Agenda and minutes

Venue: A Virtual Meeting

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

Note: You can watch this meeting via this weblink: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTj2pCic8vzucpzIaSWE3UQ 

Items
No. Item

119.

Chair's announcements

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

Minutes:

The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and outlined the procedure to be followed in virtual meetings.

 

120.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Celia Wilson. Councillor Axel Macdonald was substitute for Councillor Wilson.

121.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 121 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Planning Committee minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 3 February 2021. 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 3 February 2021 as a correct record and agree that the Chair sign these as such.

 

122.

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.

123.

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circumstances which have made the matters urgent and to receive any notification of any applications deferred or withdrawn.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.

124.

Proposals for site visits

Minutes:

A proposal, moved and seconded, for a site visit in respect of application P20/S0740/FUL, 18 Harcourt Close, Henley-on-Thames, to ascertain the layout of the site, was declared carried on being put to the vote.

 

RESOLVED: to defer consideration of application P20/S0740/FUL, to allow members to visit the site.

 

A proposal, moved and seconded, for a site visit in respect of applications P20/S2809/HH and P20/S2812/LB, 11 Thameside, Henley-on-Thames, to ascertain the layout of the site and view the inside of the listed building, was declared carried on being put to the vote.

 

RESOLVED: to defer consideration of applications P20/S2809/HH and P20/S2812/LB, to allow members to visit the site.

125.

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 had been sent to the committee prior to the meeting. Statements received from the public were circulated to the committee prior to the meeting.

126.

P20/S0740/FUL - 18 Harcourt Close, Henley-on-Thames pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Erection of three-storey building incorporating one 1-bedroom apartment, two 2-bedroom apartments and two 3-bedroom apartments including associated parking and amenity space (removal of south-west-facing window from Flat 4, increase in height of screen wall for Flat 2 terrace adjacent to the front of No.18 and additional sections and 3D images as shown on plans received 18th June 2020 and site area increased along north-eastern boundary, retention of two sheds in garden of Flat 1, increase in height of parapet roof over Flat 1 and alterations to north-western and north-eastern boundary treatment as shown on amended plans received 21st October 2020 and changes to levels and introduction of boundary hedging to garden of Flat 1 as shown on amended plans received 17th December 2020 and Flat 5 reduced from two to one bedrooms as shown on amended plan received 5th March 2021).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration of this application had been deferred, pending a site visit.

127.

P20/S2809/HH & P20/S2812/LB - 11 Thameside, Henley-on-Thames pdf icon PDF 102 KB

To rear of listed building, alteration of existing modern extension to widen its footprint and conversion from single to double storey (glass and metal cladding) plus addition of adjacent single storey glass extension.  Internal floor plan alterations to install a new stair, removal of c20 staircase, new partitions at first floor level and opening up of rear elevation at g/f and 1/f levels for proposed rear extensions.  Removal of existing staircase, fireplace and modern internal partitions.  Retrospective application for sub-division of roof space into one large room plus small storage room and internal staircase, involving removal of internal section of chimney.  Provision of two rear dormer windows in the rear roof. (as amended by plans received 17 December 2020 reducing size of rear extension and providing additional supporting information).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration of this application had been deferred, pending a site visit.

 

 

128.

P20/S4632/FUL & P20/S4633/LB - 20, Upper High Street, Thame pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Change of use and conversion of ground and first floor to number 20, to form a single dwelling and reinstate its historic residential use.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee considered applications P20/S4632/FUL and P20/S4633/LB for the change of use and conversion of ground and first floor to number 20, to form a single dwelling and reinstate its historic residential use at 20 Upper High Street, Thame.

 

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 this meeting.

 

The planning officer reported that 20 Upper High Street was a two-storey grade II listed building, listed as a pair with number 19. The ground floor retail unit had been vacant for some time. It was not within the primary retail frontage but was located within the secondary retail frontage and was positioned directly next to a residential dwelling, at 21 Upper High Street. Officers had given weight to the historic original use of the building, which was a residential dwelling prior to its conversion into a retail use on the ground floor. Located in the centre of the town, which was a highly sustainable location, officers considered that the principle of change of use and the conversion of the ground floor to a residential use was acceptable, and would provide a welcome smaller dwelling within the town. The internal works at 20 Upper High Street required to covert the building would not substantially harm the residential amenity of the neighbouring properties. The applications had been assessed by the council’s conservation officer, who has raised no objection to the principle of changing the use to residential use and was supportive of the proposal.

 

The planning officer reported that Thame Town Council had objected to the applications; it considered that the dwelling would have inadequate overall internal space, as it fell short of national space standards. The planning officer advised the committee that the nationally described space standard applied only to new dwellings, whereas this was a conversion of an historic mid-eighteenth-century listed building, with smaller rooms than those of a modern new house. Officers considered that this conversion of such a listed building was an appropriate use of an existing historic building, reverting it to its original intended use, and thus the size of the dwelling was acceptable in this instance.

 

Councillor Linda Emery, a representative of Thame Town Council, spoke objecting to the applications. The democratic services officer had sent a statement by Councillor Emery to the committee prior to the meeting.

 

Mr. Robert Hutton, the applicant, spoke in support of the application. The democratic services officer had sent a statement by Mr. Hutton to the committee prior to the meeting.

 

In response to a question regarding the contention of Thame Town Council that the proposal was contrary to Thame Neighbourhood Plan Policy WS2, “in proposing residential use within an A1 unit with a long history of continuous use”, the planning officer advised the committee that in the view of district council officers, the applications conformed with that policy. In response to a question about the length of time that the retail use had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128.

 

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