Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the REGULATORY COMMITTEE of the HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 11 March 2009.

PRESENT:

Chairman:

p Councillor R.C. McIntosh

Vice-Chairman

p Councillor I.F.E. Beagley

Councillors:

Councillor Mrs. A. Buckley attended for the item referred to in Minute 322.

316 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

It was reported that apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Cartwright, Gillett, James and Price. Councillor Price's absence was on account of being engaged on Fire Authority business.

317 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code. The declaration should be made at the time of the relevant debate

318 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 12 February 2009 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

319 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman reminded Members to reserve in their diaries the date for the next set of site visits - 6 April, when there would be visits to a pair of schools in the Fareham area. He thanked Colin Hinxman for his support to the Committee over the past year during the time when Lindsey Hawke-Davies had been indisposed. It was hoped that she would soon be in a position to return to Regulatory Committee meetings on behalf of the Chief Executive's Department.

320 DEPUTATIONS

Members were reminded that they had approved a scheme which involved the suspension of Standing Order 21 to allow Members to ask questions of deputees for clarification of facts on an agenda item. Questions from Committee Members would be asked through the Chairman, who might seek the advice of the Committee's legal and other advisers as appropriate. The Chairman's decision on a question would be final. Local Members who requested to speak at the Committee might also be asked questions. The deputations at the meeting had been notified of these arrangements.

321 DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF FACILITY FOR THE RECYCLING OF WASTE WOOD AND OTHER RECYCLED MATERIALS AT FOUR DELL FARM, POLES LANE, OTTERBOURNE (APPLICATION NO: 08/02657/HCS) (COUNTY COUNCIL REF: WR215)
(DECISION REFERENCE 481)

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Planning and Development (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on an application for planning permission for recycling at Four Dell Farm, Poles Lane, Otterbourne. Also placed before the Committee were a revised Schedule of Conditions and a detailed location plan of the site (Item 6x in the Minute Book). The Committee also had before them two letters of representation from Winchester City Council and Mrs. Eleanor Bell.

Councillor Charlotte Bailey declared a personal interest in this item as Local County Councillor and had in that capacity been involved as the application developed, but she had not taken any stance for or against.

The Head of Planning and Development explained that, since submission, the application had been amended to include the wood pelletiser as well as wood chipper and shredder. With regard to noise, he pointed out that the barn in question was currently open-framed and open-sided, and it was now proposed that the southern façade would be walled in order to minimise the impact of noise. In addition, it would be necessary to install noise monitoring sites at locations to the north and south of the proposed machinery, in order to assess the impact of noise. It was for this reason that a temporary planning permission for five years was recommended, since that period would allow the noise to be evaluated. Another point at issue was whether the barn was redundant agricultural property It was still in agricultural use at the moment and therefore it could not be regarded as redundant. The application was therefore currently contrary to policy on redundant farm buildings and the issues were whether the circumstances in this case warranted a departure from this policy.

Mr. David Jobson made a deputation on behalf of local residents opposing the application on the grounds that it was contrary to policy and that it would lead to the generation of excessive noise. His view was that the application had fundamentally changed from a low-key agricultural and recycling operation to a large scale industrial process which would have an adverse impact on its surrounding area.

Mr. Martin Bell, Compton and Shawford Parish Council, made a deputation opposing the application on the grounds that it was contrary to policy, would generate additional noise and traffic, and would have an adverse environmental impact.

Mr. John Venn and Mr. Geoff Venn (the applicants), supported by Ms Sam Smith, WYG Environmental, made a deputation in support of the application and requested a permanent planning permission rather than a temporary one for five years, since they claimed that a temporary permission would be only marginally viable and difficult to finance. They stressed the environmental benefits of recycling organic material for reuse on their farm and elsewhere. They pointed out that the site was well screened and suitable action would be taken to avoid undue impact in terms of noise or traffic.

Standing Order 21 was suspended to allow questions of clarification to be asked of the deputees.

In response to questions from Members, the Head of Planning and Development confirmed:

· In view of the change to the application to include the wood pelletiser, extra time had been given to local consultees and residents to enable them to respond.


· Planning permission for waste management use was required, since the proposed operations envisaged the import of waste material for recycling and reuse at other sites as well as the applicant's farm.

· Robust noise monitoring was required because of the need to assess the impact of two adjoining sites at Four Dell Farm both operating noisy equipment, the impact of which would need to be assessed as the two developments came into use.


· The operations on the site would not have any adverse effect on water courses or groundwater and there would therefore be no contamination.


· The traffic impact was likely to be 36 heavy lorry movements per day to and from the site, but there was no highway objection as Poles Lane was felt to have adequate capacity.


· The wood shredder was considered to be the noisiest of the operations on site; the two noise monitoring points at different locations would enable the effectiveness of the wall and bunds in mitigating noise to be assessed.


During the course of debate Members considered whether the barn had really become redundant to agricultural use, but most Members felt that overall Four Dell Farm had reached a point where it had become industrial rather than agricultural in character. It was true to say that the barn had not yet become surplus to agricultural requirements and that its use for wood recycling was technically contrary to policy. However, there were benefits in the recycling and reuse of organic material both on this farm and elsewhere, with the result that some 32,000 tonnes of material would be diverted away from landfill.

