Agenda and minutes

Venue: virtual

Contact: Paul Bateman 

Note: You can watch this meeting on the Council's You Tube channel via this weblink: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTj2pCic8vzucpzIaSWE3UQ 

Items
No. Item

26.

Chair's announcements

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

Minutes:

The chair ran through housekeeping arrangements appropriate to a virtual meeting.

27.

Apologies for absence

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

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

28.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 122 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Planning Committee minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 16 February 2021. 

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting, held on Tuesday 16 February 2021, were agreed to be a correct record of the meeting. It was agreed that the Chair sign them as such.

29.

Declarations of interest

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

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

30.

Urgent business

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. 

Minutes:

The chair reported that the order of items on the agenda would be altered to ensure that the committee and the public would have access to full information. The application for land at Hids Copse, Cumnor Hill, would be considered second on the agenda, and not last, as the council’s senior tree officer would be present to give advice on the application, but owing to an impending appointment elsewhere had only limited time available at the beginning of the meeting.

31.

Public participation pdf icon PDF 180 KB

 

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

 

Statements duly received are published below. They have also been circulated to members of the Committee prior to the meeting. They will not be read out at the meeting.

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL NOTE

 

 

 

Statements received

 

 

 

A schedule of the written representations received is attached.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee had received statements which had been made by the public in respect of the applications. These had been circulated to the committee some days prior to the meeting.

32.

P20/V2669/FUL - Fourwinds, 26 Bagley Wood Road, Kennington pdf icon PDF 281 KB

Proposed erection of a new detached dwelling with associated parking and amenity space within curtilage of existing house served by a vehicular/pedestrian access.  External alterations to existing dwelling house 26 Bagley Wood Road. (Amended plans received 18 December 2020- reducing the height of the boundary fence, additional levels plan).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Diana Lugova, a local ward councillor, stood down from the committee for consideration of this item.

 

Councillor Robert Maddison encountered technical communication problems during the presentation of this item. The councillor was unable to participate in or hear the whole debate and did not vote on this application.

 

The committee considered application P20/V2669/FUL for the erection of a new detached dwelling with associated parking and amenity space within curtilage of existing house served by a vehicular/pedestrian access.  External alterations to existing dwelling house. (Amended plans received 18 December 2020- reducing the height of the boundary fence, additional levels plan), at 26 Bagley Wood Road, Kennington.

 

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 reported that the application was in respect of a three-bedroom dwelling of traditional design, served by the existing access. The site sloped upward from Bagley Wood Road and had its own amenity space. Planning officers considered that the proposal would not result in a cramped form.  The front windows of the proposed dwelling were 21m. from the adjoining property and did not present any issues regarding overlooking. It was acknowledged that there would be a marginal loss of light to neighbouring property, number 24, owing to a proposed projecting gable partially encroaching the 40 degree line rule to the southernmost ground floor window, but some compensation would be offered with the proposed removal of a tall conifer hedge, which at present restricted light. There would also be the installation of a new native hedge and 1.8m high fence. The issue of highways safety had been considered and car parking would be adequate, and no safety issues identified. The Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), as highways authority, had no objection to the application, subject to the conclusion of a s.106 agreement to maintain visibility splays across a neighbour’s land, in the interests of highway safety, and the drafting of a construction management plan. The planning officer concluded that, overall, the proposal would represent acceptable impact to the character of the local area, and to neighbours’ amenity, and that  there were no technical objections to the proposal.

 

Councillor Colin Smith, a representative of Kennington Parish Council, spoke objecting to the application. A statement by Kennington Parish Council had been sent to the committee prior to the meeting by the democratic services officer.

 

Mr. David Burson, the agent, spoke in support of the application. A statement by Mr. Burson had been sent to the committee prior to the meeting by the democratic services officer.

 

In response to a question regarding local plan policy CP 37 on ‘design and distinctiveness’ and the extent of pre-application work on these issues, the agent responded that influences were drawn broadly from Vale of White Horse buildings to reflect the vernacular, with attractive detailing. A proposed projecting side gable had been reduced in order better to assimilate the dwelling into the street scene.

 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

P20/V3322/FUL - Land at Hids Copse, Cumnor Hill, Cumnor pdf icon PDF 3 MB

Erection of single detached 'Tree House' dwelling.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee considered application P20/V3322/FUL for the erection of single detached 'Tree House' dwelling on land at Hids Copse, Cumnor Hill.

