Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies from Members of the Committee.

Apologies were received from Nic Vine.

There were none.

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 August 2024 were agreed as an accurate record.

Members are asked to note the applications dealt with under delegated powers since the last meeting.

Members noted the delegated decision that had been agreed since the last meeting. There were no comments.

The item was introduced by Steve Smith (Director of Strategic Infrastructure and Climate Change). He explained Warwickshire County Council was one of six shareholders in Scape Group Ltd, which provided procurement advice relating to construction and architectural matters to the public sector. Warwickshire County Council held the chairmanship of the Board and had done for the last ten years. Following a review of its governance the decision had been taken to introduce a Shareholder Oversight Board to look at reserved matters, such as the business plan and dividend strategy, in a more structured way. The review had been legally examined and was formally adopted in February. It had been proposed Councillor Peter Butlin should be the Council’s representative on the Board, for the reasons outlined in the report.

Responding to a question from Councillor Tim Sinclair, Steve Smith said Councillor Butlin had been chosen as the Council’s representative as he had experience of the areas the Oversight Board would look at through his work with the WPDG and the Member Oversight Group. He had not been proposed purely on the basis he was the relevant portfolio holder. Steve Smith confirmed all members representing each of the shareholders would receive training that would enable them to carry out their role. The other five shareholders were the county councils of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and the city councils of Derby, Nottingham, and Gateshead.

Resolved unanimously:

The Committee approved the appointment of Councillor Peter Butlin as Shareholder Representative to sit on the Shareholder Oversight Board of Scape Group Ltd.

The item was introduced by Darren Lee (Rights of Way Definitive Mapping Officer). He explained an application had been made to divert a bridleway by the owner of the land over which the pathway passed. Some objections to this had been raised. The proposal was for members to recommend granting approval for the diversion, although the final decision would need to be made by the Secretary of State for the Environment.

The bridleway runs between Holly Lane and Grove Lane. One entrance was through a commercial yard, which was used to store rapeseed oil, with the path running through the yard. The proposal was to divert the path across fields and to come out onto Grove Lane through an existing break in the hedge.

Darren Lee outlined the legislation that had been taken into consideration when arriving at the recommendation to approve the application. This included the legal tests that the revised path should be as substantially as convenient to the public, and should be expedient in the interests of the landowner.

Regarding objections that had been raised by members of the public, Darren Lee said the bridleway would open out onto the same stretch of Grove Lane. It would no longer go through a commercial yard and would instead go across open fields, which were further back from the adjacent motorway. The proposed route had been suggested by the landowner; alternatives had been proposed but the landowner had not pursued these. Objections had been raised on the grounds there were no suitable grass verges on Grove Lane for horse riders to pull over onto on the revised section, but members were told there were none on the existing carriageway. Objections had also been raised on the basis the proposed egress onto Grove Lane came out onto a blind bend. Darren Lee said this was subjective and in the opinion of officers this was not the case. Additionally, having consulted with the police, it had been confirmed there had been no accidents resulting in injuries to either drivers or horse riders on Grove Lane within the previous five years.

The Parish Council had recently written to confirm it supported the application.

Responding to a question from Councillor Adrian Warwick, Darren Lee said the yard had originally been used as a goods storage area during the construction of the M6 toll road. The yard had been built with the route of the bridleway in mind when it was built in 1998.

Members were told there had been two separate legal challenges against the current route regarding it causing an obstruction. The first had been dismissed by magistrates because, in their view, there was no obstruction caused by the gate at the entrance to the bridleway, or at most it was minimal. The second case was due to be heard in November. However members were advised the ongoing legal challenge should not affect their decision making; effectively, the matter would fall away if the recommendation to grant approval was followed.

The Chair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The item was introduced by Paul Wilcox (Senior Planner). He outlined to members the proposals that had been made, including the construction of a new material handling building that had a floor space of 2,780 square metres. Existing buildings would either be retained, relocated or demolished.

The site was within the Green Belt and it had been proposed to develop the section closest to the adjoining motorway, which was previously undeveloped land. This would be offset by the creation of a new attenuation pond and a piece of land on the opposite side of the road that would be used to offset biodiversity. This would generate a 14.3 per cent biodiversity net gain. Paul Wilcox said the proposals would improve the facility in terms of appearance and environmental controls, and help alleviate traffic flow into the site. It had been proposed to reduce the speed limit on the adjoining road to 50 miles per hour. No objections had been raised in relation to the application and it had the support of the Parish Council.

The Chair stated his belief the proposals represented a significant improvement and proposed the recommendations be approved. This was seconded by Councillor Warwick and agreed by all members.

Resolved unanimously

That the Regulatory Committee supports the application and authorises consultation with the Secretary of State in accordance with The Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2021 and notifies the Secretary of State that it is minded to grant of planning permission for proposed remodelling of metals reclamation and recycling processing works, subject to a S106 agreement and conditions and for the reasons contained within Appendix B of the report of the Strategic Director for Communities; and that the Regulatory Committee authorises the Officers to issue planning permission if the Secretary of State notifies the authority that it does not intend to issue a direction under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and subject to the completion of the S106 agreement.