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Minutes August EGM 2022
PRESENT: Parish Councillors: M ASTON(CHAIR), N DUNN, J MURPHY, J GIMBLETT and J NEWBERY IN ATTENDANCE: CLLR.T HARVEY (Stratford District Council (SDC)), IAN WILSON (CLERK), MIRANDA RODGERS (Stansgate Planning), OLIVIA HATCH (Newbold Wildlife Group) and fifty members of the public.
Apologies were received from CLLR WEBB, CLLR THORNTON-TRINDER and CLLR I.SECCOMBE (Warwickshire County Council (WCC) and these were accepted
None
The meeting had been called to consider the parish council’s response to planning application 22/02184/FUL, Land Rear Off The Burrows Newbold-on-Stour, Change of Use to a Nature Reserve
Newbold Wildlife Group – The group argued that the planning application would not enhance the wildlife in the parish, as the condition that this application was proposing to remove from the Martingale’s development application was included to offset the impact of the development and had not been implemented despite enforcement action now being brought forward by SDC. Furthermore, the conditions to offset the original development were specific to the area in question and not the area proposed. The overall impact of this application would be to reduce the size of the nature reserve and remove the specific conditions with a view to future development. This should all be seen in the context of the UK being one of the most developed countries in the world and SDC needing to double the amount of land dedicated to nature recovery
Stansgate Planning – Acting on behalf of the applicant introduced background to this application and the previous condition placed upon the original landowner who had sold to Kendrick Homes, who had now completed the dwellings and which were now occupied. This application was proposing to move the condition on the landowner to an alternative scheme. The application has been produced in consultation with WCC and separately to the enforcement action taken by SDC on the previous condition as legal opinion for SDC planners is that a vary application is not appropriate. As a result if this application is agreed by SDC after consultation with statutory consultees no further enforcement action will be taken against the original condition/
Stansgate planning believed that it is the ultimate intention is further development at the site originally designated as a nature reserve, but this is over the longer term and will need to take account of the developing Tredington Neighbourhood Plan, SDC Site Allocations Plan (SAP) and emerging South Warwickshire Plan.
Public Participation – The meeting questioned the scale of the offset proposed compared to the original planning condition and that the applicant was proposing to replace biodiversity lost from the Kendrick Homes development with this application. There was a consensus that this did not, but it would be for WCC to determine. There was some debate as to the weight that planners would give to the emerging Tredington Neighbourhood Plan, in which the community wanted to designate this area as a green space though planning consultancy advice suggested this could not be the case. Nevertheless, public consultation carried out in accordance with statutory guidance for the neighbourhood plan identified significant opposition to further development and this proposal. This proposal also appeared contrary to the revised SDC SAP, with Tredington Parish having had more than it’s share of allocated development. The meeting discussed the level of degradation of the site in question in the application since the original development had been agreed. There was also discussion as to why enforcement of the original condition had taken so long
Residents thanked the parish council for arranging the meeting and appreciated the significant turnout. It was noted that SAP doesn’t guarantee no building on the site and that SDC had opposed the original development and asked that the Parish Council reflect the view of this meeting and oppose the application
SDC – CLLR HARVEY (ward member) was in attendance and explained his understanding of the process that SDC planners would go through to determine this specific application. He stressed the importance of the recent SAP consultation, in which SDC had accepted that Newbold had already had it’s share of development. CLLR HARVEY encouraged residents to respond to the consultation. The focus here is the nature reserve application and WCC ecology team will be the independent arbiters as to whether this offsets the previous wildlife commitment placed when development was agreed.
TPC – CLLR ASTON thanked Stansgate Planning, Newbold Wildlife Group, CLLR HARVEY and residents for attending. Councillors agreed that they should object to the application for the valid planning reasons already identified on focus on the nature reserve and the removal of the planning condition. Noted that SDC enforcement team would deal with on-going enforcement issues.
Meeting Closed 20:30
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