Agenda and minutes

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

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

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tim Bearder.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Planning Committee minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 12 January 2022.

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2022 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign these as such.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

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circumstances which have made the matters urgent and to receive any notification of any applications deferred or withdrawn.

There was no urgent business.

A motion, moved and seconded, to defer planning permission in respect of application P21/S3371/FUL, Tree Tops House, Gillott’s Lane, Henley-on–Thames, to enable a site visit to take place, was declared carried on being put to the vote. The committee was concerned at the size of the proposed development within an area of outstanding natural beauty, the parking layout and highway safety, design aspects of the dwelling, the loss of a number of mature trees and the effect upon roosting bats. The committee wished to have the opportunity to visualise the proposals in the proposed setting and to have a clearer understanding of the development in the context of the site and its surroundings.

RESOLVED: to hold a site visit for application P21/S3371/FUL and defer the consideration of the application until the visit had been completed.

A motion, moved and seconded, to defer planning permission in respect of application P21/S5378/FUL, Ridgeway House, 1A Hagbourne Road, Didcot to enable a site visit to take place, was declared carried on being put to the vote. The committee was concerned at the proposed development within a conservation area and wished to have the opportunity to visualise the proposals in the proposed setting and to have a clearer understanding of the development in the context of the site and its surroundings.

RESOLVED: to hold a site visit for application P21/S5378/FUL and defer the consideration of the application until the visit had been completed.

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. 

The list showing members of the public who had registered to speak had been sent to the meeting. Any statements which had been submitted had been sent to the committee prior to the meeting.

Demolition of house. Construction of five apartments with detached car ports and bin/cycle store.

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

Change of use to 7 bedroom House in Multiple Occupation (Sui Generis) (as amended by plans received on the 20 December 2021 and 18 February 2022).

The committee considered application P21/S4250/FUL for a change of use to 7-bedroom House in Multiple Occupation (Sui Generis) (as amended by plans received on the 20th of December 2021 and the 18th of February 2022) at 25 Glebe Road Didcot.

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 on 24 February 2022, Didcot Town Council had withdrawn its objection to the application after the publication of the agenda. The application followed an approval for extensions to the dwelling (P21/S2218/HH), which had been implemented, and the granting of a certificate of lawful development which confirmed that it would be lawful for the dwelling to be used as a small House in Multiple Occupation, a C4 use (shared house occupied by between three and six unrelated individuals, as their only or main residence, who share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom).

The planning officer also reported that council officers considered that the principle of the development was acceptable and subject to the recommended conditions, they considered that the development would not harm visual amenity, neighbours, nor highway safety and that the application complied with the relevant policies of the adopted development plan and the national planning policy framework (NPPF).

Adam Place, the agent, spoke in support of the application.

In response to a question from the committee regarding the powers available to limit the number of occupants to 7, the agent replied that the licence would control this.

Councillor Axel Macdonald, a local ward councillor, spoke to the application.

In response to a question from the committee regarding the influence Didcot Town Council’s vision for a garden town had upon the application, the planning officer replied that the town had a mixture of house types and tenures. This application provided for a specific housing need for young people and was in keeping with the science vale economic zone principles. In response to questions regarding car parking provision, the planning officer replied that three spaces were provided, which had the agreement of the Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), the highways authority. Cycle parking was provided to the OCC standard, which accorded with the principles of site sustainability. Electric cycle parking was not a feature of the development.

The committee concluded that the proposal would be in line with the character of the area and would not have a negative impact upon the street scene and that parking arrangements replicated those of other houses in Glebe Road. It was minded to grant planning permission.

A motion moved and seconded, to grant planning permission was declared carried on being put to the vote.

RESOLVED: to grant planning permission for application P21/S4250/FUL subject to the following conditions:

1.     Commencement three years - Full Planning Permission

2.     Approved plans

3.     Refuse & Recycling Storage (Details required)

4.     Parking & Manoeuvring Areas Retained

5.     Cycle Parking Facilities

6.     Bird Box

7.     HMO Licence Informative

8.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

Change of use of dwelling house (C3) to a large 10-bedroom House in Multiple Occupation (Sui genesis) facilitated by two storey side extensions, a single storey rear extension, and extension to the dropped kerb to create additional parking.

The committee considered application P21/S3973/FUL for Change of Use of a dwelling house (C3) to a large 10-bedroom House in Multiple Occupation (Sui genesis) facilitated by two storey side extensions, a single storey rear extension, and extension to the dropped kerb to create additional parking, at 14 Haydon Road, Didcot.

