Venue:St George’s Centre, Pembroke Road, Chatham Maritime, Chatham ME4 4UH
Contact: Julie Francis-Beard, Democratic Services Officer
For more information, please see the Medway Council website:
https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=360&MId=5622
Chapters:
0:00 Start of Stream
9:05 Start of Meeting
1. Apologies for absence
2. Record of meeting
3. Urgent matters by reason of special circumstance
4. Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Other Significant Interests
5. Planning application – MC/23/0106 Land at Middle Stoke, adjacent to 1 & 2 Jubilee Cottages, Grain Road, Middle Stoke
6. Planning application – MC/23/0389 Brethrens Meeting Room, Canterbury Lane, Rainham, Gillingham
7. Planning application – MC/23/1834 Former Police Section House, East Road, Historic Dockyard, Chatham
8. Planning application – MC/23/1833 Former Police Section House, East Road, Historic Dockyard, Chatham
9. Planning application – MC/23/2088 Land rear of 339A & 341 Maidstone Road (Fronting Tanker Hill), Rainham, Gillingham, Medway
10. Planning application – MC/20/0302 Land adjacent Royal Mail Depot, Bridgewood Site, Maidstone Road, Rochester
11. Planning application – MC/23/1656 45-47 Cooling Road, Strood, Rochester, ME2 4RP
12. Planning application – MC/23/2060 Boot Fair, Upnor Road, Upnor, Rochester
13. Report on Section 106 Agreements – July 2023 to September 2023
14. Exclusion of the press and public
I W Oh Welcome to the uh planning meeting on Wednesday the 25th of December 23 um any apologies for absence please Council took um yeah apologies for councel an who I’m substituting for tonight okay excellent and councelor Kim yes thank you chair I’m I’m substituting for councel goving yes and uh over our side you
Could say our side I’m substituting for councelor hro Scott excellent just want to write that down okay so um record of meeting is it agreed that the record uh on the supplementary um agenda is correct um in fact there’s uh just one item on that uh supplementary agenda and
That’s about um on page 11 2 minutes 378 if you notes take note of that can I say I’m most impressed by the first item on the supplementary agenda I know this is on the draft we didn’t have the new mppf and that was an interesting exercise whoever did that can I thank
Them oh was you thank you DAV so a whole lot of numbers I did notice the error but I don’t all right then for we actually do have additional um uh comments um on um items five 7 8 n and 10 and um some of those are addendums or additions in
Conditions I’m not aware of any urgent matters are there anybody else wish to raise anything not any deaner any um decorations of of interests at all councilor eage thank you chairman it’s my standard decaration that I sit on both Finsbury extra and cliffwoods Parish Council but
I do not take part or make any comment whatsoever in any of their planning issues Council Turpin um yeah I I also now sit on the um Parish Council forry extra um and but also for item 12 I’ve actually written in support of that application so I need
To obviously that’s a double on that one that’s in the waters that’s in the warden parish as well do I need to sit out of 11 as well I’ve only just gone back onto the parish so I haven’t don’t know if that fix so you’re now G
Bats all right okay I don’t don’t that’ be fine so 11’s just a just a general and I need to totally remove the item 12 do I just no no no because you because you haven’t got a personal pecuniary interest you don’t need to leave the room for that okay just written in
Support of the of the so you you’ve just got to leave the committee part and sit in the sit in the gallery but item 11 if you haven’t as as Council ethd if you haven’t taken part in the the parish council discussion on the application then you can stay for that
Yeah was there another hand went up oh it is councelor Pier um item 12 uh chairman um the applicant is a customer for a business which I have a stakeholding so as it’s Financial I’ll be leaving the room thank you any other member if not uh move straight on to
Item six and uh Peter hotley is going to introduce the Brethren’s meeting room can Lane rain thank you chair um good evening members just if you can’t hear me please shout because I’m going to be turning uh to to view the presentation myself as well um this application site here
Outlined in red uh relates to the um existing Brethren um site so a place of worship uh within the uh confines of rum uh to the north of the site is uh existing residential development uh and to the south of the site is um development which is uh currently being constructed by Pim
Homes uh to the east is uh Cloverly uh industrial estate with a range of uh uses uh within within that area the The Proposal um is to demolish the existing buildings on the site um and to erect uh 22 uh Residential Properties uh the applications in
Outline form uh to before you tonight uh with all matters reserved for future consideration uh so it’s the it’s the principle that members uh are looking at tonight in terms of the the decision uh as you as you know it’s um previously developed land um within within the urban boundary so is is
Sustainable development uh in in that terms and to say because it’s previously developed land again gets a additional weight in terms of the considerations uh for new housing in that regard um the layout there again shows an indicative layout as to how uh 22 units could be accommodated um on the site
It’s on that site on that site plan it does show two vehicular access points um but as I say at the moment all matters are reserved so it’s it’s not even the access that that we’re considering under this application so here’s here’s some photographs of the the site entrance and the
Surroundings uh to give a a flavor of the the site itself again it’s the it’s predominantly the the existing building and surrounding car park uh um and here’s some uh photographs of the the sites on the opposite side of the road in Canterbury Lane uh which are the the properties to the
North um in terms of the density we’re looking at um 22 being around 31 dwellings per hectare uh which is comparable to the other surrounding development um so in ter terms of the principle of the development is is what we’re looking at solely tonight but there’s indication
Of the the street scenes in front of members at the moment where it’s clear that it can be accommodated with um some good sort of tree trees in the uh in the street scene to to give that um sort of treelined uh entrance to the to the site
Which uh which is to be encouraged and there’s uh the site plan the master plan again which again shows the the proposed Landscaping as as as indicatively shown there um in terms of the the recommendation uh we’re looking at uh recommending that members Grant to resolve uh or resolve to Grant planning
Permission subject to the completion of the section 106 uh and the the details of that section 106 are at the top of the recommendation uh for members information uh and there’s a uh significant number of conditions um proposed which U relates to the fact that there’s great deal of matters that
That need to come forward as part of the reserve matters and subsequent discharge thank you very much thank you any member is any it counts to Peak you’re right I’m I’m there um reason why I’m half master is because I’m trying to find the page again just
More out of curiosity the amounts that have been suggested as as um contribution can you give me some idea what value they are compared to the task are they like really generous amounts or are they nice gesture but not going to really cut much and that comes from the
Fact that when Esa and myself did a site site visit walk around on Friday with a member from nor we were shooting the breeze and every time we came up with an idea we got rough estimates to obviously these are not concrete and it actually was quite a surprise how expensive
Everything seems to be I had actually no idea so I think I was quite naive so you give me some idea please yeah in terms of the of the contributions there they’re sought to be secured because that’s the the values and the levels that that are requested
By the uh the various departments in terms of um what they get spent on because the the seal RS have removed the pooling regulations now it allows the authority to pull more than five uh contrib tions uh whereas previously it was restricted um pass over to Mr Harris
In terms of uh the the comparison to other similar applications thank you chairman thank you just to build on from from that Council Peak we’ve got a a developer contributions guide which sets out the the amount contribution per dwelling um and that relates to to each of these so they’re all in accordance
With the developer contributions guide that we’ve adopted um now as part of the local plan we will be reviewing that and so that might increase but at this moment in time those contributions are in accordance with our adopted guide so that’s all they can ask for councilor
Jones thank you very much chair um I welcome the 106 contributions that are being sought particularly for youth provision um and uh councelor Peak has obviously asked a a very astute question on that um what I was going to ask about was the affordable housing um uh unless
I’ve missed it this is presumably something to be dealt with at the reserve matters stage Peter CH chairman it’s below the threshold so there is no requirement for affordable homes Council eidge thank you chairman once again on the 106 payments in uh the one highlighted 10 contribution to enhance
Open space facilities within the vicinity of the development can you tell me what open spaces there are within the vicinity of the of the development and what you’re going to do to enhance those spaces because I would be love to see all of that money going towards the great lines to be
Honest chairman if it if so I can come back on on on that thank you for that question Council ethd we’ve got the request that came through from our sorry I’m I’m I’m taking this question because Peter is still relatively new uh to to the council so I have that that that
Background so my apologies Peter um yes so we have the request from from Green Space Services it is for uh open space in the vicinity and there are a number of Open Spaces in in in in the vicinity um the great lons Heritage Park takes 5% of the contra contribution uh no more
These days and that was is a reflection of members concerns that too much was going to um uh to Great lines in the past so it will be in the vicinity in relation to exactly what that goes to um that uh we can come back I can get um f
Fiona to come back to you on that if you’d like I’m imagine be grave might be is the nearest Green Space to that side CH chairman it could be bearing grave it could be the um the park up by um random station it could be um Riverside Country
Park but it’ll be one of those in the vicinity here councelor Pierce um could I just get some clarification on the um it’s good to see that there’s a play area included um but I haven’t checked all the conditions yet but just to make sure that there is a condition there uh
