Hampshire County Council Regulatory Committee Meeting

Apologies were reeived from Councillors Stephen Broomfield, Rod Cooper, Chris Donnelly and Kim Taylor. Councillor Alex Crawford attended as a deputy for Kim Taylor.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed.

It was confirmed that six deputations had been received for the meeting, along with a County Councillor. Each deputation would have up to 10minutes to address the Committee.

The Chairman welcomed the new officers that were introduced to the Committee.

This item was withdrawn from the meeting.

This item was taken last at the meeting. Councillor Lulu Bowerman rejoined the meeting for this item and Councillor Mike Ford left the meeting. The voting total remained at 12.

Councillor Lance Quantrill declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of the Retired Association of Golf Secretaries (RAGS)

Proposed new build 2 Form Entry (2FE), 420 pupil place, Primary School with SEN Resource Provision for 8 pupils serving the ‘Hounsome Fields’ housing development to the south-west of Basingstoke at Field to west of A30 Winchester Road, Hounsome Fields, Basingstoke (No. 23/00750/CC3) (Site ref: BAE067)

The Committee considered a report from the Assistant Director of Waste and Environmental Services (item 7 in the minute book), seeking approval for a new Primary School in Basingstoke.

The report was summarised and the Committee was shown aerial and elevation photos of the site. It was confirmed that updates featured in the update report, which had been circulated and published online ahead of the meeting.

The Committee received two deputations on this item. Councillor Julian Jones from Dummer Parish Council shared concerns over the nearby roads and the speed of vehicles so close to a school and Michael Bates and Liam Presley spoke on behalf of the applicant in support of the application, which was the first of three new schools planned ahead of September 2025.

During questions of the deputations, the following points were clarified:

·         The building would be red brick with a 25yr roof.

·         Any expansion at the school in future years would be to the south of the site as a separate wing (and require separate planning permission)

·         The school was future proofed for green technologies, including a ground floor heat pump should this be required going forward.

·         Any weekend or evening use would be down to the Academy (and require separate planning permission).

During questions of the officers, it was recognised that there were concerns regarding the speed of vehicles and pedestrian/pupil safety at the as yet unbuilt crossing over the A30 from the Golf Course housing development, but this was not within the remit of the Committee to condition, particularly as there were no concerns raised by Highways. It was agreed that an informative concerning lowering the 50mph speed limit here would be added to the application so this could be looked at further by the applicant.

During debate, some Members felt that they couldn’t support the application due to the design of the building whereas others welcomed the design and the future proofing that had been done in terms of expansion and green technology.

RESOLVED

Planning permission was GRANTED subject to the recommended

conditions set out in Appendix A, the update report and an informative being included regarding reducing the speed along the A31 close to the school.

Voting
Favour: 10
Abstentions: 2

This item was taken as the first substantive item at the meeting.
Councillor Lulu Bowerman declared an interest as a Member of Project Integra and left the meeting whilst this item was considered, taking the voting total down to 12.

Development of an anaerobic digestion facility and waste transfer station, including partial demolition and reuse of existing buildings and infrastructure at Alton Materials Recovery Facility, A31 Alton GU34 4JD (No. 33619/008) EH141

The Committee considered a report from the Assistant Director of Waste and Environmental Services (item 8 in the minute book) on an application for an anaerobic digestion facility on the A31 in Alton.

Officers summarised the proposals, highlighting that this was a very different application to that received for the ERF. The Committee was shown aerial and elevation photos of the site and it was confirmed that updates feature in the update report, which had been circulated and published online ahead of the meeting.

The Committee received four deputations on this item. Local resident Mark Weldon, Alton Natural History Society member June Chatfield and Binsted Parish Councillor Alison Melvin all spoke against the application. Andy Russell spoke in support of the application on behalf of the applicant and County Councillor Mark Kemp-Gee also shared concerns.

During questions of deputations, the following points were clarified:

·         It was in the applicants interest to keep as much of the biogas produced as possible and so all available steps and safety measures would be taken to ensure that the emergency release of any gas in the atmosphere was avoided. To support this, the recommended safety requirements had been doubled.

·         A lot of work and promotion by Hampshire County Council, as Waste Disposal Authority, would be done to encourage as much recycling of food waste as possible.

·         The site was primarily for Hampshire, but there was capacity to take waste from elsewhere if necessary or economically viable.

During questions of the officers, the following points were clarified:

·         Landscaping missing from previous applications was likely due to dieback. Officers will assess the compliance with the existing landscaping scheme and report back to committee.

·         Capacity had been looked at as part of the proposals, including capture rates.

·         A net gain of 10% would only be mandatory from autumn 2023, but the proposals would provide an onsite uplift of 13%.

·         The conditions on site would be monitored on site by Hampshire County Council enforcement team as well as the Environment Agency as waste permitting authority.

During debate, Members acknowledged that a liaison panel would be a good way of maintaining a good relationship with local residents and businesses and agreed that concerns raised were addressed in the report as well as at the meeting.

RESOLVED

Planning permission was GRANTED subject to the conditions listed in

Appendix A, the update report and completion of a section 106 agreement to secure restrictions to prevent Heavy Good Vehicle U-turns on the A31 at Froyle.

Voting
Favour: 12 (unanimous)