Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor John Ritchie.

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was no urgent business to be considered at the meeting.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)  any business on the agenda

b)  any urgent additional items to be considered

c)  any matters arising out of those items

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on 9^th July 2025.

Moved by Councillor Catherine Tite and seconded by Councillor Sally Renshaw

RESOLVED that the minutes of a meeting of the Planning Committee held on 9^th July 2025 be approved as a true and correct record.

Committee considered a report in relation to the above application presented by the Development Management and Land Charges Manager, who gave details of the application and highlighted the location and features of the site and key issues.  The application sought approval from the Committee for retrospective planning permission to change the use of the land and to carry out associated operations to provide parking and manoeuvring space associated with the adjacent traveller site and include a new vehicular access onto Featherbed Lane, Bolsover.

The application had been presented at the Committee’s previous meeting on 9^th July 2025.  Concerns had been raised on the surface condition and speed of some road traffic users on the private road and its impact on the Public Right of Way that it carried.  A decision had been deferred to allow officers to seek confirmation from the Rights of Way Team at Derbyshire County Council (DCC) that they had no concerns with the use of a longer section of the private lane, which carried a Public Right of Way, for vehicles and equipment associated with the 7 pitch Gypsy and Traveller site and that the surface of the lane was suitable for multi-use without the need for any modifications or improvements.

The DCC Public Rights of Way Officer has been re-consulted and had not objected to the proposed application.  Their comments were detailed in the report.

9 in favour

0 against

Moved by Councillor Tom Munro and seconded by Councillor Phil Smith

RESOLVED that application no. 24/00503/FUL be APPROVED subject to the following conditions:

1.     The development hereby approved shall be used for parking and manoeuvring of vehicles and equipment associated with the occupation of the adjacent traveller pitches identified in blue on the location plan submitted with the application only.  There shall be no trade or business carried out from the site and it shall not be used as a separate traveller pitch.

2.     Before the parking/manoeuvring area hereby approved is first brought into use full details of a hedge to be planted around the edge of the site, must be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.  The hedge must be planted in accordance with the approved details in the first available planting season after the details are approved and must be maintained as such thereafter.

3.     Notwithstanding the provisions of Classes A and B of Part 2 of Schedule 2, Article 3 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (or any Order revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification), no new accesses or boundary treatments must be installed on site unless authorised by an express grant of planning permission.

4.     Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3(1) of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015, (or any Order revoking and re-enacting that Order) no development otherwise permitted by Part 5 Class B of the Order must be erected/constructed/undertaken without first obtaining planning permission.

5.     There must be no external lighting  ...  view the full minutes text for item PL25-25/26

Committee considered a report in relation to the above application presented by the Development Management and Land Charges Manager, who gave details of the application and highlighted the location and features of the site and key issues.  The application sought approval from the Committee for the material change of use of the vacant New Middle Club, Welbeck Street, Whitwell to 9 no. residential flats.  The application included 10 off-road car parking spaces utilising the existing vehicular access from Coronation Street, Whitwell.  2 of the flats were two-bedroomed and the remaining 7 flats were one-bedroomed / bedsit units.

As the Supplementary Agenda informed, a site visit had taken place.

Under background information in the report, a typographical error was noted – ‘18^th November 2025’ should have read ‘18^th November 2015’.

Questions on the ‘defensible space’ of the site were asked.

Councillor Tom Munro spoke against the proposal.

Parish Councillor Karl Austin spoke against the proposal.

Dee Devine spoke against the proposal.

To a question on parking options after 18:00 hours, Dee Devine answered in one instance a resident had parked their vehicle in the middle of the street, blocking all access.

It was stated that the allocated disabled spaces were also used by none Blue Badge holders – no enforcement action took place.

The Committee was informed Dee Devine had been offered an Electric Vehicle as a Mobility Vehicle – this had to be refused due to the lack of available parking outside the residence for charging.  It was stated in 9 of 10 instances, residents could not park outside their properties.

To a question on the availability of off-street parking (behind properties), Dee Devine answered applicable residents always did whenever possible, but this did little to alleviate current parking restraints on the highway.

Mandy Price spoke against the application.

Amat Patil, the applicant, spoke in favour of the application.

