Agenda item

Recommended for Approval.

Jane Orsborn and Tony Prior addressed the Committee in support of the application.

The Director of Neighbourhood Services recommended that subject to the applicant or successor in title entering into a legal obligation pursuant to Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, in respect of application 3/14/1583/FP, planning application be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report now submitted.

The Director advised that the first issue for Members to consider was the principle of development on this site.  Officers were of the view that planning permission should be granted as this site was part of a wider area of land identified for residential development.

Members were advised that there were options for the mix of subsidised housing as part of this application and the achievable options were detailed on page 22 of the report.  The Director stated that the current policy of the Authority was to ensure that such provision was provided within a development site as there were generally limited options to secure provision elsewhere.

The Director commented that the site was located immediately adjacent to the wider Bishop’s Stortford North ASR sites where some provision of subsidised housing could be made.  Members were advised that the Council’s Solicitor was concerned that an adverse precedent would be set if the 100% shared ownership option was selected contrary to Council policy.

The Director stated that if the Committee considered that the development proposal had merit in principle; Members should attach limited weight to the preference of the applicant for off-site provision of subsidised housing.

Councillor G Jones disagreed with the conclusions of paragraph 6.13 that the Bishop’s Stortford Silverleys and Meads Neighbourhood Plan could not be given significant weight until the document had been considered further and subjected to a referendum, given that the final content of the plan was known.  He also expressed some concern regarding the impact of the conclusions of paragraph 6.13 on other Neighbourhood Plans across the District and the lack of weight that could be assigned to documents that had been the subject, in this case, of at least two years work.

Councillor N Symonds stated that she was very concerned that no social housing had been included on the site as part of this application.  She commented that the application constituted overdevelopment of the site and ingress and egress would be very difficult into what was currently a muddy field with no proper access road.

Councillor Symonds commented that Bishop’s Stortford Town Council and Chantry Community Association were against the application and she was concerned over the impact of the application on wildlife.  She stated that the site was the last area of green space left in this part of Bishop’s Stortford apart from Hoggates Wood.

Councillor P Moore expressed concerns in respect of the point raised on page 12 of the report that the main Bishop’s Stortford North development area was a more suitable location for social housing.  She was also concerned in respect of the assertion that owner occupiers looked after property and the environment better than those who rented.  Councillor Moore expressed her support for the application on the basis of option (a) on page 20 of the report as regards the tenure of affordable housing.

In response to a question the Director stated that there was no history of previous planning applications on this site as regards residential development of this nature.  Members were reminded that the site had been identified as within an area that was, in principle, acceptable for development as part of the Bishop’s Stortford North allocation. 

The Director acknowledged the characteristics of the locality with regard to highways access.  Members were advised that improvements to the existing unsurfaced and surfaced access roads would be required if the application was supported.  However any engineering improvements would not be so significant as to alter the character of the area.

The Director advised that the Council’s affordable housing policies supported the delivery of both shared ownership properties and those which were rented through Registered Providers.  Members were advised that this application did then include social or affordable housing.  However, the Council’s current policy preference was for the provision of 25% shared ownership and 75% rented accommodation.

The Director advised that the Neighbourhood Plan and the weight that could be assigned to it were covered by a relatively new area of legislation and cases were now being tested across the country.  Members were advised that some Neighbourhood Plans had been given weight in their emerging stages with regard to the principle of the location of areas of development.

The Director stressed that the Bishop’s Stortford Silverleys and Meads Neighbourhood Plan did not suggest that there should be no residential development in this location and therefore, there was no issue between the Neighbourhood Plan and the development proposals with regard to the development in principle.

Members were reminded that, unlike emerging District Plans which moved from draft concepts to final plans, Neighbourhood Plans were supported or rejected on the basis of a referendum vote and until that vote had taken place there had to be some uncertainty that they would proceed to completion. 

Councillor G Jones proposed and Councillor N Symonds seconded, a motion that application 3/14/1583/FP be deferred to enable further consideration to be given to the weight that can be assigned to the emerging Bishops Stortford Silverleys and Meads Neighbourhood Plan, and consideration of the proposals in light of that.

After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.  The Committee rejected the recommendation of the Director of Neighbourhood Services as now submitted.

RESOLVED – that in respect of application 3/14/1583/FP, planning permission be deferred to enable further consideration to be given to the weight that can be assigned to the emerging Bishops Stortford Silverleys and Meads Neighbourhood Plan, and consideration of the proposals in light of that.