Agenda and minutes

Venue: First Floor Meeting Space, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, OX14 4SB

Contact: Paul Bateman  Email:  paul.bateman@southandvale.gov.uk

Note: THIS MEETING WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE watch the broadcast; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTj2pCic8vzucpzlaSWE3UQ 

Items
No. Item

39.

Chair's announcements

To receive any announcements from the chair and general housekeeping matters.

Minutes:

The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, outlined the procedure to be followed in a hybrid broadcast meeting and advised on emergency evacuation arrangements.

 

40.

Minutes of previous meetings pdf icon PDF 302 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Planning Committee minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 22 September 2021 and Wednesday 13 October 2021. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 22 September and Wednesday 13 October 2021 as a correct record and agree that the Chair sign these as such.

 

41.

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

42.

Urgent business

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent and to receive any notification of any applications deferred or withdrawn.

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.

43.

Proposals for site visits

Minutes:

A motion, moved and seconded, to defer planning permission in respect of application P21/S0047/FUL, Grove Farm, Patemore Lane, Pishill, to enable a site visit to take place was declared carried on being put to the vote. The committee had concerns regarding the effect upon neighbouring properties. The committee considered that a site visit was necessary, in order to have a clearer understanding of the concerns of local residents in the context of the site and its surroundings.

 

RESOLVED: to hold a site visit for application P21/S0047/FUL and defer the consideration of the application until the visit had been completed.

 

 

44.

Public participation

To receive any statements from members of the public that have registered to speak on planning applications which are being presented to this committee meeting. 

Minutes:

The list showing members of the public who had registered to speak was tabled at the meeting. Statements which had been submitted had been sent to the committee some days prior to the meeting.

45.

P20/S3245/FUL - Harlesford Farm near Tetsworth pdf icon PDF 504 KB

The construction and operation of a solar photovoltaic farm and associated infrastructure, including inverters, substation compound, security cameras, fencing, access tracks and landscaping. As clarified by information received 26 October 2020, 11 November 2020, 1 February 2021 and 18 November 2021 and amended by drawings received 21 December 2020 and 9 February 2021.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Ian Snowdon arrived after the commencement of the presentation and discussion of this application and stood down from voting on the application.

The committee considered planning applicationP20/S3245/FUL for the construction and operation of a solar photovoltaic farm and associated infrastructure, including inverters, substation compound, security cameras, fencing, access tracks and landscaping, as clarified by information received 26 October 2020, 11 November 2020, 1 February 2021 and 18 November 2021 and amended by drawings received 21 December 2020 and 9 February 2021 at Harlesford Farm, near Tetsworth.

 

The planning officer reported that the application was for a solar farm on a 78 ha. site, situated 850m. from the M40 motorway. The planning officer considered that it was important for the committee to appreciate the site in context and displayed a slide depicting permitted and pending planning applications for solar farms in the area. The planning officer reported that the application was for a solar farm on a 78 ha. site, situated 850m. from the M40 motorway. The planning officer considered that it was important for the committee to appreciate the site in context and displayed a slide depicting permitted and pending planning applications for solar farms in the area. The application proposed the construction and operation of a solar photovoltaic farm and associated infrastructure.  The panels would generate up to 49.99 megawatts (MW), enough to power approximately 15,000 homes. Also, the site did not fall within any areas of special designation.  There was a separation of around 4.5km to the edge of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).  On reviewing the initial submission, the council’s landscape officer had raised concerns that the proposals would have an unacceptable adverse effect on the application site’s character and visual amenity, and that this would adversely affect the wider landscape.  Following these comments, the applicant had amended the plans to reduce the landscape impact of the proposals. 

The planning officer reported that the conservation officer had considered that he proposed development would represent less than substantial harm to Harlesford Farmhouse, a grade II the listed building andwhich was outside of the application site. The committee were shown a slide of the indicative layout of the site, depicting the public rights of way crossing the site. Of note was the Oxfordshire Way, a long-distance public right of way, which crossed the eastern edge of the site but would not be affected by the proposals. A slide was also displayed, indicating the pre-existing pylons and cables, along with low key overhead lines. A plan showing the application site in zoned areas was displayed; the zones defined where certain infrastructure would be located, with some flexibility in terms of the layout within each zone.   The planning officer reported that since the publication of the agenda, all the panels in zone 14 had been removed, thereby reducing the overall impact of the proposed development. It was intended that planting around the substation would mitigate its impact and there would also be a screen along the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

46.

P20/S4360/FUL - Land to south west of Cowley Substation, Nuneham Courtenay pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Installation of renewable led energy generating station comprising ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays and battery-based electricity storage containers together with substation, inverter/transformer stations, site accesses, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure, landscaping and biodiversity enhancements.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee considered planning application P20/S4360/FUL for the installation of renewable led energy generating station comprising ground-mounted photovoltaic solar arrays and battery-based electricity storage containers together with substation, inverter/transformer stations, site accesses, internal access tracks, security measures, access gates, other ancillary infrastructure, landscaping and biodiversity enhancements on land to south west of Cowley Substation, Nuneham Courtenay.

