Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 October were confirmed by the Members present and were then signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Wyatt-Lowe, Oguchi and Symington.

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Maddern.

Councillor Maddern arrived at 7:05pm.

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.

Councillor Maddern arrived at 7:05pm and, therefore, did not participate or vote on this item.

The Case Officer, Martin Stickley, introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the committee as it is a Council Scheme.

Adeyfield West Councillor Adrian England spoke in objection of the application.

David Barrett and Jill Swift spoke in support of the application.

It was proposed by Councillor Durrant and seconded by Councillor Riddick to DELEGATE the application WITH A VIEW TO APPROVAL in line with the officer’s recommendation.

Vote:

For: 4                           Against: 2                    Abstained: 3     

Resolved: That planning permission be DELEGATED WITH A VIEW TO APPROVAL subject to the removal of objection from the Lead Local Flood Authority and delegated authority to impose conditions if required by this consultee, and subject to the satisfactory signing of the legal agreement and conditions listed below:

Conditions

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 views of Berkhamsted Town Council.

Berkhamsted Town Councillor Garrick Stevens spoke in objection to the application.

Berkhamsted Castle Councillor Stephen Claughton spoke in objection to the application.

Duncan Gibson spoke in support of the application.

Councillor Guest asked for a proposer for the officer recommendation of GRANTING the application.

There was no proposer for the officer recommendation.

Councillor Guest noted that the recommendation fell and asked for a motion to REFUSE.

It was proposed by Councillor Uttley and seconded by Councillor Riddick to REFUSE the application due to the limited depth of the site, the significant change in levels, the proximity of the site to the railway line, and the overbearing nature of the proposed acoustic fence, the Council is not satisfied that the proposed development can be satisfactorily accommodated on the site whilst ensuring a satisfactory level of amenity and living conditions for future occupiers as required by the NPPF. The proposal would therefore constitute an overdevelopment of the site contrary to the NPPF; Policy CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013 and advice and guidance in Saved Appendix 3 of the Dacorum Borough Local Plan 1991-2011.

Vote:

For: 7                           Against: 0                    Abstained: 3     

Resolved: That planning permission be REFUSED.

The Case Officer, James Gardner, introduced the report to Members and said that the application had been referred to the committee as it had previously been considered and deferred by DMC.

It was proposed by Councillor Durrant and seconded by Councillor Maddern to GRANT the application in line with the officer’s recommendation.

Vote:

For: 8                           Against: 1                    Abstained: 1     

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

Conditions

That the following appeals were noted:

A.   LODGED

B.   WITHDRAWN

C.   FORTHCOMING INQUIRIES

D.   FORTHCOMING HEARINGS

E.    DISMISSED

F.    ALLOWED

The Case Officer, Philip Stanley, introduced the Local Enforcement Plan to Members and said that the report had been referred to the committee as it is an operational document for Development Management and Planning.

It was proposed by Councillor Maddern and seconded by Councillor Beauchamp to take the Local Enforcement Plan to the Portfolio Holder for APPROVAL in line with the officer’s recommendation.

Vote:

For: 10                        Against: 0                    Abstained: 0     

Resolved: That the Local Enforcement Plan be taken to the Portfolio Holder for APPROVAL.

Charlie Webber stated that the Development Management Committee Meeting scheduled to take place on Thursday 12^th December was cancelled due to the election.

She said that this meeting would now take place on Tuesday 17^th December instead, with the usual start time of 7pm.