Agenda item

            That planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report of the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) which includes the deletion of condition 7, and subject to the applicant entering into a Section 106 Obligation, Unilateral Undertaking or advance payment of £55,407 towards additional secondary school places/improvements of Castell Alun High School, Hope and a commuted sum of £16,500 towards the enhancement of an existing recreational area within Leeswood. 

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) in respect of this application.  The usual consultations had been undertaken and the responses received detailed in the report.  Additional comments received since the preparation of the report were circulated at the meeting.  Councillor Ray Hughes, having earlier declared an interest in the application, left the meeting prior to its discussion. 

                        The officer detailed the background to the report and referred Members to the late observations where amendments to the agenda front sheet and conditions were reported.  He explained that this was the third renewal of outline planning permission application since 2003 and it was considered that the site could potentially accommodate 15 dwellings.  It was recommended that the timescale for the submission of a reserved matters application be restricted to 12 months (to the end of December 2015) to coincide with the end of the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) lifespan.    

            Councillor Chris Bithell proposed the recommendation for approval which was duly seconded.  He felt that there was no reason to refuse the application but raised concern about the comments in paragraph 7.07 about other candidate site submissions coming forward within Leeswood and Coed Talon as part of the Local Development Plan (LDP) process.  He also suggested that the time limit for submission of a reserved matters application should be five years and not the 12 months suggested by the officer. 

            Councillor Carolyn Thomas sought clarification on the educational contributions for Castell Alun High School.  She felt that circumstances for places in the high school and Leeswood County Primary School could change upto the time of development and asked that the educational contribution be amended to cover both schools depending on surplus places when the development commenced.  She also asked whether a policy change could be considered. 

            Councillor Mike Peers referred to paragraph 7.08 and the suggested number of dwellings that the site could accommodate based on the Council’s guideline of a minimum of 30 dwellings per hectare.  He also felt that the end date for the submission of a reserved matters application which was shown in paragraph 8.01 should also be included in the conditions detailed in the report. 

In response to the comments made, the officer said that the site was vacant and in a derelict condition.  This was the third application for renewal of outline permission and because the Council did not have a five year housing land supply, a 12 month deadline for submission of a reserved matters application was reasonable.  It was felt that this could encourage the applicant to progress with the site but if it was not going to come forward then alternative sites in the area could be considered in the LDP.  On the issue of educational contributions, it had been calculated that there was capacity at Leeswood Primary School and therefore this had not been included in the section 106 obligation.  The officer confirmed that the condition for the time limit for submission of a reserved matters application should be up to the end of 2015.             

            RESOLVED:

            That planning permission be granted subject to the conditions detailed in the report of the Chief Officer (Planning and Environment) which includes the deletion of condition 7, and subject to the applicant entering into a Section 106 Obligation, Unilateral Undertaking or advance payment of £55,407 towards additional secondary school places/improvements of Castell Alun High School, Hope and a commuted sum of £16,500 towards the enhancement of an existing recreational area within Leeswood. 

After the vote had been taken, Councillor Hughes returned to the meeting and the Chairman advised him of the decision.