Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Bilbé, Ruth Brothwell and Ramsey Nagaty.  Councillor Brothwell was not in attendance owing to legal advice she had received.  Councillor Susan Parker was in attendance as a substitute for Councillor Nagaty.

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda.  Any councillor with a DPI must not participate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must also withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, you must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

Councillors are further invited to disclose any non-pecuniary interest which may be relevant to any matter on this agenda, in the interests of transparency, and to confirm that it will not affect their objectivity in relation to that matter.

There were no disclosures of interest declared.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of the Committee.

The Committee noted the procedures for determining planning applications.

Prior to the consideration of the application 19/P/02223, Garlick’s Arch, owing to the public interest in this application, the Committee agreed to waive the Public Speaking Procedure Rules to permit three people to speak in objection and three people to speak in support. 

The Committee noted that the following specialists were also in attendance at the meeting:

·         Mr Paul Fineberg, Principal Urban Design Officer and Architect 

·         Mr Ian Croll, Environmental Health 

·         Mr Robert Johnson, Housing and Strategy Manager 

·         Mr Tim Holman, Tree Officer 

·         Mr Stuart Riddle, Operational Services 

·         Mr Peter George, Environmental Impact Assessment consultant 

·         Ms Kirsty Wilkinson, Principal Transport Development Planning Officer 

·         Ms Claudia Frost, Landscape and Visual Impact consultant 

·         Ms Gabrielle Graham, Ecology consultant 

·         Mr Mike Burch, Senior Network Resilience Officer (Drainage) 

·         Mr Mike Singleton, Interim School Commissioning Officer 

·         Mr Conor Fegan, Francis Taylor Building Counsel instructed by GBC

The following persons addressed the Committee in accordance with Public Speaking Procedure Rules 3(b):

·         Councillor Suzie Powell-Cullingford (Ripley Parish Council) (to object);

·         Councillor Pat Oven (Send Parish Council) (to object);

·         Mr Gary Whittle (to object);

·         Mr Daniel Cavanagh (LSL Partners) (in support);

·         Mr Andy Barron (Countryside Properties) (in support); and

·         Mr Sam Stone (Abri) (in support)

The Committee considered the above-mentioned hybrid application (part full/part outline) comprising 220 residential dwellings (Use Class C3), Travelling Showpeople plots (Sui Generis) and 81sqm community facility (Use Class F.2(b)), with associated open space and landscaping, means of access, parking, drainage, utilities and infrastructure works, temporary and permanent acoustic fencing, and other associated works; and Outline planning permission, with all matters reserved except for access, for up to 300 residential dwellings (Use Class C3) with associated open space and landscaping (including a landscape bund and acoustic fencing), means of access, enabling infrastructure and other associated works. 

The Committee received a presentation from Kelly Jethwa, Specialist Development Management (Majors), noting that the land allocated for this residential development fell under Policy A41 of the Local Plan.  This also included land for two new roundabouts which would serve as access points to the proposal but would not deliver the northbound slip road to the A3.  Land had been included for the provision of a bund, and once constructed, it was anticipated that there would be enough land left to also deliver the slip roads.  The allocation of the site made an important contribution to the Council’s five-year housing land supply and ability to demonstrate that a housing delivery test remained valid and was greater than 75% of housing required.  The Council currently had a five-year housing land supply (with an appropriate buffer) of 7.34 years.  This included the delivery of 450 homes at Garlick’s Arch by March 2025. 

The site was located close to bus stops and an existing convenience shop at the petrol station.  There was a local primary school located in Send, a medical centre, and a railway station in West Clandon.  The site was currently comprised of mainly arable land and grassland along with a parcel of ancient woodlands, including trees preserved by  ...  view the full minutes text for item PL4

The following persons addressed the Committee in accordance with Public Speaking Procedure Rules 3(b):

·         Councillor Pat Oven (Send Parish Council) (to object);

·         Mr David Neame (Agent) (in support);

The Committee considered the above-mentioned full application for the erection of 30 no. residential dwellings with the associated vehicular and pedestrian access via Burnt Common Lane, car parking, secure cycle storage and landscaping on land off Burnt Common Lane, Ripley.

The Committee received a presentation from Katie Williams, (Specialist) Development Management Applications.  The Committee noted that the site formed part of the Garlick’s Arch site allocation designated under Policy A41 of the Local Plan.  Twelve affordable homes would be delivered as part of the scheme.  A previous application for the site, 19/P/02191, was recently allowed at appeal for the same number of dwellings.  The current scheme had adopted a revised layout and design approach compared to the previous application following extensive pre-application discussions with officers.  The site consisted of a gently arching strip of land that sat on the western edge of the site allocation immediately adjacent to Burnt Common Lane.  The A3 ran to the south-east of the site and the area was characterised by a mix of dwellings that varied both in density and character. 

The southern and eastern boundaries were delineated by mature trees and hedgerows.  The rest of the site consisted predominantly of paddock land currently used for grazing horses.  There would be three individual driveways serving plots 20 to 30 and the main access to the site was proposed to be located opposite Burnt Common Close where there was currently a field access gate.  The existing vehicular access to Oldland’s towards the southern end of the site would be closed off, however the access route serving plots 2 to 4 would follow the same line as the current driveway within the site and the access road would travel north through the middle of the site.  One further separate driveway was proposed to serve the new dwelling on plot 1 at the far southern end.  The trees marked to be retained were located along the western and eastern boundaries. 

In relation to the housing layout, a small two-storey building apartment building and six new houses marked the northern end of the site and to the south the proposal incorporated housing fronting Burnt Common Lane culminating in a small landscaped mead.  The original farmhouse was to be retained.  To the north a hammerhead would be formed to serve nine houses which led to a pedestrian link through to Garlick’s Arch. 

The development proposed a mix of different sized dwellings.  One main area of open space was proposed to the southern end of the site along with a balancing pond at the northern edge.  A linear green corridor would also be provided incorporating a pedestrian link along the western frontage of the site with Burnt Common Lane.  Parking was to be provided by way of individual driveways, integrated garaging, car barns and a parking area to the rear of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item PL5