Agenda item

Committee considered a detailed report and presentation slides in relation to the above application, presented by the Consultant Senior Planning Officer.

 

The planning application sought outline planning permission (all matters reserved) for up to 24 ha of employment land for uses that fell within use classes B1, B2 & B8 and up to 1,800 new homes.  The development also included 57.75 hectares of new Green Infrastructure, along with a range of other uses, which included educational and recreational uses, a retirement village, neighbourhood centre, hotel / restaurant, health and care, and leisure uses.  The proposal also involved the demolition of the buildings within the industrial estate at Station Road, which was needed to deliver a new link road from Clowne through to the site.  The development was shown as being divided into two phases (residential and commercial), albeit it would probably be delivered in several sub phases.

 

Matters such as access, layout, scale, appearance, and landscaping were reserved for future consideration.  If the application was approved, these matters would be considered in detail as part of future reserved matters applications, and not as part of this outline planning application.

 

The planning application related to the site often referred to as Clowne North but was also known as Clowne Garden Village (“the site”).  The application was previously given a resolution to grant planning permission by Planning Committee in June 2018, and this was subject to a signed Section 106 (“S.106”) legal agreement.  The S.106 agreement was needed to ensure that any off-site mitigation measures, financial contributions, and improvements agreed during the application process to make the development acceptable were delivered. 

 

Despite there being an agreement in principle on what matters should be included in the S.106 agreement, issues arose in respect of the highway improvement works.  The issues centred on agreeing an appropriate improvement scheme for the Treble Bob Roundabout (“TBR”).  As a result, the S.106 was never completed, and because the S.106 was never signed, the decision notice for the planning application was never issued and the application had not been formally determined since.

 

Over the period since the application was previously given a resolution to grant by Planning Committee in 2018, there had been extensive ongoing discussions between the applicant, National Highways (“NH”), and Derbyshire County Council Highways (“DCC Highways”).  These discussions had taken place to try and agree the highway improvement work details for the TBR.  Following these extensive discussions, an agreement had now been reached between DCC Highways, NH, and the applicant, in relation to the overall highway improvement schemes (discussed in detail later in the report).  With that considered, the applicant now wished to move the application forward to a formal determination. 

 

Since the application was previously considered by Planning Committee in June 2018, there had been some fundamental changes in planning policy at both a national and local level, which included an updated National Planning Policy Framework (December 2023) (“NPPF”), and a new Development Plan for Bolsover District Council, which was adopted in March 2020 (“the Development Plan”).  In addition, the planning application when submitted in 2017 included an Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”), which was required due to the size and scale of the development and the potential for significant effects during the construction and operational phases of the development.

 

The passage of time since June 2018, meant that the application could not be determined based on the technical evidence submitted in 2017/18.  This evidence needed to be updated to reflect the most up to date site conditions and considered against the latest national and local planning policies.  In addition, consideration also needed to be given as to whether the effects and conclusions set out in the original EIA submitted in 2017 were still correct or whether there were now considered to be greater effects in EIA terms.  The applicant, as part of this reappraisal, had submitted updated additional technical evidence, including an EIA Addendum.

 

Technical consultation took place in both 2017/18 and 2023/24.  The report set out a summary of the consultation responses received from consultations that took place in May 2023 and April 2024, as they were the most relevant.  Previous technical responses could be viewed on the previous Committee Report, which was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

 

With regard to publicity of the application as part of a re-consultation process, which happened in May 2023 and April 2024, due to additional information received from the applicant, the application was again publicised by way of:

 

• Neighbour Notifications
• 16 Site Notices
• Press notice published in the local newspaper.

 

In addition, two public consultation meetings took place in Barlborough and Clowne, on 30^th and 31^st May 2023 respectively.  A drop-in session was also undertaken, which took place at the Council offices (The Arc) on 20^th June 2023.

 

975 public representations were received in 2017/18, which were still relevantwhen considering the application.  These were summarised in the previous Committee Report dated 26^th June 2019 and could be reviewed at Appendix 1 to that report. 

 

As part of the re-consultation process undertaken in 2023/2024, close to 300 representations had been received, which were summarised in today’s report.