Consultations, representations, policy and guidance, and the site’s planning history were detailed in the officer’s report, which formed part of the agenda pack for the meeting.

The planning officer reported that the report contained an error in listing Councillor Elizabeth Gillespie as one of the local ward members, but this was not the case. The planning officer also reported that this application was wholly located within the Oxford Green Belt, and for this reason would require referral to the secretary of state in the event of planning permission being granted. The planning officer advised the committee of the revised recommendation, which was read out to the meeting. The wording was “to grant planning permission subject to: (i) Referral to the Secretary of State under the terms of the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009; and (ii) Subject to the application not being called-in by the Secretary of State for determination, grant planning permission subject to conditions”.

The planning officer reported that the site was located to the south of the Oxford Science Park and to the north of Nuneham Courtenay village.The site comprised six arable fields which were of agricultural quality, ranging from very high quality to moderate quality. Most of the land surrounding the site was also in agricultural use. The proposed development would involve taking arable land out of intensive agricultural production and replanting the land with grassland for grazing sheep during the operational phase. It was intended that the permission would last for a period of 35 years.The application had been updated on several occasions during the planning application process, with additional information submitted in relation to heritage, ecology, landscape and archaeology. The application plans were also revised, to increase the buffers to the public footpaths and to remove panels from field 6 due to its status as grade 2 agricultural land. Also, across the whole proposal, a large proportion of land would be retained for agricultural purposes and would help preserve the habitat of nesting skylarks. The area would benefit from a proposed skylark mitigation area.

The planning officer also advised the committee that the proposal would employ relatively new tracking technology, which was described by the applicant as highly efficient, where the panels, aligned on a north-south row, would track the movement of the sun throughout that course of the day. The environmental health officer had confirmed that no discernible noise would emanate from this installation. It was estimated that the proposed development would generate 45 megawatts of renewable electricity, which was estimated to be sufficient power for 11,700 dwellings.

The committee was advised that the site was crossed by two  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

47.

P16/S3852/FUL - Land to the south of Newnham Manor, Crowmarsh Gifford pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Hybrid planning application for the erection of 100 new residential dwellings including new access road off the A4074, public open space (full application) and the provision of school land (outline application) at Newnham Manor, Crowmarsh Gifford (as amended by plans submitted 26 November 2019, 18 December 2019, 14 January 2020 and 18 May 2020 and revised Arboricultural Assessment received 5 May 2020, and as amended by plans and information received 30 April 2021).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillors Elizabeth Gillespie and Alan Thompson left the meeting prior to the discussion of this item and therefore took no part in the debate or vote on this planning application.

 

The committee considered planning application P16/S3852/FUL for a hybrid planning application for the erection of 100 new residential dwellings including new access road off the A4074, public open space (full application) and the provision of school land (outline application) at Newnham Manor, Crowmarsh Gifford (as amended by plans submitted 26 November 2019, 18 December 2019, 14 January 2020 and 18 May 2020 and revised Arboricultural Assessment received 5 May 2020 and as amended by plans and information received 30 April 2021) on land to the south of Newnham Manor, Crowmarsh Gifford.

 

Consultations, representations, policy and guidance, and the site’s planning history were detailed in the officer’s report, which formed part of the agenda pack for the meeting. A statement from Crowmarsh Parish Council had been sent to the committee by the democratic services officer prior to the meeting. The planning officer reported to the committee that the parish council did not object to the application.

 

The planning officer confirmed that the application site was wholly within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).  The planning officer also reported that since 16 January 2018, when the committee had previously resolved to approve the application subject to conditions and completion of a s106 legal agreement,the scheme had been amended to address highway concerns relating to the proposed means of access and there had been several changes which were material to the consideration of the application. These changes were detailed in the report to the committee.

The planning officer also reported that the Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), the highways authority, originally had concerns regarding the proposals as they affected Port Way, particularly the interface with pedestrians. A new access to the site would be created off the A4074 Port Way, which involved remodelling the Port Way itself and included a staggered ‘traffic light-controlled’ toucan crossing away from the development site/Cox’s Lane staggered junction.  Details of the access arrangements were listed in paragraph 3.4 of the report. The OCC no had no objection.

 

The planning officer also reported that The Crowmarsh Parish Neighbourhood Plan was now ‘made’ and would continue to form part of the development plan.  The neighbourhood plan recognised this site as preferred for development and acknowledged the benefits of housing at the edge of the AONB, where land was available for school use and for landscaping.

 

Councillor John Griffin of Crowmarsh Parish Council spoke in support of the application.

 

Mr. Arron Twamley, the agent, spoke in support of the application.

A statement from the agent had been sent to the committee by the democratic services officer prior to the meeting. In response to a question from the committee regarding the possible installations of heat pumps, the agent replied that this possibility would be investigated. Also in response to a question regarding the ownership of the affordable rented units,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

48.

P21/S0047/FUL - Grove Farm, Patemore Lane, Pishill pdf icon PDF 295 KB

The erection of 5 holiday pods, maintenance building, managers flat and associated landscaping and parking (as amended to realign maintenance building).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration of this application was deferred to facilitate a site visit.

 

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