Decision details

The Senior Development Management Officer referred to the private site visit undertaken by the Committee earlier that day (Minute 4.3 of the Planning Committee held on the 16^th November, 2017 refers) the purpose of which had been to enable the Committee to view the concerns raised over the increased traffic which would be generated by the proposed development for the safety of pedestrians, in particular, children walking to and from school.  He thereupon referred, with the aid of powerpoint slides, to the written report of the Head of Planning which provided an appraisal of the site together with a description of the development, a summary of consultation responses received and information on the local and national policies which were relevant to the assessment of the application.

Particular reference was made to the planning history of the site in relation to the grant of planning application W/09082 in 2008, subject to a Section 106 Agreement for the provision of community benefits, the lapse of that consent in 2013, and the Welsh Office Inspector’s decision to include the site within her binding report on the LDP, published on the 16^th October, 2014 without any specific requirement or conditions that the community benefits agreed under W/09082 were to be applied to any new planning consent. As a result of that decision, the Committee was advised that the application would need to be considered under current statutory planning legislation, including the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 201, that placed limitations on the use of Section 106 Planning Obligations, and therefore the previously agreed community benefits could not be applied to the new application.  However, if the Committee was to grant the application, the applicant would still be required to enter into a Section 106 Agreement to include a £26k contribution towards primary and secondary school education within the site’s catchment, highway improvements to include the provision of a footpath alongside the site’s frontage and further along into the village of Broadway.

In summary, the Committee was advised that the Head of Planning was recommending approval of the application for the reasons detailed within her written report and subject to the applicant entering into a Section 106 Agreement.

Representations were received on the previously agreed community benefits to be provided as part of planning application W/09082 and specifically, the land ownership transfer issues. It was argued those benefits should be honoured by the developer and incorporated within any new planning consent granted on the land. Additional representations were made on the separate accesses for the private and affordable housing elements of the proposed development and for those elements to be linked to avoid segregation.

The Developer’s agent, in response to the representations, advised that the application had been subject to extensive consultation with no objections having been received from statutory consultees, subject to appropriate conditions, and also complied with local and national planning policies. With regard to the previous consent, and the agreed Section 106, those had lapsed, and any new consent, and Section 106, would have to be considered in line with current legislation, be relevant, necessary, reasonable and in compliance with the CIL Regulations. In relation to the siting of the Affordable Housing element, that had been undertaken in consultation with a proposed social housing provider to site the development adjacent to its Cwrt Wooford estate for management reasons. He requested the Committee to approve the application, as recommended by the Head of Planning, on the basis it complied with existing planning policies.

The Senior Solicitor referred to the previous planning consent and confirmed that upon its lapse 2013, the Section 106 Agreement had also lapsed. As a result, any new application for the site’s development would have to be considered in light of existing national and local planning policies and the Welsh Government Inspector’s comments report.

The Head of Planning and the Senior Development Management Officer responded to the issues raised.

Having regard to the representations received views were expressed by the Committee that consideration of the application should be deferred to enable the Head of planning to have further discussions with the applicant on the level of community benefits to be provided, having regard to policy SP16 of the UDP, and also on the concerns raised on the separate accesses to the site and the lack of a link between the two elements being detrimental to residents, in particular for children having to walk along the public highway to Laugharne school.

RESOLVED that consideration of planning application W/35450 be deferred to enable the Head of Planning to have further discussions with the applicant on the issues raised above.