Agenda item

4/03082/16/ROC - REMOVAL OF CONDITION 1 (TWO-YEAR TEMPORARY PLANNING PERMISSION) OF PLANNING INSPECTORATE DECISION (APP/A1910/C/14/223612) APPEAL OF PLANNING APPLICATION 4/00435/14/ENA (MOTORCYCLE/MOTOR VEHICLE ACTIVITIES AND ASSOCIATED STORAGE/PARKING) - LAND AT RUNWAYS FARM, BOVINGDON AIRFIELD, UPPER BOURNE END LANE, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, HP1 2RR

Minutes:

A Parrish introduced the item and said it had been referred to the committee due to the contrary views of Bovingdon Parish Council. Members must decide if the applicants has satisfactorily shown that activities can be carried our without noise disturbance for surrounding neighbours. There have been 650 noise complaints since the start of the two year trial.

Brian O’Sullivan, Jonathan Barden and Dr Peter Cox spoke in support of the application.

Kevin McLoughlin and Ed Clarke spoke in objection to the application.

In his role as ward councillor, Councillor Graham Barrett spoke in objection to the application.

Members were concerned that the applicant had failed to follow and adhere to the current management plan in place and questioned whether it would be a good idea to extend. Members agreed to decrease the extension period from one year to six months.

It was proposed by Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe and seconded by Councillor Birnie to grant the application in line with the officer’s recommendation but decrease the extension period from one year to six months

Vote

For: 10                         Against: 3                    Abstained: 0

Resolved:

That planning permission be GRANTED subject to the following conditions:

1.    The use hereby permitted shall be discontinued on or before 6 months of the date of this permission, and the land restored to its former condition in accordance with a scheme of work submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.

 

Reason:  The proposed use could be detrimental to the amenities of the locality, contrary to Policy CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013,  and the local planning authority wishes to have the opportunity to review the development in the light of operational experience.

 

2

The permission enures solely for;

 

·        The use of vehicles owned and operated by the emergency services and other government agencies;

·        use of vehicles by media organisations for the purpose of photography or display;

·        the use of go-karts, vehicles which are operated for the purposes of corporate entertainment / experience days / drifting and use of the site by motorcycles and Harrow Car club.

 

Reason:  For the avoidance of doubt and to ensure control over the extent of the permission in the interests of residential amenities in accordance with Policy CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013.

 

3

The use hereby permitted, including any preparatory/warming up/winding down vehicle uses, shall only be carried out during the following times;

 

·        Emergency services (no restrictions);

·        Driver tuition for pupils under 17 - 0900-1800 Monday to Sunday;

·        All other forms of driving tuition - 0900-1800 Monday to Friday and 0900-1330 Saturday and at no time on Sundays and Bank Holidays;

·        Media, go-karts, entertainment, motorcycling - 0900-1800 Monday to Friday and 0900-1330 Saturdays and at no time on Sundays or Bank Holidays;

·        Drifting - 0900-1800 on one day per week only  (as set out within the Management Plan required under Condition 5) and at no time on any other days of the week.

 

Reason:  In the interests of the amenities of the occupants of neighbouring dwellings in accordance with Policy CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013.

 

4

All motor vehicle uses approved under this planning permission shall be recorded within an operational log diary, setting out the activity taking place, the time of the event, location on site and the users. The up-to-date operational log diary and noise monitoring records should be made available for inspection by the local planning authority within ten working days of receipt of a written request from the local planning authority.

 

Reason: To enable the local planning authority to be able to associate any noise disturbance with a particular activity on site for the purposes of considering any noise complaint in accordance with Policy CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013.

 

5

Within two months of the date of this decision the Management Plan (including noise management) approved under application reference 4/00933/15/DRC shall be updated and submitted for the approval in writing of the local planning authority. The details to be included in the update shall include, but not be limited to, the following:-

 

·        Times and day(s) of week for Drifting activities, and types of vehicles used;

·        Current and planned activities as well as improvements e.g. re-location of drifting to the main runway. It should include regular consideration of best practicable means to control noise, for example improvements to monitoring technology, tyre technology, use of low noise paints as track markers;

·        Quarterly reviews of the Management Plan with the council regarding exceedances of noise thresholds, complaints received and mitigation measures taken as a result;

·        Improvements to the effectiveness of the track wetting where drifting takes place – with a requirement to share details of the use of the system and volumes of water used;

·        The static noise test for exhaust monitoring be changed to that laid down by the Motor Sports Association, i.e. readings to be taken at ¾ of maximum revs;

·        Consideration to the use of an anemometer / weather station on site to better correlate complaints to wind direction, atmospheric pressure, etc.;

·        A proper, costed, consideration to providing real-time noise data;

·        A proper, costed, consideration of providing an additional noise monitoring point(s);

·        Quarterly external field calibration checks of the noise monitors.

 

The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

 

Reason: In order to manage the operations at the site in the interests of residential amenities in accordance with Policy CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013.

 

6

There shall be no racing of vehicles or competition, with the exception of go-karts and Harrow Car Club.

 

Reason: In the interests of the amenities of the occupants of neighbouring dwellings in accordance with Policy CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013.

 

7

No external lighting other than that agreed in the Management Plan shall be erected.

 

Reason: In the interests of the visual amenities of the Green Belt and this area of dark landscape in accordance with Policies CS5, CS10, CS12 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013  and Appendix 8 of the Dacorum Borough Local Plan 1991-2011.

 

8

The development shall be carried out in accordance with the storage and facilities plan approved under application reference 4/02650/16/DRC, and no other part of the site shall be used for these purposes.

 

Reason: To limit the impact of the development on the openness of the Green Belt, its visual amenities and the character and appearance of the rural landscape in accordance with Policies CS5, CS10, CS12 and CS25 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013.

 

9    The use hereby permitted (use of the site for motorcycle and motor vehicle activities and associated storage and parking (other than those approved under planning references 4/02626/03/FUL, 4/03237/14/FUL and 4/01259/16/FUL) shall cease and all equipment and materials brought onto the land for the purposes of such use shall be removed within 9 months of the date of failure to meet any one of the requirements set out in (i) to (iv) below:-

 

·         within the identified period of the date of this decision, schemes and details associated with the conditions set out above, shall have been submitted for the written approval of the local planning authority and the schemes/details shall include a timetable for their implementation.

·         if within 6 months of the date of this decision the local planning authority refuses to approve the scheme/details or fail to give a decision within the prescribed period, an appeal shall have been made to, and accepted as validly made by, the Secretary of State.

·         if an appeal is made in pursuance of (ii) above, that appeal shall have been finally determined and the submitted scheme shall have been approved by the Secretary of State.

·         the approved schemes shall have been carried out and completed in accordance with the approved timetable. In any case, the use shall cease in accordance with condition 1 in six months.

 

Reason: To ensure control over the use of the land in the interests of the openness of the Green Belt and the character and appearance of the landscape in accordance with Policies CS5, CS10, CS12 and CS25 of the Dacorum Core Strategy September 2013.

 

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

            Location Plan

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

 

Supporting documents: