Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Burrell, Maddison, Oguntope & Sandhu.

To receive declarations of interest from Members including the terms(s) of the Grant of Dispensation (if any) by the Audit Board or the Chief Officer & Director of Corporate Services.

There were no declarations of interest received.

Members considered the minutes of the meeting of the Development Control Board which took place on 15 December 2022.

            RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Development Control Board held on 15 December 2022 be confirmed as an accurate record.

There were no references from other committees.

There were no urgent items.

The meeting was adjourned for five minutes to allow any members not present to attend due to traffic problems in the town centre area.

Proposal:

Erection of a single-storey building for mixed use restaurant and hot food takeaway, incorporating a dedicated 'drive-thru' facility and associated reconfiguration of car park and landscaping.

Recommendation:

Approval

The Board considered an application for the erection of a single-storey building for mixed use restaurant and hot food takeaway, incorporating a dedicated 'drive-thru' facility and associated reconfiguration of the existing car park and landscaping. The restaurant will cater for sit down diners, take away and delivery meals. The application site comprised part of an Asda retail store with an ancillary surface car park and petrol filling station. The proposed development uses part of the car park encompassing 40 car parking spaces the hand car wash and recycling centre.

The application was previously reported to the Development Control Board on 14th July 2022. At the time Members expressed concern for the potential anti-social behaviour arising as a consequence of the development. Members also had concerns about the robustness of the submitted parking survey for the Asda car park. The application was deferred to allow time for further parking surveys of the existing car park to be carried out which would provide a more detailed insight into parking demand covering weekends (including Sundays) and weekdays.

The original proposal brought to the Board was for the restaurant/takeaway to be open 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Since the Development Control Board meeting on 14th July 2022, the Agent stated that his client would be prepared to accept a condition limiting opening hours to 9.00am through to 11.30pm. A new condition (no.19) was recommended to secure these proposed opening hours.

Members also had regard to the information contained in the circulated update and a verbal update by the Development Manager which read out, in full, the objection letter from Stone Parish Council.

The Chairman introduced Paul Grimston, who spoke against the recommendation and Laura Fitzgerald, Highways Consultant for the Agent, who spoke in support of the recommendation.

The Board expressed concern about the reduction in car parking as a consequence of the development. Officers noted that the applicant had submitted a detailed parking survey which demonstrated that there would still be sufficient capacity within the car park.  Officers had carefully considered this issue and deemed that the loss of parking would not cause harm to highway safety or amenity. 

Members also highlighted the need for sufficient turning space near the recycling area and were concerned about potential clashes in delivery times for large goods vehicles serving the proposed use, Asda and the petrol station. It was confirmed that the turning space would be sufficient for the recycling area. Officers considered that the businesses should schedule deliveries appropriately to ensure the space is suitable. However an additional condition could be added to secure a Service Management Plan to specifically address this issue. 

A member noted that the proposed fast food restaurant would be in close proximity to local schools and therefore would not contribute to the Councils approach to a healthy-lifestyle. Officers drew Member’s attention to paragraph 101 to the report which noted that whilst the impact on healthy-lifestyles is a material planning consideration, the site is not within easy walking distance,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

To consider delegated decisions taken during the period:

30/11/2022 to 04/01/2023

Members received, for information, a report on the decisions taken under delegated powers for the period 30 November 2022 to 4 January 2023.

The Development Control Manager noted to members that the department had successfully hired two new Principle Planners in the recent months.

            RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.