Agenda and minutes

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

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 May 2023. Were confirmed by the Members present.

Hard-copy minutes were signed by the Chair

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies received from Cllrs Maddern, Hobson and Bristow

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 Stevens 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 Stevens advised that members of public have registered to speak at this meeting and reminded any members of the public viewing the meeting about the rules of doing so.

The order of applications was changed to bring forward applications on which speakers had registered to speak.

The Case Officer, Sally Robbins, introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee due to contrary views of the Parish Council.

Werner Ustorf spoke in objection to the application.

Parish Councillor Sheila Pilkington spoke in Objection to the application.

It was proposed by Councillor Guest and seconded by Councillor Riddick to be

DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL.

Vote:

For: 11                         Against: 0                    Abstained: 1

Resolved: That planning permission be DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL.

RECOMMENDATION

That the application be DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL subject to appropriate assessment in accordance with article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive and securing a mitigation package to avoid any further significant effects on the Chilterns Beechwood Special Area of Conservation (SAC) through financial contributions secured by legal agreement and the imposition of the proposed conditions.

Conditions and Reasons:

 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 (excluding demolition/ground investigations) shall take place until details of the materials to be used in the construction of the external surfaces of the development hereby permitted have been submitted and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  Development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

            Reason:  To ensure satisfactory appearance to the development and to safeguard the visual character of the area in accordance with Policies CS11 and CS12 of the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy (2013).

 3.        No construction of the superstructure shall take place until full details of both hard and soft landscape works has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  These details shall include:

            o          all external hard surfaces within the site;

            o          other surfacing materials;

            o          means of enclosure;

            o          soft landscape works including a planting scheme with the number, size, species and position of trees, plants and shrubs;

            o          refuse and recycling storage units.

            The planting must be carried out within one planting season of completing the development.

            Any tree or shrub which forms part of the approved landscaping scheme which within a period of 5 years from planting fails to become established, becomes seriously damaged or diseased, dies or for any reason is removed shall be replaced in the next planting season by a tree or shrub of a similar species, size and maturity.

            Reason:  To improve the appearance of the development and its contribution to biodiversity and the local environment, as required by saved Policy 99 of the Dacorum Borough Local Plan (2004) and Policy CS12 (e) of the Dacorum Borough Council Core Strategy (2013).

 4.        Should any ground contamination be encountered during the construction of the development hereby approved (including groundworks), works shall be temporarily suspended, unless otherwise agreed in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

The Case Officer, Sally Robbins, introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee due to contrary views of the Parish Council.

Parish Cllr Dina Westenholz-Smith spoke in objection to the application.

Jeremy Barnett and Alison MacDougall spoke in objection to the application.

Carol Trask spoke in objection to the application.

Duncan Thomson spoke in support of the application.

It was proposed by Councillor Durrantand seconded by Councillor Stewart to GRANT the Application

Vote:

For:  3              Against: 7                    Abstained: 2

The vote for approval fell so another vote was conducted to refuse with planning reasons.

For: 6               Against: 4                    Abstained: 2

Resolved: That planning permission beREFUSED

By virtue of the bulk, scale and height of the proposed dwelling, the development would have a significant adverse effect on the setting and appearance of the character of the village of Frithsden and its Conservation Area. These harms are exacerbated in winter months or in the event of the loss of surrounding trees. Consequently, the development fails to comply with Policies CS12 (f & g) and CS27 of the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy (September 2013), as well as Section 16 of the NPPF

The Case Officer, Elspeth Palmer, introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee due to objections from the Parish Council.

It was proposed by CouncillorWyatt-Lowe and seconded by Councillor Durrant to DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL.

Vote:

For:  11                        Against: 0                    Abstained: 1

Resolved: That planning permission be DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL.

RECOMMENDATION

That the application be DELEGATED with a view to APPROVAL subject to appropriate assessment in accordance with article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive and securing a mitigation package to avoid any further significant effects on the Chilterns Beechwood Special Area of Conservation (SAC) through financial contributions secured by legal agreement.

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

            Site Location Plan 2813.01A

            Proposed Site Plan 2813.04 A

            Proposed Elevations 2813.06

            Proposed Floor and Roof Plans 2813.05

            Fire Tender Access Plan 2813. FIRE

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

 3.        The development hereby permitted shall be constructed in accordance with the materials specified on the application form and approved plans.

            Reason:  To make sure that the appearance of the building is suitable and that it contributes to the character of the area in accordance with Policies CS11, CS12 and CS24 of the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy (2013).

 4.        No development shall take place until a method statement that describes the 'reasonable avoidance measures' that will be put in place to reduce the risk of construction activities harming great crested newts within the development site.  The method statement shall include:

·         Purpose and objectives for the proposed works;

·         The working methods to be adopted.  These shall be proportionate to the level of risk;

·         The area where the methods will be applied;

·         The period of time these will be carried out and the people responsible; and

·         The works shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the approved details.

            Reason:  To identify and ensure the survival and protection of important species and those protected by legislation that could be adversely affected by the development, having regard to Policy CS26 of the Dacorum Borough Core Strategy and Paragraph 174 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2021).

 5.        Prior to occupation the installation of an integrated bat box in the new building and the introduction of night flowering plants as recommend in s7.13 & 7.14 of the PRA should be implemented and maintained in perpetuity.

            Reason:  To identify and ensure the survival and protection of important species and those protected by legislation that could be adversely affected by the development, having regard to Policy CS26 of the Dacorum  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5c

Elspeth Palmer presented to report on behalf of The Case Officer, Victor Unuiqbe, introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the Committee due to contrary views of the Parish Council.

It was proposed by Councillor Guest and seconded by Councillor Wyatt-Lowe to REFUSE the application in line with Officer’s recommendations.

Vote:

For:  6              Against: 4                    Abstained: 2

Resolved:That planning permission be REFUSED.

Philip Stanley explained that the objection had been removed and that the chair could make the decision to remove from the agenda.

The chair proposed that it was removed.

The committee agreed it be removed.