Agenda item

The application was reported to the Planning Committee for determination because the application was for major development. 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 26 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

The application was for Ipsley House, Ipsley Church Lane, Ipsley, Redditch, B98 0AJ and sought Reserved Matters approval for the erection of 62 dwellings (use class C3), open space and associated works.

Officers detailed that the Outline Planning application 24/00717/OUT went before Members and was approved in November 2024. At the time an indicative plan was shown to Members which was not intended to be an accurate representation of the final plan, however, the plan shown at the time drew an objection from a member of the public.

The location of the development and surrounding area were detailed to Members, particularly those to the north at Shottery Close and to the East at Ipsley Court. The heights of the proposed dwellings and surrounding area were shown to Members on page 13 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

The dwellings were mostly 3-bedroom units in brick and tile construction matching the surrounding developments, the makeup of housing was considered to reflect the requirements of the most recent Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) which identified that there was a greater need for 3-4 bed units within the Borough. Furthermore, Officers clarified that due to vacant building credits there was no requirement for the developer to provide any affordable units as part of the development.

Officers drew Members’ attention to the public right of way shown on page 16 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack. Links were identified which connect the new footpath on the development site with existing route just outside the site boundary to maintain a connection for public access.

Site access was initially determined during the outline application so would not usually also form part of the proceeding reserved matters application. However, due to a very minor change to the access point, Members were asked to consider the matter again. To highlight the change Members’ attention was drawn to page 25 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack, which shows a straightening of the access road which had a slight curve in the outline application.

There was no objection from statutory consultees which included Worcestershire County Council, Highways (County Highways) regarding the change to access. Furthermore, there were no objections from any other statutory consultee subject to appropriate Conditions. The only objection to the application being from a resident, which was summarised in the Officers report.

At the invitation of the Chair, Mr Steve Williams, local resident, addressed the Committee in objection to the application. Michaela Corbett, on behalf of the applicant, spoke in support.

The following was clarified by Officers following questions from Members:

• Informative 4 was a standard informative and did not reflect that the road network might have difficulties with drainage.
• There was no supplied parking for visitors as part of the application, however, all dwellings comply with the required number of parking spaces based on the size of the dwelling.
• All dwellings must comply with building regulations which mandate the inclusion of EV charging points with any new builds.

There was some confusion regarding the removal of some trees and hedgerow on the site. However, Officers confirmed that there was no intention to remove the hedgerow or trees indicated. With the possible exception of a small section of the hedgerow to accommodate the linking of the new and existing public footpath as detailed on page 25 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

Members expressed the opinion that it was a good use of a brownfield site, which was preferable to development going into greenbelt areas. On being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED that

having had regard to the development plan and to all other material considerations, planning permission be GRANTED subject to the Conditions and Informatives as outlined on pages 22 to 24 of the Public Reports pack.