Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Peter Fleming and Timothy Pearman with Councillors Emma Marshall and Gemma Monaco in attendance as substitutes.

Apologies were also received from Councillor Anthony Lovell.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and / or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

Councillor Gemma Monaco spoke in relation to agenda item 6 (minute No48), in that she brought the site to the attention of the council following concerns raised by residents. It was clarified by the Committee’s Legal Advisor that it was the Member’s decision if they had to declare an interest and leave or if they were able to retain an open mind to consider the application fairly.

The legal advisor informed the Committee that the applicant of agenda item 5 (Minute No47) was known to him as they both attended the same school. The legal advisor advised that he was not in contact with the applicant and that there was no conflict of interest.

To receive the minutes of the Planning Committees on 13^th September 2023 and 27^th September 2023.

The minutes of the Planning Committees held on 13^th September 2023 and 27^th September 2023 were presented to Members.

RESOLVED that

The minutes of the Planning Committees held on 13^th September 2023 and 27^th September 2023 were approved as true and accurate records and signed by the Chair.

To note Update Reports (if any) for the Planning Applications to be considered at the meeting (circulated prior to the commencement of the meeting)

There were no update reports.

The application was reported to Planning Committee for determination as the application was for a major development and as such the application fell outside the scheme of delegation to Officers.

Officers presented the report and in doing so, drew Members’attention to the presentation slides on pages 5 to 12 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

The application was for Widney House, Bromsgrove Road, Redditch, B97 4SP and was a retrospective application which sought the change of use and the erection of 55 storage containers and associated parking.

Officers drew Members attention to the site location, access and layout as shown on pages 6 and 7 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack. Officers further identified the locations of the car parking and storage units on the site.

Officers briefly detailed the history of the site in that

• Commercial activities commenced in the 1960’s
• The site use was changed to light industrial in 1982 under the application 1982/100/FUL
• The adjacent property (128 Bromsgrove Road) was purchased in 2008 by the applicant. Much of the rear garden was subsequently incorporated into the site.
• A large number of storage containers had been present on the site from around 2016, however, exact details of how many and on what dates could not be ascertained.

It was clarified by Officers that Condition 3 detailed on page 29 of the Public Reports pack sought to restrict the number of storage containers to no more than 55, which was the current number on site. It was further clarified that 9 of the units were double stacked and these were situated in multiple different locations around the site.

The storage units could be accessed 24/7, however, Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) expressed a concern on theimpact of noise upon residential amenities enjoyed by neighbouring occupiers and sought to restrict the hours of operation. The details of the proposed restrictions were detailed under Condition 2 on page 29 of the Public Reports pack, subject to this WRS had no objection to the application. Officers further clarified that the restriction of the hours would enable Officers to manage the site access appropriately and did not prevent WRS from taking appropriate enforcement action under separate environmental legislation if it was deemed necessary.

At the invitation of the Chair, Statements in objection from Wayne Western and Heidi Andrews, Local Residents, were read out. Suzanne Asher, Agent for the Applicant and David Wharrad the Applicant also addressed the committee in support of the application.

Officers clarified the following points after questions from Members.

• There had been storage units on the site since 1999. It could not be clarified precisely when the current number of 55 container units appeared on the site but that 55 had been present since the start of 2023.
• Planning permission had not been sought historically to incorporate the rear garden of 128 Bromsgrove Road into the site. It was unclear as to when exactly the work took place, however, it could be confirmed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

This application was being reported to the Planning Committee as the applicant was Redditch Borough Council. As such the application fell outside the scheme of delegation to Officers.

Officers presented the report and in doing so, drew Members’attention to the presentation slides on pages 13 to 21 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

The application was for the Land at Foxlydiate Crescent and Rowan Road, Batchley, Redditch, B97 6NH and sought the demolition of the derelict garages and the construction of a single 3-bedroom dwelling.

Officers detailed the location and proposed layout of the site on pages 14 to 16 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

It was explained that the garages were in a state of disrepair and following a report of children playing on the roofs of the garages, the site was boarded up to prevent access. It was further detailed that the roofs had since been removed after the discovery of asbestos.

It was detailed by Officers that although the land was owned by the Council the garage units were erected by previous residents, Officers commented that there were no issues with their demolishment from a planning perspective but could not comment on any potential legal disputes.

On being put to a vote it was:

RESOLVED that

having had regard to the development plan and to all other materialconsiderations, planning permission be GRANTED subject to theconditions outlined on pages 34 to 37 of the Public Reports pack.

This application was being reported to the Planning Committee as the applicant was Redditch Borough Council. As such the application fell outside the scheme of delegation to Officers.

Officers presented the report and in doing so, drew Members’attention to the presentation slides on pages 23 to 29 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

The application was for the Land between 15 and 17 Greenlands Avenue, Greenlands, Redditch B98 7QAand sought the construction of a single 3-bedroom dwelling.

Officers detailed the location of the site being situated between 15 and 17 Greenlands Avenue, which was land previously occupied by garages which had been removed.

Officers further detailed that the new dwelling would match the existing street scene with the exception that it would be a detached property.

Members commented that the plans look good and would be a asset to the area. On being put to a vote it was:

RESOLVED that

having had regard to the development plan and to all other materialconsiderations, planning permission be GRANTED subject to theconditions outlined on pages 42 to 43 of the Public Reports pack.