Making sure that it’s not uh locked for residents outside of the site if you know what I mean um if if that could be clarified that would be great thank you is that like to be part of the reserved application yes so it’s just an outline
At the moment that be so when this next application comes in for the site that detail will be confirmed any other member if not I’m going to uh go to the vice chair thank you chair I move the recommendations to approve the application subject to um 106 agreement
As um written out on page 31 and conditions 1 to 27 as in the main report thank you so second sorry sorry chair B slow at Christmas time second okay so that this is uh is for approval is that recommendation agreed show of hands please those four that’s 15 chair okay Excellence
Everybody so the application for um reverence Meeting Hall in C C Lane ROM has been approved so as I mentioned we’ll take seven and eight get but as in when the leader of the uh Council turns up as the ward member and he’s at a an event at
The moment so we go to item nine um and please note that on the uh supplementary agenda there’s a additional uh conditions 12 and 13 um so and again it’s uh Peter thank you chair um yes this this site is uh land to the rear of um two properties
That front Maidstone road so if you can just see the the arrow there uh there’s Maidstone Road uh the garages or out buildings in question are to the rear uh and the proposal is to demolish those two uh out buildings and erect a pair of semi- detached properties in their place
Uh this road here is is tanker Hill uh and goes off off down uh and joins joins the road further down which then comes back on to uh Dean with drive and onto uh um midstone road so this is the sorry this is um uh an aerial photograph of
The site uh and you can see that the character of the area is um properties here which front onto tanker Hill and then at the end there there’s the two uh out buildings which which are in question with the um the application site uh again that will split the rear
Guard uh in in half to allow the front portion for um the properties on mstone road and the rear for the for the new um each property as you can see on the um block plan on the slide uh would have two uh car parking spaces uh for for
Parking so I think that’s one of the the issues that was raised by by objectors um and if I go back to this it’s uh you can see it’s a cisac and with a turning head uh at the end of the cisac um just a uh a couple couple of
Couple of properties along from the application site um again here’s the here’s some photographs of the of the surrounding area the left one is the uh existing uh situation which has some hard standing and and out buildings um on the on the property uh with the middle one showing the adjacent
Um properties uh that have been been constructed front onto tanker Hill um these are the elevations of the proposed uh dwellings so again you can see uh that they’re pair of semi detached with the the front doors that face face onto the uh the parking area uh they’re relatively modest dwellings
Uh in terms of the uh the sort of scale and the accommodation within them um and would will not look out a place in the character of the area uh the recommendation is that uh planning permission be granted um in accordance with the the papers and the Amendments that uh councilor hubard
Referred to on the uh supplementary papers thank you EXC thank you Peter um any member Council e sorry I’m dating back and forth between bits and pieces on on this machine which I find absolutely horrendous please give us an apple uh in terms of conditions there are two conditions mentioned in the original
Papers um one regarding removal of permitted development right and I can’t remember what the other one was now because I can’t get back into it but can we ensure that those those recommendations those conditions are actually put in place please Peter yes thank you uh yes those those conditions uh are on thank
You okay any other member if not I’m going to move uh to the vice chair and V you note there are two additional conditions 12 and 13 thank you chair I move the recommendation to approve the application subject to um conditions 1 to 11 in the main papers and the
Additional conditions 12 and 13 in the supplementary agenda thank you happy to SEC happy to Second all that chair so we’re down the proposal is for uh approval um those in favor of the recommendation that’s 15 chair those against I think that was everybody wasn’t it sorry we’re doing
Well so um so the application for R land rear of 33 9A and 341 maon Road has been approved so move on to um 10 and uh just to to again on the um supplementary agenda there’s amendment to conditions 19 and 21 and Mr Harris is going to speak to
This chairman thank you very much so members this is a an application on the site that you see just here next to the RO mail Depot here and opposite Rochester Airport Industrial estate on the opposite side of the road and the King’s um uh Rochester sports center
Just here you will see we’ve got the motorway which runs along the bottom of the site through here and then the High-Speed Rail Link just through there now the site is in an area of local landscape importance it’s in the Strategic Gap and it’s opposite an area of outstanding natural beauty all of
These designated in the in the adopted local plan and it is a site where we’ve sought to resist development in the past now this application is set out in page 116 of your report it’s an application for the construction of a part Single part twostory Depot Workshop building
With ancillary offices but also for an access to the site for car parking but also hgv Park uh parking as well uh and washing facilities it’s for the commercial headquarters and lorri park for Neil Yates recovery and uh and and they provide 24-hour commercial rescue and Recovery Services across the UK and
Europe page 116 sets out the height of the building that you’ll be considering um and also the uh the parking as as well the amount of staff parking 55 of them um 28 Bays for hgvs and 27 Bays for the smaller hgvs now these are the views um of the
And then looking back across towards the area of outstanding natural beauty that’s the access to the site and you can look across the road there towards the the existing industrial State I don’t know how my officer got into there but he he did that’s the the photo of
From from the site there um and he must have been running from that car because that’s quite a blurred photo but you can see the access uh to to the to the site here this is a photo an aerial photograph which I think is very pertinent to the
Consideration of this site because as I said in the local plan this whole area is an area of outstanding natural beauty um and a strategic Gap and ac across here we got the area of outstanding natur Beauty so this is an area local landscape importance sorry and that’s the area of
Outstanding natur Beauty over here now we have protected this site this area from development in the in the past however our burrow boundary comes through about here and at some point in time in the relatively recent past tumbridge and Ming Council have granted planning permission for this Industrial Development through here which includes
Screw fix and various other industrial uses in there that then means that this is a cut off area from the the area of local landscape importance and basically changes how we consider the application since then as a result of that members may be aware that in this area here this
Committee um approved an application for the council Depot in there and that’s been constructed and then in here we granted approval for Ren’s kitchens in there and that has been implemented as well that we were put through the Hoops rightly so by the a unit and the uh
Natural England in relation to to these two sites because of the sensitivity of these sites and that setting of The a Across The Far Side of the motorway and uh and High-Speed Rail line as a result of that and the sloping of the land the need to get
Some uh appropriate Landscaping in the site to soften those views um of of of the buildings was critical I did ask the question of Natural England as to why that hadn’t happened with this development and was told that was because tumbridge and Ming didn’t consult them on the application
We did consult them on this and that’s why we’ve been put through the Hoops but rightly so as a result of those decisions and that decision we are now looking um as you can see from the recommendation far more uh sympathetically with this proposal uh in in
Here so new access into the site providing car parking down here this is the building and then this is the HTV parking through here looking to rain and enhance the Landscaping fronting um uh the midstone road uh but also have a ghost turning lane just through through here similar
To what we did with our own site literally next door but then importantly what we need to do as we’ve done with our own site next door is to augment enhance and do additional planting along this area here as well as some safety barriers um following the advice of um
Uh of national highways because you got the motorway down the bottom of the slope and that’s that ghost Island I I I was talking about so proposed plans show the office in here and then the washing Rec um recovery area um Workshop in there and then how the offices will be laid
Out some elevations and they I’ll hopefully show some cgis later show how it it will fit it you that’s quite standard this bit in here this is where it fronts onto Maidstone Road more attractive um but we will be conditioning materials to be submitted to us for our further consideration in
Terms of landscaping the team you’ll see from when the the date of the application we’ve been working very closely with them to get the Landscaping right in terms of what will be appropriate planting what will be appropriate um soil even in these areas to have something which will grow which
Will will soften the development in the medium long term similar to what we’ve the Hoops we’ve done ourselves and the the immediately adjacent site and that shows how the site then slopes down to uh to to the rear towards the the motorway uh down here and some um some proposed visuals
Just showing how it will be U how it will sit in the in on on the site be attractive in terms of its appearance from uh midstone Road um but can the Landscaping U will help to break up the car parking the htvs as well as soften
And Screen the development so we think it’s an an appropriate employment use now um subject to the conditions that we’ve set out we have a very carefully with with national highways for two reasons one in terms of the the motorway down the bottom to make sure that the
Necessary safety measures are put in place and there’s conditions reflecting that but also in terms of the capacity of Junction three of the M2 and we all know how busy that Junction is and National highways are happy with the application as well and on that basis chairman we’re recommending approval
