Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Adeoye, Bowler, Potter and Chrissy Stamp.

The Chairman will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report. 

There were none. 

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct.  Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 4.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

Councillor Gulvin referring to item 7 (Report on Section 106 agreements) informed the Committee that this report made mention of Chatham Waterfront which was a project by Medway Development Company. Whilst he had a dispensation to speak on this at some meetings of the Council, such dispensation did not involve the Planning Committee and therefore he would leave the meeting prior to consideration of this item.

Other interests

Cllr Hubbard referred to items 4 and 5 (Planning application MC/21/0302 – Land South of Berwick Way, East of Frindsbury Hill and North and West of Parsonage Lane (known as Manor Farm), Frindsbury, Rochester and planning application MC/21/0303 – Manor Farm Barn, Parsonage Lane, Frindsbury, Rochester and informed the Committee that relatives of his wife, distant cousins, lived in Manor House next to Manor Farm Barn.  

Cllr Buckwell, referring to item 4 (Planning application MC/21/0302 – Land South of Berwick Way, East of Frindsbury Hill and North and West of Parsonage Lane (known as Manor Farm), Frindsbury, Rochester and informed the Committee that he was a life member of the City of Rochester Society but he did not consider that this affected his participation in considering and determining this planning application.

Strood Rural

Hybrid application seeking:

- Full planning permission for the construction of a new three-storey secondary school with sixth form and sports block with vehicular and pedestrian access from Frindsbury Hill, together with associated car parking and drop off area, multi-use games area, sports pitches, landscaping and other associated works.

- Full planning permission for the part conversion and extension of Grade I Listed Manor Farm Barn and change of use to a wedding venue and conference facility, including conversion and extension of former cattle byres to provide overnight accommodation, construction of single storey detached building for management facilities and construction of a new building to provide additional tourist accommodation with vehicular and pedestrian access from Berwick Way, car parking, landscaping and other associated works.

- Outline permission (with Frindsbury Hill access-detailed as part of the full planning permission for the school element) to be considered in detail and all other matters reserved for future consideration for the construction of up to 181 residential dwellings, together with Parsonage Lane  access, parking, landscaping and associated works.

Discussion: 

The Head of Planning outlined the planning application in detail and explained the background as to the reasons why this planning application had been submitted as a hybrid application. The application formed three elements namely the bringing back into use of Manor Farm Barn, a Grade 1 listed building which had been sympathetically restored following a fire in 2003, provision of a new secondary school to meet the immediate need for additional secondary school places in this part of Medway (both these aspects were in detail) and provision of 181 residential units (in outline). 

He informed the Committee that all three elements of the scheme were interlinked and could not proceed independently of each other.

The Committee was informed that whilst Manor Farm Barn had been sympathetically restored by the current owners following a fire, the building was still vulnerable as it remained empty and the only way of securing its long term protection and future would be to bring the property back into use. The current application proposed to develop the Barn and its surrounding area as a wedding/conference venue. This proposal had been supported by Heritage England who currently had the Barn listed on its at risk register.

Alongside the proposal for the Barn, the hybrid planning application also sought to provide a new three storey secondary school and associated facilities on the application site. The Head of Planning informed the Committee that these additional school places were required as a matter of urgency to meet current need in this area of Medway and that having considered a range of alternative sites, the proposed site was the only one that was suitable and would offer the opportunity of being located in a position where pupils would be able to travel to school using alternative means other than by car.

The Head of Planning also informed the Committee that the residential element of the hybrid planning application was the main enabling element of the whole project and that without this, the proposed scheme for the Barn and School could not proceed.

The Committee received a full presentation on the proposed hybrid application including plans showing the proposed landscaping to minimise the visual impact of the development, proposed changes to the highway so as to ensure traffic flow in and around the development, the phased works to the Barn facility and the impact that the development would have upon the Hogmarsh Valley Area of Local Importance (ALLI) and the Frindsbury Conservation Area.

The Committee was reminded of the current position concerning the inability of the Council to show that it had a 5 year land supply for Housing and therefore the presumption in favour of sustainable development applied and was required to be taken into account in considering this planning application.

With the agreement of the Committee, Councillors Elizabeth Turpin and Van Dyke addressed the Committee as Ward Councillors and Councillor Elizabeth Turpin also read out a statement from Councillor Williams who had been unable to attend the meeting.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 308.

Strood Rural

Listed building consent for the part conversion and extension of Manor Farm Barn to a wedding venue and conference facility including conversion and extension of former cattle byres to provide overnight accommodation; detached building for management facilities and the construction of a new building to provide additional tourist accommodation with vehicular and pedestrian access from Berwick Way, car parking, landscaping and other associated works.

Discussion: 

The Head of Planning outlined the planning application in detail.

The Committee’s attention was drawn to an amendment to a proposed condition, as set out on the supplementary agenda advice sheet.

Decision: 

Approved with conditions 1 and 3 – 9 as set out in the report for the reasons stated in the report and condition 2 amended as follows:

2.             The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans:

DHA/14019/11, 29654A_003 rev A, 29654A_199 rev B, 29654A_204 rev D, 29654A_205 rev D, 29654A_206 rev D, 29654A_207 rev D, 29654A_208 rev E, 29654A_209 rev G, 29654A_210 rev F, 29654A_211 rev G, 29654A_212 rev G, 29654A_213 rev G, 29654A_214 rev B, 29654A_220 rev D, 29654A_221 rev D, 29654A_222 rev D, 29654A_300 rev D, 29654A_301 rev D, 29654A_302 rev E, 29654A_303 rev E, 29654A_305 rev C, 29654A_307 rev B, 568-ALA00-XX-DR-L-003 P02 - received 2 February 2021

568-ALA-00-XX-DR-L-0004 P01 - received 10 February 2021

DHA/14019/19 rev A , 29654A_200 rev K, 29654A_201 rev J - received 4 June 2021, 29654A_201 rev I - received 2 February 2021

Reason: For the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of proper planning and having regard to the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Regulations 2017) against which the development has been assessed and that any material alteration to the design principles and development objectives may have an impact which has not been fully assessed.

This report informs Members of appeal decisions.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report setting out appeal decision for the period 1 April – 30 June 2021.

The Committee sought information as to whether the Council could challenge some of the appeals listed. In response, the Head of Planning advised that the Council had previously challenged Planning Inspectors’ decisions through judicial review and had been successful. Following consultations with Legal, it was not considered that there were grounds to challenge any of the appeal decisions referred to at this meeting.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.

This report informs Members on the amount of Section 106 funding received between April to June 2021 and sets out what the contributions must be spent on according to the Section 106 agreements. This report is submitted for information to assist the Committee in monitoring the contributions which developers have agreed to as part of new development schemes.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report setting out section 106 agreements for the period 1 April – 30 June 2021.

In response to a question, the Head of Planning advised that, where possible, Ward Councillors were encouraged to seek dialogue with officers concerning issues such as the allocation of Section 106 funding.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.