Public Document Pack Despatch Date: Friday 24 April 2020 Agenda for a Meeting of: East Area Planning Sub-Committee Date and Time of Meeting: Monday, 4 May 2020 at 5.00 pm Place of Meeting This meeting will be held virtually and an access link will be emailed to all relevant Members Principal Committee and Member Services Officer: Mrs. T. Hulse Direct Line: 01372 474175 E-mail: [email protected] Note: Owing to the current Covid-19 pandemic and Government guidance issued to stay at home, it will not be possible to hold the East Area Planning Sub- Committee meeting in person. The Council has therefore made arrangements under the Coronavirus Act 2020 to hold the meeting virtually via Zoom, which will be recorded and uploaded onto the Council’s website. In line with established procedures, unless you have registered to speak on one of the planning applications on this agenda, you will not be able to speak or participate in the meeting. Members of the public are welcome to watch the proceedings via the Council’s website. If you are interested in registering to speak on a planning application on this agenda, please telephone 01372 474 474. Details of the Public Speaking procedure can be found on the Council’s Website. Members of Committee: N. Haig-Brown (Chairman) N. Houston (Vice-Chairman) A. Coomes M. Rollings C. James S.J. Waugh Mrs. S.R. Kapadia R.C.J. Williams Mrs. K. Randolph Please Note: The Council’s Constitution allows for public recording/filming of meetings. Filmed images should not however be used in any way that misrepresents or distorts the proceedings or seeks to lower the public reputation of the Council or an individual. The Council also webcasts some of its meetings. Presence at the virtual meeting will be treated as consent to being filmed. Page 1 Access to Information Relating to Reports Please be aware that not all the context information is provided for all reports. Previous reports are available on-line. If you need assistance in accessing any agenda / report, please contact the relevant Democratic Services Officer listed on the front of the agenda. [Mobile phones should be switched to silent mode during the course of the meeting.] Part I Items Page Nos. 1. Declarations of Interest All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter (i) any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or (ii) other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting. 2. Minutes of the Meetings held on 3 February and 2 March 2020 [Please note: the Minutes are as published online and circulated in the relevant Planning Committee agenda.] 3. Planning Applications 3 - 6 [Please note: the order of consideration of the applications may vary at the Chairman’s discretion.] (a) 2020/0232 - Pavilion, Claygate Recreation Ground, Claygate 7 - 22 (b) 2020/0299 - 23 Gordon Road, Claygate 23 - 34 (c) 2020/0319 - 62 Sherriff Close, Esher 35 - 44 4. Matters for Information (a) List B: For Information - Applications currently under consideration 45 - 76 and yet to be determined (b) Forthcoming Appeals - Outstanding Written Representations 77 - 84 (c) Appeal Decisions 85 - 88 Page 2 Agenda Item 3. Committee: East Area Planning Sub-Committee Date of meeting: 4 May 2020 Subject: Planning Applications Lead Officer: Head of Planning Services Portfolio Holder: Portfolio Holder for Planning Services Link to Council Priorities: P2 – Deliver appropriate sustainable planning decisions Exempt information: None Delegated status: To be resolved by the Area Planning Sub-Committee / Recommendations to the Planning Committee Executive Summary: To determine or make recommendations to the Planning Committee on the list of planning applications set out in Appendix 'A'. Recommendation: that the list of Planning Applications set out at Appendix ‘A’ to the Sub- Committee’s agenda be considered. Report: 1. To consider the attached list of planning applications and where appropriate make recommendations thereon to the Planning Committee (Appendix ‘A’). Draft Density Statement – April 2019 2. The Government has announced that there is a national housing crisis, something that is agreed by all the major political parties. To address this all councils are required to identify enough land to meet their local housing need as well as increase the number of new homes built in their area now and in the future. There is a need for 623 new homes each year in Elmbridge. This figure comes from a nationally set calculation, known as the ‘standard methodology’, this takes into account population projections, house prices and average earnings. It is also important that the right type of homes are built and in our borough we need 1 to 3 bedroom homes and more affordable homes to ensure we have sustainable communities in the future. 