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Development Control Panel Report of the meetings held on 19th April and 6th and 17th May 2004 Matter for Decision 1. ERECTION OF 20 DWELLINGS AND REPLACEMENT GARAGE INCLUDING ALTERATIONS TO BARN, ACCESS AND BOUNDARY WALL, CROSSHALL MANOR, 516 GREAT NORTH ROAD, EATON FORD Reproduced as an Annex are details of an application for a proposed mixed development of 20 dwellings on a split site either side of the Great North Road, adjacent to Crosshall Manor, Eaton Ford. The development involves the use of land which was not allocated for residential development by the Inspector in the Huntingdonshire Local Plan Alteration. Therefore the development is considered to be a departure from the Local Plan and requires the approval of Council. If approved a Section 106 Agreement, supported by the Section 106 Agreement Advisory Group, will secure contributions towards the St Neots Market Town Transport Strategy, four additional secondary school places and the provision of play equipment on a community/leisure project in Eaton Ford/Eaton Socon. In their consideration of the application, the Panel was mindful that the proposed development involved the use of a less extensive area of land than that previously considered by the Inspector and would provide for the beneficial use of an otherwise overgrown and unkempt area of the town. Although technically the application involves land beyond the built up area of St Neots, the Panel was satisfied that the careful design of the development would not result in an unacceptable incursion into the surrounding countryside nor compromise the setting of Crosshall Manor, a Grade II* listed building. Having taken these factors into account and been advised that English Heritage had not raised any objection to the proposal, the Panel RECOMMEND (i) that the Council approve the application for development of 20 dwellings and replacement garage including alterations to barn, access and boundary wall on a site at Crosshall Manor, 516 Great North Road, Eaton Ford; (ii) that, in the event that approval from the Council is forthcoming, the Government Office for the Eastern Region be requested to consider approval of the proposal and the Director of Operational Services authorised to advertise the application as a departure from the Local Plan, and (ii) that, should the Government Office be minded to approve the application, the Director of Central Services be authorised to enter into an Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to secure contributions towards the St Neots Market Town Transport Strategy, additional secondary school places and play equipment/community leisure project in Eaton Ford/Eaton Socon, St Neots. Matters for Information 2. DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS Over three meetings and in addition to the application referred to in Item No. 1 ante, the Panel has determined a total of 31 applications of which twelve were approved, ten refused, four deferred to secure design improvements and five delegated to the Head of Planning Services to determine following receipt of further information material to the applications in question. Notably, the Panel has approved, subject to conditions, an outline application for 1,100 dwellings, including leisure facilities, a primary school and appropriate infrastructure on 63.2 hectares of land to the north of Cambridge Road, St. Neots. A key aspect of the proposal is the intention to create a new district Centre within the development to accommodate local shopping and other uses and to establish links between the development and the facilities and infrastructure of St. Neots. Proposed planning conditions would provide access for pedestrians and cyclists across the railway line to the Town Centre. The Section 106 Agreement Advisory Group has indicated its support for the content of a draft Section 106 Agreement which would secure a comprehensive range of social and physical infrastructure including appropriate transport links, transport related items, affordable housing, education provision, library improvements, a community building and sports and play equipment. In their consideration of the detailed application, Members noted that the site had been allocated by the Inspector in the Huntingdonshire Local Plan Alteration, 2002. That allocation has subsequently been supported by further work including the Cambridge Sub-Regional Study, the County Structure Plan and the Urban Capacity Study. However, as these proposals involve the development of more than five hectares of land, the Council is required, under the Town and Country Planning (Residential Development of Greenfield Land) (England) Direction 2000 to refer the application to the Government Office for the Eastern Region for approval. As a statutory consultee in respect of an application to be determined by the County Council, the Panel has considered an application for planning permission for the disposal of hazardous waste and historic co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste at Warboys landfill site, Puddock Hill, Warboys. Having received advice from consultants engaged by the Council, the Panel has advised the County Council that they object to the application in view of the odour likely to emanate from the tipped material and concern at the potential harm to ground water due to leachate and the food chain due to dioxin and furan emissions were the application to be approved. The Panel authorised its then Vice-Chairman to make representations on its behalf to the County Council’s Development Control Committee in support of these recommendations. (The County Council’s Development Control Committee refused the application at its meeting held on 26th May 2004.) In accordance with National, Regional and Local Planning Policies, the Panel has approved an application for the erection of 12 x 100m high wind turbines and related infrastructure on land at Red Tile Farm, Broadpool Farm and Newtons Farm, Tick Fen, Warboys. The farm will generate capacity of 24MW electricity sufficient to meet the domestic needs of some 14,500 households and will therefore make a significant contribution to meeting both regional and Cambridgeshire targets for the production of renewable energy. A Section 106 Agreement supported by the Advisory Group will secure the establishment of a community environmental fund to be administered by representatives of the local community. 3. DEVELOPMENT CONTROL ACTIVITIES – 1ST JANUARY – 31ST MARCH 2004 In noting a statistical report on the performance of the Development Control Section of the Planning Division over the period 1st January – 31st March 2004, the Panel acknowledged that 77.8% of all applications received had been determined within the required time period despite a number of vacant posts in the Section. 4. TREE PRESERVATION ORDERS The Panel has confirmed Tree Preservation Orders to protect – ♦ two mature birches in the garden of 29 Claytons Way, Huntingdon; and ♦ two mature lime trees in the garden of 21 Jubilee Close, Little Paxton. 5. ENFORCEMENT ACTION The Panel has authorised the Head of Planning Services, in consultation with the Head of Legal & Estates to serve a Completion Notice to secure the rebuilding of a replacement dwelling within a reasonable timescale at 37 West Street, Huntingdon. The original planning permission involved the demolition of an existing house which left a party wall exposed and unslightly and which has led to problems of dampness to the adjoining property. The Panel are hopeful that the serving of the Completion Notice will encourage the owner to complete the house within 12 months. P G Mitchell Chairman .

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