P Planning Committee Minutes of a Meeting of the Planning Committee held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Tannery Lane, Ashford on the 9th March 2011 Present: Cllr. Mrs Marriott (Chairman); Cllr. Wedgbury (Vice-Chairman); Cllrs. Mrs Bell, Mrs Blanford, Burgess, Clokie (ex officio), Cowley, Davison, French, Mrs Heyes, Mrs Hicks, Mrs Hutchinson, Packham, Smith. In accordance with Procedure Rule 1.2 (iii) Councillors Mrs Bell, Clokie and Cowley attended as Substitute Members for Councillors Mrs Martin, Honey and Norris respectively. Apologies: Cllrs. Goddard, Mrs Martin, Norris. Also Present: Cllrs. Bell, Claughton, Clarkson, Holland, Taylor, Wallace, Wood. Development Control Manager, Senior Planning Officer, Local Transport and Development Planner (Kent Highway Services), Environmental Health Manager (Environmental Protection), Senior Solicitor (Strategic Development), Member Services and Scrutiny Support Officer. 413 Declarations of Interest Councillor/ Interest Minute No. Officer Burgess Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01036/AS Prejudicial – Member of the Weald of 10/01491/AS Kent Protection Society, 10/01306/AS and, Code of Conduct – Personal but not Prejudicial – Member of Action for Communities in Rural Kent, who had not commented on any item on the agenda. 833 P090311 Councillor/ Interest Minute No. Officer Clarkson Code of Conduct – Personal and 415/416 - 10/01601/AS Prejudicial – he lived near to the application site – application was withdrawn. and, Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01491/AS Prejudicial – had been the Chairman of the Charing Road Safety and Traffic Management Committee in 2005 when a traffic survey had been undertaken. Clokie Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01036/AS Prejudicial – Member of Tenterden and 10/01732/AS District Residents Association, and, Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01036/AS Prejudicial – Member of Weald of Kent 10/01491/AS Protection Society. 10/01306/AS Davison Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01036/AS Prejudicial – owned shares in Tesco Stores Ltd., and, Code of Conduct – Personal but not Prejudicial – Member of Ashford Rural Trust, who had not commented on any item on the agenda. and, Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01491/AS Prejudicial – Member of Campaign to 10/01601/AS Protect Rural England. French Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 – 10/01036/AS Prejudicial – Member of Tenterden Town Council. Mrs Marriott Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01491/AS Prejudicial – Council appointed representative on the Kent Downs (AONB) Joint Advisory Committee and 834 P090311 Councillor/ Interest Minute No. Officer Executive Committee – had retained an open mind. Smith Code of Conduct – Personal and 416 - 11/00024/AS Prejudicial – knew the applicant. Left the Council Chamber for the discussion and vote. Wedgbury Code of Conduct – Personal but not 416 - 10/01036/AS Prejudicial – owned shares in Tesco Stores Ltd. Development Local Resident – application was 415/416 - 10/01506/AS Control deferred. Manager 414 Minutes Resolved: That the Minutes of the Meeting of this Committee held on the 9th February 2011 be approved and confirmed as a correct record subject to:- An amendment to Minute 367 Application 10/01036/AS Tesco Stores Ltd., Smallhythe Road, Tenterden to amend condition 44 as follows: amend the bullet points lettered as (c) and (d) to (a) and (b) and; in the third paragraph amend ‘Post Construction State’ to ‘Post Construction Stage’. 415 Requests for Deferral/Withdrawal Application No. 10/01601/AS – Pett Farm, Pett Lane, Charing The application had been withdrawn by the applicants. Application No. 10/01506/AS – Post Office, Ashford Road, St Michaels, Tenterden The application had been deferred at the applicant’s request. 835 P090311 416 Schedule of Applications Resolved: That following consideration of (a), (b) and (c) below, (a) Private representations (number of consultation letters sent/number of representations received) (b) The indication of the Parish Council’s/Town Council’s views (c) The views of Statutory Consultees and Amenity Societies (abbreviation for consultee/society stated) Supports ‘S’, objects ‘R’, no objections/no comments ‘X’, still awaited ‘+’, not applicable/none received ‘-’ decisions be made in respect of Planning Applications as follows: - ______________________________ 836 P090311 ____________________________________________________________________ Application Number 10/01036/AS Location Tesco Stores Ltd., Smallhythe Road, Tenterden Grid Reference 88310/33013 Town Council Tenterden Wards Tenterden South and Rolvenden & Tenterden West Application Extension to existing store including alterations to the Description service areas, additional parking and landscaping Applicant Tesco Stores Ltd, Tesco House, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire AL7 1AB Agent Montagu Evans, Clarges House, 6 - 12 Clarges Street, London W1J 8HB Site Area 2.38 Hectare (a) 56/13R (b) S (c) KHS X, TDRA R, WKPS R, T&DCC S, KCC(Heritage) X, SW X, EHM