At this point Councillor Jo Kelly left the meeting.

Members then discussed the conditions which should apply, and asked for the addition of a condition which would require outside storage and parking within the curtilage of the application site to be ancillary to the building's use and not separate to it. They then considered whether Condition 2 (a five year time limit) was appropriate in the circumstances and a motion to delete it was carried.

Members were reminded that they had visited the application site and the adjoining site on 9 February and had seen how it related to its immediate neighbours and the environment. The Committee accordingly considered all the issues raised by correspondents, the views expressed by the deputations and the evidence from the site visit. They therefore, for the reasons given in the report of the Head of Planning and Development:


RESOLVED:

That planning permission in respect of the development and operation of a facility for the recycling of waste wood and other recycled materials at Four Dell Farm, Poles Lane, Otterbourne (08/02657/HCS) be granted for the reasons set out in paragraph of the report and subject to the revised conditions set out in Item 6(x) in the Minute Book, duly varied as follows:

· Condition 2 - timescale - to be deleted with the effect that permanent planning permission is granted rather than a temporary five year permission.


· Additional condition to read :

Any outside storage or parking within the curtilage of the application site shall be ancillary to the building's use and not separate to it.


Voting : 6 in favour, 5 against

322 TEMPORARY PERMISSION TO CONSTRUCT A HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION SITE, MOBILISATION OF A DRILLING RIG, SETTING UP AND THE DRILLING OF AN EXPLORATORY WELL, INCLUDING FLOW TESTING, PERMISSION TO INCLUDE A NEW HIGHWAY ACCESS, ACCESS TRACK AND PASSING PLACES AT FIELD NUMBER 3815, HAVANT EXPLORATION SITE, OFF HULBERT ROAD, LEIGH PARK, HAVANT (APPLICATION NO: 08/53384/002) (COUNTY COUNCIL REF: HV047)
(DECISION REFERENCE: 629)

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Planning and Development (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the proposed establishment of a temporary oil exploration site, drilling rig and well together with new access at a site adjoining the A3(M) motorway off Hulbert Road, Havant. The Head of Planning and Development further explained that the site was well screened. The application was for temporary planning permission for oil exploration; if no oil was found the site would be reinstated and all structures removed, but if commercially viable supplies of oil were discovered then a new planning permission would be required for extraction.

Councillor Mrs. A. Buckley attended as one of the local Members and expressed concerns at local highway capacity, particularly at the Asda roundabout to the south of the site. She asked for an additional condition to be imposed requiring regular cleaning of the road at intervals throughout the day rather than at the end of each day.

In response to questions from Members, the Head of Planning and Development confirmed:

· There were no health and safety concerns in terms of potential explosion, as no gas storage was envisaged on the site: any gas arising from operations would be flared.


· The local highway network, in particular Hulbert Road and the Asda roundabout, were able to cope with the levels of traffic likely to be generated and there was no highway objection.


· There was no realistic prospect of any highway contribution being obtained from the applicants as the application was only for temporary planning permission.


The Committee considered all the issues raised by the development and, for the reasons given in the report of the Head of Planning and Development

RESOLVED:

That planning permission in respect of temporary permission to construct a hydrocarbon exploration site, mobilisation of a drilling rig, setting up and drilling of an exploratory well, including flow testing, access track and passing places at Field Number 3815, Havant Exploration Site, off Hulbert Road, Leigh Park, Havant (08/53384/002) be granted for the reasons set out in paragraph 4 of the report, and subject to the conditions set out in Appendix 1, with Condition 19 being amended so that the last sentence reads "In the event that any mud or spoil is deposited on the highway, it shall be cleaned off at intervals through each working day".

Voting : 11 Members in favour, 0 against

323 CONSTRUCTION OF A MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY TO HANDLE A MAXIMUM THROUGHPUT OF 75,000 TONNES PER ANNUM OF CONSTRUCTION, DEMOLITION AND SKIP WASTE WITH WEIGHBRIDGE FACILITY AT CHARITY FARM, 127 WICKHAM ROAD, FAREHAM (APPLICATION NO: P/08/1267/MW) (COUNTY COUNCIL REF: FA078)
(DECISION REFERENCE: 628)

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Planning and Development (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the application for planning permission for the construction of a materials recovery facility at Charity Farm, Wickham Road, Fareham.

Councillor J.V. Bryant declared a personal interest as a Member of Fareham Borough Council and in that capacity, and also his capacity as County Councillor, he was involved with the emerging proposals for the North Fareham Strategic Development area.

The Head of Planning and Development explained that the site of the

application was well screened and was currently in use as a lorry

transport depot. As that use was already well established, it would not

prejudice the proposals for the strategic development area. In his view

the amenity, noise and traffic impacts were acceptable and were

outweighed by the need for a facility to recycle waste and thus divert it

from landfill.

In answer to questions from Members, the Head of Planning and

Development confirmed:

· There was no case for a highway contribution from the developers since there was no appreciable increase in lorry traffic resulting from the development.


