Agenda item

Application: 2020/0821/FUL

Location:Land Adjacent, Village Hall, Main Street, Church Fenton

Proposal: Construction of new access off Main Street, Church Fenton to serve outline planning permission under application reference 2015/0615/OUT, Main Street, Church Fenton, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, LS24 9RF

The Principal Planning Officer presented the application which had been brought before Planning Committee as the development would function to serve a reserved matters scheme (2017/0736/REMM) for residential development relating to outline planning permission reference 2015/0615/OUT. The reserved matters had been refused by the Planning Committee on 4 March 2020 and was now the subject of a planning appeal. An appeal had also been lodged against non-determination of the access application and the two appeals had been linked for concurrent determination by the Planning Inspectorate via a Public Inquiry.

The Committee acknowledged that the application was not presented for determination by Members but was to seek their views on what recommendation they would be minded to give. This would then form the basis for the Council’s appeal case on this application.

Members noted that the application was for the construction of new access off Main Street, Church Fenton to serve outline planning permission under application reference 2015/0615/OUT, Main Street, Church Fenton.

The Officer Update Note set out details of some minor errors and corrections in the report, an additional construction management condition, further comments received since publication of the report and an amendment to the recommendation regarding erection of site notices.

The Committee asked questions relating to ownership, public right of way and boundaries of the site, assessments of traffic flow, speed and safety through the village, road width and access to the site, and the effect of the upcoming Planning Inspectorate’s decision on the appealed application on the applications that were being considered by the Committee at the meeting.

Officers confirmed that the application before Members was for a minded to decision; it could not be determined as an appeal had been lodged.

Sarah Chester, objector, was invited remotely into the meeting and spoke against the application.

Georgina Ashton, representative of Church Fenton Parish Council, was invited remotely into the meeting and spoke against the application.

Steve Wilkinson, agent, was invited remotely into the meeting and spoke in favour of the application.

Members debated the application and agreed that it was unusual for two identical applications to be listed for consideration on the same agenda. Several Committee Members expressed serious concerns about the scheme due to road safety and access issues and felt that the assessment of the scheme by Highways was incorrect.

As such, Members agreed that the application should be refused on a highways safety basis, and due to the potential detrimental effects of the scheme on the character and amenity of the village if approved.

It was proposed and seconded that the Members were MINDED TO REFUSE the application; a vote was taken on the proposal and was carried.

RESOLVED:

The Committee were MINDED TO REFUSE the application due to serious concerns regarding highway safety and detrimental effect of the scheme on the character and amenity of the village.