Subject to the conditions as set out and as amended on the supplementary agenda advice thank you so when we had the application for our own site next door we had some lovely Graphics showing the trees growing to show won’t be able to show that this time around what it did it
Showed the fact over a period of time the U the warehousing would disappear um so any member Council Eid thank you chairman on page 116 it says the uh Administration for the area will be a base for 24hour road assistance hgv repair Fleet Maintenance and Lorry Park I’m assuming that’s 365
Days a year so so are we ensuring that this place doesn’t come overloaded with vehicles queueing to come in there whilst others are being repaired and sent back on the road Harris chairman that’s a really good question as always from Council ethd we’re satisfied um along in discussion with the um our highways
Authority um with national highways um but also with the applicants that the you can see the Lorry parking that is in here as well as the Bays that will be um sufficient to deal with the um the demands of the site thank you uh thank you chairman I’m um happy
To hear about the Landscaping Landscaping element to this because um what we don’t want to see is a repeat of what we’ve had to some degree at Kings North where we’ve had these big industrial units built um and then once they are built they are they do stick
Out quite um quite big on the landscape so if we can screen it effectively and effectively hide it um that’s good and um so yeah because of the conditions because of the explanation I’m happy with this thank you yeah as I mentioned ear on the the
Video that was provided on the the site which is next door is ours was very helpful allowing members of that committee to imagine what was going to be happening because it was actually shown to us um Council tpin thank you chair um yeah I just wanted to ask a question with relating
To sort of Highways and and safety because I think that part of the the mstone road does get sort of quite narrow and they’re going to be quite large sort of vehicles coming and going so I I know sort of Royal Mail is it’s
Going to be next door isn’t it to is it Royal male or a bit Yeah and obviously they’ve got large vehicles coming in now but they’re a little bit um you know that further up where it’s a little bit wider so has that been looked at to sort of ensure that they’re
Not going to be coming out and going having to sort of go across the Central reservation to to get out happy to answer that I don’t know whe the har officer wants to answer that one haven’t used this before um yes uh the the road is sufficiently wide there
To accommodate um the hgvs that are required on the site and the proposed access as well is sufficiently wide and tracking has been provided to demonstrate the vehicles can get in and out trust that’s okay that was a shot wasn’t it George you’ve been sitting here for quite a few
Meetings and nobody’s asked you a question yet um right any other member if not okay I’m going to go to the um Vice chair and uh as I mentioned ear on there are Amendment amended conditions 19 and 21 thank you chair I move the recommendation to approve the
Application subject to uh conditions 1 to 28 as laid out in the main papers and the amendment of conditions 19 and 21 in the supplementary agenda thank you so happy to Second chair thank you okay so it’s been moves that we approve those in favor of the recommendation I think sorry counc which
Was your 15 thank that’s 15 chair okay excellent so the land adjacent to Royal M Depot Bridgewood site M Road Rochester has been approved so move to um item 11 uh that’s calling Road um in in strud and and and Jackie U it’s good to speak to
Sorry thank you chair um so this is 45 to 47 cooling Road intrude the application is for the construction of a single story extension and the conversion of the property into two dwelling houses this shows the location of the site within the urban area of frindsbury and this aerial view shows the site
Outlined in red the dwelling is cited on cooling Road near the junction of Iden Road and is surrounded by residential dwellings as you can see there is parking on street and in within the surrounding streets this shows the um front of the existing building there are no propos Chang changes to the front
Elevation um it should be noted though that the dwelling was originally two semi detach detached dwellings and was previously converted into one dwelling so this application brings it back into two dwellings you can see that the property also has two existing front doors so they will be reused in this
Scheme and the property is currently vacant this slide shows the rear of the existing building and you can see the existing Conservatory there um which will be demolished and uh uh single story rear extension will be put in in its place the existing and proposed block
Plan um you can see the single story rear extension on the existing block plan here and what will be put in place here which will open up this access here you can also see the division of the gardens to provide each dwelling with the garden and the cycle storage at the
Back this shows the proposed elevation um as I said the front elevation won’t change but you can see the um the proposed Conservatory here and on the side elevations you can see the depth of the proposed um single story rear extension this shows the proposed floor layout for the dwellings um each
Dwelling has a kitchen and a living dining area at the ground floor property one has a bedroom a study room and a bathroom on the first floor and property two has two bedrooms and a bathroom at the first floor all the rooms meet the National Space standards
Um and the bird mitigation fee has been paid for this um application and each property would be provided with adequate amen space the dwelling has currently got no parking now and the parking is there is no parking proposed um however there is on street parking which is consider considered acceptable in this
Instance this is due to the number of bedrooms not increasing indeed they will decrease by one and also the property is in a relatively sustainable location with a bus stop almost immediately outside the property a primary school and a new secondary school Under Construction within close proximity and
Within a relatively short distance from a local Center therefore the application is recommended for approval as set out in the report thank you this it’s an unusual application as you go down cooling Road it looks like two properties it’s got two front doors but it’s not it’s one
Single property the property next door it looks like three but that’s one um so um any member councelor Pierce uh thank you chairman um I’m just reading uh one of the objections it says it’s an objection but it looks more like a comment from one of the Neighbors about um insuring
That the boundaries are confirmed um something about the boundaries so I’m just asking if um officers are helping in that regard or will that be a um land registry issue that they need to take up with take them up with that is the property I told about it looks like
Three but it’s actually one um Mr Harris chairman no that that’ll be a civil matter councelor tpin thank you chair seems odd to put my microphone on when I’m seeing right next to you um I just want to you mentioned about the sort the rooms sizes all
Fitting national standards um but I know it’s the one bedroom it’s got It’s a study which could be used maybe as a bedroom does that does that meet standards for if it was to be used as a bedroom um no that doesn’t that’s why it
Is a study yeah that’s why showned as a study and is that in sort of do do we put that in conditions with um how it can be used because I know you’re sort of saying about the number of bedrooms is actually decreased by one by doing
This and that sort of has an impact on parking if that wasn’t the case would that have impacted parking requirements I don’t think it would have changed parking requirements but we do have to take the developer at their word that they it will be used as a study
Councelor uh gilor I do apologize I fail to take you first thank you um just with the proposed layout that you’ve got on the screen obviously it’s going back into two properties and there’s access down the left hand side which is fine for that property next to it but on the
Other property is there access at all down the side or from the back uh no there isn’t no okay right I just a put a clarification thank you okay any other member if not I’m going to go to the vice chair to move the recommendation thank you chair I move
The recommendation to approve the application subject to conditions 1 to five as laid out in the main papers thank you seconded so the uh recommendation is for approval those in favor of the recommendation that’s 15 chair so the application for 4547 calling Road stru I really think it’s fr really um is
Approved right move on to item 12 that is the boot Fair opner Road opner Rochester and Mr Harris is going to speak to it chairman thank you very much this is the application site just here in the in the hogm marsh Valley a very important Valley here in terms of
Proide providing a a physical and visual separation from the urban area of waycott frindsbury to to ERS and up also up to chatt and Dean and and who um this field has been used for a boot fair for quite a number of years now very successful uh uh boot
Fair and you’ll know members from the um uh the planning report how that there has been an increase from what is um uh allowed under permitted development rights as a result of changes in legislation over over covid to allow um these uses to to increase um uh slightly
Now they’re looking to to formalize an additional seven boot fairs in the year to take it from the permitted 14 up to 21 in total in one calendar year the fact that the boot Fair has been operating for quite a few years now and indeed operated on an extended basis um
Over recent years has enabled us to carefully consider the impact um of this and whether it’s success whether it’s acceptable or or not um so this is the site here so you’ve got um they look to come in here this is how it currently operates so you come in
Here and you go out here and that’s because of this bend that exists around here and the entrance and exit to the tennis courts there the stools are located in this area here along with these these these toilets and then you’ve got this pedestrian bridge across
To wcot so some people can arrive on foot and through there in terms of the access uh those arriving to it predominantly coming down Beric way um and then along up in the road there and then we queue to get into the site there and that’s a that demonstrates how
Successful it is the number of time I’m not a boot Fair person members but the number of times I’ve gone past and there is a long queue um here going back towards W to towards Beric way but they do move quite quickly onto the site and
And then out less people come from this direction so that shows the uh the entrance to the site and you can see the tennis courts just in here and this is where the car park is and the boot fairs are further further back and then the exit from the site in