 

Commencement of discussion of this application was delayed as Councillor Robert Maddison had encountered technical communication problems during the presentation of this item. The councillor was unable to participate in or hear the whole debate and did not vote on this application.

 

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 reported that the proposal was for the erection of an individually designed ‘floating’ tree house in timber and glass.  Access would be from Hids Copse, (which contained 84 trees with tree preservation orders - TPOs), and the existing access to the site would be utilised. The application had addressed the shortcomings of a previous application and the dwelling was of an innovative design, did not entail the removal of any trees, and incorporated piling techniques as an alternative to conventional foundations, to minimise damage to trees. Cumnor Parish Council supported the application.

 

The planning officer referred to paragraph 5.9 of the report, which stated that the proposal was supported by an Internal Daylight Adequacy and Overshadowing Assessment, which had concluded that adequate daylight would be received in the dwelling and that 53% of the garden had received at least 2 hours of sunshine on 21 March 2021.  Since the publication of the agenda, a further neighbour objection had been received, which corrected the daylight and overshadowing details. In fact, this evaluation applied to only a small area adjacent to the dwelling, which the planning officer depicted in the presentation to the committee.

 

The planning officer’s presentation incorporated site plans of the proposed dwelling, with floor plans and elevations. The council officers’ reasons for recommending the refusal of planning permission were listed, including the reasonable expectations of future occupiers and how the effect of TPOs could be undermined if there was a poor relationship between the dwelling and protected trees. Additionally, if the proposal proceeded, the council’s ability to resist works to TPO trees could be limited.

 

The officer concerns also included the anxiety of occupiers purportedly created by an anticipation of storm activity and storm debris. There was also concern in respect of unattended damage during the construction stage. The complex construction processes and materials and their storage would cause concern, and the tree cover would reduce flexibility during this phase, and dealing with unexpected consequences. Officers took the view that constructing a dwelling at Hids Copse would provide a significant risk owing to unpredictability, particularly as underground conditions were not fully known. The loss of habitat was also a concern, with increased harmful disturbance to biodiversity.

 

The democratic services officer had sent a statement by Cumnor Parish Council to the committee prior to the meeting.

 

The democratic services officer had sent a statement by Mr. John Guillebaud, a local resident, to the committee prior to the meeting.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

34.

P20/V3183/HH - West Wilden, 11 Brook Street, Sutton Courtenay, Abingdon pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Extension to existing garden store for ancillary use to the main house (additional levels plan received 31 March 2021).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee considered application P20/V3183/HH for the extension to an existing garden store for ancillary use to the main house (additional levels plan received 31 March 2021) at West Wilden, 11 Brook Street, Sutton Courtenay.

 

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 reported that the site was located within the Sutton Courtenay Conservation Area. The application sought planning permission to extend the existing store outbuilding in the rear garden to create additional space for the storage of tools and a hobby space. This application was partially retrospective; the foundations for the proposed extension to the outbuilding had already been constructed. A slab level plan had been submitted which depicted the total height of the extension including the footings, in addition to its relationship to number 15 Brook Street, the house in closest proximity to the extension. The planning officer provided the committee with a slide presentation, depicting the proposal’s relationship to number 15, which showed no conflict or overshadowing. The single storey proposal had no south facing windows and large car parking provision was available. There was no expectation of increased traffic as a result of the proposed development being permitted. The scale, form and massing of an outbuilding would pressure the character of the conservation area and existing building. However, there were no technical objections to the application.

 

In response to a question about the retrospective nature of elements of the application, the planning officer advised the committee that hardstanding in situ was expressly covered by permitted development rights. Any future development required planning permission, as the proposal projected beyond a side elevation within a conservation area.

 

Mr. Robin Heath, the agent, spoke in support of the application.

 

The committee concurred with the planning officer that the proposal had a sympathetic and appropriate form for the area and would employ materials that were respectful and complimentary to the existing built form in the vicinity. The outbuilding would be set back in its plot and would not appear prominent. This, in combination with the high boundary treatment at the site access, would ensure that the outbuilding would not be readily visible in the street scene.

 

RESOLVED: that planning permission is granted for application P20/V3183/HH, subject to the following conditions:

 

Standard:

1. Commencement within three years.

2. Approved plans list.

 

Compliance:

3. Materials in accordance with application details.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

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