Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Filmer, Myton and Pearce.

To approve the record of the meeting held on 15 January 2025.

The record of the meeting held on 15 January 2025 was agreed by the Committee and signed by the Chairperson as correct.

The Chairperson will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/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)

There were none.

Other interests

Councillor Gulvin referred to MC23/2857 - Land at the former Sturdee Club and land at Stoke Road, Hoo St Werburgh, ME3 9BJ and stated that although he had no actual interest to declare, part of the application concerned land that had a military history, and his brother is a renowned expert on Medway’s military artifacts, however, he had not discussed Hoo with his brother for at least 5 years.   

Councillor Etheridge stated that he often attended meetings of Frindsbury Extra and Cliffe Woods Parish Councils and explained that if any planning applications were ever discussed there, which were due to be considered by the Medway Council Planning Committee meeting, he would not take part in the discussion at the Parish Council meetings.

Councillor Mrs Turpin stated that she often attended meetings of Frindsbury Extra Parish Council and explained that if any planning applications were ever discussed there, which were due to be considered by the Medway Council Planning Committee meeting, she would not take part in the discussion at the Parish Council meetings.

Councillor Vye referred to planning application MC23/2857 - Land at the former Sturdee Club and land at Stoke Road, Hoo St Werburgh, ME3 9BJ and stated that he was aware that St Mary Hoo Parish Council had objected to this planning application and that he knew the St Mary Hoo Parish Council clerk and that the Clerk was also the secretary of the local branch of Reform UK, however, he had taken no view on this planning application and would take part in this item.

Hoo St Werburgh & High Halstow Ward

Construction of 134no. residential dwellings (including affordable and over 55's homes), children's nursery (Class E(f)), cafe/community hub (Class E(b)/F2(b)) and commercial/retail floorspace (E(g)/E(a), new public open spaces, sustainable urban drainage systems, landscaping and biodiversity areas and play areas. Access to be from 4no. new locations from Stoke Road. Provision of roads, parking spaces and earthworks - demolition of the Sturdee Club and associated structures.

Discussion:

The Senior Planner outlined the application in detail for the construction of 134 residential dwellings (including affordable and over 55's homes), children's nursery (Class E(f)), cafe/community hub (Class E(b)/F2(b)) and commercial/retail floorspace (E(g)/E(a), new public open spaces, sustainable urban drainage systems, landscaping and biodiversity areas and play areas. Access to be from 4 new locations from Stoke Road.  Provision of roads, parking spaces and earthworks - demolition of the Sturdee Club and associated structures.

The Senior Planner brought Members’ attention to the supplementary agenda advice sheet which amended the recommended conditions and included additional representations from Councillor Pearce and the applicant.  He also informed Members that bungalows should be referenced in the reason under condition 24.

He advised that Active Travel England had not been consulted originally and whilst under the 150 dwelling threshold, the site was above the 5-hectare threshold and as such consultation should have been undertaken.  This consultation has now been undertaken and a change to the recommendations had been made. In addition, a number of conditions had been amended to improve clarity and enforceability, and one condition has been deleted as it was a duplicate.  He referred Members to the supplementary agenda advice sheet for the amended conditions. 

The Senior Planner informed Members that the former Sturdee Club had been closed for 12 years.  A key part of this planning application was to provide community facilities, including the café and community hub, local employment, nursery facilities and open spaces and the inclusion of these facilities, in addition to providing much needed housing, including affordable housing were considered to outweigh the loss of the former Sturdee Club.

With the agreement of the Committee, Councillor Sands addressed the Committee as Ward Councillor and raised the following concerns:

·       Hoo has a rich history with artifacts dating back to 399BCE. 

·       During the Second World War, many troops were based in Hoo and the Hoo ‘Stop Lines’ are located very close to this application.

·       If Kent was the garden of England, Hoo was the fruit basket.

·       The application would be located very close to Yew Tree Lodge which was a care home for senior citizens.  This could be very disruptive to those residents who require routine and no stress.

·       The application was considered to be an unsustainable development, and unachievable housing requirements should not try to be adhered.

With the agreement of the Committee, Councillor Crozer addressed the Committee as Ward Councillor and raised the following concerns:

·       He was speaking on behalf of the local residents, where there were concerns regarding the development.  

·       There was a time when the community thrived, the Sturdee Club used to be a cricket pavilion where residents gathered as a community.  The loss of the Sturdee Club and other clubs in the area had been deeply felt by residents.

·       There had been concerns regarding the provision for the play areas, particularly would these play areas be accessible for all residents within the village or just for residents within the development.

·       A fundamental concern was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 748.

This report is presented to the Planning Committee informing Members on current planning performance and the Local Plan. The report covers the period from 1 October to 31 December 2024.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report setting out performance for the period

1 October to 31 December 2024.

The Chief Planning Officer drew Members’ attention to how his team and Members had performed.   He discussed the reform of the planning system, where Government was focused on planning committee decisions and wanted Local Authorities to determine planning applications quicker.

He informed Members that last year was the best year for units completed, 1300, however the Council was still well below target.   The Government published a revised Standard Method for calculating Local Housing need.  The figure for Medway was now 1,594 homes a year, which was a slight reduction on the previous figure of 1,658 homes.

A number of compliments had been received and were set out on pages 83-84 of the report.

Members extended their thanks to the Chief Planning Officer and his team for all their hard work and acknowledged the amount of work that went into producing the results shown.

It was requested that under Appendix E – units under construction, whether an additional column be added to show what had been approved 3 years or more.   Could this also be contrasted with permission granted.  

Regarding the Government’s plan for the planning system, a Member requested speaking to the local MP’s about the proposals. 

Decision:

The Committee noted the report and requested that the Chief Planning Officer express the Committee’s appreciation for the levels of achievement to staff within the Planning Service.

This report informs Members of appeal decisions. The summary of appeal decisions for those allowed or where decisions were made by the Committee contrary to Officer recommendation is listed by ward in Appendix A.

Discussion:

The Chief Planning Officer gave a summary of the appeal decisions referred to in appendix A to the report.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.

This report informs Members on the amount of Section 106 funding received between October to December 2024 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 Chief Planning Officer gave a summary of the amount of S106 funding received and agreements signed from October to December 2024 and referred to Appendix 1 to 3 in the report.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.