Now you notice these concrete ballads at some point in times they’ve got concrete bods there other times they will put a a car on the opposite side here um that is to stop unauthorized access uh in into the site so they move them um before the
Boot Fair T take takes place you can see here the exit from the site and the movement towards that bend frog Island and then this is looking from the bridge across to where that’s up in the road just through here so that’s the parking area and this is where the uh
The stools are just in there and this sort sets the the context and I think this this is important because it highlights the importance of this area for for its openness that hog Marsh Valley um and that separation towards to to Castle Street and upna from the the
Urban area here across uh welfare way uh and baric way um through through there so members we we’re content with this application it’s been carefully considered we’re content with with the subject to the conditions um as set out it’s limiting it to to 21 boot fairs uh
In in the year it’s giving it a temporary permission till September 2026 um so that we can assess the impact of that those additional seven um seven days in a year also looking to restrict it to May to September as well um and then restricting it so so that it should not
Commence before 5:00 a.m. on any day um and no buyers or sellers should be allowed access to the site before this time nor shall any lighting be used other than handheld torches and that’s to protect the not only the rural character of the area but also the the
Amenities of people who live reasonably close by uh particularly in Castle Street just there um and then condition four is particularly appropriate it’s um they should operate in accordance with the submitted details particularly in relation to the uses of Marshals to control traffic and parking and also
Postevent cleaning of the site on each day that there’s a boot fair and then the removal of the temporary toilets at the end of each at the end of each season so you can see them removed on this plan but they are stored through that may to September period just in the
Uh the end here and subject to that temporary consent and the other conditions laid out recommending approval chairman thank you thank you um Council eage thank you chairman and thank you for those uh that report and the conditions associated with it I just want to ensure that they do actually
Have marshals on there to control not just the traffic but also the people coming in to do their selling at 3:00 in the morning which is when they’re currently sitting there parking waiting to come on site so I I should be monitoring that very closely to ensure those Marshals are there sending those
People away at 3:00 in the morning in addition to that chairman I would also like to request that the entrance is made larger so we don’t have a queue going down the road waiting to get in so two vehicles at a time can actually pass through those Gates rather than one
Struggling to get through so that’s and in addition to that I know it’s not a planning condition but we do have yellow lines situated there there are parking restrictions there already and we need to ensure that those parking in uh restrictions are enforced thank you m Mr Harris chairman those a very
Informed comments from from cancer eth he knows the site very well um I think the best thing for us to do is then in terms of the 3:00 a.m. starts and I I do understand the issues that that that that that creates and it must it must cause some some some issues for
The people here particularly if the wind is in a certain Direction uh in terms of of that noise so I I I understand that that concern totally I think we’ll cover that by an informative and a letter to the uh the applicants as well uh in relation to widening the access um we
Can make those suggestions again in a covering letter to to the applicants um and consider that over the next few years as well but I think covering it in a letter and an informative and then monitoring that but I think that’s a positive suggestion from Council e thank
You do we come back Mr councelor ID no I’d be interested to see who’s actually going to do that monitoring over the next two years so we get a a formative report back not from the applicant but from our own our own offices thank you thank chairman I think I’ve just set
Myself up for a s visit at 3:00 a.m. in the morning on your bike my bike yeah okay councelor hesi well thank you for that um I just want to make an observation and a statement to to some effect this must be encouraged the cost of living is
Affecting so many people in the area and we need to balance up attracting people to meet congregate sell their wees encourage recycling upcycling these boot fairs encourage that and also for social cohesion and networking and we need to balance that up against traffic litter and so so forth but overwhelmingly it’s
Is something positive we cannot get away from the fact that people are struggling and this is an opportunity for people to take greater Independence and sell some goods and um make some money but on that note I just wanted to ask a question in
Terms of litter a lot of us here we get involved in litter pickups all the time is there any plan to put any permanent litter bins on those sites thank you chairman again a cracking question from counc Hamad disi um my observation knowing this site very
Very well um and walking that area um very often the the applicants here Greenfield do operate a very good um liter operation on the day of the um of the boot fair and the site is very clean when they when when when they leave it but I think um that’s satisfa covered by
Um condition for about that that that cleaning and and the litter on the site but good question thank you no thank you um did I see another hand go up councelor Peak yeah I wanted to talk about rubbish as well but I’ve kind of been just be beaten to the punch uh
Because on on section four under Marshals it did say that there’s a da clean up I’m very keen about litter these are bane of our lives and inclusing the countryside so I’ve been told they do a good job but what actual um is there like official record kept by
Us that checks that a really thorough job has been done so that we have a record in the history that we caner better to just in case no chairman we we don’t keep a record of that but um uh I I I would expect that if the there were were to be
A litter problem there it would be very quickly brought to the attention of the ward counselors and my officers and we would be able to deal with it in P pursuance condition for but I have to say Mr Greenfield operates a in terms of the rubbish collection L collection a
Very very well operated site any other me oh councel field thank you chair um just wanted to just check on this condition around lighting um looking at Sunrise and sunset in September it sunrise at the very end of September is not until 7 a.m. so potentially there’s 2 hours of operation
In darkness now obviously we’ve got moving Vehicles going around there is obviously health and safety risk of that um but obviously there’s conditions around lighting um I just want just invite again a comment just about how that how that situation is going to work and and that we don’t get undue light
Pollution during those hour hour when the first two hours of operation setup will be in darkness for the end of September Mr Harris CH chairman they do already operate between May and September but only 14 days so they do already operate there and they I understand exactly the question
Councelor field it it does operate safely and successfully without any um any lights other than car lights and handheld lights any you have a member one of those things I I said before that you there’s you know I haven’t seen Star Wars I’ve never been
To a boot fan I need to go and have a look especially as it’s just outside my ward um so I’m going to move go to the the vice the vice chair thank you chair I move the recommendation for temporary approval of the application um with conditions one
To four as laid out in the main papers thank you so the approval has been moved uh second in second your visit to a boot Fair chair those in favor of the recommendation that’s 13 chair excellent so the recommendation for the boot Fair upna Road upna has been approved
And we need to have councelor Pierce back in the room councilor Maple has arrived just in time um so we’re going to go back to um items 78 as I said we’re going to take them together there’ll be separate votes and okay and um Nick Roberts is going to be speaking to the
Item thank you chairman and good evening members um so before I start this is an application that some members May recognize there was a members presentation back in July uh on the 10th of July and it’s a proposal being brought forward by The Institute of cultural and creative Industries at the
Kent University of Kent and the application is for the the part conversion or part demolition sorry and conversion of the police section house um into exhibition space uh Cafe meeting space post Production Studios and co-working space and it also includes the construction of a digital production Studio on
Land to the rear of the police section house um what it will be it will be a hub for immersive and state-of-the Arc Technologies and what it will provide is is learning training teaching volunteering opportunities as well as opportunities for The Wider population of Midway and it really does fit into our cultural
Strategy um and our cultural regeneration and placemaking program so in terms of the the site itself it’s outlined in in red to the north you’ve got the busy be Nursery and further north The Dockside shopping outlet to the east you’ve got the barracks um you can see on the plan that
We’re literally a Stones thr a away to the Northeast to the South you’ve got the timbera mill Brunell Tim Mill and then to the West you’ve got the mar ponds and the uh the parking for the historic dockyard what I wanted to do very briefly before I move on I would just
Touch very quickly on the on the planning context so in terms of our local plan policies they very much support the expansion of existing campuses at the historic dockyard it’s in the urban area as well so it’s very much supported by our strategic policies as well which prioritize development within the urban
Fabric in addition the mppf supports creative and high technology Industries and the site also forms part of a wider site that has been identified for regeneration within the chatam interface Land Development brief which is a supplementary planning document um and what this SPD does is provides further guidance in respect to
Wider regeneration opportunities within the dockyard and it emphasizes the importance of high quality design approaches and the applicant has engaged with the uh land owners uh and developers that are bringing forward forward those wider regener opportunities within the dockyard or the chatam interface land so Countryside so
