Agenda item

Erection of 8 no. detached dwellings with associated access road

Land Adjoining Whitwick Filling Station Talbot Street Whitwick 

Erection of 8 no. Detached dwellings with associated access road

Land Adjoining Whitwick Filling Station, Talbot Street, Whitwick

The Senior Planning Officer presented the report to Members.

Councillor L Spence, Ward Member, addressed the Committee.  He explained that he had requested more time to consider this application when it had previously been to Committee and during this time he had met with Leicestershire County Council’s Director of Transport and Officers from the Environment Agency but unfortunately his concerns had only worsened. He had been told by the Director of Transport that that speeds in the area were above the limit and in fact 85 per cent of traffic was travelling above the speed limit, however this was not enough for any concern.  He stated that local knowledge indicated that the brook flooded regularly which was a major concern for the development of the site but he was disappointed that the Environment Agency did not agree.  He stated that he believed the statutory consultees were wrong in agreeing to the proposals as it put local residents at risk and he urged Members to do the right thing and refuse the application.

Councillor R Woodward stated that due to highway safety concerns, the development being overbearing and the risk of flooding, he moved that the application be refused.  It was seconded by Councillor T Gillard and he proposed that the grounds for refusal be that the development was contrary to policies E3, T3 and H4.  Councillor R Woodward as mover of the proposition agreed with the grounds for refusal put forward.

Councillor D Everitt stated that he was disappointed that the previous concerns had not been addressed and he fully supported refusal of the application.  He raised concerns regarding flooding of the brook and sewers, the incline of the site and highway safety due to speeding traffic.  He stressed that the Committee had a duty of care to the local people as the development would cause serious problems.

Councillor D Howe expressed his concerns regarding highway safety as speeding on the road was already very dangerous and he also reminded Members that applications on this site had been refused twice before.

Councillor G Jones spoke in favour of the application as other parts of Europe build on much steeper inclines.  He also believed that more traffic in the area due to the development would help to slow down the speed of traffic.

Councillor A Bridges reminded Members that there were houses built on either side of the site and there was also a petrol station further down the road, this led her to believe that civil engineering was substantial enough to build the houses.  She also added that flooding in the area could be a result of lack of maintenance as this had been known in the past in other areas.

In relation to the proposed reasons for refusal, the Head of Regeneration and Planning gave the following advice.  He reported that using policy E3 would be acceptable but transport and flooding reasons would be difficult to support as there have been no objections from the statutory consultees.  He also added that policy H4 was not now relevant due to the lack of Core Strategy.  He recommended that the main reason for refusal be policy E3 and T3 subject to any further comments from Leicestershire County Council’s regarding highway safety.

Councillor T Gillard stated that he wanted to continue with his original reasons for refusal and added that if policy H4 was no longer relevant it should not be referred to within the agenda papers.

RESOLVED THAT:

The application be refused on the grounds that the development was contrary to Policies relating to design and residential amenity, E3, H4/1 and T3 subject to receiving confirmation that the Highway Authority were objecting to the application.