Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting (these are circulated separately)

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2021 were confirmed by the Members present.

Hard-copy minutes will be signed by the Chair when restrictions are lifted

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr R Sutton. Cllr C Wyatt-Lowe and Cllr Uttley. Cllr Peters will be substituting for Cllr Uttley and Cllr Taylor will be substituting for Cllr Uttley.

Cllr Durrant will join later along with Cllr Guest who are in another meeting.

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends

a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest

becomes apparent and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal
interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)           may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw

to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct For Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they

should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

It is requested that Members declare their interest at the beginning of the relevant agenda item and it will be noted by the Committee Clerk for inclusion in the minutes.

Councillor Guest asked Members to remember to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary or other Interests at the beginning of the relevant planning application.

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements or ask questions in accordance with the rules as to public participation.

You need to inform the council in advance if you wish to speak by contacting Member Support on Tel: 01442 228209 or by email: Member.support@dacorum.gov.uk

The Development Management Committee will finish at 10.30pm and any unheard applications will be deferred to the next meeting.

There are limits on how much of each meeting can be taken up with people having their say and how long each person can speak for.  The permitted times are specified in the table above and are allocated for each of the following on a 'first come, first served basis':

·         Town/Parish Council and Neighbourhood Associations;

·         Objectors to an application;

·         Supporters of the application.

Every person must, when invited to do so, address their statement or question to the Chairman of the Committee.

Every person must after making a statement or asking a question take their seat to listen to the reply or if they wish join the public for the rest of the meeting or leave the meeting.

The questioner may not ask the same or a similar question within a six month period except for the following circumstances:

(a)       deferred planning applications which have foregone a significant or material change since originally being considered

(b)       resubmitted planning applications which have foregone a significant or material change

(c)       any issues which are resubmitted to Committee in view of further facts or information to be considered.

At a meeting of the Development Management Committee, a person, or their representative, may speak on a particular planning application, provided that it is on the agenda to be considered at the meeting.

Please note: If an application is recommended for approval, only objectors can invoke public speaking and then supporters will have the right to reply. Applicants can only invoke speaking rights where the application recommended for refusal.

Councillor Guest reminded Members and the public about the rules regarding public participation as follows:

For each application the officer presents the report to the Committee, then the participants from the public are called to speak. Following this, questions are taken from the Committee along with statements and comments for debate.

5.         Councillor Beauchamp informed the committee that the items will not be held in order as we take items with public participation first.

The items were heard in the following order:

5a

5c

5b.

Cllr Beauchamp Chaired item 5a then Cllr Guest took over.

Cllr Guest and Durrant arrived at 6.50pm and took part in item 5a.

Cllr Guest took over as Chair

20/03492/FUL –

Conversion of existing public house (A4) to form three residential dwellings (C3), including a single storey extension above the existing single-storey element of the building, utilising existing access with associated hard and soft landscaping and vehicular parking. (AMENDED SCHEME) –

The Crystal Palace Station Road Berkhamsted Hertfordshire HP4 2EZ

The Case Officer, Elspeth Palmer introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee due to contrary view of the Town Council

Parish Cllr Anthony Armytage, Ward Cllr Stephen Claughton and Sarah Caradec spoke in objection to the application.

Jake Russell spoke in support of the application.

Cllr Oguchi arrived slightly later so took no part in voting.

It was proposed by Councillor Durrant and seconded by Councillor Hobson to GRANT the application with the conditions of allocated parking.

Vote:

For:      3          Against:           5          Abstained: 1

Having there been no majority to grant the application it was proposed by Councillor Woolner and seconded by Councillor Taylor to overturn the officer’s recommendation and REFUSE the application.

Vote:

For:      5          Against:           1          Abstained: 3

Resolved: That planning permission be REFUSED due to the following reasons:

The Crystal Palace is locally listed, within the Berkhamsted Conservation Area and opposite the locally listed Station Road Railway Bridge. The Berkhamsted Conservation Area Appraisal notes that public houses are an important part of the character of the conservation area. They play an important community role often associated with a longstanding presence in the community. The closure of a pub can therefore compromise the vibrancy of an area and its associated diversity and attractiveness as a place to live.

The existing public house makes a significant contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area and the loss of the public use of the building would harm the character and appearance of the conservation area contrary to the NPPF paras. 91, 92 Section 16, Core Strategy Policy 23 and 27, Berkhamsted Conservation Area Appraisal and Saved Policy 120 of the Dacorum Borough Local Plan (1991-2011).

Cllr Hobson arrived at 8:09pm and Cllr Maddern arrived at 8:30pm and took part in item 5b.

20/03732/FUL - Demolition of 18 residential garages and construction of 4 no. dwelling houses

Land Off Beechfield  Kings Langley Hertfordshire WD4 8EE 

The Case Officer, Martin Stickley introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee as the site is owned by the Borough Council.

There were no speakers on item 5b.

It was proposed by Councillor Durrant and seconded by Councillor Beauchamp to GRANT the application.

Vote:

For:       10       Against:           0          Abstained: 1

Resolved: That planning permission be GRANTED subject to the following conditions:

·         As per Agenda Item 14 (Page 3 of 6) of Cabinet dated 16^th September 2014 (Update on Garage Disposal Strategy), all of those residents who currently rent a garage in a block earmarked for disposal will be offered an alternative garage in a neighbouring block. Further detail can be found here:

https://democracy.dacorum.gov.uk/Data/Cabinet/20140916/Agenda/Cabinet-16-09-2014-Garages%20Report-Part%201.pdf 

Condition(s) and Reason(s):

 1.        The development hereby permitted shall begin before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

            Reason:  To comply with the requirements of Section 91 (1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by Section 51 (1) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

 2.        No development shall take place until the final design of the drainage scheme is completed and sent to the LPA for approval. The surface water drainage system will be based on the submitted the Flood Risk Assessment and Drainage Strategy reference M03001-04_DG01 dated November 2020 prepared by McCloy Consulting. The scheme shall also include:

            1. Limiting the surface water run-off rates to a maximum of 2l/s for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + climate change event with discharge into the Thames surface Water sewer.

            2. Provide attenuation to ensure no increase in surface water run-off volumes for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + climate change event.

            3. Implement drainage strategy to include permeable paving and attenuation tank.

            4. Detailed engineered drawings of the proposed SuDS features including their location, size, volume, depth and any inlet and outlet features including any connecting pipe runs and all corresponding calculations/modelling to ensure the scheme caters for all rainfall events up to and including the 1 in 100 year + 40% allowance for climate change event, with a supporting contributing area plan.

            5. Demonstrate appropriate SuDS management and treatment for the entire site including the access road. To include exploration of source control measures and to include above ground features such as permeable paving.

            6. Exceedance routes and details of any informal flooding areas for all events over the 1 in 30 year rainfall event.

            7. Maintenance and management plan for the SuDS features.  

            Reason: To prevent flooding by ensuring the satisfactory storage of and disposal of surface water from the site in accordance with Policy CS31 of the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy (2013) and Paragraphs 163 and 165 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2019).  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

20/03189/RET

Retention of Works: Balustrade to main house patio, terraced garden areas, raised lower lawn area and retaining structure. Installation of electric gate.

LancresseRucklers Lane Kings Langley Hertfordshire WD4 9NQ

The Case Officer, James Gardner introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee due to the Contrary to the view of Kings Langley Parish Council

Sue and Alan Anderson spoke in objection to the application.

Jatinder Singh spoke in support of the application.

It was proposed by Councillor Hobson and seconded by Councillor Woolner to GRANT the application.

Cllr Beauchamp lost connect so took no part in voting and Cllr Maddern wasn’t present for item 5c.

Vote:

For:        5        Against:           3          Abstained: 1

Resolved: That planning permission be GRANTED subject to the following conditions:

Condition(s) and Reason(s):

 1.        The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans/documents:

            1172 SK500E     Existing and Proposed Landscape Works

            002 Rev A         Plan & 3D Views

            Reason:  For the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of proper planning.

The Chair informed the committee that the appeals will be coming to the committee on a quarterly basis.