Council and councillors

To receive any apologies from Members.

No apologies were received.

To confirm the minutes of the Planning and Licensing Committee held on 25 September 2018.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning and Licensing Committee held on 25 September 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and were signed by the Chairman.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any disclosable interests under the Code of Conduct and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions from members of the

Public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 93.

Any petitions, deputations and questions that have been submitted with prior formal notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice. Any questions that are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

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Requests to speak on planning applications will also be subject to the RCC Public Speaking Rules.

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The total time allowed for this item shall be 30 minutes.

In accordance with the Planning and Licensing Committee Public Speaking Scheme the following requests to speak were received:

In relation to Agenda Item 6, application 1, 2018/0539/FUL, Mr Harrison, member of the public.

In relation to Agenda Item 6, application 1, 2018/0539/FUL, Mr Huteson, agent for the applicant.

To receive Report No. 190/2018 from the Head of Regulatory Services at Peterborough City Council.

Report No.190/2018 was received from the Head of Regulatory Services at Peterborough City Council.

Ms Martin, Regulatory Officer at Peterborough City Council, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to make Members aware of the responses received during the consultation period and to seek approval of the draft Statement of Principles for recommendation to Council for adoption.

During discussion the following points were noted:

·         The Gambling Commission, when consulted, had recommended that the table in Appendix 5 be replaced with a link to the Commission website to allow for changes which may occur to stakes and prizes, and Members felt that this was a good idea.

·         Licensees were responsible for enforcing the law on under 18s using gambling machines in the same way that they were for drinking alcohol. There was a code of practice that establishments had to adhere to which helped enforce this, for example, the siting of machines so that they could be observed at all times.

·         The list of consultees referred to in Appendix A cited Ketton Sports Association when it should now be known as the Ketton Sports and Community Centre.

·         There was information sited on the machines that directed individuals to where to get help if they felt that they had a gambling addiction.

·         Any concerns about money laundering and unusually large amounts of money being spent would be directed to the Police.

·         On page 21 of the report there was a link to the Council website at large which Members wanted replacing with a link that went straight through to the public register page.

·         The report stated that “at the time of presenting the report there had been no evidence presented to support the assertion that any part of Rutland County Council had or is experiencing problems from gambling activities”. Members asked whether Citizens Advice had been consulted and what information had been pro-actively gathered to assert this.

RESOLVED:

The Committee (sitting as the Licensing Act Committee);

1.    APPROVED the draft proposed Gambling Act 2005, Statement of Principles, subject to the following revisions being made;

              i.   that the table in Appendix 5 be replaced with a link to the Commission website

            ii.   that the generic link to the Council website be replaced with a link to the public register.

2.    RECOMMENDED to Council that the proposed Gambling Act 2005, Statement of Principles, be formally adopted.

To receive Report No. 191/2018 from the Strategic Director for Places.

Report No. 191/2018 was received from the Strategic Director for Places.

Application for demolition of the existing Ram Jam Inn and redevelopment of the site to provide three drive-thru units (Use class A3/A5) and one drive-to unit (Use Class A1/A3) with associated parking and landscaping.

(Ward: Greetham; Parish: Greetham)

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The Chairman adjourned the meeting for 5 minutes to allow Members to read the addendum report that had been received at the meeting.

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Mr Robert Harrison, resident of the village of Stretton, addressed the Committee.

Mr Richard Huteson, agent for the applicant Godwin Developments, addressed the Committee.

During discussion the following points were noted:

·         Mr Harrison asked the Committee to consider a more appropriate long term use for the site, in particular a ‘social community’ use, which would include the retention of the historic Ram Jam Inn. In addition, he wished the Committee to take on board the objections made by the Committee for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) who felt that the proposals, because of the demolition and tree removal, did not satisfy the Rutland Core Strategy Policy which stated that new developments should maintain and wherever possible enhance the County’s environmental, cultural and heritage assets.

·         Mr Huteson argued that the site had been redundant for a number of years and was in desperate need of regeneration. Options which included the retention of the Inn had been exhausted but as the building had become unstable, none were viable. The proposal fully accorded with the National Planning Framework and had had no objections from statutory consultees.

·         Although Public Health England had given the power to Local Authorities to refuse fast food outlets on the grounds of concerns over rising obesity levels, this usually applied to outlets that were to be sited within 500m of a school and where a Council had adopted a specific policy on the matter. Rutland had no such policy in place and the proposed facility was to serve passing traffic on the A1 and would not attract school children.

·         Members raised concerns about the increase of traffic and the safety of returning to the A1 via the short run off. Although there would be signage to encourage traffic to leave via the B668 road exit and join the A1 further down, this access was more convenient, being the shorter route, and could not be closed off as a right of way over it was retained.

·         The nature of a drive through operation meant that there would be queueing traffic, which Members felt could be dangerous for those accessing the site.

·         There had been no evidence in the last five years of any fatal accident at the site but the proposed development would be increasing traffic onto the A1 therefore increasing the likelihood of accidents.

·         The long term viability of the site was not a planning consideration as the proposal needed to be considered on the current situation and not what might happen in the future.

·         As there was anecdotal evidence that the apple trees were ancient varieties the Greetham tree warden was keen  ...  view the full minutes text for item 354.

To receive Report No. 192/2018 from the Strategic Director for Places.

Report No.192/2018 was received from the Strategic Director for Places.

RESOLVED:

Members resolved to NOTE the contents of Report No.192/2018

To consider any other urgent business approved in writing by the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Committee.

No items of urgent business had been previously notified to the person presiding.