Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

1.

General

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Before the meeting started, the Committee held one minute’s silence for Councillor Richard Chattaway who passed away in June 2020. 

 

Councillor Chattaway was remembered as a robust character who was strongly committed to his beliefs.  He worked well with everyone across Warwickshire County Council.  He was remembered as being immensely proud of his family and the work he did for his community.  He will be a great loss to the Council and the Committee sent their thoughts to his family.

1(1)

Apologies

To receive any apologies from Members of the Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor Anne Parry.  Councillor Wallace Redford replaced Councillor Parry for this meeting.

1(2)

Disclosures of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests.

Members are required to register their disclosable pecuniary interests within 28 days of their election or appointment to the Council. A member attending a meeting where a matter arises in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest must (unless they have a dispensation):

 

• Declare the interest if they have not already registered it

• Not participate in any discussion or vote

• Must leave the meeting room until the matter has been dealt with (Standing Order 39).

• Give written notice of any unregistered interest to the Monitoring Officer within 28 days of the meeting Non-pecuniary interests must still be declared in accordance with the Code of Conduct. These should be declared at the commencement of the meeting.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Neil Dirveiks confirmed that he was on the planning committee for North Warwickshire Borough Council.  Both applications to be determined by the Committee today have previously been presented to the planning board at North Warwickshire when Councillor Dirveiks was present and voted.  It was confirmed that Councillor Dirveiks would withdraw from the Committee for both applications.

1(3)

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 222 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes from the meeting held on the 26 May 2020 were agreed as a true and accurate record.  There were no matters arising.

2.

Delegated Decisions

None.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no delegated decisions to note.

3.

Planning application NWB/20CC002 Installation of a Second Temporary Classroom and Retention of Existing Temporary Classroom Until September 2022, High Meadow Community School, Norton Road, Coleshill, B46 1ES. pdf icon PDF 453 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Sally Panayi, Planning Assistant presented the report to the Committee confirming that the application was for the installation of a second temporary classroom and retention of existing temporary classroom until September 2022, at High Meadow Infant School in Coleshill.

 

The Committee noted that this is the fourth application in relation to High Meadow School in 12 months.  Ms Panayi explained that there is a complicated planning history of which she gave details in her presentation, including a previous requirement by the Committee to relocate the existing classroom by turning it 90 degrees. It had not been possible to relocate the existing classroom during the Easter holidays as had been intended because of the coronavirus pandemic. The playground area was required for the movement of vehicles pending construction of a new internal access road within the site and the process of relocation would take 10 working days. This rendered it impracticable to relocate the existing classroom.

 

The Committee was asked to note the impact of the current coronavirus pandemic. The guidelines for social distancing mean that the planned work will take longer than originally thought.  The possibility of a second wave of coronavirus could create further delays. The proposed date of September 2022 for the retention of the temporary classroom allows flexibility against a second wave of the virus and potential further lockdown restrictions.

 

It was noted that the current easing of some restrictions has allowed some work to recommence at the site.

 

The Committee noted the details for the current application and noted the following reasons given for recommending the approval of the application –

·         Previous applications for the site have been approved.

·         Measures and conditions are in place to reduce the impact of the temporary classrooms and to control the hours of use of the temporary classrooms at the school.

·         The application is for a temporary period.

·         The severe impact of the pandemic on education and children; the operational needs of a school are material considerations for deciding on an application.

 

It was confirmed that there has been some relaxation in some planning rules since the outbreak of coronavirus for progress to be made on restarting construction projects.  The Government is keen to assist planning and development in a reasonable and proportionate manner. 

 

Following an in-depth discussion in relation to alternative sites for accommodation for use by pupils while the 4-classroom extension is under construction, the Committee noted that other sites had been considered.  It was confirmed that the alternative site options were considered to be unsuitable and would be too disruptive to children.

 

Public Speaking

 

Alison Doyle, local resident asked the Committee to note her full objection to the application stating that ‘classroom one’ is currently in an unauthorised position. 

 

Having objected to the previous applications, Ms Doyle confirmed that all her original points of objection remained; these included the impact of the loss of light to her property due to the position of the temporary building and the impact of noise from the site. 

 

Ms Doyle confirmed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Planning Application : NWB/19CM020 - Kingsbury Quarry pdf icon PDF 466 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Matthew Williams, Senior Planning Officer presented the report to the Committee confirming that the quarry is in the north of the county and is a long-established operation.

 

The proposed extension area was highlighted to the Committee via a presentation and it was confirmed that the application is to extend the end date for extraction and restoration to 2055.

 

The Committee noted that there is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the site which is a geographical exposure feature.  The proposal would require the removal of this existing geological exposure. The application proposes the creation of a replacement geological exposure elsewhere within the site.

 

It was confirmed that there would be no increase in vehicle movements should the application be approved.

 

The Committee noted that the application would be an acceptable form of development within the Green Belt due to the openness and temporary use of the land.

 

It was confirmed that there are conditions in place to protect existing ecology on site.

 

Debate

 

Councillor Dave Reilly raised concerns about viewing the details of the application via a virtual meeting.  The Committee felt that they had received a thorough presentation and report from the officer.  The report addressed the objections raised by the community and the site has been open for many years.

 

The Committee did agree that while meetings were being held virtually as a result of restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, alternative ways of sharing officer presentations would be investigated by officers.

 

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor Clive Rickhards and was seconded by Councillor John Cooke. A vote was held, and the Committee voted 9 in favour of the recommendation, with one abstention, to grant planning permission.

 

5.

The date of the next meeting

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 4 August 2020 at 10:30am.

 

The meeting will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.

 

 

 

The meeting rose at 13:33

 

 

 

………………………….

Chair