The these two schemes can align and I actually think that this proposal could act as a catalyst for encouraging more diverse and Innovative uses as part of the site’s wider regeneration so just moving back to the the presentation in terms of the photos so what we have a photo looking along Northern
Boundary so you would have essentially the the busy be day Nursery would be to the east the police Section House to the West we’ve got a view along the the boundary with Dock Road so this this wall here is is the Dock Road wall to
The dockyard and then so you can see to to the left of that the police Section House more distant views from the southern boundary looking across back towards the police Section House and then this here would be the Principal elevation so this is the The View you would get uh from within the
Dockyard itself again some more some more photos um this is a a view back towards the police section house again various photos as well from from within the dockyard looking across to the north and I’ve also included um a couple of images from within the police section
House now this is a a building that’s been derel for the past 60 years um so you can see in terms of the condition of it in internally um and I think that’s it’s poent to to to to show you those photos so you can see obviously this is
An opportunity to to bring this building back into life and and and regenerate this site as part of wider development proposals and again the are just longer distance views so this is the Busy Bee Nursery so this is Dock Road here sorry no it’s not this is the back of byy be’s
Nursery so you’re looking towards the police section house I think it’s Penbrook rise potentially and then this is the view from The Dock Road looking back towards the Poli section house and then these are various views again from within the dockyard itself so from the Mars Pond looking across and here you
Can see the the the prominence of of the the police section house uh and and is is is principally significant as a a rare example of policing within within the dockyard and again just to provide some additional context we’ve got an aerial view here the outline of the police section
House has been imposed within that so again North to the north and further to the north you got the dock side Outlet the mar Pond the visit Center of car park to the at dockyard Timor Mill and again obv see the barracks and and we’re just here tonight and I also although
Not not not very clear on this slide you can see the the boundary to the conservation area which essentially cuts through diagonally through the site so this is a proposed site plan so you’ve got the police section house here and then the digital production Studio to the
Rear and then access off of Brunell way for serviceing vehicles and there’s one disabled parking space as well that would come in from Brunel way and along penber rise and in terms of uh existing elevations so these are the existing elevations to the police section house so there are uh flank elevations that
Were added at a later date so they don’t form part of the original fabric of the building but as part of these proposals um the the single story flank elevation will be removed to provide service access and in terms of the existing floor plans as you would have seen from
The photos it’s it’s deric but um back when it was occupied for policing you would have had ancillary services within the ground floor of the building and then dormitories including um accommodation for uh superintendent as well and then again this is just existing floor plants in the roof with the cupula
And the sections as well so moving on to the proposed elevations before I before I move on I just wanted to mention that um the for the former police section house is a great to listed building and a scheduled Monument so works that affect the the fabric of the the police
Section House itself so both externally and internally will be addressed as part of a schedule Monument application that will be an application that’s made to or has already been made to Historic England and uh on that point uh historic England Alice Brockway who’s dealing with the the application has made a
Recommendation for approval and that’s now been passed to the Secretary of State um for digital culture media and Sport um so in terms obviously how the two proposals align at the moment we know that historic England have also made a recommendation for approval for the the schedule Monument consent as
Well so yes just returning back to the elevations so this would be the the principal elevation um as you can see the the existing extension or flank ex extension has been removed to allow the servicing for Access vehicles and there’ll be various changes to the fenestrations to the rear obviously to
Suit the purpose of the building and moving on so this this is a section from either side where you can see so this is the what would be the new digital production studio um its scale is very much derived from its function and the need for it to contain the specialist equipment and
Facilities that form part of this proposed use but in considering obviously its scale with all the design and layout within the site has been carefully considered to minimize its impact firstly the footprint has been positioned to be set back from the section house to retain space between
The section house and the new building for new Landscaping the height of the studio has also been manipulated to align with the parit level of the section house so not toct to detract from its intended prominence um and it’s also located to the rear uh to minimize any conflict
With with its principal elevation um and intend in terms of the intended Pro prominence of the police Section House it would have been to look over the dockyard so that won’t affect it’s it’s its previous use um and also in terms of the materials which I will move on to
Shortly it’s brick to complement the poli police section house there’s Court in Ste Steel uh cladding metal and Timber detailing um which will INF which would we feel reflects industrial character but adds a modern interpretation to that again these are more elevations of of the digital production shudo so you
Can see obiously within the rear to the rear of that the police section house and this would be the bottom elevation would be if you were standing between the SE house and the new digital production Studio looking towards do Road and again just just some sections streets and elevations across and some some
More uh these are the proposed floor plans so not very clear but there would be exhibition space and a forare on the ground floor with a cafe and um meeting space you got the the main digital production Studio which would be on a essentially on a plimp so at ground
Floor level you’ve got various Studios and anciliary functions to the digital production studio and then moving up you’ve got additional co-working space uh office space classroom space uh moving up to the upper levels and then you can see as as the digital production Studio moves up it comes in from the
Plimp and again obviously moving up it shows the same relationship and then up into theof space and again these are just sections to demonstrate the relationship between the police section house and the new digital production Studio then just to provide some contextual elevations um here you can see
Obviously materiality I know it’s not that clear from from the slides um but um because of the quality of of the the slides but yes you’ve got the the cour and steel the materiality of of the the envelope of the police the new digital production studio with a link across to
The police section house and again some more illustrative elevations just showing the relationship between the two and then moving on to the illustrative landscape master plan so that to the front of the police Section House there will be uh a landscaped area with with Native species then between
The police section house and the new Production Studio there’ll be a Courtyard area and then with proposals for a green roof around the plimp of the the digital production studio and these are just some cgis uh so this one is from from Doc Road this would be from within the
Site see within the digital production Studio itself in terms of the principal elevation what you can see obviously is that when looking from the front you don’t actually you won’t actually see the the selection the police the digital production shudio there will be oblique views from either side but they will not
Detract from the prominence of of the police Section House itself and then it’s a shame you can’t really see this but this is just I’ve included this within the slide so you can see where they’ve derived the the Mir materiality from so other taking other sources from
In the dockyard and adding a modern and contemporary twist to that so I guess to conclude on on the full application yes the proposal it would cause harm to the significant of the section house but the harm would be at the the lower end of the scale and less than substan
IAL in in terms of the mppf and that’s approach that that’s historic England also support um we feel the scale and mass of the the proposed extension represents the least harmful way to deliver the digital production Studio which is clearly a fundamental component of the proposed creaive use in the section
House the demolition of the single story extension to create adequate servicing for the for the proposal is is also unavoidable and where replacement doorways and are proposed they are required to make the building function in its use um and clearly the the proposed development would also bring a long-term vacant
Building back into use that would deliver Works which can serve the section house and that could contribute towards sustainable communities and economic vibrancy in addition we feel the design of the the digital production Studio itself has has evolved into a subtle but sophisticated modern tle metal and Timber structures um drawing on local
Character uh but with a modern take on architecture so in terms of the full application for that reason um you would have seen on the supplementary that um in terms of the approach to to biodiversity net gain uh that would be in compliance with with the mppf so the
Proposal would require the removal of uh 34 IND individual trees to the rear of a site which are predominantly self SE seeding sycamores and following consultation with green spaces and um KCC biodiversity we’re seeking a an environmental mitigation contribution um of £40,000 and what that will do is that
That cost has been generated on the basis of supplying the equivalent number of replacement trees um to compensate those that will be lost on on Medway Council own land um with subsequent ongoing management costs uh and capital Works to create and enhance that habitat uh in addition to that there are
Um on site there will be ecological enhancements um including green roof um log piles and B bricks all of which will be obviously further details of which will be secured by condition so we put forward a resolution to approve subject to the completing un un uu to to to
