Issue - meetings

Resolved

That the Committee agrees to defer application NWB/19CC013 (New fire and rescue training centre including 'fire house' simulator and modular training building, land at DEFRA, Environment Agency Midlands Lea Marston Depot, Coton Road, B76 0BX) and request further information in relation to the questions and concerns raised at the meeting.

Before the presentation started, the Chair confirmed with members of the Committee that they had all received, and read, the written update from Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service that had been circulated on Monday 1 February 2021.

It was also confirmed that due to the limitations on being able to carry out site visits because of the pandemic, Warwickshire County Council commissioned the use of a drone to allow Members to see the application site in context.

Sally Panayi, Senior Planner, presented the report to the Committee confirming that the application was the second of three applications submitted on behalf of Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service. The first application was approved by the Committee in February 2020 and the third application is for a water rescue training facility which has yet to be presented.

The following points were highlighted to the Committee and details of the proposed structure were shown via a presentation, including photos taken by the drone.

o          It is proposed that the training facility would be used 16 days per month on average, totalling up to 194 days per year.

o          It was confirmed that there would be some evening and weekend use of the facility to train retained fire fighters.

o          The proposed site is in the Green Belt and is not considered to fall within the definition of previously developed land.

o          There have been no objections from Highways.

o          There is no material harm in relation to heritage.

In relation to harm to the Green Belt, it was noted that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), says that substantial weight must be given to the harm caused by inappropriateness, and this is often called deemed or policy harm, but we  must also assess the actual harm on the openness of Green Belt.  Actual harm is assessed by reference to four dimensions as follows:

•           Spatial harm to the Green Belt is considered moderate for this application, as there is no existing built structure on the site therefore the openness of the Green Belt would not be preserved.

•           Visual harm is limited. It was noted that there are limited views of the site from public viewpoints.

•           Harm from the level of activity is considered to be moderate during the construction of the facility which would then reduce to a limited level of harm upon completion.

•           The impact on the openness of the Green Belt would be permanent.

It was noted that North Warwickshire Borough Council object to the application on the grounds of substantial harm to the Green Belt and they disagree that there are very special circumstances that would outweigh the harm.

In relation to potential noise impact, an assessment considered the noisiest activity would be the six portable water pumps and concluded that the Minerva unit would be unlikely to cause an adverse impact on the nearest properties. Environmental Health Officers were satisfied with the noise assessment and raised no objections.

Following a question in relation to potential odour from the Minerva  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3