Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and issued the safety information.

None received.

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.

None received.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting as a correct record.

RESOLVED the minutes of the previous meeting of 13 October 2021 are agreed as a correct record.

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

Item 16 refers to the Police Dog & Horse Training Centre on Clanage Road, which is proposed to be the new location for the Baltic Wharf Caravan Club. Officers are expecting a ruling from the Secretary of State on this by 9 February 2022.

To note enforcement notices.

As per p.24 two notices have been served since the previous meeting. Officers explained that notices are served once other informal arrangements fail.

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 18 November.

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 12.00 noon on Tuesday 23 November.

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 meeting must register their interest by giving at least two clear working days’ notice prior to the meeting by 2pm on (Friday 19 November)

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.

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 applications.

Officers presented the report and highlighted the following points:

a)     the application is to build first floor and raised single storey rear extensions and change of use from a public house into five flats. Officer recommendation is to approve.

b)     The current layout is a downstairs pub, with a four-bed flat on the first floor. The beer cellar is situated beneath the adjacent dwelling known as 3 Eldon Terrace which has recently been sold, meaning the cellar is no longer available for the use of the pub.

c)     The property has a similar design to nearby houses, the application includes some minor changes, such as larger windows. The committee was shown elevation diagrams to show proposed changes. All flats as proposed provide adequate living conditions.

d)     169 objections have been received on this application. It was approved in November 2020, but this decision was challenged and quashed.

e)     Policy DM6 states that a public house can undergo change of use if either the pub is not financially viable OR there is suitable alternative provision of pubs nearby.

f)      Financial details supplied by an accountant show losses of £13k in 2019 and £7k in 2020. The pub has been advertised for sale, valued at £495k. An offer was received and rejected by the applicant to give the community group time to raise funds for a purchase. This community group was only able to raise £175k.

g)     Policy DM6 does not specify what the reasonable walking distance is for alternative provision. Manual for Streets indicates that 800m is an appropriate walking distance. There are 14 pubs within 800m that provide alternatives. The safety of citizens during walking is a public order matter for police, not a planning issue. It is notable that the police are happy with this application. Officers view a diverse range of alternative pub provision provided in the locality.

h)     Policy DM5 is also relevant for this application and concerns loss of community facilities. Officers are satisfied there is alternative provision under DM5, which specifies community facilities beyond pubs.

i)       Officers are satisfied the application does not fall foul of the equalities act as this pub does not specifically cater to people with protected characteristics.

j)       There have been no objections from transport officers or the design team. The flats are a good size, and the extension has no impact on neighbours. There is a presumption in favour of development as BCC cannot currently demonstrate a 5yr supply of housing. Officers recommend approval subject to conditions.

Questions for clarification:

k)     Re: beer cellar being returned to the previous building. The pub has an unusual layout. The cellar of the neighbouring property was leased to the pub for beer storage. In 2019 a certificate of lawfulness was issued to cover the beer cellar as it is unclear if the previous consent for the change of use of the cellar was ever implemented.

l)       This case is to consider an application where planning has been previously quashed. The first legal review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Officers presented the report and highlighted the following points:

Presentation:

a)     Members are familiar with the scheme and have attended a site visit. This is to approve the details of reserved matters. The officer recommendation is to agree and attach a condition that details of the proposed ground levels be provided to the local authority before building work commences. 

b)     On ‘Lifetime home standards’ this scheme was previously described as compliant but that is no longer the case as some properties have stepped access. This development strikes a good balance of property mix but some have stairs as lifts were not viable. 97 units are stepped so compliance is now 64% rather than 100%. This is to make best use of the land available.

c)     10 units are 1m larger than previously submitted.

Questions for clarification:

d)     Committee had showed concern previously about the height of the properties on Hermitage Road. The condition should address those high houses being over the existing ground level. Officers agreed they had concerns about the whole site being dug down and increased land height was undesirable. The condition can be amended to include this. 

e)     Members asked when the application was likely to return as they were concerned about delays. This would be a matter for the applicant but is likely to be early next year.

f)      If committee is minded to approve, this application will come back to committee leads or an agenda meeting and may be approved at that stage. If it does not meet conditions, it should be referred to committee.

Debate Notes:

g)     Committee recognises the need for more housing and the time pressures involved, however it is important for reports to be right first time to prevent having to revisit them.

A proposal was moved by Councillor Breckles and seconded by Councillor Poultney, when put to a vote it was:

RESOLVED (9 for / 0 against / 0 abstain) application approved as per officer recommendations.

The next meeting of the Development Control B Committee is Wednesday 12 January 2022.

The next meeting of Development Control B Committee is 12 January 2022 in City Hall.