Meeting documents

            Meeting: Planning Committee (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 16/12/2008 10:00:00 AM)

                  Item: A1 Minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2008

         

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AT A MEETING of the Planning Committee held at the County Hall, Durham on Wednesday 19 November 2008 at 10.00 a.m.

PRESENT
Members:
Councillors Alderson, Armstrong, Bainbridge B, Bell A, Boyes, Brown J, Burnip, Cordon, Davidson, Farry, Freeman, Holland, Holroyd, Liddle, Maddison, Moran, Naylor, Plews, Richardson, Shuttleworth, Stoker, Taylor P, Temple, Turner Allen, Williams, and Young R.


Other Members:
Morgan, Myers D, Stelling, Stradling, and Todd.


Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dixon, Fergus, Sloan, Walker and Yorke.


A1 Minutes

The Minutes of the meetings held 15 October 2008 were confirmed by the Committee as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

A2 Applications to be determined by the County Council

a) Sedgefield Borough: Provision of Mechanical and Biological Treatment Plant and extension to waste transfer station and regulation of external recycling activities at Aycliffe Quarry, Aycliffe Village, County Durham for Stonegrave Aggregates Ltd.

The Business Manager, Planning Development Control presented a report on the application (for copy see file of Minutes).

He advised of that in the key facts and paragraph 6 of the report the application area should be 4.5 hectares and not 0.5. Councillor Armstrong asked if the views of the local members were known. It was reported that officers had met with neighbouring Members who did not have any objections to the application. Local Members had been consulted but had not commented.

Councillor Moran advised that he had no objections to the application providing that safeguards and conditions as stipulated in the report would be put in place and closely monitored. He thought the expected increase in vehicle movements of two in - two out would be acceptable and added that he hoped that Environment Agency would monitor emissions. He noted that given the industrial users in the area emissions mount up.

Resolved:
that planning permission be granted for the proposed development subject to appropriate conditions limiting the development to the cessation of waste disposal activities at the site and to mitigate any potential environmental effects, for the following reasons: i) The proposals would contribute to targets associated with the recycling and re-use of waste materials in accordance with national and local strategies and Policies W36, W38, W39 and W43 of the County Durham Waste Local Plan. ii) Given the scale, location, and nature of operations the proposals would not give rise to significant visual, amenity, highway or environmental concerns. The proposal accords with those elements of County Durham Waste Local Plan Policies W3, W4, and W33 intended to protect residential amenity and suitable mitigation measures are proposed.


b) Derwentside District: Retention of Household Waste Recycling Compound for a further 5 years at Brooms Dene, Leadgate, Consett. Application to vary Condition 1 of Planning Permission 1/2006/0657, for Premier Waste Management Ltd

The Business Manager, Planning Development Control presented a report on the application (for copy see file of Minutes)

Councillor Stelling, a local Member, advised that the site was small, well screened and well used but past its best and a replacement site was being sought. He supported the current proposal.

Councillor Armstrong pointed out that the Company had been looking for an alternative site for a few years. This application was for three years and he hoped that by the end of that period an alternative site had been found.

In response to a Member’s question about the use of highway powers to control HGV movements, the Head of Highway Management advised that if they were to restrict skip vehicles from using the minor roads, a Road Traffic Order would have to be implemented. However, this would affect all HGV’s from using the roads not just those that were going to this site. He suggested that the best course of action would be to seek agreement from Premier Waste Management that their skip vehicles would access the major roads via the Jolly Drovers roundabout in order to avoid the narrow roads east of the site.


Resolved:
that planning permission is granted for a further three years, subject to continuing controlling conditions, for the following reasons:

i) The existing site is well used and needed for a further three years whilst a more permanent solution is found in line with the objectives of Policy W37 of the WLP.

ii) Controls on the use, operation and general appearance of the facility will continue through conditions on the planning permission in accordance with Policy W33 of the WLP. Day to day waste management issues are controlled through the Environment Permit issued by the Environment Agency.


3. Sedgefield Borough Council: Spennymoor Town Centre Area Action Plan: Public Participation (Issues and Options)

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Environment and Planning on the consultation by Sedgefield Borough Council on the Spennymoor Town Centre Area Action Plan: Issues and Options Report (for copy see file of Minutes)

Resolved:
That the Committee endorses the comments in paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 and Appendix 2 as the County Council’s formal response to Sedgefield Borough Council’s Spennymoor Town Centre Area Action Plan: Issues and Options


Attachments

 minutes 19 November 2008.pdf