Agenda and draft minutes

There were no declarations of interest stated.

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting(s).

Resolved:              That the minutes of the meeting held on 29^th April 2025 be agreed as a correct record.

This item includes a supplementary report.

Cllr Bryan enquired about the insufficient school provisions highlighted in the report and the surveys requested by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. Cllr Bryan also raised concerns about the situation in relation to waste management.

The Development Manager stated that the Education authority had advised that it was projected there would be insufficient school places to mitigate the impact of the development and they were therefore seeking a financial contribution, payable to the County Council. Regarding the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, it had been confirmed that there would not be any significant adverse impact as long as ecological mitigation was taken into account. Finally, as the main road to the site was to be adopted, there would be bin collection points for the dwellings on private drives.

Cllr Bryan asked where the information about additional school provisions could be found and who would decide where the financial contribution would be used.

The Development Manager advised that the County would determine school provisions that were required  and the allocation of the funds was regulated by Section 106 and had to be consistent with the reasons why the money was raised.

Cllr Gorton enquired about the impact on the local wildlife and whether Staffordshire Wildlife Trust had carried out surveys. Clarification was also sought about whether the recommended breeding bird survey and arising mitigation measures had been accepted by the applicant.  He asked for the actual distance between dwellings and bin collection points.

The Development Manager responded that a preliminary ecological assessment had been submitted and there would be mitigation measures to make the impact acceptable. The proximity with the local wildlife site meant there were additional issues in relation to hydrology and water content for which a survey had also been submitted further to the requests raised by the Trust who was satisfied that the development would have no significant impact on wildlife habitats. Regarding bin stores, distances varied across the site but were under 30 metres from properties as recommended by building regulations.

Cllr Fear was disappointed that half of the households would have to take their bins to a collection point. He also enquired about paragraph 14B of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on neighbourhood plans containing policies and allocations to meet identified housing requirements along with latest figures in terms of housing supplies.

The Development Manager advised that the Neighbourhood Plan could currently not be given a weight of its own right as it was more than five years old. In December 2024 there was a 5.2-year supply of housing. Further to amendments to the NPPF the housing requirements had increased meaning the current provisions became a 3.1-year supply which was below the 5 years the Council was required to demonstrate.

Cllr Holland commented that the application was undesirable in his view for the reasons expressed by his colleagues. The development would equate to loss of agricultural land, trees and wildlife habitat regardless of the size and wider impact, and require various flood mitigation measures meaning the harms would outweigh  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

This item includes a supplementary report.

Resolved:    That the application be permitted subject to the undermentioned conditions:

(i)               Approved plans

(ii)              Approved materials

(iii)            Consent limited specifically to that applied for

(iv)            Limitation of hours of access to containers

(v)             No outside storage

(vi)            Installation of signage controlling the traffic

(vii)          Limitations on delivery of containers to the site

(viii)         Details of external lighting

Members requested that the Chair, on behalf of the Committee, sign off the lighting condition details.

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Resolved:    (i)       That the information be received.

(ii)      That an update report be brought to Committee in two months’ time.

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Resolved:    That the information be received.

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To consider any business which is urgent within the meaning of Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972

APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

7 IRONMARKET, NEWCASTLE. 25/26001/HBG

The following item was considered urgent due to the contractors needing to commence work before the next scheduled meeting of the Planning Committee.

APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE – 7 IRONMARKET, NEWCASTLE. 25/26001/HBG

Resolved:    That a grant of £1,433 be given towards three new timber sash windows.

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To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) because it is likely that there will be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1,2 and 3 in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no confidential items.