Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Roger Bennett.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on  

(Minutes attached)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 8^th May 2013 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider an Outline Planning Application with means of site access from Church Road and emergency access from Pumphouse Lane (layout, scale, appearance and landscaping reserved for subsequent approval) for the erection of up to 200 dwellings (C3); site of up to 1000m² including building of up to 400m² for community (D2) use; demolition of existing buildings and site remediation; public open space; earthworks; balancing pond; structural landscaping; car parking and other ancillary works.

Applicant:  Barratt West Midlands and Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd

(Report and Site Plan Attached)

NOTE:

In view of the public interest in this matter, the Council’s public speaking arrangements for Planning Committee have, exceptionally, been amended and agreed as follows for this application:

• Registered Webheath Action Group representatives) (objecting) - 15 minutes in total
• Other registered Objectors – up to 15 minutes between them
• Registered Supporters – up to 15 minutes between them
• Registered Ward Councillors – up to 3 minutes each
• Registered Applicant / Agent – 15 minutes (with agreement to use any remaining Supporters’ time not taken.

The deadline for registering to speak is Noon on Tuesday 21^st Ma 2013.

If you have registered to speak, you are advised to arrive at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts and make yourself known to a staff member. This will allow them to guide you through the proceedings and to your reserved seat

Outline Planning Application with means of site access from Church Road

and emergency access from Pumphouse Lane (layout, scale, appearance and landscaping reserved for subsequent approval) for the erection of up to 200 dwellings (C3); site of up to 1000m² including building of up to 400m² for community (D2) use; demolition of existing buildings and site remediation; public open space; earthworks; balancing pond; structural landscaping; car parking and other ancillary works

Applicants:    Barratt West Midlands and Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd

The following individuals addressed the Committee under the Council’s Public Speaking rules, which had, exceptionally, been extended in view of public interest in the application:

Objectors for Webheath Action Group

Ms Narvinder Bains (PJ Planning Consultants)

Mr Andrew Warby – resident

Ms Elizabeth Morris - resident

Ms Margaret Hughes – resident

Other Objectors

Mr Ken Best – resident

Mr David Rose – resident

Mr David Thain – for Webheath Action Group

Ms Val Kendrick – for CPRE

County Councillor Robin Lunn

Mrs Rachel Bourne – resident

Mr Adrian Bedford-Smith – resident

Ward Councillor Michael Braley – objecting

Ward Councillor David Bush –objecting

Ms Kathryn Ventham - Agent for the Applicant.

Three other individuals who had registered to speak as other objectors were not able to address the Committee, as the allotted 15 minutes given to the group had expired.

RESOLVED that

having regard to the development Plan and to all other material considerations, Outline Planning Permission be REFUSED for the following reason:  

“The proposed development is considered to be unsustainable due to the resultant additional traffic on the local road network, the lack of suitable infrastructure to support the development and the lack of contribution towards the wider highway network infrastructure. As such, it would cause harm to the safety and amenity of the residents of the Webheath area and the town of Redditch as a whole, contrary to Policies CS6 and CS7 of the  Borough of Redditch Local Plan No.3.”

(The Committee considered all of the points made by the public speakers and the information detailed in the Officer’s Update report for the meeting, which provided clarification on the overall number of representations received during the consultation processes and Officer and Counsel responses relating to various late representations made by the County Highway Authority and the Webheath Action Group, which had been received subsequent to the publication of the Agenda for the meeting.

Members raised a number of issues, in particular in relation to traffic impacts, the pumping of sewage uphill, the cumulative impact of the development, and contributions to the wider highway network in the Borough and beyond, and having taken everything into account, concluded that the proposed development was not sustainable for the reason detailed in the resolution above.)