Agenda and minutes

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

 The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, outlined the procedure to be followed and advised on emergency evacuation arrangements.

To record apologies for absence and the attendance of substitute members. 

Apologies for absence were received form Councillor Mike Pighills who was substituted by Councillor Hayleigh Gascoigne.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Planning Committee minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2023.

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2023 as a correct record and agree that the Chair sign these as such, subject to the amendment of item 48 to “Councillor Debra Dewhurst, a local ward councillor, spoke on the application.”

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registrable interests and non-registrable interests or any conflicts of interest in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.

In respect of item 7 on the agenda, Councillor Jenny Hannaby highlighted that she was a  member of Wantage Town Council but that the application did not fall within her ward. The chair confirmed that as she was not ward member she was able to debate and vote on the item.

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

There was no urgent business.

To receive any statements from members of the public that have registered to speak on planning applications which are being presented to this committee meeting. 

 The committee noted the list of the members of the public who had registered to speak at the meeting.

Approval of Reserved Matters (appearance, landscaping, layout, scale and internal access) for the erection of a children's day nursery (Use Class E[f]); a convenience store (Use Class E); and 3No. retail units (Use Class E / Sui Generis) alongside landscaping and associated car parking pursuant to planning permission ref: P21/V2544/FUL, along with details to discharge conditions 17, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 47 and 53 (as amended by plans received 31 August 2023).

The committee considered planning application P23/V1358/RM for the approval of reserved matters (appearance, landscaping, layout, scale and internal access) for the erection of a children's day nursery (Use Class E[f]); a convenience store (Use Class E); and 3No. retail units (Use Class E / Sui Generis) alongside landscaping and associated car parking pursuant to planning permission ref: P21/V2544/FUL, along with details to discharge conditions 17, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 47 and 53 (as amended by plans received 31 August 2023), on land north of Rutherford Road, Crab Hill, Wantage, OX12 7FY.

Consultations, representations, policy and guidance, and the site’s planning history were detailed in the officer’s report, which formed part of the agenda pack for the meeting. 

The planning officer introduced the report and highlighted that the application sought approval of reserved matters for retail units and a nursery building. The application site was part of an allocated site in the Local Plan. The planning officer confirmed that since the officer’s report had been published the Local Highways Authority had confirmed they had no objections to the application. In addition, to this the wording of proposed conditions 6, 7 and 8 had been amended to ‘Prior to occupation of each unit’.

The planning officer informed the committee that the application site was to the north of the public square. The development fronting the public square comprised a terrace of three small retail units and a convenience food store. The application also sought permission for a single storey pitched roof with gables nursery building. The planning officer went on to inform the committee that the site shared a boundary with the primary school and the access to the site had already been constructed as part of the advanced infrastructure works agreement for the development.

The planning officer concluded that the proposal accorded with relevant Local Plan policies and the site wide development strategy. He advised that the level of car parking provision and location of disabled spaces was acceptable to officers and the Local Highways Authority had no objections. The planning officer advised there were no technical reasons for refusal and therefore the application was recommended for approval.

Erik Johnson spoke on behalf of Wantage Town Council, on the application.

The committee asked if solar panels would be installed on the buildings to make them both eco-friendly and to assist with running costs. The planning officer confirmed that the elevations showed solar panels and that the buildings would need to be constructed in line with current building regulations.

The committee enquired as to whether the cycle parking for the nursery was designed to allow for the parking of cycles with a trailer attached which are often used to transport young children to nursery. The planning officer confirmed that the cycle parking was standard Sheffield stands so designed for single bikes and that in their experience trailers were not left at the nursery all day but taken home. The planning officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.