 

The Development Management and Land Charges Manager referred to the Supplementary Update report, which noted five further representations received following publication of the agenda.  The report also included a traffic survey undertaken in Clowne on 20^th August 2024 by Councillor David Bennett.  One of the representations raised concern regarding the use of tailpieces to the recommended planning conditions.  Officers had noted this concern, and for the avoidance of doubt, if Members were minded to approve the application, the tailpiece to conditions could be removed to provide certainty on the permission granted and the procedure that would need to be followed should material changes to the development be required.  In relation to condition 5, officers wished to ensure sufficient clarity that the provision of formal open space would include a town park and 10 hectares of land in area terms.

 

The Assistant Director Planning & Planning Policy advised the meeting that at the relevant time, she would read out a late representation received from Tanya Warren, and a late representation from Steve Singleton, Clerk to Clowne Parish Council.

 

The Assistant Director Planning & Planning Policy further advised the meeting that during the week, communication had been received from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), to advise the Council that they had received a request to call in the application.  The letter noted the following;

 

“ it was not the Secretary of State’s policy to consider call in requests before the local planning authority has determined an application or resolved to approve it” 

 

The Assistant Director Planning & Planning Policy noted that the Secretary of State had requested that the Committee proceed today with a Committee resolution, but the Council would not be permitted to issue a decision notice until this had been communicated back to the Secretary of State who may then at that point chose to call in the application.  Members would be kept informed in due process.

 

Councillor Will Fletcher, Bolsover District Councillor not on the Planning Committee, spoke against the application.

 

Councillor Duncan Haywood, Bolsover District Councillor not on the Planning Committee, spoke against the application. 

 

In response to a query from Councillor Duncan McGregor, Councillor Haywood noted that the flooding in Creswell he had referred to, had happened towards the end of the 1970s.

 

Councillor David Bennett, Bolsover District Councillor not on the Planning Committee, spoke against the application.

 

Councillor Vicky Wapplington, Bolsover District Councillor not on the Planning Committee, spoke against the application.

 

Barlborough Parish Councillor, Jane Haywood, spoke against the application on behalf of Barlborough residents.

 

Barlborough Parish Councillor, David Dixon, spoke against the application.

 

The Assistant Director Planning & Planning Policy read out the representation received from Steve Singleton, Clerk to Clowne Parish Council.

 

At this point in the meeting, a fifteen minute break was taken.

 

Roger Dell spoke against the application on behalf of Clowne Garden Village Action Group.

 

Greg Lindley spoke against the application on behalf of Clowne Residents Association.

 

Denise Dell spoke against the application on behalf of Tanya Warren.

 

As noted earlier in the meeting, the Assistant Director Planning & Planning Policy had been asked to read out a late representation on behalf of Tanya Warren, however, as Denise Dell had already read out Tanya Warren’s statement word for word, the Assistant Director Planning & Planning Policy would not read out the statement.  Further to this, Denise Dell was invited to speak on her own behalf for a further 2 minutes.

 

Denise Dell spoke against the application.

 

Cheryl Philips spoke against the application.

 

Dominic Webb spoke against the application.

Dominic Page (Agent) spoke for the application.

 

Councillor Rob Hiney-Saunders raised various queries relating to the following matters to which Dominic Page responded;

 

·       Treble Bob roundabout improvements

·       Bus route from new development / housing estate

·       AECOM transport study / Clowne traffic survey

 

Members raised various queries relating to the following matters to which BDC and DCC officers responded;

 

·       Additional capacity at the Springs Health Centre in Clowne / increase in parking / potential for a new medical centre for Clowne

·       Increase in pupils at Clowne Primary School / traffic increase

·       Treble Bob roundabout improvements / robustness of design

·       Chesterfield Royal Hospital request for sum of money

·       Clowne and Barlborough parish councils query in relation to request for level of commuted sums

·       Appraisal work carried out by CP Viability on behalf of the Council

·       Mitigation of the effects of climate change

·       Football pitch - existing provision / new provision

·       Drainage strategy / Flood Risk Assessment - Harlesthorpe Dam / Creswell Road and Station Road request to include a condition that improvements not be just a litter catcher

·       Clowne transport study

·       Transport - increase traffic flow on roads / impact on parking in Clowne / school drop off / traffic travel routes

·       Local transport improvement schemes for junctions at Boughton Lane and Gapsick Lane, Clowne

·       Active Travel England objections received

·       Parking – DCC Highways consideration / non car based infrastructure

·       Viability reappraisal and deferred contributions (SEND and Library contributions)

·       Growth plans – local plan provision Clowne and Barlborough