Agenda item

To determine the application.

Nick Harding presented the report to members.

Members received a presentation, in accordance with the public participation procedure, from Anne Dew, Head of Planning at Persimmon Homes. Ms Dew stated that the Planning Officers report is very comprehensive, and made the point that the application already has outline and reserved matters consent for 248 dwellings and the developer is currently building those homes. She explained that there is a greater demand for smaller dwellings and a lesser demand for the larger type properties and, therefore, due to that fact the application before the committee proposes a replan of the site which provides a more varied mix and a greater proportion of smaller family houses.

Ms Dew added that the current application proposes 31 dwellings, 27 of these had previously received consent and, therefore, it is only the additional four dwellings that seek determination and there are no changes proposed for the affordable dwellings. She explained that the Section 106 associated with the original consent of 248 dwellings required £2,000 per dwelling which is due to be spent on education and libraries and she confirmed that the contribution has already been paid.

Ms Dew stated that the replanned application shows the increase of 4 dwellings and in line with the Council’s Local Plan viability assessment, there will be a further £8,000 infrastructure contribution required and will be secured by the Section 106. She explained that the layout and the design principles approved as part of this application have been followed as part of the replan and through the consultation process all technical consultees have confirmed their support for the proposal and she made reference to the officer’s report which states that there is no valid reason to refuse the application given that the site benefits from consent and is currently being built out for residential purposes and, therefore, the comments from the Minerals and Waste Planning Authority do not apply, although there was a policy the site was never going to be a minerals and waste site for that reason.

Ms Dew concluded by stating that the replan application will increase the dwellings on site by 4 and will provide for a better mix of dwellings which accords with the housing demand in Chatteris and is line with national and local policy and is acceptable in planning terms.

Members asked officers the following questions:

·       Councillor Benney asked for clarification that the additional Section 106 monies would be passed to the George Clare Surgery in Chatteris? Nick Harding confirmed this was correct. Councillor Benney stated that the is very pleased to hear the money will go to the surgery as it is needed, and the money will be spent quickly and will go towards assisting the residents of Chatteris.

·       Councillor Marks asked how quickly it will take to draw down those monies as it is obvious the money is needed? Nick Harding stated that the conversation with Persimmon Homes is still to take place with regards to the payment of the £8,000. He added that it would normally be quite a quick process in relation to this particular phase but there is the requirement for a project proposal required from the doctors surgery in order to transfer the funding over.

·       Councillor Mrs French referred to 5.20 of the officer’s report where it refers to the County Council waste and minerals and she asked for an explanation. Nick Harding stated that since planning permission was granted at outline stage for Womb Farm, the site has been identified as minerals waste site, but as there is already an existing extant planning permission for housing the issue is not considered.

·       Councillor Hicks referred to the Section 106 agreement and he asked what the normal position is for the Council with regards to contributions being paid and does it vary from application to application? Nick Harding stated that it varies and is dependent on the type of development and scale and other circumstances which are taken into consideration. He provided an example and stated that if there is a development for 1,000 dwellings, there would not be the expectation for the Section 106 contributions to be paid for those 1,000 homes until development commenced due to infrastructure costs which need to be paid in order to start above ground works.

·       Councillor Benney stated that the footpath that leads to Tesco roundabout was part of the original application, however, that has yet to be started and he asked whether there were any details of commencement of those works would be? Councillor Connor asked Ms Dew if she could answer the question and she explained that there is a requirement on the outline planning permission for the footway to be provided and currently the Section 278 process is lodged with the County Council and that was submitted in March 2022, however, it will be implemented once approval given by the County Council.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

·       Councillor Benney expressed the opinion that it is another 4 dwellings and an additional £8,000 for the Doctors Surgery. He added that the site is progressing well and if it makes better use of the land, it is a logical and sensible proposal.

Proposed by Councillor Benney, seconded by Councillor Mrs French and agreed that the application be GRANTED as per the officer’s recommendation with authority delegated to officers to apply suitable conditions.

(Councillor Benney declared, under Paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct on Planning Matters, that he is a member of Chatteris Town Council but takes no part in planning)