Planning Meeting Minutes
held on Monday 4th March 2019 at 7:00pm in the Caudwell Day Centre, Gravel Lane, Drayton, OX144HF
Present:
- Richard Williams (Chairman)
- Matthew Lowy (Vice Chairman)
- Colin Arnold
- Patricia Athawes
- Richard Wade
Not Present:
All Councillors were present.
In attendance:
- Christopher Price (Deputy Clerk and meeting administrator).
Public:
2 members of the public were present.
8/2019 Apologies for Absence.
None.
9/2019 Declarations of Interest, Dispensations and Use of Delegated Powers.
None.
10/2019 Public Participation.
2 members of the public expressed an interest in planning application P19/V0328/HH (see below for details). It was agreed to support this application.
11/2019 Minutes of the Previous Parish Council Planning Meetings
were confirmed with no amendments. Richard Williams signed the minutes as a correct record.
- Proposed: Colin Arnold
- Seconded: Matthew Lowy
- Resolved: Unanimous
12/2019 Old Planning Applications.
The Parish Council’s responses to the following planning applications were noted:
P19/V0001/0.
22 High Street, Drayton, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4JL. Demolition of all existing buildings on site, erection of a replacement dwelling house and 9 other new dwelling houses with provision of parking and access from High Street.
PC: Support:
See Appendix A for details.
P19/V0110/HH.
Single storey extension of the kitchen to the front elevation of the property, with flat roof with glass roof light. Single storey front porch extension. Deconstruct existing conservatory and replace with single storey Orangery with glass roof light. Single storey workshop and carport to side elevation connected to the proposed Orangery. 26 Corneville Road Drayton Abingdon OX14 4HN.
PC: Support:
Drayton Parish can not see any good planning reason to object to this application, although it could be verging on over development of the site.
13/2019 New Planning Applications.
It was agreed to authorise the Clerk/Deputy Clerk to respond to the VWHDC with Support/Respond/Object to the following planning applications, with reasons or comments agreed at the meeting, in accordance with material planning considerations and the Drayton NDP planning policies.
P19/V0270/HH.
Revision to approved scheme REF P18/V1453/HH. New single storey, two car bay covered garage with adjoining workshop. 71 High Street Drayton Abingdon OX14 4JW.
PC: Support.
P19/V0298/HH.
New front Porch comprising cloakroom and toilet. 22 Hilliat Fields Drayton Abingdon OX14 4JQ.
PC: Support.
P19/V0328/HH.
Internal and external amendments to the rear of the main house. Conversion, single storey rear extension and internal and external amendments to existing annexe. Conifer House High Street Drayton Abingdon OX14 4SX.
PC: Support.
14/2019 New Pedestrian Crossing the B4017 at Manor Farm / Hilliat Fields.
On 12th February 2019 the Clerk received an email from Ryan Moore (Senior Engineer, OCC) showing the ‘Constructed Crossing’ and the ‘Approved (not constructed) Crossing’ and asked if the as-built arrangement is acceptable from the Parish Council’s point of view. It was agreed to request that the developer is forced to execute the ‘as drawn’ approved plans rather than just accepting the as built situation which is clearly more dangerous for pedestrians and less effective in terms of traffic calming.
ACTION: Deputy Clerk to respond to Ryan Moore.
15/2019 Date of the next Meeting.
1st April 2019. 7:00pm. Caudwell Day Centre.
The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 7:30pm
Signed:…………………………..
Name:…………………………..
Date: 1st April 2019.
Appendix A
Response to Planning Application No: P19/V0001/0
22 High Street, Drayton, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4JL: Demolition of all existing buildings on site, erection of a replacement dwelling house and 9 other new dwelling houses with provision of parking and access from High Street.
Drayton Parish Council is prepared to give qualified SUPPORT to this application, although, given that some 280 houses have already been granted planning permission since the Neighbourhood Plan was adopted, it believes there is no pressing need for additional housing in the village at this time. Moreover, DPC has serious concerns about the impact of yet more traffic feeding into the High Street, and the creation of one more junction to interrupt the traffic flow. Already, the entrance to the Bloor Homes development has created one new junction, and if and when the site at the rear of Halls Close is completed, the number of cars using the Halls Close junction will likely see a fourfold increase. Despite these and other reservations, which will be outlined below, the Parish Council recognises that the site in question is not only contiguous with the existing ‘South of High St’ (Bloor Homes) development; it is in fact, bracketed by it. At the time the Neighbourhood Plan was being put together, the sites were in different ownership, but it is conceivable that, if an agreement had been reached between the relevant parties, both parcels of land could have been offered up together as a single entity. For various reasons this did not happen back then, but if, some years on, the village finds itself having to accept more housing, the South of High Street area is acknowledged in the Plan as being one of the more suitable sites
Reservations
1 Retail Space.
The planning officer’s pre-application advice (available on this website) states: I note the proposal includes the loss of employment land due to the demotion of the “vacant retail and storage buildings and office building described as ‘The Sitting Room’ and ‘Norrington Offices’.” The Vale Council’s Business and Innovation Strategy Action Plan 2017 to 2020 highlights the lack of available, good quality and affordable workspaces in the district. Specifically, there is a lack of ‘move on’ space to accommodate rapidly growing micro and small businesses. Due to this demand, I would expect a full application to include evidence that the office space/building has been proactively marketed and there is no current demand for it. For the reasons outlined above, I would not look to support the proposed application due to the loss of employment land. If progressed to a full application, consideration should be given to providing evidence of the lack of demand for the retail and office buildings.