· There was an undertaking in place from the adjoining landowner, the Southwick Estate, to maintain those areas of landscaping which fell outside the application site.


· The proposed building, although substantial in size, would be colour treated so that it was not intrusive in the landscape.


· The noise impact was negligible, as there were few residential properties anywhere in the vicinity .


In view of the importance of ensuring that the site was well screened, by landscaping, Members requested that the detailed planting scheme required under Condition 4 should be in place within 2 months of development commencing rather than 12, so that planting could be carried out at an earlier stage and thus mitigate any visual impact.

The Committee accordingly considered all the issues raised by the application and, for the reasons given in the report of the Head of Planning and Development:

RESOLVED:

That planning permission for the construction of a materials recovery facility to handle a maximum throughput of 75,000 tonnes per annum of construction, demolition and skip waste with weighbridge facility at Charity Farm, 127 Wickham Road, Fareham (Application No. P/08/1267/MW) be granted for the reasons set out in paragraph 4 of the report, and subject to the conditions set out in Appendix 1, with the first line of Condition 4 (landscape) being amended to read: "Within two months of the development commencing a detailed planting scheme ...."

Voting : 11 Members in favour, 0 against

324 PROPOSAL TO RECORD A FOOTPATH BETWEEN KINGS SALTERN ROAD AND FOOTPATH 75 IN LYMINGTON AS A PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY
(DECISION REFERENCE 604)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on the application to record a Footpath between Kings Saltern Road and Footpath 75 in Lymington as a public right of way. The application had arisen from a temporary closure of the path by the adjoining landowner to permit redevelopment of their marina. However, it was clear from the evidence that the path had existed on its current alignment for some 140 years, was signposted at both ends, was well used by the public as a link route and had therefore become established as a right of way by common law dedication.

RESOLVED:

That an Order be made to record the route A-B between Kings Saltern Road and Footpath 75 in Lymington (as shown on the attached map) on the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way, as a public footpath. The path to have a width of 1.5 metres.

Voting : 11 in favour, 0 against.

325 APPLICATION FOR A PUBLIC PATH DIVERSION ORDER FOR PART OF FOOTPATH NO. 12 IN THE PARISH OF LONGPARISH
(DECISION REFERENCE 605)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on an application to divert Footpath 12 in Longparish. In response to questions it was confirmed that the revised alignment was in the interests of the landowner, and there was no detriment to any other adjoining owners since there were no gates or accesses to the current line of the path.

RESOLVED:

That an Order be made for the diversion of Footpath No. 12 in the Parish of Longparish from that section of the current definitive alignment, running between points A, B and C, to a new route running between points A, D, E and C on the attached plan.

Voting : 11 in favour, 0 against.

326 APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF LAND AT CHILWORTH AS TOWN OR VILLAGE GREEN
(DECISION REFERENCE 606)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 11 in the Minute Book) on an application to register land known as "The Playing Field" at Chilworth as town or village green.

It was clear that there was conflicting evidence between the claimants and the landowners as to the status and extent of public use, and it was therefore, in the light of the factors set out in the Director of Recreation and Heritage's report

RESOLVED:

That a non-statutory public inquiry be held and the inspector appointed to

conduct the inquiry be asked to hear evidence for and against the

application and then to prepare a written report advising the Registration

Authority whether to accede to or to reject the application in the case of

land known as "The Playing Field" Chilworth as town or village green.

327 APPLICATION FOR VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION OF LAND AT THRUXTON AS TOWN OR VILLAGE GREEN
(DECISION REFERENCE 607)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 12 in the Minute Book) on an application to register land at Thruxton as town or village green. The application was unopposed and it was therefore

RESOLVED:

That the application to register voluntarily land at Thruxton shown edged red on the attached plan as a town or village green be granted.

Voting : 11 in favour, 0 against.

At this point Councillor M.G. Cooper left the meeting.

328 CLARIFICATION OF OFFICERS' DELEGATED POWERS IN WILDLIFE AND COUNTRYSIDE ACT ORDERS MADE FOLLOWING A SCHEDULE 14 DIRECTION

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage (Item 13 in the Minute Book) seeking clarification of Officers' delegated authority to progress orders.

RESOLVED:

That the proposals set out in paragraph 3 of the report setting out a

framework for Officers' decision making be adopted as follows:

Schedule 14 appeal stage		Officers' stance during Schedule 15 process
No new evidence presented to Secretary of State by Applicant		Actively oppose order in accordance with decision of Regulatory Committee
New evidence presented by Applicant to Secretary of State	In officers' opinion evidence does not add to weight of evidence in support of order	Actively oppose order in accordance with decision of Regulatory Committee
	In officers' opinion adds weight to evidence in support of order but would not have changed ultimate recommendation in report to Committee	Actively oppose order or adopt a "neutral stance", at officers' discretion (depending on degree)
	In officers' opinion adds sufficient weight to evidence in support of order that it would have changed officers' recommendation in report to committee had it been submitted earlier	Inform Regulatory Committee (or Chairman where time does not permit consideration by full Committee) and seek approval for proposed stance at public inquiry

Voting : 11 in favour, 0 against.

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