Agenda item

A temporary fixed period retention of the existing eight staff accommodation caravans in the same location within the hotel grounds. (As amplified by information received 18 May 2023).

During this agenda item, the meeting length had reached almost two and a half hours. In accordance with the council’s Constitution, the committee voted to extend the meeting in order to finish this item.

The committee considered planning application P23/S1067/FUL for a temporary fixed period retention of the existing eight staff accommodation caravans in the same location within the hotel grounds (as amplified by information received 18 May 2023), on land at Delta Tree by Hilton Oxford Belfry, Milton Common.  

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 informed the committee that the report should be updated as the location of the site was the ‘Double Tree’ not ‘Delta Tree’.

The planning officer introduced the report and highlighted that the application was brought to the committee due to the objection of Tiddington Parish Council.

The site itself was located to the northwest of the hotel and currently had permission for four dwellings for staff of the hotel. This permission period for the dwellings was granted in 2015 and extended a further two times in which the last permission ended on 16 October 2022. The application sought retention of the caravans for another two years while a permanent solution could be brought forward.   

The planning officer also highlighted that since the last permission was granted, the Tiddington with Albury Neighbourhood Plan had been adopted which made specific reference to the hotel in the policy to retain and improve commercial business and services.

A pre-application submission was submitted for a permanent housing solution but the planning officer informed members that a full application was not yet submitted to the council. Therefore, for this reason, and as the economic benefit outweighed any potential harm from the caravans continuing to remain on site, the planning officer recommended that the application for a two year extension should be approved.

John Starkey, the applicant, spoke in support of the application.

Councillor Tim Bearder and Georgina Heritage, local ward councillors, spoke in support of the application. 

The committee asked about where the proposed permanent accommodation for staff would be in the site plan when the application was submitted and the planning officer confirmed it would be where the caravans were currently located, and so the caravans would need to be removed if the permanent accommodation was approved.

Members asked about the reasons the caravans were needed, and if the status of the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union was a factor. In response, the planning officer noted that it was a factor as to why the hotel had struggled to attract staff and why housing was needed to encourage workers, but the planning team leader clarified that the reasons behind the hotel’s difficulty in recruiting staff was not materially relevant to the application.

Overall, as the committee believed that the two year permission would be sufficient time for the applicant to submit and build a permanent solution for the staff housing, they agreed that the application should be approved subject to conditions.

A motion, moved and seconded, to approve the application was carried on being put to the vote. 

RESOLVED: to approve planning application P23/S1067/FUL, subject to the following conditions:

1. Temporary use for 2 years

2. Limit number of caravans to 8