Havant Borough Council Development Management Committee (uo to 25 Feb 2021) Meeting

There were no apologies for absence.

The Site Briefing minutes from the meeting held on the 7th January 2021 were noted.

As she knew one of the deputees, Councillor Lowe declared a non-pecuniary interest in item APP/20/01-031.

The site was the subject of a Site Briefing by the Site Viewing Working Party.

Proposal: Erection of 50 new dwellings with associated access, parking and open space.

Reason for Committee consideration: The application was contrary to the provisions of the adopted development plan.

The Committee considered the written report and recommendation from the Head of Planning to grant permission.

The Committee received the supplementary information, circulated prior to the meeting which:

 i.          included the minutes of the Site Briefing held on 7 January 2020;

ii.          included the deputations submitted by members of the public over 48 hours in advance of the meeting;

iii.          provided an update paper with consultation responses in connection with the application which, where appropriate, superseded the responses published in the Committee report; and

All members confirmed that they had read the above supplementary papers prior to the meeting.

The members received a presentation from the officers outlining the report and answering questions raised in the Site Briefing and individual members of the Committee since the agenda was published.

It was noted that the application was a resubmission following the refusal by the Development Management Committee of APP/19/00427, now the subject of an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate with a Public Inquiry scheduled to commence on the 2 February 2020.  As in the case of the appeal application, the proposal was for 50 dwellings. The main difference between the current application and the appeal proposal related to the siting of the proposed dwellings in respect to the boundary with the Manor Farm element of the Conservation Area.

The dwellings proposed near this part of the site had been set further off the boundary and additional open space provided in this area. Additionally, the proposal had been modified to ensure full compliance with the Nationally Described Space Standards. The site was located to the south of Lower Road, adjoining the Old Bedhampton Conservation Area as extended under the recent review, and to the north of the railway and A27.  The key matter of principle in dealing with this application was whether it should be considered prior to the submission and adoption of the Havant Borough Local Plan 2036 and if so whether the proposal represents sustainable development. It was advertised as a departure from the development plan. However, since the Havant Borough Local Plan (Core Strategy) and the Havant Borough Local Plan (Allocations Plan) had been adopted, an assessment of the housing need for the borough now showed that significantly more homes were required. 

An initial reassessment of all potential housing sites had been undertaken through the now revoked Local Plan Housing Statement (Adopted December 2016) and continued to evolve through the emerging Havant Local Plan 2036. The site was included in the Housing Statement. It was also a proposed allocation in the Pre-Submission Havant Borough Local Plan 2036.  Whilst it was accepted that elements of the proposal did not fully comply with elements of emerging policies in the Local Plan 2036, the scheme dis provide elements which met or exceeded emerging policies, particularly with regard to significant open space provision for existing and future residents. The NPPF (paragraph 48) sets out that weight could be given to relevant policies in emerging plans depending on, amongst other things, the stage of preparation of the emerging plan and the extent of unresolved objection to individual policies. At the current stage where the Local Plan 2036 had been published but not yet submitted, they could presently only be afforded limited weight.

There had been two requests to make a verbal deputation by two Councillors and two members of the public.  Mr Tate made his deputation in opposition of the application.  This was followed by a deputation by Councillor Gary Robinson and County Councillor Fairhurst.  The verbal deputations were a summary of the written deputation supplied and published on the council’s website.  The audio recording of the deputation may be found within the recording of the meeting itself.

The Committee discussed the application in detail together with the views raised in the deputations received.

It was RESOLVED that the Head of Planning be authorised to grant permission for application APP/20/01031 be refused:

Refusal Reasons:

The proposed development would adversely affect the open character and appearance of the setting to this part of the Old Bedhampton Conservation Area by reason of the scale of the development and the loss of agricultural land which provided a setting to the Conservation Area. These adverse effects were not outweighed by the benefits of the scheme. The proposal was therefore contrary to Policies CS11 and CS16 of the Havant Borough Local Plan (Core Strategy) 2011, Policy DM20 of the Havant Borough Local Plan (Allocations) 2014, and the National Planning Policy Framework.

Binding arrangements were not in place to secure the following aspects of the development, as a result of which it was not considered that the development could be undertaken in a satisfactory manner:

Affordable Housing.

S106 monitoring fee.

Open Space, orchard, children’s allotments and associated infrastructure should be provided by the developer and arrangements for maintenance incorporated in the Management Plan. Including measures to ensure that the open space was managed in a Nutrient Neutral manner.

 Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy contribution.

SUDS bond.

A contribution towards Health.

Mitigation Payment to the SWBGS for loss of secondary support habitat.

Permissive paths.

A contribution towards a Community worker.

Delivery of site access works via a S278 agreement, prior to commencement of development.

Financial contribution to be paid toward the route to school improvements identified in drawing number ITB12174-GA-007 Rev A prior to occupation of any dwelling.

The carrying out of the development in the absence of such provision would result in an unsatisfactory and unsustainable form of development having due regard to Policies CS1, CS7, CS8, CS9, CS11, CS13, CS15, CS16, CS19, CS20, CS21, DM13 and DM8 of the Havant Borough Local Plan (Core Strategy) 2011; Policies DM20, DM23 and DM24 of the Havant Borough Local Plan (Allocations) 2014; the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (as amended); and the National Planning Policy Framework.