Um to collect the 40,000 required for the environmental mitigation and with the conditions as set out and if I move swiftly on to the the listed building application so as previously mentioned um as historic England will be dealing with are dealing with the the scheduled Monument consent um they don’t form part
Of the listed building application consent so the listed building application consent purely relates to um uh Works to uh remove vegetation and and restore the um brick pillar um within the rear to the rear of the police section house so again photos I won’t go over this but here you can see
That the brick Piers originally this is an old photo but um there would have been an overhead uh um rail system here uh that was used in connection with the timber Sawmill and it would have been used for cranes carrying the timber to the stacking yard um so obviously over
Time um a lot of these brick Piers have been lost and actually I think this is the only surviving remnants of of that um over overhead crane system um and these are just historic photos this these are photos obviously of the brick pair itself now so you can see it’s
Heavily vegetated and and the as part of the proposals they’ll be removing the vegetation obviously assessing the uh the quality of the bck pier and then obviously putting in a remediation strategy to to to repoint and restore that um and this is just a historical photo which again isn’t isn’t
That clear but you can see obviously the former use as as a the timber stacking in connection obviously with with the ship building uh again this is an aerial image of the application site again you’ve seen this so I won’t I won’t di on again proposed site plan and this this
Is just say but the brick Pier here sorry I can’t see the camera’s in the way but um The Brick pier in question is located just here and again you can see see it well you can’t but it’s just there and again this is just an elevation to show what it could look
Like in the context of to the development proposals and again here here we are uh you can see it just here and this is a CGI of how it how it could potentially once it’s been restored and the vegetation removed so um again this application has been recommended for approval subject to
The conditions as set out um and also in terms of supplementary uh agenda Amendment to the condition requiring a written scheme of investigation in respect to archaeology thank you thank you Mr Ro okay um councelor mle has has arrived and is uh wishing to speak as a ward
Member is it agreed that he speaks before you start need to get my timer going you have five minutes and uh oops and there’ll be I’ll give you a one minute warning okay thank you very much Council H and thank you colleagues um to finish
Off the previous item I have been to a boot fair but I’ve never been to the SE Star Wars so uh I felt I needed to give that contribution as well and thanks for your flexibility in the agenda I’ve been attending child friendly Medway uh asking very challenging questions of me
And the chief executive so I’m grateful for your flexibility I’m proud this is the first uh planning application I’m speaking on as a counselor for chattam Central and Brompton um I’m very supportive of this and and I wanted to highlight two or three things uh particularly from uh predominantly the main
Application firstly always importantly from my perspective there are no uh responses from residents in the ward saying they don’t wish this to proceed that’s something which as Ward councilors will all take very seriously um secondly uh the historic dockyard which of course is where the physical building is uh are broadly supportive
They’ve got some questions around kind of finite detail and I know that will be worked through again in both those cases both residents or the the landlord effectively um they could have not been happy uh and I think the fact that they are shows me that this has got the
Confidence of those who are most likely to be directly affected by it um this is a building predominantly the old building which has been not used for more than uh the time been alive um so bringing it back into use is a really positive thing to do um and certainly
Recognizes the work that I think in particular two things uh us as a community here in Medway uh I think that brings real added value to the creative industries that we value but importantly working closely actually with the dockyard I I don’t want to be in a
Situation where people are coming to my ward to film something and then having to go somewhere else because they can’t do Post production and this will give them the opportunity to do exactly that um I wanted to absolutely highlight condition three I think that’s important that’s around uh the plan and I’d ask
Officers in those discussions to look specifically at the operation of busy bees I should declare a retrospective interest as Ned went to busy bees it’s an excellent nurser and of course they’ve got peak times where actually if there’s um a Lori coming in with stuff and 20 parents turning up that’s an
Issue which we can easily avoid so making sure that’s specifically referenced in the application um I accept entirely that the new building will have subjective views some people won’t like it that’s absolutely fine I think it’s a beautiful building I think that the vision that sits alongside the
Historic um immediately with the police station but actually more generally I think it’s a a welcomed addition but I accept there will be some colleagues in actually some residents some visitors to Medway who will go what on Earth is that I think they’ll be in the minority but I
Can’t say everyone would love it it would be naive of me to say otherwise I think this is a really good use of a space which hasn’t been used I say for for more than 50 years so I I really welcome this application I welcome the partnership working between the council
And the university and the docyard genuine one Medway approach to this so I hope colleagues will support both applications I think it’s the right thing to do for my community but actually the right thing to do for Medway as well as I’ve got just over a minute left uh planning has been talked
A lot in the last 48 hours and while I’ve got the opportunity to speak here tonight I just want to make a very clear statement uh directly to you as chair of this committee to Mr Harris to you as Chief planning officers I’d ask and I’m
Sure this is supported on a cross party basis I have absolute confidence in the planning team of Medway counselors who come to this committee every few weeks will know the work that goes in day in day out to deliver for the people of Medway for someone who’s got no idea
About Medway to make comments about our planning team is disgraceful so I would ask through you chair and through you Mr Harris to um formally thank the hardworking planning team of Medway who should not listen to people who have no idea about Medway I’ve been lucky enough
To be a counselor along with every body else in this room I’ve heard developers residents other Council saying you’ve got a brilliant planning team I want Michael go to come and see that in action so I appreciate the uh time and opportunity tonight I’d encourage colleagues to vote for both applications thank
You thank you for those words and uh yes um if Mr Harris you can pass it on to the rest of the team because it was uh quite stunning what happened yesterday and uh the idea that we on the naughty step when all criteria we show we’re not
The naughty step um and just because we don’t have a local plan um in in place and there are many other authorities who are not going through the local plan process and put it on hold because the local plan process is changing so there’ll be far more authorities in a
Far worse position in sense of not having a local plan coming forward compared to this Authority um so um any member counc hesi thank you for for that um that those statements first and foremost as a fan of any historical police building it’s opportunity for us to recognize
Opportunity to regenerate and I say that literally to regenerate a building that sat there Idol for 50 years and encourage opportunities for young people to Aspire to get into the um the Arts the digital spaces because when we’re looking for skills that are relevant we’ve got something on our doorstep a
Historical dockyard we’ve got film Crews coming here already and all what they require is additional inputs so we can support that industry and create industry of Our Own in this area so I’ll be absolutely supporting that thank you was I just see another member put the hand up yeah
Canid thank you chairman I would just like to draw everyone’s attention to the beginning of page 83 where it reads as part of a previous paragraph loss of medium distinctive as habitats must be offset with habitat creation of the same broad habitat type EG grassland Woodland Etc or a habitat
Of higher distinctiveness I would like to see part of that condition removed where it says loss of medium distinctive habitats must be offset with a habitat of higher distinctiveness thank you Mr Roberts or Mr Harris so in terms of trading rules um what they require is is like for like or
Or better so um in in achieving a like for like habitat um they would be complying with the requirements of of um the the biodiversity net gain strategy that that will be enacted as part of the environment act but that’s not actually in force within the planning act as yet
And we’re expecting that to come in in January but this would be like for like actually potentially better because they’re self-seeding sck of wars and what we would be looking to secure our mixed species um that over time would actually have a higher habitat value
Mr Harris did you want to just no the next point that he made at the end there in terms of um this will actually CC this will be better the we’re not going to be replacing self- Zone syor with self Zone syor there’ll be a mixed three
Species so it will be an enhanced as as Nick said thank you okay councelor gilborn just a quick question um no comment about the design but on the new building with the flat roof um without looking at the detail is there any restriction on what can be
Done on the roof in terms of if they ever thought of doing performances or something up there that would use that space creatively and is there a planning implication if if they wanted to um which are you referring to the roof the the plimp for the the roof of
The Production Studio itself Production Studio uh that’s there would be PV panels on on on the roof of the production studio um no well the concept of the Production Studio is is to create that mive technology within within the building itself councilor Peak sorry I just can’t resist saying
This I also um wish to be well all of us to promote the use of this area for the filming industry and what I can’t help saying is my son who just had his first lead role in a film filmed in the duck side area and apparently that area to