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.

Councillor Eleanor Hards, a representative of Didcot Town Council, spoke objecting to the application.

Statements received from the following local residents and had been sent to the committee by the democratic services officer prior to the meeting;

Mr. Francis Kennedy

Mrs. P Kilczynski

Mr. Rob Metcalf

Mr. Adam Place, the agent, spoke in support of the application.

Councillor Ian Snowdon, a local ward councillor, spoke objecting to the application.

Councillor Alan Thompson, a local ward councillor, spoke objecting to the application.

In response to a question from the committee regarding waste collection arrangements, and the possibility that the development would be meeting the needs of 20 persons, the senior planning officer responded that waste bins were considered to be a commercial operation, as the dwelling exceeded 6 bedrooms. Additionally, the council’s waste management team had no objection to the proposed arrangements. Refuse and recycling storage were covered by the proposed planning conditions.

In response to a question from the committee regarding the provision of amenity space, the planning officer reported that council officers considered that the proposal would be appropriate in terms of the size of the property and the proposed internal layout, access, private amenity space and car parking provision.  This also took into account nearby Didcot Town Council amenity space. The property itself benefitted from a generously sized rear garden that provided external private amenity space for occupants.

The committee expressed the view that the proposed dropped kerb and hardstanding could damage the leafy aspect of the road. Additionally, it considered that the proposals did not represent a biodiversity gain. The committee also considered that the noise and disturbance generated would be unacceptable. It concluded that the development would be unneighbourly and out of character and that planning permission should be refused.

A motion to refuse planning permission was moved, seconded, and carried on being put to the vote.

RESOLVED: to refuse planning permission for application P21/S3973/FUL for the following reasons:

1.    That having regard to the change of use of an existing residential property to a larger 10-bedroomed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), the proposal would be detrimental to the local residents as a result of the intensification of the use of the property in terms of additional noise and disturbance. The proposal is contrary to Policy DES6 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035.

2.    That the proposal would result in the loss of an enclosed frontage and extent of grassed verge that would be out of keeping and harmful to the character and appearance of Haydon Road. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

Change of use of the existing office to a large (Sui Generis) House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with the addition of a rear dormer.

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

Demolition of existing three bedroom detached dwelling house and outbuildings; construction of new private self-contained seven bedroom dwelling house with landscaping (as amended to reduce the scale of the development and revise the layout).

The committee considered application P21/S1458/FUL for the demolition of an existing three bedroom detached dwelling house and outbuildings; construction of new private self-contained seven-bedroom dwelling house, with landscaping (as amended to reduce the scale of the development and revise the layout) at Wayside, Stert Road, Chinnor.

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 plot was at present occupied by a detached two storey dwelling and several outbuildings to its side and rear.  The site was located within the settlement of Kingston Stert and was not subject to any special designations, such as being in an area of outstanding natural beauty, for example.  However, the rear part of the site was located within Flood Zone 3. The proposal was to have a single detached dwelling following the removal of all buildings on the site.  Amendments to the application had reduced the original proposal in height and scale and had moved the footprint forward to respect the existing building line.

The planning officer also reported that a tree survey and tree constraints plan had been submitted in support of the application, which demonstrated that the development could be carried out without detriment to the adjacent trees, which contributed positively to the character of the area.  Tree roots would be avoided in the construction of the development. The committee noted paragraph 6.15 of the report, which stated that in response to the countryside officer’s initial comments, a stage 1 ecological assessment had been carried out and had found evidence of bats roosting at the site.  The assessment outlined proposals to mitigate and compensate for the loss of the bat roost, including the installation of bat boxes. The development had been entered into the Great Crested Newt (GCN) district licence scheme to address the risk of impacts to GCN.

Mr. Haakon Gittens, acting for the agent and architect, spoke in support of the application.  A statement from Mr. Gittens 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 requirement in the application for a seemingly high number of bathrooms, Mr. Gittens responded that the client specifically wished to have ensuite facilities in every bedroom. In response to a further question regarding the necessity of a lift, Mr. Gittens responded that this was an indispensable requirement, as one of the intended occupants had mobility issues.

The committee concluded that the development would be acceptable, and should therefore receive planning permission, with the addition of a condition specifying that external lighting would only be permitted in accordance with a lighting scheme submitted to, and approved in writing, by the council prior to the first occupation of the development.

A motion moved and seconded, to grant planning permission was declared carried on being put to the vote.

RESOLVED: to grant planning permission for application P21/S1458/FUL  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.