3. The number of new homes needed has significantly increased from what the Council had previously planned for and in the past there has been too many larger homes being built. These have failed to meet local housing need and have worsened affordability problems at all levels of the housing ladder. We now face the challenge of identifying enough land where new homes can be built, to date, we have not been able to find enough development land. 4. The Council must set out how many new homes will be built in the next 15 years and where they will be located as part of its new Local Plan. The Local Plan is a statutory requirement and the Government has made it clear that all local authorities must have an update plan, failure to do so could lead to Page 3 intervention whereby the Government writes our local plan and policies. Without a new plan we could find ourselves unable to resist unacceptable development or refused applications being granted on appeal. This could result in unplanned development in unsustainable locations. 5. The Council is working hard to progress our local plan however, there are difficult decisions to be made as there is a pressing need to deliver more homes today and in the future. In deciding where new homes should be located, residents have told us that they wish to protect the Green Belt in their areas and utilise other land for new homes. 6. The Council has always been committed to ensuring new development makes the most of development land, our current local planning policies promote the efficient use of land and buildings in sustainable locations. Recent changes to national planning policy have re-emphasised the importance of optimising land, especially in areas like Elmbridge, where the demand for new homes is high and there is a shortage of land for development. The Government through policy and planning appeal decisions, has made it clear that low-density housing schemes where housing needs are not being met are no longer acceptable. Therefore, it continues to be essential that all housing development provides the right type of homes and make the most efficient use of land, this includes smaller homes at higher densities. 7. The character of our areas is something the Council and our residents wish to enhance so new developments must be carefully designed as to respect the character but also make the most of our brownfield land. To enable the optimisation of land and to respond to local housing needs development schemes will need to be innovative and utilise higher densities while respecting the local character. It is important to remember that the character of an area relates to matters such as building size, scale and distances between buildings and boundaries it does not relate to the number of bedrooms a property has or indeed the number of homes in a building. 8. For further information on the Local Plan and the evidence relating to housing need, the type of homes needed and the supply of housing land in Elmbridge please see our webpage (http://bridgeit.elmbridge.local/#). Financial implications: None Environmental / Sustainability implications: Planning application matter - exempt Legal implications: As set out in the planning applications reports Equality Implications: None Risk Implications: None Community Safety Implications: None Principal Consultees: As set out in the planning applications reports Background papers: None Enclosures/Appendices: Appendix ‘A’ – Planning Applications Contact details: Head of Planning Services, [email protected] Page 4 Key to List of Applications 1. Electoral Wards and Sub-Committee Areas East North South Claygate Hersham Village Cobham & Downside Esher Molesey East Oatlands & Burwood Park Hinchley Wood &Weston Green Molesey West Oxshott & Stoke D’Abernon Long Ditton Walton Central Weybridge Riverside Thames Ditton Walton North Weybridge St. George’s Hill Walton South 2. List C – Applications under consideration – Decision Level Del - This identifies the application as being capable of determination by the Strategic Director under the Delegation Scheme, provided that the number of representations received does not exceed the level at which the application must be referred to an Area Planning Sub-Committee for determination, and it is not ‘promoted’ to a Sub-Committee by a Councillor. Sub - This identifies the application as being of a type that would normally be referred to an Area Planning Sub-Committee for consideration. In most circumstances the Sub-Committee will determine the application but, in some instances, it may have to refer the application to the Planning Committee for decision with its recommendation. Further details of these procedures are available from Planning Services. 3. Structure of Reports Header Panel gives the following information: Application No. – Unique application reference number. Type – Application type – e.g. Full, Outline, Listed Building Consent, Advert, etc. Ward – Electoral Ward in which site is located. Date Registered – Date of formal registration of application (not necessarily initial date of receipt).