Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all parties to the Committee and explained the arrangements for the meeting.

The Committee is requested to note the appointment at the Annual Full Council meeting on Tuesday 25^th May 2021 of Councillor Ani Stafford-Townsend as Chair of the Development Control B Committee for 2021/22 Municipal Year.

Members noted that Councillor Ani Stafford-Townsend had been appointed as Chair of the Development Control B Committee at the meeting of Full Annual Council on Tuesday 25^th May 2021.

The Committee is requested to note the appointment at the Annual Full Council Meeting on Tuesday 25^th May 2021 of Councillor Chris Windows as Vice-Chair of the Development Control B Committee for the 2021/22 Municipal Year

Members noted that Councillor Chris Windows had been appointed Vice-Chair of DCB Committee at the Annual Meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 25^th May 2021.

The Committee is requested to note the appointment of the following Councillors for Development Control B Committee for the 2021/22 Municipal Year:

Councillor Ani Stafford-Townsend (Chair)

Councillor Chris Windows (Vice-Chair)

Councillor Fabian Breckels (Labour Party Group Spokesperson)

Councillor Andrew Brown (Liberal Democrat Group Spokesperson)

Councillor Donald Alexander

Councillor Lesley Alexander

Councillor Tony Dyer

Councillor Zoe Goodman

Councillor Guy Poultney

The Committee noted the membership of the Development Control B Committee for 2021/22 Municipal Year.

The Committee is requested to note the Terms of Reference as agreed at the Annual Meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 25^th May 2021.

The Committee noted the Terms of Reference for Development Control Committee meetings as confirmed by Annual Full Council at its meeting on Tuesday 25^th April 2021.

The following dates are proposed for meetings of the Development Control B Committee for the 2021/22 Municipal Year:

6pm on Wednesday 21^st July 2021

2pm on Wednesday 1^st September 2021

6pm on Wednesday 13^th October 2021

2pm on Wednesday 24^th November 2021

6pm on Wednesday 12^th January 2022

2pm on Wednesday 23^rd February 2022

6pm on Wednesday 6^th April 2022

2pm on Wednesday 18^th May 2022

The Committee discussed proposed dates for Development Control B Committee for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

Members agreed that the proposal for meetings to alternate between 2pm and 6pm seemed the fairest option for all parties. It was also agreed that officers, in preparing the list of planning applications for meetings, should make every effort to do so in such a way that meetings commencing at 6pm lasted no longer than 3 hours.

The Committee is requested to note apologies for absence and substitutions for the meeting which will be reported.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Guy Poultney and Councillor Zoe Goodman (Councillor Steve Pearce substituting).

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

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.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday 15^th April 2021 as a correct record.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 15^th April 2021 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

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

The Committee noted this report.

To note enforcement notices.

The Committee noted this report.

All attendees for the meeting are requested to note that, due to Covid Safety requirements we have put the following measures in place:

•      All attendees to this meeting are asked to have a Covid lateral flow test 24 hrs prior to the day of the meeting and show the results of a negative test. It’s important that you report the results of your test and that you get confirmation sent to your phone. Reception staff will ask to see this on the day of the meeting. If you have a positive test or if you develop any Covid 19 symptoms - high temperature, a new continuous cough, or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste, you should book a test on GOV.UK and self-isolate while you wait for the results.

•      You are required to wear a face mask at all times unless you are exempt. Social distancing rules remain in place.

•      Members of the press and public who wish to attend City Hall are advised that you will be asked to watch the meeting on a screen in another room as due to the maximum occupancy of the venue.

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. Please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:

Questions:

Written questions must be received three clear working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received at the latest by 5pm on Thursday 3^rd June 2021.

Petitions and statements:

Petitions and statements must be received by noon on the working day prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that your submission must be received at the latest by 12 Noon on Tuesday 8^th June 2021.

The statement should be addressed to the Service Director, Legal Services, c/o The Democratic Services Team, City Hall, 3^rd Floor Deanery Wing, College Green,

P O Box 3176, Bristol, BS3 9FS or email - democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Members of the public who wish to present their public forum statement, question or petition at the zoom meeting must register their interest by giving at least two clear working days’ notice prior to the meeting by 2pm on Monday 7^th June 2021.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NEW STANDING ORDERS AGREED BY BRISTOL CITY COUNCIL, YOU MUST SUBMIT EITHER A STATEMENT, PETITION OR QUESTION TO ACCOMPANY YOUR REGISTER TO SPEAK.

In accordance with previous practice adopted for people wishing to speak at Development Control Committees, please note that you may only be allowed 1 minute subject to the number of requests received for the meeting.

Please also note that this meeting is being held as a physical meeting to ensure compliance with the relevant Government legislation concerning decisions made by Development Control Committee meetings.

Therefore, if you wish to speak to  ...  view the full agenda text for item 22.

