Agenda item

The application was reported to Planning Committee for determination because the application was for 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 8 of the Site Plans and Presentations pack.

The application was for the Land West Of, Hither Green Lane, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 9AZ and sought the variation of Condition 16 of the previously approved application 21/01830/FUL.

Officers detailed the history of the application 21/01830/FUL in that it came before Members of the Planning Committee on 22^nd March 2024 and was refused by Members, However, following an appeal the application was approved on 13^th February 2025 and construction commenced in August 2025.

The Section 73 application before Members sought an amendment to Condition 16, the proposed amendment was as follows:

FROM: None of the dwellings hereby permitted shall be occupied until the highway improvements to the Dagnell End Road / A441 Birmingham Road junction as shown in the PJA Drawing Ref: 2809 P 12 Rev P4 (planning permission ref: 19/00976/HYB) have been approved in writing and completed to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority and is open to traffic. The junction is to include Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation (MOVA) signal control.

TO: Prior to the occupation of the 101st dwelling, the highway improvements to the Dagnell End Road / A441 Birmingham Road junction as shown in the PJA Drawing Ref: 2809 P 12 Rev P4 (planning permission ref: 19/00976/HYB) shall have been approved in writing and completed to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority and is open to traffic. The junction is to include Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation (MOVA) signal control

Officers detailed that the significant part of the amendment would allow developers to occupy 100 dwellings before the highway’s improvements to the junction on Dagnell End Road were completed. It was further detailed that no other Condition nor aspect of the application were before Members to discuss or alter.

Worcestershire County Council, Highways (County Highways), had examined the application and found that the impact to the highways network due to the traffic generated by the addition of the 100 dwellings could not be considered severe and therefore, no objection was raised.

Officers clarified the following after questions from Members.

• That recent works at the junction were undertaken by Open Reach which included relocating cables. County Highways further confirmed that work to alter the junction had not yet started.
• It is the decision of the applicant if they brought forward other Section 73 applications to vary Conditions. This was not a material planning consideration.
• That the required bus services required under the Section 106 agreement of the original application had not yet been implemented.

County Highways further detailed that driver travel behaviour had stabilised at a lower level than seen pre-Covid. This was attributed to a number of factors which including flexible working schedules and remote working. The outcome was that the bulk of traffic was now experienced Tuesday to Thursday with Fridays and Mondays being significantly less busy. Additionally, there was now an Elongated PM traffic/commuter period across all days.

Members had concerns that the lack of alternative transport provision available would compound traffic congestion as there would not be any alternative arrangements for residents. However, after discussion with Officers, they accepted that any bus route must be commercially viable for the operators, and if a bus service was put in before dwellings were occupied, there may be little uptake which could cause the service to be prematurely cancelled.

There was little support for the principle of the application in that Members felt that the developer was wanting to occupy dwellings before they had completed their agreed works. However, Members understood that they could find no material planning reason to refuse the application without an objection from County Highways. Therefore, on being put to the vote it was:

RESOLVED that

having had regard to the development plan and all other material considerations, DELEGATED POWERS be granted to the Assistant Director of Planning, Leisure, and Culture Services, to GRANT Planning Permission and determine the final scope and detailed numbering of Conditions.