The production team and with those involved in this already has a really really high reputation so more that we can extend this this asset that we got all the better and now was my excuse for showing off about my son who I’m incredibly proud of thank you watch out for name Bradley peaking
Lights sometime councilor p uh thank you chairman um yeah I think it’s a very interesting exciting proposal um the only area where I think um the reason for objection would come from would be on the Heritage grounds but of course historic England are supporting the application um so that’s good um and
Like others have said um this will enhance the area and boost our creative and media economy U which is only a great thing thank you okay I I welcome the application I think is an excellent we use some existing building and the uh the addition will be of great asset not only
In design but actually how it delivers in a practical sense and it’s by the way the design is not isolated just north of this location nobody’s mentioned it is is the um Lloyds of London buildings there’s two of them and they are if I remember correctly they are a four
Dimensional representation of a cube um and they are equally interesting to look at so we actually it’s not a a new building on its own it is something that’s actually linked to buildings to midle to the north um having said that can I move to the uh Vice chair to move um
Item seven to start with and just to remind uh um councelor stamp is the fact that there’s a further representations uh on the uh supplementary agenda for item seven thank you chair um I move the recommendation for approval um for the application subject to uh A and B and
Conditions 1 to 23 is laid out in the main papers and the amendments in the supplementary agenda thank you so the recommendation is for approval those in favor of the recommendation well councel you didn’t shout Nick Jones were you trying to second that yeah I I did second chair I was so
Overwhelmed by the stories of Hollywood and aspirations that right okay so those in favor that’s 15 chair so approval was given for um item seven um move to item eight and there’s one uh additional well it’s an amendment to condition five and I move to the vice chair
Thank you chair I move the recommendation to approve the application subject to conditions 1 to five and the amendment of condition five in the supplementary agenda thank you seconded aha okay so again that’s recommendation is for uh approval those in favor that’s 15 chair thank you so the uh
Recommendation of both of them uh for the former police station East Road historic Jo chatam theyve been approved um okay thank you uh councelor Maple for your contribution um before we move on to um the next item will be item five I’m going to take a um a break Comfort break
But also the fact that uh there are some additional papers we don’t normally have additional papers there was a view taken by the previous committee that all these additional papers should be provided um a week for Clear working days in advance e that was last Wednesday noon but
There’s misunderstanding so we got some additional paperwork that’s um been provided by NE Mr Harris today plus some additional there going to take an opportunity for members to have a comfort break take a read of those additional papers which were both placed in on the table in front of you when you
Arrived so have a comfort break have a have a drink and please can you start those who haven’t had any is cake and sweets um thank You Oh W W Complete words but this the gist of the additional papers that have been passed around is he all right if we restart the meeting okay so we’re going to go to item five and Mr Harris will uh speak to the item chairman thank you very much
Um this is the third time that I that I or one of my members of Staff will have presented this application to this committee but it’s actually the fourth time that I’ve made reference to it at that at this committee little bit of background which is set out in the
Reports is that this is this is the application site here and we had an application for uh up to nine dwellings on this site when it originally is an outline application with all matters all matters other than means of access resered for later approval so members will see layout scale appearance and
Landscaping will all be subject to reserved matters application which will come in and could come back to this committee again should members deem it appropriate now the first time this came to committee members debated it um you felt that there was a need for some further information before you could
Make a decision one way or the other on the application and it was deferred it then came back to this committee again in September um where members again debated it they had that further information um for for consideration um and you resolved to approve the application subject two though it being
Us first notifying the health and safety executive that you were minded to approve it and that was because the health and safety executive because of the power line that sorry the underground pipeline which goes through the site um said that if you were minded to approve it they wanted to have
Notification of that to determine whether to require the application to be called in or not so we notified the health and safety executive of the this the decision of this committee to um uh uh to approve um and they conted me and my case officer and asked for a meeting
Which we had and they explained where their areas of concern were which was not that they were adverse or against the principle of development on this site absolutely not they recognize that what they said though is that these four units in here were within um part of the uh the
Zone for the uh the pipeline and their practice would be to object to any anything more than two houses on there so they would accept and not object to two houses now that had not been clear in their original representations to us which were reported to this to this
Committee and and on that you had a very detailed report from Members which set out all the representations that we had received for your consideration um so that gave a an options to us and the applicants the options were to reduce these these units from four to two and reduce the overall Quantum
Development from 9 to 7 um if the other Alternatives were to uh uh to remain at nine and in which case there would been two options open to us as local Authority either to still support the application despite an objection then from the health and SA safety
Executive and in which case the hsse would take a view as to whether they pushed for a call in from the Secretary of State or this committee could have taken an alternative recommendation of of a refusal we put that to the applicant and I and I came back to this Committee in
Relation to the minutes and updated you on that conversation with the health and safety executive we then put that to the applicant and the applicant is very care Y and properly considered the comments from the health and safety executive which are now very clear and they have
Reduced the number of units in Quantum from up to nine to up to seven dwellings uh on on on on this site and then their illustrative plans reduce the number of units in here from four from four down to two I that’s what it’s now now showing now I
Appreciate that this is an outline application um and that that layout is a reserved matter I it’s not for consideration but what we needed to be satisfied was that they could satisfactorily achieve seven dwellings on this site without causing an issue for the health and sa health and safety
Executive hence this plan hence we’ve gone back to health and safety executive to formally say these are the revised plans we’ve got and they’ve come back on the 13th of November to say they no longer object to the application those comments are very clearly set out in your your report on page
28 now it would have been possible for me to um to have determined this application under delegated powers because the resolution of this committee was to approve subject to taking the views of the health and safety executive which is exactly what I done however I felt it appropriate and I feel it’s
Appropriate in discussion with the chairman to bring this application back to committee so that you can you can consider those comments from the health and safety executive so this shows the uh the inner Zone in terms of the pipeline and you can see that it goes along that line
There and what the health and safety executive said is that because these units are outside in terms of their building and dwellings themselves are out outside that line they they have no objections to that to those this shows then only two being within that inner zone They again
Are happy with no more than two reflecting those comments one of the conditions before you and this was a point that councelor ethd rightly questioned me on to be satisfied satisfied on was about removal of permitted development rights and there is a condition um one which limits the
Number of units to seven and there’s a further condition which um removes permitted development rights or there will be a condition removing permitted no there is condition 19 removes permitted development Rights Council eage and you were right to question me and ask me that question that’s an indicative Street
Scene and these are some views that members of you you’ve previously seen in resolving to approve the application but I think that’s the appropriate um plan for you to consider so you have previously resolved to approve it subject to referral to se to the health and sa safety executive we’ve had
A conversation with them we’ve got the amend applicants to amend the scheme it’s down to seven units now um health and safety executive have no objection recommendation is for approval subject to the conditions that you see laid out thank you chairman and just to to pick up on the comments
By Mr Harris he could determined this under permitted and his um delicated um Powers subject to conversations with the spokes he spoke with me I said No it should come back to committee uh it’s the right thing to do but of course it’s this is an outline application and the whole thing will
Come back when a full Reserve matters application is considered um so is it agreed that uh councilor sporing speaks as a w member that’s sping I just setting up my um my timer you have five minutes and after four oh let you know it’s one minute to
Go I’m obliged members this matter came to committee twice before it now comes back again because of hsse concerns on both previous occasions the committee was told and I quote the layout has been mindful of the high press gas main which runs to the north of proposed site all
Development including garden areas are set out outside the required buffer zone this was taken from the applicant supporting statement page 18 paragraph 6.8 we now know from this latest involvement with the hsse this was perhaps erroneous on both previous occasions the planning officer’s presentation told the committee quote
