MINUTES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY MEETING HELD ON
THURSDAY 16thMAY 2016 AT RED HEN NURSERY, LEGBOURNE
– to consider the amended planning application referred to below.
N/100/00427/16|Planning Permission - Change of use of land for the siting of 4no. glamping tents in accordance with amended drawing LDC 1530-01 received by the Local Planning Authority on 12th May 2016.|THE QUEENS HEAD, STATION ROAD, LEGBOURNE, LOUTH, LINCOLNSHIRE. LN11 8LL
PRESENTD R Harrison (Chairman), M Chapman (Vice Chairman), A Hallifax, P Maw, S Cole; the Clerk A Claydon; 10 members of the public.
25 / 2016CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE – the Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies had previously been received from Cllr Chapman but he had managed to attend the meeting. Apologies were also received from the proprietors of the Queens Head Public House who were working.
26 / 2016PUBLIC FORUM– four members of the public spoke, two in favour of the application, two against. The points made were as follows:
In favour: - while the concerns of neighbours were understandable, the application brought benefits to the village as a whole
-It was consistent with the results of the Neighbourhood Plan survey in which over 70% of respondents felt it important to encourage and support local business
-The applicants had amended the proposal to try to reduce the impact on neighbours
-There were other control mechanisms (e.g. noise enforcement via Environmental Health) available to deal with some potential concerns
-the erection of a dwelling (that had previously gained planning approval) on the site would cause disturbance to neighbours and this proposal was therefore no more detrimental
Against- the four neighbours who had previously objected felt that their objections had not been
addressed and continued to object on the basis that a Glamping site was not a suitable use
for what was primarily a residential area
-Specifically, noise at unacceptable levels would be generated and the location of units shown on revised plans was closer to two neighbours than the original had been
-The agent acting for the applicants had also been involved with a previous application to build a dwelling (approved in 2013) and had argued against the use of the site for camping and caravanning, suggesting that the pub was not financially dependent on exploiting the space outdoor activity to generate revenue
-The toilet block (as proposed) overlooked a neighbouring garden while the dining room door of another neighbouring property was within 1 metre of one of the tents shown on the plan
27 / 2016CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATION. The Clerk read out an email from the applicants explaining that they could not attend and explaining their approach in revising the application. Members then debated the issue.
In response to a question from Councillor Maw, the Clerk stated that he was not aware that the application had been included on an ELDC Planning Committee agenda but that there was a meeting on 9th June where it could possibly be placed on the agenda.
The point was raised that the applicants could exploit the “Certificated location” exemption which would allow a small number of camping units or caravans to be situated on the site provided that it met criteria laid down by the Caravan Club and/or Caravanning and Camping Club.
Members agreed that there was a clear basis to object to the proposal because it was contrary to policy but held differing views on the desirability and effectiveness of using this to lever further changes to the proposal to further ameliorate the impact of neighbours. Suggested areas of change were to relocate the toilet block such that it was further away from boundaries / properties; produce a detailed design of that block, including visual appearance; reduce the number of units; shorten the season; and produce a lighting plan encompassing the use of low-level lighting.
It was PROPOSED (MC) and seconded (SC) that Legbourne PC
i)note the revisions
ii)recognize that, as amended, the application is still contrary to policy and will cause loss of amenity to neighbouring properties
iii)seek further amendments to the development in order to minimise the impact on neighbours, these being:
- the relocation of the toilet block to a minimum specified distance from any property or boundary
- a detailed design /drawings of the toilet block
- a reduction in the number of units from 4 to 3
- a limited period of opening coinciding with recognized annual holiday periods
- a detailed lighting plan designed to minimise nuisance to neighbours.
An amendment was PROPOSED (PM) and seconded (AH) to the substantive motion to omit element iii) of that motion, which would have the effect of retaining the Council’s existing stance on the application.
The clerk advised the Chairman to take the amendment first, in line with standing order 6 and to avoid the potential for conflicting resolutions to be inadvertently agreed.
The matter was put to the vote and, with two votes in favour, one against and two abstentions, the amendment was carried,
RESOLVED: That Legbourne Parish Council note the revisions and recognize that, as amended, the application is still contrary to policy and will cause loss of amenity to neighbouring properties.
The meeting closed at 20:35