Agenda and draft minutes

Location: 2020/0366/FUL – Birchwood Lodge, Market Weighton Road, Barlby

Proposal: Erection of research and development building to replace an existing store building

The matter had been brought to the Chief Executive for consideration under urgency as the application had been called in by Ward Councillor Karl Arthur, due to concerns over the impact on the residential amenity of neighbouring occupiers. The application had been deferred from the CEO Urgent Decision Session on 27 May 2020 to allow for the expiry of the consultation period and consideration of any additional responses received.

Officers presented the application to the Chief Executive who noted that it was for the erection of a research and development building to replace an existing store building.

An Officer Update Note had been circulated prior to the meeting containing additional comments from Barlby and Osgodby Parish Council.

The Parish Council had raised concerns about the proposed development, specifically in relation to enforcement issues on site, and concerns around pollution, noise nuisance, visual impact of the proposals and hours of operation of the business.

The Parish Council objected to the proposed development unless the outstanding enforcement issues were resolved and an Environmental Impact Assessment carried out. It was noted that the Parish Council had commented that they would generally support local employment and electric vehicles but considered that these issues were unproven.

Officers confirmed that the comments from the Parish Council would not alter the assessment made in the report.

The Solicitor stated that the legal criteria that set out whether an Environmental Impact Assessment should be undertaken was specific and detailed. The application under consideration would not be considered an exceptional enough case to justify and Environmental Impact Assessment, and as such there was no lawful reason for one to be carried out.

The Chief Executive noted that the existing enforcement matters on the site were not relevant to the application under consideration and were already subject to other controls and processes. The Solicitor confirmed that any enforcement breaches on the site in the past should be separated from the assessment of the current application.

As part of the decision-making process Members had been consulted on the application. These comments were collated and presented to the Chief Executive as part of the decision making. Comments had been received from some Members of the Planning Committee and the Ward Members.

Some Members had expressed their agreement with the Officer’s recommendation of approval, whilst also suggesting that the fence along the southern boundary be strengthened to reduce the impact of noise from the site, and that and a noise assessment should be undertaken. Members had noted that whilst objections had been raised in respect of noise, at both Committee site visits it had been clear that the biggest source of noise was from traffic on the A163. Questions had also been raised around the flight logs and the level of detail provided by objectors.

Other Members had concerns thatthe rural site was becoming increasingly industrialised, beyond what was originally  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.1