DPC endorses the comments made by the planning officer and would like to make it clear that its support for the application is conditional on a serious and credible effort being made to secure the current retail site for future retail use. The Parish Council sees this site as a genuine opportunity to provide something currently lacking in the village – a grocery store large enough to provide a range of fresh foods as well as the usual fare found in smaller stores. We would look to attract the Co-op or a similar type of business. There is room on the site to provide a decent amount of car-parking, and it is noted that the Co-op store in Steventon does have parking facilities, but they are fairly limited. The site is located near to the centre of the village, providing convenient access for the maximum number of residents. Obviously if such a business were established, this would have an effect on the two shops in Drayton
that currently sell groceries, the Post Office, and the Mace shop on the corner of Henleys Lane and Abingdon Rd. However, the parking arrangements at both these shops are far from satisfactory, and regularly lead to obstructive parking on the street, by customers and delivery vans alike. Furthermore, a Co-op store in the village might reduce the need for trips into Abingdon, bearing in mind that the B 4017 is getting increasingly congested in peak periods, and that those peak periods appear to be extending further and further into the morning. Before 9am, and often up to 10am or later, the 2 miles to Ock Street can take 30 minutes or more to drive. It is not known whether the Co-op would be interested in this site or whether such a store would be commercially viable: however, there is, for example, a Co-op store in Dorchester -on-Thames which has a population of only around 1000, a third of the size of the expanded Drayton.
2 Traffic problems and traffic calming.
An important element of the Neighbourhood Plan was to use Section 106 money to fund traffic calming arrangements within Drayton. The High Street is a dangerous road which has poor facilities for parking either side of the road, and motorists are consequently required to weave in and out of parked cars whilst trying to avoid oncoming traffic. Those residents who have no option but to park on the street outside their home can attest to the number of accidents which occur all too frequently, caused by motorists driving through the village too fast and hitting parked vehicles. Needless to say, the number of near misses is even higher. At busy times, it is increasingly difficult for pedestrians to cross the road safely, and obviously the hazards are compounded for the elderly, anyone with mobility difficulties, and children. The South of High St site will consist of 140 homes when complete; the Halls Close site another 28. The proposed site may add up to 10 more. This all adds up to more motorists, and more pedestrians. The High Street has been identified as a priority area for Drayton’s traffic calming measures, and the PC are particularly insistent that some form of pedestrian crossing should be provided as part of the scheme. We are working with OCC to produce an affordable scheme to address these problems and would stress that a clear plan to resolve the safety issues ought to be in place before even considering an additional junction by way of entrance to the proposed development.
3 Housing mix.
It is noted that this is the third housing development in Drayton in the last 5 years to escape the requirement to make any provision for affordable housing, or Section 106 payments, by building slightly below the threshold numbers applicable at the time. We note that the present housing mix envisaged is 5 x 3 bedroom houses and 5 x 4 bedroom houses. However, if 2 bedroom houses or apartments were substituted, not only would these be more accessible for first-time buyers; it would be possible to provide a net gain of more than 11 properties on the same area of land. In other words the numbers capacity of the land is kept deliberately limited by the decision to build only larger homes. If a blind-eye to this tendency continues to be turned, and the current thresholds are not challenged, it seems likely that in smaller villages, or any location where sites are limited in size, that ‘affordable’ properties will rarely, if ever, be built. Notwithstanding the above observations, if a shop is built on the site of ‘The Sitting Room’ (as we hope it will be) and it, together with the necessary car-parking facilities, results in a reduction of the number of properties that can be built, this outcome would be entirely acceptable to the parish council – indeed, it would be its preferred option. In the meantime, while emphasising we expect the retail element of the site to be retained, if this proves to be not possible, we note the following comments by the planning officer: I confirm that if you pursue only residential redevelopment, affordable housing would be required, as the site is theoretically capable of accommodating 15 units when applying a density of 30 dwellings per hectare.
4 Conservation Area.
On this subject, the Parish Council would simply repeat the words of the Conservation Officer, as quoted in the planning officer’s pre-application advice. The CO said: At present the historic significance of the buildings proposed for demolition is unclear and should be investigated further to support and robustly justify the proposal. The buildings proposed for demolition may be identified as non-designated heritage assets. The buildings appear to be historic, are on historic Ordnance Survey maps of Drayton and lie in the Drayton Conservation Area. It is likely the buildings proposed for demolition are historically associated with Bishops Farm House at 24 High Street and possibly The Manor. Some buildings along High Street have early origins and associations with Abingdon Abbey. The agricultural barn to the north of the site has recently been in commercial use ‘The Sitting Room’ an upholsterer. This building is identified in the emerging Drayton Conservation Area Appraisal as a heritage asset of local interest.
Unlisted buildings, in groups or individually, often contribute towards the character and how the public experience a conservation area as is the case here in Drayton. The loss of these buildings may be detrimental to the conservation area. At this stage I do not feel the proposals enhance the character of the conservation area or the setting of neighbouring listed buildings. I am happy to make further comments on the design of the proposed scheme once the impacts on heritage assets have been fully assessed and identified.
5 Design & layout etc.
There were 3 designated housing sites in the Drayton Neighbourhood Plan. All are now either complete or under construction. In each case, a number of pre-planning meetings took place between the Parish Council Neighbourhood planners and the developers, and sometimes the Vale planners also. These meetings were to discuss aspects of the design of the houses, the layout of the site, the amenities provided and so on. These discussions resulted in appreciable improvements in overall design of the development, and the Parish Council would look to having similar discussions if the proposed development is approved. In view of Section 4 above, we would suggest that the Conservation Officer be invited to at least one of these meetings. Due to the close proximity of the Bloor Homes site, there may also be issues of visual compatibility of house types, footpath connections between the two sites, and so on. 6 Relevant Policies in the Drayton Neighbourhood Plan A list of these may be found in the appendix at the back of the planning officer’s pre-application advice.