Notes & Decisions of the Planning and Development Committee Meeting
Held on Wed 20th November 2019 at the John Lampon Hall at 7.30pm
| Planning Committee Members: | Bob Tyrrell (Chairman), Brian Butcher (Vice Chairman) Murray Harlow, Andrew Savage, Norma Smith, Chris Stevenson (ex officio member – no voting privileges) and Laura Walkingshaw (Parish Clerk) | Next meeting:
Wed 18th Dec 2019, John Lampon Hall, Lexden Rd at 7.30pm |
| Apologies: | None | |
| Members of the public present: | 14 members of the public | |
| Declarations of Interest: | None |
It is the aim of the Parish Council to seek a high standard of design for all new developments and extensions in the Village.
Item 1: To receive any pre-application representations regarding proposed planning applications
No pre-applications were received.
Item 2: Current planning applications:
| Location | Proposal | Application No. and link to CBC planning website | Object / Support / Observations | Decision or Recommendation | Comments by Planning Committee |
| 99 Colchester Road West Bergholt CO6 3JX |
Single storey side return extension and first floor rear extension. | 192708 | Support | Decision | The Parish Council will support Colchester Borough Council’s position regarding the rear window proposed on this application where there is none currently. |
| 89 Chapel Road West Bergholt CO6 3HB |
New Dwelling with associated parking and Amenity following demolition of existing dwelling and outbuildings. REVISED DRAWINGS & STATEMENT | 191984 | ——- | ——- | Colchester Borough Council have already produced the planning officer’s report for the CBC Planning Committee meeting next Thursday 28th November, therefore no additional comments can be supplied. The Parish Council have previously objected to this application because of the scale in comparison to the neighbouring bungalow.
Borough Cllr Lewis Barber will be speaking at the Town Hall meeting as he “called it in”, along with one of the Spring Lane residents for the allocated three minutes. ACTION – Clerk to send link of planning officer’s report to the resident and Cllr Barber, noting that although the Neighbourhood Plan has been stated as relevant, there is nothing quoted from it and overall it hasn’t done it justice. The Borough Council have adopted the WB Neigh Plan and should therefore adhere to it. |
| The Treble Tile, Colchester Road West Bergholt CO6 3JQ |
Erection of 2 no. 4-Bed dwellings adjacent to the Treble Tile Public House, refurbishment of the PH as existing and re-configuration of the gardens and parking, including demolition of sheds and garages. | 192732 | Object | Decision | As background information, Punch Taverns have now sold the entire site. The new owners wish to retain the pub and try to make it viable. There is no intended tenant yet but they do wish to keep it as a going concern. There is no intention to turn the pub into flats. The new owners and the architect attended the WB Planning meeting in order to have an open discussion with the Committee and their presence was much appreciated.
The Parish Council object to this application on the parking implications of the Public House not on the two dwellings proposed next to it. Essex County Council Parking Standards recommends 30 parking spaces for a pub of that size, this application has plans for only 9. The lack of parking will lead to issues on Colchester Road and School Lane, which is effectively a single-track road. It is over-intensification of the site, building too much on the existing car park with a resulting adverse impact on the viability of the existing commercial premises. This is considered contrary to the aims of Planning Policy PP1 of the CBC adopted West Bergholt Neighbourhood Plan. If there was just one dwelling proposed, then that would enable more parking resulting in a more viable Public House. However, at the meeting, the Council was informed that this would not be financially viable for the developer. Although, where will the pub staff park? The Council support the retention of a commercial property in the village but parking will be a huge issue not only at school run times, but also during peak pub times, e.g. at weekends when the junior football takes place on the Poor’s Land or on parent’s evenings or when other night time events happen at the school. The site is inside the new settlement boundary so would be classed as infill, but the Neigh Plan does look for housing of a smaller scale, i.e. 1-, 2- or 3-bedroom houses, rather than 4-bedroom. To reiterate, the Parish Council would encourage the retention of the Public House as a commercial property in the village but cannot support the current plans due to the parking issues. |
Item 3: Review Planning Decisions:
| CBC/Appeal Decision Date | CBC Decision | WBPC Decision Date | Object / Support / Observ. | Application No. | Location | Additional Inform. |
| O/S | 22/10/2019 | Support | 192421 | Land off Nayland Rd, Alcrofts Lodge | ||
| O/S | 18/09/2019 | Object | 191984 | 89 Chapel Road | revised from 21/08/19 | |
| O/S | 18/09/2019 | Support | 192271 | Land adj. WB Cricket Club | Duplicate of 191997 below | |
| O/S | 21/08/2019 | Support | 191997 | Land adj. WB Cricket Club | ||
| O/S | 27/06/2019 | Object | 191522 | Land adj. 67 Braiswick | ||
| O/S | 19/06/2019 | Object | 181458 | 32 Colchester Road | previously 18/07/2018 | |
| 13/11/2019 | Approved | 22/10/2019 | Observation | 192366 | Tresillian, Bourne Road | |
| 11/11/2019 | Approved | 22/10/2019 | Object | 192387 | 1 Upton Close | |
| 11/11/2019 | Approved | 22/10/2019 | Support | 192427 | 29 Albany Road | |
| 05/11/2019 | Approved | 18/09/2019 | Support | 192302 | Alcrofts Farm, Bures Road | |
| 05/11/2019 | Approved | 18/09/2019 | Support | 192350 | Alcrofts Farm, Bures Road | Listed Building |
| 25/10/2019 | Approved | 18/09/2019 | Support | 192221 | East of England CoOp |