OPEN SESSION:      

Minutes of the Meeting of the Planning, Town & Environment Committee held on Friday 16th September 2011 at 2.00pm

Cllr Mark Steele (Chairman)
Cllr Sophie Burgess-Kennar (Vice-Chairman)
Cllr Neville Chard
Cllr Stephanie Stokes
Cllr Brian Terry
Cllr Jacqui Terry
Cllr Angela Wiseman
                       

IN ATTENDANCE:    

Jo Stannard, Deputy Town Clerk
Claire Perrens, Meetings Administrator                                 
Evelyn Robinson, Student Advisor
Alice Waters, Student Advisor

The Deputy Town Clerk reported that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Rippon-Swaine. The Chairman welcomed the new Student Advisors for 2011/2012, Evelyn Robinson and Alice Waters.

P/4906 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllr Wiseman declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Licensing Applications – see P/4909 below.

 

P/4907 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 19th August 2011, having been circulated, be approved and signed as a correct record.

P/4908 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

 

Members considered the planning applications as detailed in Annex A attached. Three applications (11/96713, 11/97458 and 11/97377) were brought forward as there were members of the public wishing to comment under the Council’s public participation scheme.

 

11/96713 – Corner House, Forest Edge Road, Crow

The applicant, Mrs Morris, was present in order to answer any questions.

Members noted that the New Forest National Park Authority’s Planning Officer had advised the extension appeared to exceed the 30% limit, but that no details of the actual percentage increase were available. The applicants had put forward a strong case for an exception to the 30% limit, as they would be replacing a flat roof with a more appropriate pitched roof design. Please see decision in Annex A attached.

 

11/97458 – Land to rear of Lloyds Bank, 25 High Street

The Deputy Town Clerk reported that there had been around 30 objections to this application, noting that the site was within a conservation area, although the Conservation Officer’s comments were not available.

 

Mr Richards of Kings Arms Lane was invited to make a statement and he stressed that the major concerns of most local residents were: the problems caused by the very narrow lane relating to car parking, the height of the proposed new houses which would overshadow those opposite and the significant loss of a parking area currently used by traders in the Town, which would increase the burden on the Town’s other car parks.

 

Cllr Wiseman noted that there were also already parking issues in Kings Arms Row, where there was a business, Bickerley Garage, and there had been a request in the past for yellow lines here. The small cottages in the Row were already overshadowed, and it was likely that the historic charm of the area would be compromised by the proposed development.

Evelyn Robinson, Student Advisor, commented that the gardens for the new houses seemed very small. Cllr B Terry said that this was a good point; if the houses were occupied by families, and the amenity space was limited, children might be tempted to play in the lane, which could be dangerous. He added that he fully supported this type of development but felt it was in the wrong place. After further debate, Members agreed the decision as shown in Annex A.

11/97477 – Former Wellworthy Site, Christchurch Road

The Deputy Town Clerk said that this was a very technical application, and unfortunately the officer’s briefing was not particularly helpful. The Chairman said he had looked carefully at the Contamination Report, and that this only affected a small part of the site. There was a ten year old restriction on the development of the site, based on the assumption that a relief road would be built. As there were no known plans for the latter to date, it was questionable whether this was still relevant.

 

Members welcomed progress towards development of this site which had remained unused for over 20 years, despite its very central position.

 

Mr Whitfield wished to speak on this application and in particular the access issues. He said the relief road was unlikely to be built and questioned the sense of traffic from the Wellworthy site travelling through the already congested Town Centre to access the A31. He felt that already the lorries using the routes around Ringwood were causing problems, as the traffic infrastructure is inadequate. There had been no progress on traffic management in Ringwood for many years.

Cllr J Terry said that a better access might be via Pullman Way, avoiding more traffic circulating through Christchurch Road and the Town. Cllr B Terry said that the business development would mean more lorries. He considered that if a distribution company was to be based at the site, it would involve smaller lorries for local distribution, rather than massive articulated transporters (the latter were usually in action in the early morning or late night and not during busy commuting periods). However, some Members were concerned that the proposed B8 useage (storage and distribution) would generate a large increase in vehicle movements and wished to see this restricted.

The Student Advisors felt that traffic congestion on the road near their School, and lorries in Town, were considerable problems. Cllr Stokes felt the application should be refused, pending traffic management improvements. Cllr Chard pointed out the Christchurch Road is a ‘B’ road, and that the traffic is too fast as it is.

