There were no apologies for absence given at the meeting.

Councillors Fairhead, Freeman & Mogford declared a personal interest in application number 4, Land off Scratby Road, Scratby, Great Yarmouth, as they all sat on the Broads Internal Drainage Board. Councillor Freeman was also Ward Councillor for Ormesby St Margaret & Scratby Ward.

However, in accordance with the Council's Constitution, they were all permitted to both speak and vote on the item.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 October 2020 were confirmed by assent.

However, it was noted and the minutes would be subsequently amended, that Councillor G Carpenter had substituted for Councillor Plant at the meeting, not Councillor G Plant.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Planning Officer. The Corporate Services Manager reported that Councillors Bird and Myers could not take part in the determination of this application as they had not been present when the application was first heard on 14 October 2020. Councillor Lawn had now joined the online meeting and could therefore take part in the determination of this application.

The Planning Officer reported that this application had been deferred at the Committee meeting of 14 October 2020 as Members had requested more time to consider the highways improvements offered by the applicant. The site was an open field, just over 3 hectares in size and was classified as Grade 1 agricultural land.

The Planning Officer reported the salient areas of the application to the Committee. The proposal was for 67 dwellings including an increased offer of 30% of affordable housing units.

The Planning Officer reported that the application included the following information:-

Topographical Survey Site Layout Plan House and garage plans/elevations, Tree Survey/Arboricultural Method Statement Landscaping Details

Ecological Report

Shadow HRA

Design & Access Statement/Planning Statement (incl. Statement of Community Involvement)

Landscape Assessment Site Investigation/Contamination Risk Assessment Transport Statement (incl. Safety Audit) Off Site Highway Improvements

Flood Risk Assessment and Drainage Strategy Utility Assessment.

The Planning Officer reported that all consultation responses received in connection to this application were available to view online or by appointment at the Town Hall. The Planning Officer reported that County Highways had commented further by an email received on 15 October 2020 that they would not support a reduction in the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph along this stretch of Scratby Road and therefore, the application should be considered on the basis of the existing 40mph limit. off-site highway works would need to be delivered by the developer and a financial contribution to NCC to devise a scheme was not acceptable and the proposed £25k would cover very little highway improvement works.

The Planning Officer read out further correspondence in full which had been received from Mr Harper (applicants agent), local residents and the parish clerk since the application had been deferred on 14 October 2020 and reported that an online petition containing 100 signatures had been submitted for Members' consideration.

Mr Harper, applicants agent, had conveyed in writing that the highways issues had been overcome and that the application should be judged against the Council's current 5 year housing land supply and not the projected 7 year housing land supply which the Council would shortly be able to demonstrate. The land had been confirmed as Grade 3 agricultural land and there were no coastal views from the site.

The Planning Officer reported that the application was still recommended for refusal and as the application was being heard following deferral on 14 October 2020, no further public speaking would take place.

Councillor Williamson was concerned regarding the grading of the agricultural land of the application site  and requested that in future, soli analysis and data was presented to Members.

Councillor Wainwright reported that new homes were desperately needed in the Northern Parishes and this application contained 30% affordable housing which was even more in demand. Unfortunately, even though the site was Grade 1 agricultural land, he felt that the need for housing outweighed the need to retain Grade 1 agricultural land and was in favour of approving the application.

Councillor Freeman reported that Members had considered this application at great length at the meeting of the 14 October 2020 and as the Ward Councillor, he felt it was his duty to reiterate that speed kills, and that if the development was to be approved, a speed reduction to 30 mph should be introduced along that stretch of Scratby Road, as road safety must be the top priority of this Committee.

Councillor A Wright proposed that the Committee should refuse the application in line with the officer recommendation. this motion was seconded by Councillor Fairhead.

RESOLVED:-

That application number 06/20/0313/O be refused as it was contrary to policies HOU10, CS1 and CS2 and NPPF as being outside the development limits and unsustainable location for scale of development, notwithstanding the “tilted balance” where the numerical assumptions underlying this apparent shortfall are considered out of date.

The proposal is also contrary to CS11, CS12 and NPPF as it harms the qualities identified for this area in the Landscape Character Assessment and uses Grade 1 (best and most versatile) agricultural land.

The proposal is contrary to policy CS9 and NPPF on design in that it shortfalls in places on amenity and fails to create distinctiveness, and connectivity within the scheme.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Planning Officer.

The Planning Officer reported the salient areas of the application. The site was 2.9 hectares and was outside the development limits for the village. There was a continuous footway between the site and the village on the north side of Yarmouth Road. The proposal was for 71 dwellings with 7 shared equity and 7 affordable rented. The applicant had offered to convey land to the Council to provide access to the rear of the existing houses which would be adequate for vehicular access and to fund traffic regulation orders for speed reduction on Yarmouth Road, if required.

The Planning Officer reported that no formal pre-application discussions had been held but a consultation access had been held with the Parish Council and local residents/neighbours. All the consultation responses were available to view online or by appointment at the Town Hall.


Mr Harper, applicant's agent, reported that the DEFRA grading of the land was indicative only and that the Head of Savills, who managed large areas of land in the County, had informed him that the application site was Grade 3 and not Grade 1 agricultural land and this had been confirmed by Savills. Mr Harper reiterated that the Council currently only had a demonstrable 5 year housing land supply and could not determine the application otherwise. The Government will be releasing a new White paper on housing shortly which will increase housing needs and Ormesby had not seen a significant housing development within the last 25 years. Mr Harper asked that the Committee approve the application.

Councillor A Wright reported that the Committee must abide by the information provided by DEFRA regarding the grading of agricultural land. Mr Harper reiterated to the Committee that Savills, the main land agent for the County and who knew the area well, had assured him that the land in question was not Grade 1 agricultural land.

Mr Brown, objector, reported that it was dangerous to walk into the centre of Ormesby using the footpath as it was extremely narrow and you had to walk in single file to ensure you were not clipped by oncoming vehicles. The entrance to the proposed development would cause residents who lived opposite difficulty entering and existing their homes as they were situated on a blind bend.  Mr Brown informed the Committee that his daughter had recently been hit by a car whilst cycling along Yarmouth Road as the traffic often exceeded the speed limit and there was a high traffic flow in and out of the village. The local schools and medical centre were also at capacity and residents often had to visit other medical centres in the Northern parishes due to lack of available doctors appointments.

The Chairman reported that no Parish Council representative had registered to speak.

Councillor Freeman, Ward Councillor, reported that the main concern of local residents and the Parish Council was speeding and the safety of pedestrians and road users coming in and going out of the village along Yarmouth Road which was a very busy road and prone to speeding motorists.

Councillor Wainwright reported that speeding was an issue throughout the Borough and was not confined to the Northern Parishes. He felt that Ormesby should take its fair share of development especially as the last major development in the village had been over 25 years ago. Young people needed affordable homes to be able to stay in the villages in which they were born and with 30% affordable housing units offered as part of the application, he felt he had no option but to support the application.

Councillor A Wright reiterated the need for the Committee not to approve the building of housing developments on Grade 1 agricultural land and as the application site was also outside the village development limits, he proposed that the Committee should support the officer recommendation for refusal of the application.

Councillor P Hammond reported that he could not see a valid reason to refuse this application as it would provide the Borough with 30% of much needed affordable housing units. The recent Pointers East development had resulted in the near coalition of the villages of Caister and Ormesby. Councillor Hammond felt that the Committee should take note of the advice offered by Savills in respect of the grading of the agricultural land as they were the main land agents in Norfolk. He was therefore minded to support the application.

Councillor Williamson reported that the application was contrary to the development plan, was not a sustainable development and would intrude into the countryside to the south of the proposed development site. The Committee should adhere to the grading of the agricultural land as supplied by DEFRA and he would support the officers recommendation for refusal.

Councillor A Wright proposed that the application be refused as per the officer recommendation. This was seconded by Councillor Williamson.

RESOLVED:-

That application number 06/20/0423/F be refused as it was contrary to Policies HOU10, CS1 and CS2 and the NPPF as being outside the development limits and unsustainable location for scale of development, notwithstanding the tilted balance where the numerical assumptions underlying this apparent shortfall are considered out of date.

The proposal was also contrary to CS11, Cs12 and the NPPF as it harms the qualities identified for this area in the Landscape Character Assessment and uses Grade 1 (best and most versatile) agricultural land.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Planning Officer.

The Corporate Services Manager reported that Councillor B Wright would not be able to take part in the determination of this application as she was not present when the application was first heard at Committee on 16 September 2020.

The Chairman reported that new information had come to light that the officer's recommendation had changed since the application was heard by the Committee on the 16 September 2020 and therefore requested that the application be deferred.

The Monitoring Officer advised that deferring the application would be the correct course of action and give the opportunity for public speaking to take place when it came back to Committee, given that the applicant and objectors had indicated that they wished to address the Committee in regard to this application.  This would ensure transparency and openness of debate as laid down in the Council's Code of Conduct was adhered to.

RESOLVED:-

That application number 06/20/0156/O be deferred.

The Committee received and noted the delegation decision list determined by planning officers and the Development Control Committee between 1 to 31 October 2020.

The Chairman informed the Committee that he had agreed that an additional Development Control Committee meeting would be held on Wednesday, 25 November 2020 at 4 pm.