Agenda item

Change of use of vacant paddock to north west (rear) of existing premises to form ancillary storage area, to be enclosed by 2.50m high palisade fencing.

The Committee considered a report of the Assistant Planning Officer regarding the change of use of vacant paddock to north west (rear) of existing premises to form ancillary storage area, to be enclosed by 2.50m high palisade fencing at land adjoining Holdens Yard, west side of Front Street, Quarrington Hill, Durham (for copy see file of Minutes).

The Principal Planning Officer gave a detailed presentation on the application which included photographs of the site.  Members of the Committee had visited the site earlier in the day and were familiar with the location and setting.

Councillor Plews, local member, addressed the Committee. She informed the Committee that Coxhoe Parish Council had been interested in the site, and it was the belief of the Parish Council that the site was statutory allotment land. Councillor Plews stated that there had been no discussions with the Parish Council prior to the agreement of the conditional sale of land to the applicant, she therefore requested that the Committee adjourn consideration of the application to allow more time for discussions to be held with the Parish Council.

Councillor Morgan, local member, addressed the Committee. Councillor Morgan reiterated the comments of Councillor Plews, stating that the view of both Coxhoe Parish Council and local residents was that the application site was allotment land and as such should not be available for sale, instead should have been offered to the Parish Council.

He informed the Committee that the County Council’s Assets Team had written to the Parish Council regarding the whole site, however there had been no subsequent discussions, as such he too requested an adjournment.

Should an adjournment of the application not be possible, he therefore requested that the Committee reject the application on the basis that the proposals were for building in the open countryside and that the Arboricultural Officer suggested  at paragraph 26 of the report, that the trees in that area were worthy of retention. Councillor Morgan further suggested that approval of the application would breach section 11 of the Planning Framework as the proposals would fail to enhance the natural environment.

Parish Councillor K Pounder addressed the Committee, representing Belmont Parish Council. He informed Members that there had been an extensive waiting list for allotments within the area for some years, and in the 2011 Parish Plan questionnaire, residents responded to say that they would like to see more allotment provision in the area.

Councillor Pounder informed the Committee that an asset transfer had been attempted, however there were clearly conflicting views over the appropriate use of the land. He suggested that the officers report was incorrect as there had, to date, been no discussions with the Parish Council, further to the Clerk to the Council contacting the Assets Team on 6 December 2012 to request a meeting.

Councillor Pounder called on the Committee to defer the item for 2 months to allow for discussions between the Parish Council and the Assets Team to take place.

The Principal Planning Officer responded to the issues raised by all objectors as follows:

• Land Sale – Whether or not the land should be categorised as allotment land, and determination as to how that land should be disposed of, were not planning issues. Should the application be granted that would not rule out further discussions with Asset Management, indeed it was understood that Asset Management were willing to enter into discussions.
• Policy – It was acknowledged that there would be an impact should the application be approved, however it was pointed out that the NPPF equally reflected the importance of economic growth and sustainability, as such there was a balance to be achieved.

Supported by Councillor Charlton, Councillor Blakey moved that the determination of the application be deferred for a period of 2 months to allow further consultation to take place.

Councillor Taylor moved that the approval of the application be granted, believing that negotiations regarding the sale of the land was not an issue for the Planning Committee.

In response to a query raised by Councillor Naylor, the Principal Planning Officer advised that he was not aware of any previous proposals which had been submitted for the land.

Councillor Moran supported Councillor Taylor and informed the Committee that he was satisfied that the removal of trees from the site would not be detrimental as the applicant would be planting additional trees as part of the development.

Councillor Robinson supported the motion for deferral of the application, and allow the Planning Team to view the correspondence between Asset Management and Coxhoe Parish Council, in addition to further discussions to take place between the concerned parties.

Upon a vote being taken upon each motion, it was 

Resolved:

That the application be approved, subject to the conditions outlined in the report.