 

After further consideration of the County’s Highway Authority report, Members agreed to the observation as shown in Annex A attached.

RESOLVED: 

1. That the observations summarised in Annex A be submitted;
   
   and
   
   
2. That the observations made under the Council’s Delegation Scheme and agreed with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman,
   as shown in Annex B, be approved.

P/4909 LICENSING APPLICATIONS
Cllr Wiseman declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the licensing application relating to Ringwood Town Football Club, as she lives close by. She left the meeting, taking no part in the debate or the decision made.

New Premises Licence – Ringwood Town Football Club

The Committee considered the Recommendation of Recreation, Leisure & Open Spaces (RLOS) Committee held on 7th September, regarding the application by Ringwood Town Football Club (RTFC) for a new Premises Licence to replace the existing Club Premises Certificate – please see excerpt from minutes attached as Annex C.

 

Since the RLOS Committee Meeting, the Deputy Town Clerk reported that four objections from local residents had been received. Residents stated that there were current problems with unacceptable noise in the early hours. Most considered that being a rural area, this was not an appropriate place for the licence as proposed in Annex C.

 

Members noted that the Club Premises Certificate allowed only those who were members of the club to purchase alcohol. The reason for the new licence was to allow RTFC to develop and hold more fundraising and social events.

 

Cllr B Terry, as Chairman of RLOS Committee, said that the recommendation made by that Committee would mean the football club was entitled to similar licensing permission as the Town’s rugby club. See resolution below.

 

Cllr Wiseman returned to the Meeting.

Premises Licence – 19 Market Place

The Committee also considered an application for a premises licence at 19 Market Place:- The premises are to be operated as a convenience store with an off-licence facility for the sale of alcohol from 0800 to 2400 each day.

The Deputy Town Clerk reported that the Police had objected to the proposed hours of sale and that the applicant had therefore agreed to limit this to 0800 to 2200 each day.

Mr Whitfield commented that living close to the Market Place he was concerned that the new licensed premises would result in anti-social behaviour and rubbish in the Jubilee Gardens.

Members noted that a licence could be withdrawn if there were problems, and this had actually happened with the Legends Club recently.

RESOLVED: 

1. That the application by Ringwood Football Club for a premises licence be supported, but that the Town Council submit an objection to the proposed increase in hours of operation from its existing Club Premises Certificate on the grounds that this would infringe the licensing objective of prevention of public nuisance. That it be stated that the Council would be prepared to remove this objection if the licensing hours for the supply of alcohol are restricted to the period of 10:00 to 23:00 hours Monday to Saturday and 12:00 to 22.30 Sunday (as the current Club Premises Certificate allows).
   
   In addition, that the Town Council submit an objection to the proposed provision of late night refreshment until 05:00 on the grounds that this would infringe the licensing objective of prevention of public nuisance. That it be stated the Council would be prepared to remove this objection if this provision is removed from the application.  The applicant should instead be encouraged to apply for a Temporary Event Notice each time the Club wishes to extend the hours for the supply of alcohol or provide late night refreshment, but this should be limited to a maximum of 12 events per annum;
   
   and
   
   
2. That the application for a premises licence for a convenience store at 19 Market Place be supported, subject to the reduction in the hours of sale of alcohol to 22:00 each day.

P/4910 DRAFT NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK: CONSULTATION

 

Members considered the Town Council’s draft response – Annex D attached, to the Government’s proposal for a new National Planning Policy Framework. The Chairman said he had worked closely with the Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk to produce this draft response, and this would need to be approved at Full Council.

 

Cllr B Terry raised the issue of developers’ contributions for affordable housing, which were not currently restricted for use in the local area where the development was sited. The Deputy Town Clerk said that it was a matter of new policy that developers’ contributions should be utilised locally, under the new Community Infrastructure Levy Charges.

 

However, it was agreed to update the response in 2 (b) of Annex D to state that the Town Council strongly supports the use of contributions in the neighbourhood where the development takes place. In addition, there was a need to update the figures in this section with regard to the number of families on the housing list and number of affordable houses built in the Town in recent years.

 

RECOMMENDED:    That the draft response as updated and shown in Annex D attached, be approved.

There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 4.15pm.

RECEIVED                                                               APPROVED
28th September 2011                                               14th October 2011

TOWN MAYOR                                                         COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN