Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 (a) That Officer Recommendation is to PERMIT the application subject to: (i) the completion of Section 106 Legal Agreements between the Applicant and Cotswold District Council and the Applicant and Gloucestershire County Council, prior to the decision notice being issued; (ii) the suggested draft conditions set out in the application report, together with any draft conditions as may be agreed by the Council at its Meeting on 26th September 2017; (iii) delegated authority being given to the Head of Planning and Strategic Housing, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council, to amend and/or add to the suggested draft conditions set out in the application report prior to the decision notice being issued, where such amendments would be legally sound and would not deviate significantly from the purpose of the draft conditions; (iv) no new material issues arising from the Examination of the Cotswold District Local Plan 2011-2031; (v) referral to, and confirmation from, the Secretary of State that the application will not be called-in for determination by the Secretary of State if the decision notice is to be issued in advance of the adoption of the Cotswold District Local Plan 2011-2031. IN THE EVENT OF PERMISSION BEING GRANTED BY THE COUNCIL – (b) that if, by 12th April 2018, one or both of the Section 106 legal agreements have not been completed and an extension of time for completion has not been agreed, delegated authority being given to the Head of Planning and Strategic Housing to refuse the application, with the reason for refusal to be based upon the failure to secure the required infrastructure to support the development. 1.2 The application is an outline planning application for a mixed use development on land at the southern edge of Cirencester, which would consist of the following: Up to 2,350 dwellings which would include 100 units of student accommodation and 60 homes for the elderly (all of which would have a C3 (dwellinghouse) use); 9.1 hectares of employment land which would have B1 (Business), B2 (General Industry) and B8 (Storage or Distribution) uses; A primary school; 1 A neighbourhood centre comprised of A1 (shops), A2 (financial and professional services), A3 (restaurants and cafes), A4 (drinking establishments) and A5 (hot food takeaways) uses as well as community facilities (D1 use); Public open space, play areas, allotments, playing fields and landscaping; Vehicle access into the site from Tetbury Road, Spratsgate Lane, Wilkinson Road and Somerford Road along with pedestrian and cycle links; The demolition of buildings at The Steadings and modern agricultural buildings within the existing farmyard complex. 1.3 Access is a consideration of the outline application, hereafter referred to as the “OPA”, but the external appearance and scale of buildings, the layout of the site, and landscaping are all “Reserved Matters”, which would be the subject of subsequent applications for approval by the Council. 1.4 The OPA has been referred for determination by Full Council following a consultation with the Chair of the Council, the Chair of the Planning and Licensing Committee, the Ward Members and the Leader of the Council. It was considered appropriate for the OPA to be determined by Full Council due to the significance of it, not only to Cirencester but to the District as a whole, given that the application site is the only strategic site allocated within the Cotswold District Local Plan 2011-2031 hereafter referred to as the emerging Local Plan. 1.5 The Officer recommendation is to permit the OPA subject to the completion of Section 106 Legal Agreements. This recommendation therefore requires Members to determine the OPA prior to the examination and adoption of the emerging Local Plan. It is expected that negotiations, drafting and completion of the S106 Legal Agreements will take several months following a resolution from Full Council to approve the OPA and, should anything arise from the Local Plan examination process during that period which is considered to be “material” to the resolution, then the OPA would be referred back to Full Council. 1.6 If Members vote to approve the Officer Recommendation (i.e. the decision notice would be issued in advance of the adoption of the emerging Local Plan) the Council would have to refer the OPA to the Secretary of State (SoS) in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009. The referral is required under the regulations due to the size of the proposed retail/leisure/office development, which would be outside of Cirencester town centre and would not be in accordance with an adopted Local Plan policy. 1.7 Officers have recently been advised by the National Planning Casework Unit that the referral to the SoS can be undertaken shortly after the Full Council meeting and in advance of the completion of the S106 Legal Agreements. The SoS has a statutory period of 21 days to determine whether the OPA is to be “Called In” (i.e. determined by the SoS) under Section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This statutory period can be extended by a “Holding Direction” issued by the SoS under Article 25 of the Town & Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2010, while the SoS makes his consideration. The Holding Direction restricts the granting of planning permission, either indefinitely or during a time period specified by the SoS. 1.8 The SoS also has powers to call in an application regardless of the Council’s requirement to refer the application. For example, if the decision would be issued even after the adoption of the emerging Local Plan, the Council would not be required to refer the OPA to the SoS, but the SoS could still call in it for consideration. 2 1.9 The Applicant has agreed a Planning Performance Agreement with the Council which has set out a timescale for the determination of the OPA. The date of 12th April 2018 is the agreed date for completing the Section 106 Legal Agreements and issuing of the decision notice. 1.10 Members attended Site Inspection Briefings held on 18th July 2017 and 5th September 2017 and questions received from Members after the July briefing, and the responses of Officers have been collated and included as Appendix 1. Any additional questions and responses will be circulated as Additional Pages. 1.11 Members are advised that the Applicant is Bathurst Development Ltd (BDL), and for the purposes of this report, reference to the “Applicant” encompasses the Applicant, their planning agent, highways consultant and any other consultant working on their behalf. A glossary to assist Members has been attached as Appendix 2. 3 This page is intentionally blank 4 Chapter 2: Site Description and Site History Introduction 2.1 This chapter will provide an overview of the location of the application site and a brief description of the features and constraints within the site and in the immediate locality of it. Further details will be provided, where appropriate, within the specific topic chapters of this report. Site Location and Description 2.2 The application site is located on the southern edge of Cirencester, and the centre of the site (i.e. the existing farm buildings) is approximately 1.7km in a straight line from the historic town centre (i.e. the Market Place). The site is predominantly agricultural land totalling an area of approximately 120.4 hectares (297.5 acres). A map showing the location of the site is attached as Appendix 3. 2.3 The majority of the site is located between Spratsgate Lane to the east and Tetbury Road (A429) to the west. In addition, there are two parcels of land, which both measure approximately 3.2 hectares in area, located to the east of Somerford Road and Spratsgate Lane. The northern parcel is sited between the allotments and Wilkinson Road. The southern parcel is sited between Spratsgate Lane and the former Kemble – Cirencester railway line. 2.4 The majority of the application site straddles the wards of Councillor Ray Brassington (Four Acres) and Councillor Roly Hughes (Chesterton). A smaller section to the east of Somerford Road/Spratsgate Lane lies within the ward of Councillor Jenny Hincks (Watermoor). 2.5 Adjacent to the northern boundary of the main part of the application site is the residential area of “Chesterton” which is comprised predominately of housing erected in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Towards the north-western side of the application site is Cirencester Business Park and Chesterton Cemetery. 2.6 The application site does not lie within a nationally or locally designated landscape (i.e. the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or in a Special Landscape Area), nor does it lie within a Greenbelt. Fields within the application site are bounded by hedgerows with some drystone walls and there are individual trees, groups of trees and woodland areas which are covered by a Tree Preservation Order. 2.7 There are a number of Public Rights of Way (PRoW) that cross the application site. The PRoWs consist of both bridleways and footpaths and they are popular and generally well used for recreation by local residents. A map showing the PRoWs has been included as Appendix 4. 2.8 A bridleway (which has the reference number 26) runs from the Tetbury Road along the southern boundary of the application site for approximately 1.1km. At the eastern end of this bridleway lies a footpath (no.29) which extends from The Maples to the north of the application site and runs along the western boundary of The Cranhams. A footpath (no.28) continues beyond the southern boundary of the application site.

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