Agenda item

Change of use  and associated works  to permit siting of 16 executive holiday lodges.

The Committee considered a report of the Senior Planning Officer regarding the change of use and associated works to permit siting of 16 executive holiday lodges at land adjacent to Evergreen Park, Crimdon(for copy see file of Minutes).

The Area Team Leader provided the Committee with a detailed presentation which included photographs of the site and a plan of the proposed layout. Members of the Committee had visited the site and were familiar with the location and setting.

Members were advised that should the application be approved, an additional condition would be required regarding the provision of visitor parking at the site.

Councillor R Crute, local Member, addressed the Committee. He advised that while he and his colleague, Councillor L Pounder, had no issue with the type of development being proposed, they did not believe the proposals were appropriate for the identified location. Furthermore, they both would have liked to have had some involvement during the pre-application stage however had never been approached by the applicant.

Councillor Crute highlighted that the application site was outside of the settlement boundary which was contrary to saved Local Plan Policy E3. He felt the development would have a significant detrimental impact on local amenity in terms of noise, disturbance and traffic which was contrary to saved Local Plan Policies 35 and 85. Furthermore the application contravened saved Policy 36 in relation to traffic generation and road safety and it was unclear how the application would encourage alternative means of travel to the car. Concerns were also raised relating to flooding.

Members were advised that there were discrepancies within the officer report. Councillor Crute advised that the Parish Council and 28 residents all shared his concerns, however the report reflected that only 17 letters of objection had been submitted. Councillor Crute believed that 28 objection letters had been submitted.

In referring to the letters of support, though the report reflected that 9 had been submitted, Councillor Crute advised it was unclear how many of those had been from residents. He believed that 8 of the 9 had been submitted by local businesses, one of which was some 4 miles away from the application site.

Furthermore, while the supporting letters were generic and brief, it was highlighted that the objection letters were all individual and much more detailed, which showed the depth of feeling regarding the proposals. Councillor Crute also highlighted that there was no mention in the report to a solicitor’s letter which had been submitted in objection to the application. The letter had raised land ownership concerns and issues relating to flooding.

While the tourism benefits of the application were appreciated, the concerns of local residents were not to be ignored. Councillor Crute believed the relevant policies for consideration were those relating to the right of peace for local residents, free from disturbance.

Councillor L Pounder, local Member, addressed the Committee to read a letter of concern from local residents.

Members were advised that the residents at Evergreen Park lived there on a full time, permanent basis and they felt that the proposed use was not appropriate next to a peaceful residential area which was predominantly occupied by retired or semi-retired residents.

Councillor Pounder advised that the current properties at Evergreen Park were not made of conventional materials and as such were more affected by noise and disturbance. It was felt that the proposed use of the adjacent site would generate significant noise, with visitors to the holiday lodges socialising at all times of the day and night and regularly driving on and off the site as there were no on site facilities.

The Committee was advised that the occupier of no.17 Evergreen Park would be particularly affected by noise and disturbance from vehicles as all holiday park traffic would have to pass the gable end of that property. Councillor Pounder advised that the landscape planting scheme would do nothing to screen the noise, furthermore it would cause a loss of natural light. Increased disturbance would also be generated from the waste disposal area.

The residents had advised that when they had bought their properties, the sales brochure had suggested that the location was private, however this was now to be compromised and the residents were facing a permanent loss of privacy.

Councillor Pounder advised that the only access to the site was vehicular as there were no footpaths either on or off the site. As such, concerns had been raised regarding pedestrian safety and there was more potential for road traffic accidents to occur due to the increased traffic entering and leaving the site.

Residents had also expressed concerns regarding the impact of development on the drainage system, as the proposed site location was much more elevated than the existing properties. Assurance was therefore sought that there would be no additional impact on the drains as there was a history of surface water flooding. It was feared that increased run off would exacerbate the drainage system.

It was reiterated that letters of objection had been submitted from 21 of the current properties and while local residents appreciated the economic benefits of the proposals, it would be to the detriment of those currently occupying the site.

The Area Team Leader advised that it was apparent there was an error within the report and that 27 objection letters had been received. However it was unclear whether those letters had been received late or whether there was a typographical error within the report.

Councillor Laing moved that the application be deferred to a future meeting to allow officers the opportunity to present accurate information to the Committee. The motion to defer was seconded by Councillor Conway and upon a vote being taken it was;

Resolved: “That the application be deferred to a future meeting”.