Concern has been expressed by the hsse southern gas Network and network gas transmission regarding the proximity of their Pipeline and assets to the application site and development the applicants are content that that scheme has been designed to be away from such sensitive pipelines and to adhere to any sensitive any separation distances again
I suggest we now know that was erroneous what the planning officer did not tell you on both occasions and I’ve gone through both recordings of these um several times was that the hsse Southern gas networks and National Gas transmission were all objecting and Advising against the application HSC advise against Southern
Gas networks formally object to the planning application National Gas transmission bold letters you must not proceed that’s not concern about being expressed that is being told you must not do this and I take issue with m Mr Harris’s um suggestion that at the last um committee meeting we were told oh
We’ll go to the HSA because we’re minded to approve it no that’s not in my view what happened having reviewed the videos what actually happened was the hsse wrote to the council to say if you’re minded to Grant planning permission The Authority must give hsse Advanced notices section 9 paragraph 72 planning
Practice guide hazardous substances advanced notice if minded not Grant permission which is what actually happened there was no mention about minded to and then we’ll go to the HC it’s there’s a referral to not Grant permission and send the head of planning to try and get retrospective approval in
My opinion now I’ve written to the HSC seeking clarification on a couple of matters they responded very late today say when they met our planners their understanding was that the council had not yet granted planning permission fact the minute say permission was granted in makes you wonder what else the hsse
Didn’t know and you’ll note that latest letter 13th of November indicates contentment because a paragraph for they say there’s nothing to cause people to congregate example children’s play area if you recall and I check this at the last Council uh committee meeting we got told about a play area and if you look
At the applicants own supporting statement they refer to this extra immunity space people will congregate therefore that immediately throws the hsse out the game similarly it seems the HSC were not told about the flooding but let’s ignore them for a moment because I can’t see it anywhere but it seems the
Southern gas Network objection still stands the gas transmission objection still stands you must not proceed which brings me on to the flooding on both occasions the planning officer’s verbal presentation referred to the flooding in Middle Stoke on both occasions committee was told the lead local flood Authority was undertaking
Works to improve it I say not true in an email to myself dated 25th of no September the planning officer herself admitted and I quote the llfa haven’t instructed any works at the September meeting committee’s told the applicant that provideed supplementary advice we told it been checked by local lead flood
Authority the flood Authority is us it’s met by Council one minute it’s our own Gabrielle busy with whom I’ve be speaking now I say there was no no supplementary advice or assorted the committee approved the application for nine dwellings when it shouldn’t have done in my opinion it did so because
Apparent misrepresentation outside the buffer zone I say you are now being approve asked to approve seven instead of nine on the basis you already approved this would you have proved it if you’d known those correct facts committee heard through no Force its own don’t make the same
Mistake you can see how devastating the flooding is from the photographs Southern gas networks still object gas transmission you must not proceed hsse seem to Cong content if you don’t congregate hold on play area do not be put off refusing this application by the cabalistic phrase it’s only an outline
Application Mr chairman inside 5 minutes and I’m obliged thank you um any member councelor Pierce uh thank you chairman um I would like clarification which I think is a reasonable question on the current status of the Southern gas networks and National Gas transmission objections what’s the current status of them thank
You Mr Harris chairman it remains exactly as it was at the time we presented the report in September in September we advis members that southern gas networks formally object to this planning application until such time as a detailed consultation has taken place with them we advise then a copy of this
Letter has been provided to the applicants in relation to National Gas transmission gain the report says have written that the site location is in close proximity to National Gas transmission plcs apparatus and development should not proceed without further assessment from asset protection again the applicants were sent a copy of
That letter um now on both both of those we were we are Guided by the health and safety executive who who require that before a decision is issued that we notify them and give them an opportunity to to call the application in which is exactly what
We did and then we had a really really helpful conversation um with them and we’ve now got these amended plans in relation to those comments we the the the the the buffer zone in terms of the pipeline comes to that point just there um but then there is this inner
Zone on the red hash which is what the health and safety executive have referred to in relation to your question councelor pierce the the two uh pipelines they they do maintain their their their objections um because they they still want to have Clarity over exactly where the buildings are going to
Go I can’t give them that that Clarity because this is an outline application when the reserve matters comes in we will consult with them all again but in the meantime we have notified or put a notice the applicants for them to contact directly both those groups or or those those companies so
They can have further discussion on the exact location of the pipeline and what that means in terms of where the buildings could or should go in relation to that this site as I said we have had Clarity from the health and safety executive that was exactly the position back in
September with the exception of the health and safety executive we’ve now clarified that hopefully that’s helpful Council any other member Council Turpin thank you um chair so my understanding from that um Mr Harris is that it will it’s more sort of is more the design going forward that’s going to
Be the issue and is does that mean that when we’ve got the detailed application is there any way of sort of insisting that that comes in front of the committee as well yeah is that part is that a condition or I don’t know how you would do that because that seems to be
Sort of the issue here that seems really sensible um councelor Turpin and and this committee I mean the chairman has already made it clear to me that he would wish any reserve matters application to to come back to committee but the normal practice is if members in
Considering outline um want to see the details at committee they instruct me and we make sure that happens just to just reconfirm that it’s myself and the um Mr Harris who just wanted this to come to this committee and we want it to come back that the reserved matters to this committee for
Decision because it could have been done I mean the next application could be done under your delegated powers I’m assuming but but we’re sort of agreeing here that it will definitely come back yeah yeah thank you oh any other member councilor Peak well this seems to
Be an inference um this evening that if you approve an outline planning decision that it’s done and dusted so I’m glad that um councel Turpin asked the question I was it was too quick for me I was thinking about asking the same question and I would like to say to the
Committee I feel reassured that if we see the detail the processes gone through that we collectively will say no now we have the right and we will make our L mind then at that point and surely that’s all part parcel of doing this properly thank you that is the normal
Practice any other oh counselor e thank you chairman reference has Al also been made to the flooding in the area can we confirm this will also go before the local drainage board for it to be reviewed thank you should point out that obviously Suds was discussed in at the last application as
Well as well as the flooding so this these um these units are subject to a s and and so is actually the two Cottages adjacent fit into the same scheme as you can see there’s that what looks like a pond is the S scheme uh
Mr no chairman I I just would agree with councilor E’s request absolutely any other member if not I move to the vice chair for the recommendation thank you chair I move the recommendation to approve the application subject to conditions 1 to 24 as laid out in the main papers thank you
Seconded so the recommendation is for approval those in favor that’s 14 chairman those against so the U planning application for um the outline planning application for land at middle Stoke adjacent to one and two Jubilee Gardens grain Road Middle Stoke has been approved so move move on to item uh 13
Um Mr Harris you’re going to speak to the section 106 agreements chairman thank you very much um members quarterly I bring this report to you which is um on section 106 agreements for the period July to September uh 2023 this is really important that members see this it’s very important
That we are transparent in relation to to section 106 is um and that is why I agree with the need for an infrastructure funding statement which went to Cabinet uh yesterday um that’s an annual thing that we do in addition to that we have these quarterly reports
To to this committee uh which shows the funding received uh within the quarter um and also um uh the section 106 is signed in in in that period as as as well um um and where the expenditure has has has has has been made in addition to
That uh members this these reports along with the infrastructure funding statement will go to the overview and scrutiny committee as well now I’m happy to take any questions um and put them to my section 106 officer we’ll be very happy to come back in writing to any member thank you
Councelor thank you chairman uh the very first one on the list 18 uh 2961 the uh travel bus contribution third installment now I’m aware that the initial uh timetable has been changed at least twice simply because it wasn’t being used um I’d like some uh information possibly from ariva or from
Yourself Dave just how many people actually use this bus service and is it actually providing value for money because if it’s not I’m sure that we can use that 106 money elsewhere Within cliffwoods Mr Harrison chairman I’ll come back to Council rege on that any other member on
This if not I amum we go to the vice chair thank you chair um I remove uh I move agenda item number 13 for approval seconded those in favor that’s 15 chair okay thank you uh Vice chair can we move to item 14 exclusion of press and
Public thank you chair I move agenda 14 on the papers s did is that agreed okay so item 15 W