To a question on the number of parking spaces provided, Amat Patil informed consultants had stated the maximum achievable was 10 – if more could be sought, this would be pursued.

A brief discussion was held on the number of allocated parking spaces (10).

It was felt that an investigation should take place to explore the removal of the defensible space (for 3 of the dwellings) to provide additional parking for the entire site (if possible) and to clarify arrangements for the allocation of spaces and the management of the car park.

8 in favour.

0 against.

Moved by Councillor Steve Fritchley and seconded by Councillor Rob Hiney-Saunders

RESOLVED that application no. 25/00179/FUL be DEFERRED to allow the applicant to explore the possibility of increasing the number of car parking spaces on site following the removal of the defensible space and to provide details of car parking space allocation and management.

To allow the speakers to clear the Chamber and for a brief comfort break, the Committee was adjourned at 11:14 hours.

The Committee reconvened at 11:21 hours.  Councillor Tom Munro returned to the meeting.

The Development Management and Land Charges Manager presented the report to the Committee.

In May 2022, a review of the Local Enforcement Plan (Planning) (the ‘Plan’) was undertaken.  At that time, it was considered there had been little reason to amend or change the targets.  There had also been no changes to legislation to report.  Members had resolved that the same targets and priorities were maintained, alongside the 6 monthly report of performance to the Committee.

However, it was agreed that the Plan’s appearance be refreshed to reflect the Council’s branding and that it was prepared in an accessible format.

Since the 2022 update, there had been legislative changes, along with changes to staffing and practices, that had procedural implications and impact on the implementation of the Plan.  These were considered, in addition to service performance data, in the report.

Reporting had demonstrated that (with the exception of a few cases) all high priority cases had been visited within the target set in the Plan and more than 95% of low and medium priority cases had been visited within existing target periods.

It was not considered that the timeframes set for investigating breaches of planning control should be reduced as the department’s resources were limited, with the Council’s only dedicated Planning Enforcement Officer visiting the vast majority of sites.  If timeframes were to be reduced, greater resilience and investment in the service would be required.

No ombudsman complaints had been received since the adoption of the original Local Enforcement Plan (Planning) in 2019.  Having clearly defined service standards was considered to be a contributory factor in this indicator of customer satisfaction.

Following the resignation of the Principal Planning Enforcement Officer on the

18^th April 2024 (and difficulties recruiting into this position), a decision was taken to recycle this post and recruit an additional Principal Planner who, with the other Principal Planners within the Development Management Team and the Council’s Enforcement Officer, lead on planning enforcement cases requiring formal action to be taken.

This mini restructure had yielded high performance in terms of the amount of formal enforcement action taken post this decision, provided a renewed focus on service delivery and had introduced greater resilience.

The Assistant Director of Planning, Development Management and Land Charges Manager and the Principal Planners would decide what action should be taken when an investigation into a suspected breach of planning control had been completed.

It was not necessary to consult the Council’s Solicitors on all cases where formal planning enforcement action was to be commenced – as such decisions

relied on planning judgement.

The 4-year time limit for bringing enforcement action against building or engineering operations and changes of use to a single dwelling-house was removed.

The Plan had been amended to cover the new enforcement immunity periods.

Other legislative changes that effected the Plan included the extension to the expiration of a temporary stop notice.  Such notices now expired 56 days after the display of the notice on site (or any shorter period  ...  view the full minutes text for item PL27-25/26

The Principal Planning Policy Officer presented the report to the Committee.

The “Bolsover District: The Future” plan aimed to drive economic growth through better housing and placemaking.

The Local Plan supported this by promoting sustainable, well-designed development through Policy SC2 (Sustainable Design) and Policy SC3 (High Quality Development).

The current Supplementary Planning Document that advised on residential design, Successful Places SPD (2013), was now being updated and retitled Successful Healthy Places to reflect:

·       National policy updates:

o   Building for a Healthy Life (2023);

o   National Design Guide (2019); and,

o   National Model Design Code (2021).

·       A greater focus on health, wellbeing, and sustainable placemaking; and,

·       The need for higher design standards in response to increased housing targets.

The guidance had been revised to improve readability, incorporate current images, and focus specifically on local context.

