Council and councillors

To receive Report No. 31/2022 from the Strategic Director for Resources.

Report No. 31/2022 was received from the Strategic Director of Places.

Item 1 – 2021/0083/FUL – Development of the land on the south side of Church Farm, Ridlington to create 1 no. detached 2.5 storey C3 dwellinghouse with associated driveway, parking and garage with first floor

habitable space.

(Parish: Ridlington; Ward: Braunston and Martinsthorpe)

Nick Hodgett, Principal Planning Officer, addressed the Committee and gave an executive summary of the application, recommending approval subject to the conditions set out in the report.

Prior to the debate the Committee received deputations from David Johnson on behalf of Ridlington Parish Council, Councillors E Baines and W Cross as the Ward Members and Tom Helliwell as the agent. The Committee also had the opportunity to ask questions of these speakers.

In response to a comment from a Member regarding the scale of the development being considerably larger than surrounding properties, the agent confirmed that the proposed development had a gross external area of 300 sq. metres which was inclusive of the garage, in terms of neighbouring properties the Ridlington House was 340 sq. metres which did not include several outbuildings, the Dower House was 170 sq. metres, and the Old Rectory was 430 sq. metres not including several outbuildings.

In response to a question from a Member, the Principal Planning Officer confirmed that the proposed dwelling was 11 metres away from the neighbouring Dower House and confirmed that there may be some loss of light to the neighbouring Dower House, but this would only be early in the morning due to the already existing trees.

Following a question from a Member regarding the overall height of the development, Justin Johnson, Development Manger stated that condition 3 within the report could be amended to state that no development would take place until a precise height of the finished floor level had been agreed with the Local Authority.

It was moved by Councillor M Oxley that the application be approved subject to the conditions in the report and additional comment regarding the height of the development This was seconded and upon being put to a vote, with 11 votes in favour the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED:

That Application 2021/0083/FUL be APPROVED subject to the conditions in the report and the following additional condition outlined during the debate:

1. That condition 3 within the report be amended to state that no development would take place until a precise height of the finished floor level had been agreed.

The full list of conditions can be found on the planning application page of the Council’s website

https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-services/planning-and-building-control/planning/view-planningapplications-and-decisions/

Item 2 – 2021/1452/MAO – Outline application with all matters reserved except for means of access, for residential development of up to 75 no. dwellings with associated public open space, landscaping and

infrastructure.

(Parish: Ketton; Ward: Ketton)

Nick Hodgett, Principal Planning Officer, addressed the Committee and gave an executive summary of the application, recommending approval subject to the conditions set out in the report.

Prior to the debate the Committee received deputations from Graham Layne as a member of the public opposed to the application, Sinclair Rogers on behalf of Ketton Parish Council and Clare Clarke as the agent. The Committee also had the opportunity to ask questions of these speakers.

Following a comment from Sinclair Rogers regarding pre application discussions for the Manor Green planning application, Justin Johnson, Development Manager confirmed that pre application discussions were usually considered to be commercially sensitive and were not made public. If a Freedom of Information (FOI) request was made there were certain exemptions that could be used in relation to disclosing information. Information relating to the Manor Green pre application was released to the public through an FOI request because the information was readily available online.

In response to a question from a Member regarding the drainage system, Clare Clarke confirmed that drainage swales would be utilised on site which would allow the water flow to be controlled with the possibility of dams to slow the infiltration process further. This would reduce the risk of surface water flooding.

Members raised several concerns in relation to flooding, drainage, parking, highways issues and questioned if the site was sustainable. It was also felt by Members that Ketton was no longer sustainable as 3 previous applications had already been approved over the past few months for development. Members highlighted that the school located in Ketton was already at 97% capacity, there was no local surgery, bus routes were not considered practical and there was only a small shop which was located approximately a mile from the proposed development.

