Agenda and minutes

To receive any announcements from the chairman, and general housekeeping matters.

The chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent.

None.

To record the attendance of substitute members, if any, who have been authorised to attend in accordance with the provisions of standing order 17(1), with notification having been given to the proper officer before the start of the meeting and to receive apologies for absence.

Councillor Janet Shelley sent her apologies; Councillor John Amys was her substitute.

Councillor Catherine Webber sent her apologies; Councillor Andrew Skinner was her substitute.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the minutes of previous committee meetings (circulated separately). 

RESOLVED: to adopt as a correct record the minutes of the committee meeting held on 4 December 2013 as circulated to all councillors in advance of this meeting and agree that the chairman signs them. 

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, and other declarations, in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

There were no declarations of interest.

Any statements and/or petitions from members of the public under standing order 33, relating to planning applications, will be made or presented at the meeting.

The speakers’ list was tabled at the meeting.

Any statements and/or petitions from the public under standing order 32 will be made or presented at the meeting.

None.

Land at CrabHill Land North of A417 and East of A338 Wantage.

Outline application for residential development of up to 1500 dwellings including new employment space (use class B1), a neighbourhood centre/community hub (use classes A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, C2, D1 and D2), new primary school, central park, ancillary areas (including allotments and sports pitches) with access off the A338 Grove Road and three accesses off the A417 Reading Road.  Provision of a strategic link road between the A417 and the A338 Road to be known as the Wantage Eastern Link Road (WELR).  All matters reserved except means of access to the development and the WELR.

Sandra Fryer, Development Management Manager, introduced the proposal for the development of land at Crab Hill north of A417 and east of A338 at Wantage. The application would contribute to addressing the five year housing land supply shortfall; was an unallocated site in the Local Plan 2011 but was identified as a strategic location suitable for housing in the emerging Local Plan 2029; and is fully compliant with the National Planning Policy Framework.

Stuart Walker, the planning officer responsible for the case management of this application, presented it to the committee.  Members of the committee had previously undertaken a visit to the site.

This was an outline application with all matters reserved with the exception of the proposed means of access to the development and the Wantage Eastern Link Road (WELR), a road required to serve the application site and the strategic allocations at Wantage and Grove under Core Policy 14 of the emerging Local Plan 2029 part 1. The application was for residential development of up to 1500 dwellings including new employment space, a neighbourhood centre/community hub, new primary school, central park, ancillary areas (including allotments and sports pitches), with access off the A338 Grove Road and three accesses off the A417 Reading Road and provision of a strategic link road between the A417 and the A338 Road to be known as the Wantage Eastern Link Road.

Updates to the report:

An additional objection from a resident;

·        further comments from Harwell Bikers User Group (HarBUG);

·        Thames Water had confirmed 170 dwellings could be constructed in the first phase before major work to sewers and drainage was required;

·        clarification that at paragraph 7.42 the public open space excluded football pitches.

The Chairman used his discretion to vary the rules in the Constitution and allow each group of speakers 20 minutes to address the committee.

Fiona Roper, in her capacity as Chairman of Wantage Town Council, spoke about this application, including the following points:

·          The Town Council recognised the pressure to meet housing targets but this proposal did not accord with the current development plan and was another major development further increasing the population of Wantage and Grove. The town council recommended refusal of the application.

·          Should it be approved, conditions should be added to:

o reduce the density to the minimum required to provide a two-form entry primary school;

o guarantee funding for the Wantage Eastern Link Road (WELR);

o require the county council to bring forward improvement work to the A417 and A338;

o provide a cycle route along the existing off-road route from Harwell to Ardington;

o ensure that children would receive secondary education locally not have to travel elsewhere in the county;

o ensure that bus routes through the site would be subsidised;

o have a 15 metre buffer zone between the development and Charlton;

o ensure that housing associations could not purchase a large percentage of the open market housing;

o have a town council representative on the development delivery board;

o guarantee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 529.

To consider any materials submitted prior to the meeting of the Committee.

Any materials submitted will be on display prior to the meeting.

The Chairman took this item at the end of the meeting.

The committee considered the layout plan and the material samples displayed for the discharge of condition 3 (construction materials) for application P12/V2653/FUL at Land off Draycott Road Southmoor, OX13 5NG.

RESOLVED: to approve the material samples shown on the layout plan supplied:

Wall - Wienerberger - Dorchester Red

Wall - Wienerberger - St Albam's Orange Stock

Wall - Atlas Walling - Old Cotswold Rustic

Wall - Marley Eternit - Weatherboard, C50 Black

Roof - Redland Duoplain – Flame Red

Roof - Redland Duoplain – Rustic Brown