Unlike the previous joint local authority document, the revised SPD was specific to the District to better reflect local character and needs.  Extensive consultation with stakeholders – across councils, design professionals, and community groups – had shaped the new guidance.

Overall, the SPD aimed to ensure that housing growth contributed positively to the quality, health, and sustainability of the District.

The Senior Urban Design Officer informed images had been provided in the proposed consultation draft version of the SPD, attached at Appendix 1, to emphasize the desired design.

It was reiterated that sustainability was at the heart of the document, with a holistic approach to care for all aspects of design, as well as a new emphasis on health and wellbeing, climate change, biodiversity, and modern technology (e.g. EV charging and heat pumps).

New sections in the document focused on local character, streets and trees, heritage and retrofit, residential extensions, and design criteria cross-referenced to the National Model Design Code.

The proposed consultation on the Successful Healthy Places SPD was to be carried out in line with the requirements of the Regulations and the principles of the Council adopted Statement of Community Involvement.

The complete coding document would be brought before Committee in a future meeting.

The Principal Planning Policy Officer informed those that had registered an interest on the Council’s planning policy consultation database that had stated a wish to be notified of forthcoming Policy documents would be contacted directly by email and letter.  Parish Councils would be notified so that their pages could link to the consultation.

The consultation document would be made available for at least 4 weeks in the

following ways:

·       a digital copy of the Successful Healthy Places SPD and consultation questionnaire would be available to read and print off on the Council’s Supplementary Planning Documents webpage;

·       a link on the webpage would direct people to a digital version of the consultation questionnaire that could be completed online;

·       the same questionnaire would also be on the Ask Derbyshire webpage as many residents used it as their ‘go to’ when finding out what consultations were live across the District; and,

·       paper copies of the Successful Healthy Places SPD and consultation questionnaire would  ...  view the full minutes text for item PL28-25/26

The Principal Planning Policy Officer presented the Quarter 1 2025/26 report to update Members on the progress of the spending of Section 106 contributions and to review the effectiveness of the Council’s monitoring procedures.

The Community Arts Development Officer and the Leisure Facilities Planning & Development Manager were also present to provide updates and respond to questions on specific projects.

The report followed the Council’s approved S.106 Monitoring Procedure, which required a quarterly update highlighting contributions at risk of clawback (within 24 months of expiry) and summarising those held in years 3, 4, and 5 by infrastructure type.

Since the Committee’s meeting June 2025, the number of contributions within the 24-month threshold had increased from 6 to 11, with full details provided in the report.

Notable changes included: spend recorded against the Spa Croft, Tibshelf (Arts) contribution, four contributions from Thornhill Drive, South Normanton were now within the 12-month spend period, and 5 new contributions had entered the 2-year window, covering infrastructure in Clowne, Bolsover, and Pinxton.

Key highlights included the Clowne Skate Park project, now under construction; the Spa Croft public art application, due to be submitted; and the Thornhill Drive pump track,= and open space projects, now approaching tender stage with an increased budget of over £68,000 (for the Pump Track since the Committee’s previous meeting).

In terms of health contributions, discussions with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) on spending the South Normanton health sum were ongoing, with a site visit planned by the ICB (awaiting feedback).

Elsewhere, feasibility and project planning were advancing for contributions in Clowne, Tibshelf, and Bolsover, including art at The Edge amphitheatre, new tennis courts, and open space improvements at the Castle Estate (which was now in community consultation).

A new £71,000 Outdoor Sport contribution had been received from Glapwell Nurseries.

Councillor Tom Munro left the meeting at 11:58 hours.

Councillor Janet Tait left the meeting at 12:09 hours.

Member requests and actions received included:

·       Contact to be made with Clowne Parish Council Liaison Function regarding:

o   Item 18 – High Ash Farm (Art); and,

o   Item 21 – Land West of Homelea and Tamarisk (Outdoor Sport)

·       Request for information on S.106 contributions without time limits to be included in a future report.

7 in favour

0 against

Moved by Councillor Phil Smith and seconded by Councillor Rob Hiney-Saunders

RESOLVED that the Planning Committee note the contents of the report and highlight any concerns about the implementation of the Section 106 Agreements listed.

The Chair thanked all those for their attendance.