Members highlighted concerns in relation to construction traffic having to travel through Bartle’s Hollow and the stress this would cause on local residents. The site only having one proposed access point also raised concerns.

The Development Manager confirmed that no direct legal advice had been sourced in relation to the five year housing supply and the development.

It was moved by Councillor G Brown that the application be refused due to the sustainability of Ketton and there since being approval given to approximately 80 properties following the application’s previous refusal, having two access points would be preferred in relation to good design, the cumulative impact on Ketton in relation to development and evidence of flooding from the site into the surrounding area. This was seconded and upon being put to a vote, with 11 votes in favour the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED:

That Application 2021/1452/MAO be REFUSED on the following grounds:

1. Sustainability of Ketton and its infrastructure based on the number of recent housing applications approved since a previous application at the site was considered. 

2. Cumulative impact on the services of Ketton given other developments taking place in the village and the limited infrastructure available

3. Two access points to the site would have been preferred in relation to good design.

4. Insufficient drainage due to evidence of flooding from the site into the surrounding area.

The full list of reasons for refusal can be found on the planning application page of the Council’s website

https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-services/planning-and-building-control/planning/view-planningapplications-and-decisions/

Item 3 – 2021/0794/MAF – Erection of 84 dwellings, including public open space, landscaping, a pump station and associated infrastructure.

(Parish: Oakham; Ward: Oakham South)

Nick Hodgett, Principal Planning Officer, addressed the Committee and gave an executive summary of the application, recommending approval subject to the conditions set out in the report.

Prior to the debate the Committee received deputations from Zena Deayton as a member of the public opposed and Councillor P Browne as the Ward Member. The Committee also had the opportunity to ask questions of these speakers.

Councillor P Browne highlighted a number of concerns regarding the application including the proposed site being Grade I listed farmland and the characteristics of an ancient country town that he felt the development did not concur with. It was also highlighted that the current capacity of the existing medical services available to the current residents of Rutland County was currently insufficient as stated within the Statement of Common Ground with Rutland County Council and East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group from December 2020. Councillor P Browne also stated that school capacity had to be a material planning consideration and considered estimates should be provided to Councillors to assist with making an informed decision.

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Councillor B Browne withdrew from the meeting having declared an interest in the application.

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Due to the nature of the application and remaining speakers, it was noted that there was insufficient time left for the application to be considered at the meeting and Councillor E Baines apologised to the remaining speakers who had been waiting and undertook that the application would be considered as soon as practicable.

This was seconded and upon being put to a vote, with 10 votes in favour the motion was carried.

RESOLVED:

That Application 2021/0794/MAF be DEFERRED to a future Planning and Licensing Committee meeting and to be the first item on the agenda.

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At 9:26pm the Chair proposed that a full extension of 30 minutes be taken, this was seconded and unanimously approved by the Committee.

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Item 4 – 2021/0967/FUL – Proposed demolition of existing buildings and replacement with new dwelling with garage off-road parking and landscaping.

(Parish: Uppingham; Ward: Uppingham)

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Councillor P Browne returned to the meeting at this point and Councillor M Oxley withdrew having declared an interest in the application.

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Justin Johnson, Development Manager, addressed the Committee and gave an executive summary of the application, recommending approval subject to the conditions set out in the report.

Prior to the debate the Committee received a deputation Alan Stainworth as a member of the public in support of the application. The Committee also had the opportunity to ask questions of the speaker.

The Development Manager confirmed in response to a query that the process for agreeing the final colour of the cladding was outlined within the conditions and would be specified by to enable Officers to access.

It was moved by Councillor A Brown that the application be approved subject to the conditions in the report. This was seconded and upon being put to a vote, with 10 votes in favour the motion was unanimously carried.

RESOLVED:

That Application 2021/0967/FUL be APPROVED subject to the conditions in the report.

The full list of reasons can be found on the planning application page of the Council’s website:

https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-services/planning-and-building-control/planning/view-planningapplications-and-decisions/