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 from Councillor Cheryl Briggs who was substituted for Councillor Katherine Foxhall.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Planning Committee minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2024 

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on the 13 February 2024 as a correct record and agree that the Chair sign these as such.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

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. 

The Planning Manager noted that item 8, P23/V2226/FUL, from the agenda would no longer be considered at the meeting due to technical errors with the site area indicated on the application plans. Officers were working to resolve the errors and the committee was advised once a revised consultation had been carried out the application would come before committee.

The Planning Manager went on to remind the committee that the council was in the process of preparing a joint local plan covering Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils. The plan was at regulation 18 stage the Joint Local Plan Preferred options which held limited weight and the starting point for any decisions of the committee was the policies in the adopted Local Plans.

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.

Reserved matters application for access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale following consent granted under reference P14/V2873/O relating solely to Phase 1a of the overall allocation regarding infrastructure elements to enable works for Phase 1 and 2. An EIA was submitted as part of the approved outline permission.

The committee considered planning application P22/V0604/RM for reserved matters application for access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale following consent granted under reference P14/V2873/O relating solely to Phase 1a of the overall allocation regarding infrastructure elements to enable works for Phase 1 and 2. An Environmental Impact Assessment was submitted as part of the approved outline permission.

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 the application sought permission for infrastructure works in relation to phase 1a of Valley Park, an allocated site within the adopted local plan.

The planning officer informed the committee that since the agenda had been published officers had received a further update from the highway authority confirming they had no objection to the application but requested additional conditions in relation to traffic calming measures and lighting.

The planning officer highlighted the location of the proposed pumping station, access road and attenuation basin. The planning officer highlighted the access which had already been constructed and was therefore outside of the application which was before the committee. He highlighted that the pumping station would be below ground.

The planning officer went on to inform the committee that the proposal had been designed to accord with the approved strategic design code and framework for the site. The appearance, landscape, layout and scale were acceptable for the reasons set out in the officer report. He further confirmed that the internal access road was acceptable as it accorded with the design specification set out in the legal agreement and approved design code. The planning officer confirmed that the proposed drainage scheme on site was acceptable, and the drainage engineer and Environment Agency had no objections.

The planning officer confirmed the application was recommended for approval subject to the conditions set out in the report and with the additional two conditions in relation to traffic calming and lighting as requested by the highway authority.

Aaron Wright (Taylor Wimpey) and Mark Davies (Persimmon Homes), representing the applicants, spoke in support of the application.

The committee asked as to officers understanding of the ability of the sewage works in Didcot to cope with the increase in homes which was forecast and the implications of the intervention by the Environment Agency at Bayswater Brook on the application before them. The planning officer confirmed that the site was an allocated site in the adopted local plan on which Thames Water will have been a consultee. Thames Water would have been required to take the allocation of sites on board and include this in their business forward planning. The outline permission had been granted in February 2022 as the accommodation of the flows from this development were already included in Thames Water’s business forward planning and investment. Were this not the case and Thames Water had confirmed an inability to cope with the development, a Grampian condition would have been applied  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

APPLICATION WITHDRAWN FROM AGENDA

Demolition of existing house and erection of two detached dwellings. (As amplified by additional information received 18 January 2024.)

APPLICATION WITHDRAWN FROM AGENDA.