Agenda item

This was an Outline Planning Application for the erection of 1No. dwelling on land adjacent to The Dell, in Cherrington near Newport. The application site formed the domestic garden associated with ‘The Dell,’ with residential properties to the north and south, and the B5062 to the north. The site comprised of grassed area, with a border of soft landscaping.

Officer recommendation was to refuse the proposal as it was considered to be contrary to a number of planning policies.

Mr Adam Ray, Agent, spoke in favour of the Application. He explained his client was a member of the community and had been employed in the area for 40 years. The proposed dwelling would enable his large family home to be utilised by another family. He believed it was a sustainable plot for a dwelling and objections regarding trees and drainage could be addressed in finer detail if given approval.

Councillor Jim Berry, Parish Council Representative, spoke in favour of the application and stated there were no objections from the Parish Council or neighbours. He explained there was existing access for vehicles and a reservoir in close proximity to alleviate any issues regarding drainage.

During the debate, some Members spoke favourably about the application and suggested Outline Planning Permission should be granted to give opportunity for a more detailed plan that addressed the drainage and arboriculture concerns be drawn up and then bought back to planning at a later date.

Some Members spoke against the application and reminded others that the Council’s planning policies should be adhered to and therefore the application should be refused on that basis.

The Legal Adviser advised members that, if members were minded to approve this application, they needed proper planning reasons to do so and that the Council’s planning policies must be considered when determining this application. The applicant’s personal circumstances as set out in the report are of little or no relevance in the consideration of this application which was for a permanent dwelling. It was pointed out that members needed to be satisfied that the site could be adequately drained before approving this application and that, because this had not been established, members could not conclude that conditions would properly address this concern.

The Development Management Service Delivery Manager explained that the Council’s planning policies set out exceptional circumstances where approval for residential development in the rural area could be allowed but that the circumstances of this application were not exceptional to justify a departure from policy. The Applicant had previous opportunity to address policy but this application was resubmitted with no further information.

Upon being put to vote, Members voted by a majorityto support the recommendation to refuse the application. 

RESOLVED – that the application be refused on the following grounds:

1.         The proposal is located in the rural area where residential development will be strictly controlled in line with the overall strategy to limit development outside existing urban areas and identified villages, of which Cherrington is not one. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policy HO10 of the TWLP 2011-2031.

2.         The Applicant failed to demonstrate that the proposal would not cause any detrimental harm to the trees which are located on/adjacent to the application site. An Arboricultural Impact Assessment has not been supplied as part of this application and as such, the proposal is considered to be contrary to Policy NE2 of the TWLP 2011-2031.

3.         The Applicant failed to demonstrate that the site can be adequately drained and would not cause significant detrimental impact upon the drainage systems in the immediately surrounding area. No drainage information has been submitted as part of this application and as a result the proposal is contrary to policies ER11 and ER12 of the TWLP 2011-2031.