Agenda and minutes

The Chair Councillor Don Alexander led introductions and welcomed those present.

Apologies have been received from Councillor Margaret Hickman (Councillor Harriet Bradley substituting).

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Margaret Hickman (substituted for by Councillor Harriet Bradley).

To note any interests relevant to the consideration of items on the agenda.

Please note that any declarations of interest made at the meeting which are not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

Councillor Clive Stevens declared an interest in Agenda Item 8(b) since had called it in and would be making a Public Forum Statement on it.

Councillor Mark Wright stated that, whilst he had met with residents 6 months ago to discuss Agenda Item 8(a), he did not believe it would affect his judgement in making a decision and therefore would participate and vote on this item.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on Wednesday 5^th September 2018 as a correct record.

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting held on 5th September 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To note appeals lodged, imminent public inquiries and appeals awaiting decision.

The Head of Development Management explained how the appeals process operated. He referred to the following cases and outlined the latest situation in each case:

•          Appeal Number 6 : Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft – to be determined by written representations

•          Appeal Number 7: PX Centre, Bedminster Road – to be determined by written representations

•          Appeal Number 8: 28 York Road, Easton – to be determined by written representations

•          Appeal Number 9: Old BRI Building, Marlborough Street (South Side – City Centre) – this inquiry was still pending and held in abeyance subject to UNITE’s decision to appeal against the decision to list the Chapel Building

•          Appeal Number 10: 8 to 10 Station Road, Shirehampton – this appeal had now been set for 20^th November 2018

•          Appeal Numbers 11 and 12: 15 to 16 Brunswick Square – a date was awaited for this appeal

•          Appeal numbers 13 to 56 – Appeal decisions were awaited

•          Appeal Number 58: Unit 1 Maggs House, 70 Queens Road, Clifton - This application had been refused on the grounds of the loss of the retail frontage and amenity concerns. The Inspector agreed with the Council’s case expressing concern about the growth of bars and nightclubs in the area. Cots had been applied for and not awarded since the Inspector believed that, whilst it was contrary to officers’ recommendations, the Committee was entitled to do so and it was defendable. In relation to the issue of the break- up of the shop frontage, the Inspector felt it was reasonable for Councillors to rely on local knowledge. Officers’ view was that this decision set a good precedent for similar future applications.

In response to Councillors’ questions, the Head of Development Management made the following points:

•          He explained the process for local residents to write to the Inspector for their views to be heard

•          He noted Councillors’ concerns that the current number of successful delegated appeals was currently higher than officers would expect or want but did point out that the figure fluctuated. He stated that officers would be carrying out a full assessment of individual cases to establish if there were any obvious trends that could be addressed.

•          He explained that, whilst there were exceptions such as in the case of UNITE ( see Old BRI Building appeal above), it was generally expected that claims would be made at the outset of the case to ensure the process was reasonable. However, costs had to be robustly defended at every appeal since costs could always be awarded against Bristol City Council for any reason

To note recent enforcement notices.

It was noted that there had been 5 Enforcement Notices served since the last Committee Meeting.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5pm on Thursday 11^th October 2018.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12Noon on Tuesday 16^th October 2018.

Please note, your time allocated to speak may have to be strictly limited if there are a lot of submissions. This may be as short as one minute.

Members of the Committee received Public Forum Statements in advance of the meeting.

The statements were heard before the application they related to and were taken fully into consideration by the Committee prior to reaching a decision.

To consider the following applications:

The Committee considered the following Planning Applications:

a.   Planning Application Number 17/05149/F - Merchants Academy Gatehouse

Avenue Bristol BS13 9AJ

The representative of the Head of Development Management made the following points by way of introduction:-

•          The details of the application site were outlined

•          It was noted that the application had been referred to Committee by Councillor Paul Smith

•          The proposed site layout was shown

•          The scale and massing of the proposed development fits in with the conservation area. Some three dimensional sketches were shown to the Committee

•          Planning permission had been granted in 2006. Officers believed that this was still extant

•          The development on each floor was indicated. It was noted that the fourth floor was in accordance with the scheme

•          Amenity - officers believed that the scale of massing was not significantly different to the previously approved scheme and that the outlook was acceptable

•          Daylight – officers confirmed that 7 flats would notice a reduction in daylight levels which currently receive acceptable levels but that 4 of these would meet the higher daylight factor test. Whilst there would be some impact on amenity for these flats, it was acknowledged that there were already reduced areas of daylight in the previously approved scheme

•          Sunlight – There will be issues in the neighbouring courtyard with a likely loss in the winter months

•          Privacy – Conditions would be made to ensure screens were on the balcony of the roof terraces

•          Overlooking – A condition was proposed to ensure the roof terrace was limited to the defined area

•          Management Plan – There would be a condition to ensure there was a Management Plan for the apartments

Officers believed that the development was an acceptable high quality design and that the impact had been thoroughly considered. In addition, the access arrangements were safe and that the site contributes a negative impact on the Conservation Area. In view of this, the recommendation in the report was to approve the application.

The following points arose from Councillors’ questions:-

•          Details for the management of the serviced apartments was set out in the            report

•          SA101 Allocation related to the Whapping Wharf site and excluded this site which was adjacent to it

•          There is an identified need for affordable housing and the Local Plan which would be launched in 2019 had identified this. However, until then the Council was required to operate in accordance with current policies

•          The application had to be considered on its merits. If the applicants wanted residential properties in the future, there would need to be a new application.

•          In relation to potential future provision of student accommodation, the issue of adapting apartments to become affordable ones had been discussed. However, it was the responsibility of developers to understand the situation. Some of the current units did not currently conform to national space standards

•          Planning permission for an application remained in place for good

•          The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 120.

The Committee is requested to note that the next meeting is scheduled for 2pm on Wednesday 28^th November 2018.

The next meeting is scheduled for 2pm on Wednesday 28th November 2018.