the application, 5 of which were objections.  Since the publication of the agenda, an additional objection was received that was a copy of an earlier objection already considered. An additional condition was recommended regarding Sustainable Drainage and Climate Change, as detailed in the AB update list.  A letter of objection had also been received from Mr Mike Amesbury MP, which was also presented in the published AB list.

The Committee was addressed by Mr Smalley who represented the Applicant.  He introduced the scheme as being part of the wider site of the Redrow Development, which included 151 new homes.  He stated:

·         The proposal consisted of Redrow’s Heritage Collection and would make a significant contribution to the supply of housing stock in the area;

·         It would provide benefits for local communities such as employment opportunities and economic benefits arising from the supply chain;

·         The plans included green technology such as heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points;

·         The plans included landscaping and public open space improvements which included a children’s play area;

·         Referring to the landscape corridor in the centre of the site; this would be planted with hedges and 450 trees;

·         The developer had worked closely with the adjacent land owner; and

·         The developer had worked closely with the Council’s planning and highways officers to deliver this robust scheme.

The following matters were discussed by the Committee:

·         Access to the site – this would be from a new access point to the A56 parallel to the existing A56;

·         Public Right of Way (PROW) diversionary routes and access over the George Gleaves Bridge – this Bridge is owned by Peel Holdings and is a listed building.  There was no public access to the bridge currently but this was an aspiration being discussed with the Applicant for the remaining strategic site applications that were still being considered;

·         Concerns over the absence of affordable homes being included in the application – further to the Inspector’s report and financial viability study submitted by the applicant, priority in this case was given to the wider strategic off-site improvements to the locality that when combined with the costs of opening up of the site for development, such as the infrastructure works required to make the site accessible to the existing highway network, resulted in the site being unable to deliver affordable housing;

·         Whether future applications in this area could have affordable homes included – both parts of the former hybrid planning application 17/00407/OUTEIA were subject to a financial viability appraisal.  There is an additional planning application on the opposite embankment of the Bridgewater Canal, the delivery of affordable homes on that site was a matter of ongoing discussion with the Applicant; 

·         Concerns over accessibility in relation to bus stops and cycling lanes – although bus routes were not yet finalised, the roads within the site  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The consultation procedure undertaken was outlined in the report together with background information in respect of the site.

Committee Members advised that Sandymoor Parish Council had sent a letter directly to them, regarding a query with the emptying of bins for the retail units at the local centre.  Planning officers were unaware of this, as they had not been sent the letter.  It was commented that a meeting had since been arranged between the Council’s Waste Management Team and the Parish Council, regarding their query.

The Committee agreed that the application be approved.

RESOLVED:  That the application be approved subject to conditions relating to the following:

1.    Time;

2.    Approved plans;

3.    Site levels;

4.    Material details;

5.    Affordable housing;

6.    Over 55 residency age restriction;

7.    Retain bollards on Biggleswade Drive;

8.    Road safety audit;

9.    Signage and road marking strategy;

10. Travel plan;

11. Car park strategy/management plan;

12. Electric Vehicle Charging;

13. Cycle and motorbike storage;

14. Construction Management Plan – Phasing Plan;

15. Car parking details;

16. Delivery and service plan;

17. Site access gates;

18. CEMP (MEAS requested);

19. Ecology lighting scheme;

20. Bird, bat and invertebrate boxes;

21. Badger and hedgehog RAMs;

22. Site waste management plan;

23. Bin storage;

24. Drainage information;

25. Drainage verification;

26. Noise mitigation;

27. Opening hours of retail units; and

28. Hours of construction.

The consultation procedure undertaken was outlined in the report together with background information in respect of the site.

This application was placed in column A of the published AB list and the Committee agreed no further explanation was required, so the application was approved.

RESOLVED:  That the application be approved subject to the conditions listed below:

1.    Standard 3 year expiry;

2.    In accordance with approved plans; and

3.    Materials to match existing.