Issue - meetings

Minute 236 refers

RESOLVED – that the Master Plan for the Bishop’s Stortford Goods Yard site be endorsed and that it forms a material consideration for development management purposes.

(see also Minute 298)

The Leader of the Council submitted a report seeking the Executive’s support for the Goods Yard, Bishop’s Stortford Master Plan.  The Executive was advised of the planning history of the site and the work undertaken in recent months by stakeholders with the landowners in developing the Master Plan now detailed.  The Leader referred to the main issues raised by the potential development of the site as:

·        the highways configuration and links;

·        provision and management of residential and non-residential car parking;

·        the design and appearance of the built form and uses;

·        the layout and treatment of green spaces and the riverside; and

·        the relationship with other strategic and policy objectives for the town.

The Leader concluded that the Master Plan document addressed these issues and set out a detailed framework within which a new planning application submission could be made. 

In response to various Members’ comments and questions, the Head of Planning and Building Control commented that the master plan showed the provision of sufficient road space within the site to enable competing uses to be accommodated.  This, along with the management of car parking, were not confirmed in the Master Plan, but could be resolved later with ongoing discussions through the submission of a planning application.  The residential car parking ratios were discussed and, noting relevant issues, it was also confirmed that these would be revisited again as part of the second phase of the planning application process relating to the site.  The Leader also commented on the sustainability of the town centre location and the need for some compromise given green travel plans, car clubs, etc.

In respect of the proposed height of some of the buildings, some Members acknowledged that whilst the Master Plan represented an improvement on the previous planning application, some concerns still existed.  The Head referred to the background work undertaken by the neighbourhood plan group and the advice of the Neighbourhood Plan Examiner, resulting in a non-prescriptive policy on heights which indicated that they should fall away north to south on the site.  He believed the proposed gradation set out in the Master Plan reflected the Neighbourhood Plan.  Finally, the Head agreed that a 3D model of the site would assist in understanding the physical form and impact of the proposed development and he undertook to raise this with the landowners.

The Executive supported the recommendation now detailed.

RECOMMENDED – that the Master Plan for the Bishop’s Stortford Goods Yard site be endorsed and that it forms a material consideration for development management purposes.