Agenda item

The following spoke under the Public Participation at Meetings Scheme:

·         Mr Jon Millhouse, Agent.

Member debated the impact of the proposal on the conservation area and specifically the medieval field strips.   It was noted that the conservation appraisal did not prevent all development but set a high bar for identifying suitable sites. 

Members and Officers agreed that Wardlow was a suitable village for the siting of affordable homes but no feasibility study had been carried out to identify alternative sites.  Members concerns were about the balance between the protection of the conservation area and providing affordable housing to ensure a vibrant community is maintained. 

A special Parish Council meeting had been held and overall support for the proposal given. 

Recommendation of refusal moved and seconded with an amendment to paragraph 3 (omitting the second sentence).

The motion was voted on and lost.

The majority view of the committee was that the need for affordable homes outweighed the potential harm to the landscape in this instance as the impact of the proposal would be minor and not block out the whole of the opening of the field strip.  

Members suggested a change to the layout of the buildings to ensure minimum impact on the neighbouring houses, setting the new houses further back, as originally proposed.

Members were minded to approve the application subject to a legal agreement on the basis that there is a need for affordable homes in the village and the proposed siting of the houses still leaves a gap at the frontage and that it is not so harmful to be a refusal when weighed against the benefits.  The Director of Conservation and Planning advised that the application should therefore be deferred to the next Planning Committee in accordance with the Authority’s Standing Order 1.48.

RESOLVED:

To DEFER consideration of the application in accordance with Standing Order 1.48 as the Committee were minded to approve the application contrary to Authority Policy and the Officer recommendation.