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 for Development Control Committee B -

The Committee considered the following Planning Applications.

Officers referred to the applicant’s request for the Committee to consider a deferral of the application to allow a full analysis of a servicing bay. However, officers stated that they would address this issue as part of their presentation to enable the Committee to consider the matter at this meeting.

The case officer gave a presentation on the report and made the following comments:

·       The location of the site was shown which was located in the Downs Conservation Area

·       The Committee was reminded of the past history of the 2018 and 2020 applications. It was noted that the 2020 application for a 17 bed extension had been refused on the grounds of an unacceptable level of parking, highways and an overconcentration of care homes in the area

·       An appeal for the 2020 application had been refused immediately prior to the Development Control meeting in March 2021. The Inspector had decided that the transport and highways implications were unacceptable but had not found the development unacceptable in terms of noise and disturbance or in respect of the mix of development

·       Parking was already at a premium in the area and there were already issues with unsafe parking and conflict. The proposal for parking bays to address this would not be sufficient to overcome this problem

·       The current application was for a reduction in bed spaces from 17 to 14, for a new parking survey, no rear roof extension and no smoking area for staff

·       Detailed plans for each floor were shown

·       The proposal for extra communal space and a lounge would improve the appearance of the front elevation

·       There had been a total of 221 comments including both objectors and supporters of the scheme. The ward Councillor Martin Fodor had referred the matter to Committee

·       On balance it was considered that the principle of the development was acceptable and in using the Housing Delivery Test, there was sufficient evidence to warrant a change of use

·       The Inspectors did not believe that there was a harmful overconcentration of care homes in the area

·       There was no parking on site. Parking surveys had been carried out by both residents and developers. It was noted that the site was just outside the Residents Parking Scheme. The Inspector had placed more weight on the evidence produced by neighbours from photos and logs. At the site visit, the Inspector had found that parking was heavily oversubscribed and that even a relatively low increase would worsen the situation. It was officers view that the proposed reduction in bed space in this application would not significantly reduce this situation

·       Officers’ drew members attention to the different stages in the process for agreement to the installation of servicing bays. It was noted that at Step 1, officers had assessed this and considered that it was unacceptable in planning terms due to the loss of space prior to progressing to any further stages

·       The proposed switching of the Traffic Regulation Order delivery and the servicing bay would not be possible  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23a

Officers gave a presentation on the above item and made the following points:

·       Details of the application were provided

·       It was noted that there was an error in the application description. The number of parking spaces was 14 (13 with one disabled space), not 8

·       Some changes were proposed to conditions to make implementation easier

·       The site location was shown to the Committee

·       Officers provided details of the site history. There had been a Doctors Surgery on site until it was vacated in 2018 and a retail unit which had been vacated in 2019. A previous application had been approved in May 2020 and was a material consideration

·       Members’ attention was drawn to the nearby existing Malago Greenway cycleway

·       The application was for 36 affordable apartments and upper level deck access

·       Details of the upper floor were shown, together with a 3D image showing the development which was of red brick construction. This was in accordance with the existing character of the area and the urban living SPD

·       There had been 5 objections and I neutral comment – the objections related to the level of parking, the impact on the highway as well as the scale and massing of the development

·       The principle of the scheme was that it contributed to affordable housing. Retail housing was not viable.

·       Whilst the recommendation was for 36 affordable housing units, only 11 of these would be secured for perpetuity via a Section 106 Agreement

·       The transport team considered that the proposed 14 car parking places would be sufficient and would significantly improve the car parking ratio

·       In terms of residential amenity, the site would benefit from the north east corner

·       The building was the same size and massing as the William Hill building and was consistent with window to window distances

·       The fourth floor terrace would be removed and a number of privacy screens included

Officers were recommending approval of  the scheme, together with a travel plan.

In response to members’ questions, officers made the following points:

·       The purpose of cladding the 4^th Floor in a different material was to enable it to blend in better against the sky from a distance

·       All of the permanently fixed 11 affordable housing units would operate as intermediate rented properties

·       The material of the rear access could be controlled through a condition. However, it had not been possible to insist on gaited access due to the need for highway access

·       There would be a condition requiring a landscaping strategy and plans

·       There was an intention to keep a similar mix on site of between 9 and 11 intermediate rented properties

·       It was not feasible to require the £10,000 donation for car park spaces to operate through a car club since there was existing cycle access through the Malago Cycle route. However, a condition would be put in place to require the developer to sign with a car club. The Transport Officer confirmed that this was a frequently used arrangement that worked well and seemed a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23b

Subject to agreement of future dates for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year (Agenda Item 6), the next meeting of the Development Control B Committee is scheduled to be held at 6pm on Wednesday 21^st July 2021.

The Committee noted that the next meeting was scheduled to be held at 6pm on Wednesday 21^st July 2021 in the Council Chamber, City Hall, College Green, Bristol.