X, Amends (a) 56/2R (b) S (c) KHS X, TDRA , WKPS , T&DCC , KCC(Heritage) - , SW X, EHM X Resolved: A. The Committee confirm the previous decision to grant application 10/01036/AS in accordance with the details set out in the minutes for the Planning Committee dated 9 February 2011 but deleting the requirement for the provision of a STOP sign to replace the GIVE WAY sign at the junction of the site access with Smallhythe Road. B. To Impose an additional condition on the grant of planning permission 10/01036/8S as follows: 837 P090311 ____________________________________________________________________ 1. Prior to the commencement of the extension hereby approved details shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority of the location and wording of an advisory sign on the applicant’s land as close as possible to the exit of the site to Smallhythe Road. This sign shall advise customers to take care when leaving the site at the junction of the access road with Smallhythe Road. The approved sign shall be erected before the works to construct the extension hereby approved commence and shall subsequently be retained and maintained unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. Reason: In the interests of the safety and convenience of users of the store. ___________________________________________________________________ Application Number 10/01491/AS Location Land West of Thimble Hall between CTRL and M20, Leacon Lane Charing Grid Reference 95006/47458 Parish Council Charing Ward Charing Application Renewable Energy unit facility which will comprise of plant Description and structures for the storage of material for production of biogas, together with ancillary structures and buildings Applicant Future Biogas Ltd Agent Golder Associates, 1 Alie Street London E1 8DE Site Area 3.9 Hectares (a) 54/28R (b) R (c) KH X EA X KPROW X SEW adjoining Parish Councils X CPRE X WKPS R RPL X Little Chart R Westwell R The Development Control Manager drew Members’ attention to the Update Report. There were several points to take note of, including: 838 P090311 ____________________________________________________________________ y A letter had been received from Pluckley Parish Council objecting to the application due to additional traffic that would be generated on local roads, in particular through Pluckley. y A further letter of objection had been received from a local resident stating that the applicant’s traffic information was misleading. y An amendment to Condition 24 was proposed. y Three further conditions were proposed by High Speed 1. In accordance with Procedure Rule 9.3 Ms Stonehewer, a neighbour, spoke in objection to the application. She advised Members that there were three major concerns regarding the application; environmental impact, landscape and traffic. The site had been restored to agricultural use and at present protected the rural character of the area. Should permission be granted then this would result in a breach in the buffer zone and create an industrial enclave. The small mitigation scheme proposed would be insufficient. Traffic was the greatest concern for many residents. The area that would be affected by the proposal was large and the convergence of heavy agricultural vehicles would significantly increase congestion on the wider road network. The surrounding roads were narrow and there were a number of accident black spots in the area. If a restriction were to be placed on the permission excluding vehicles accessing the site from the east she was unsure how this could be enforced. The impact of the proposal on the community would be considerable and would affect residents in Pluckley, Charing and Little Chart. Older properties in the area were susceptible to damage caused by heavy loads creating ground vibrations. The proposal would result in a loss of amenity and an increase in vehicle movements. In accordance with Procedure Rule 9.3 Mr Lukas, the applicant, spoke in support of the application. He advised Members that he would highlight the benefits of the scheme. There was an oil crisis in the middle east which was impacting upon fuel costs. Anaerobic digestion was being promoted by government. The proposal would be clean and would be zero carbon. It would also benefit a catchment area of 10 km radius as they would purchase crops from local farmers and suppliers and it would also result in local employment. The site was in a secluded location and once constructed the facility would barely be visible. The site provided good access to the local grid and to Pluckley Road. Kent Highway Services had not raised any objection to the application and it was important to bear in mind that farm traffic existed in the area and the volume of traffic in this respect would not increase. Access to the site from the west was good. He was aware of residents concerns and wanted to work with them. He assured the Committee that traffic would be instructed to avoid Westwell Leacon. In accordance with Procedure Rule 9.3 Mr Reed, from Charing Parish Council, spoke in objection to the application. He asked the Committee to refuse the application on highway grounds.