Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 8 February 2017.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 8^th February 2017 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the following amendment:

Councillor Alan Law drew attention to page nine of the minutes and stated that the second sentence of paragraph four should read as follows ‘Councillor Alan Law advised that as Chairman for only the first part of the site visit, he had been made aware of a possible request by the Case Officer, but during his time as Chairman, no request to visit was made.’

Councillor Quentin Webb stated that he took over as Chairman for the second part of the site visit and was not made aware that a request had been made.

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest received.

The Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 4(1)) concerning Planning Application 16/03518/FULD  in respect of the demolition of the existing dwelling and construction of a self-build replacement dwelling.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Catherine Bamforth, supporter and Sarah Dutfield and John Hunt, agent and applicant, addressed the Committee on this application.

Catherine Bamforth in addressing the Committee raised the following points:

·         She had lived in the village of Brimpton for 17 years and she would also be voicing the opinion of others living in the village.

·         The current owner of Pelynt, John Hunt, had lived in Brimpton all of his life and wished to bring his children up in the village. His parents also still lived in the village.

·         The bungalow as it stood was dilapidated and as far as Mrs Bamforth understood, was not viable for re-use.

·         Pelynt suffered from rising damp and mildew issues.

·         John Hunt’s family had outgrown the space. The proposed dwelling was of rural design, was more in keeping with the surrounding area and would be ample size for modern family living.

·         The proposal was environmentally and eco friendly.

·         Bats occupied the loft of the current property and therefore it was proposed that the new house would be set back further on the site, to allow the bats to be re-homed in a sympathetic manner.

·         The work unit that formed part of the application would allow the applicants to work from home and therefore reduce traffic in the village.

·         Prior to the application being submitted, Mr Hunt canvassed the opinion of the local community.

·         No objections to the application were received and it was supported by Brimpton Parish Council. Mrs Bamforth urged the Committee to approve the application.

Councillor Richard Crumly queried how many two storey properties were near to the application site. Mrs Bamforth confirmed that there were about five.

Councillor Graham Bridgman asked for clarification on whether Brimpton Parish Council had no objections to the application or if they supported it. Planning Officer, Masie Masiiwa, confirmed that the Parish Council had made no objections to the application.

Councillor Alan Law noted that bats occupied the property currently and asked if Planning Officers had been made aware of this. Mrs Bamforth was unsure if Officers were aware.

Sara Dutfield and John Hunt in addressing the Committee raised the following points:

·         There were two areas that Mrs Dutfield would focus on including the design of the proposed property and the overall size.

·         Regarding the design and appearance, there was no key characteristic for the area and no single house style or design prevalent on surrounding properties.

·         The proposed dwelling had taken references from the surrounding area, including the relatively newly built Holdaways Farm, which had glazed elevation and sat in a more prominent position to Pelynt.

·         The height of the proposed dwelling was similar to numerous properties in the immediate area including Holdaways Farm.

·         The design was considered to be of high quality and would complement the existing area.

·         In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.(1)