Agenda item

a.       The Application has been called in for determination by the local Ward Councillors Councillor Tincknell and Councillor Kirk.

b.       The application is for the construction of a new deport facility including offices, yard and car parking for Wales & West Utilities, who are currently occupy the larger site on the opposite side of Glenfrome Road.  This is a relocation of operations across the road.

c.       The Application site is located on the north-western side of Glenfrome Road, and is bounded to the south-west by a railway line; to the north east by large commercial units, including a builders merchant, and an open space intersected by a public right of way.   Residential properties are located to the north on Narroways Road.  The site is also near to a local school.

d.       Committee were shown and provided with an overview of the plans and ariel photographs of the layout of the site and local area.

e.       The application was subject to two rounds of consultation resulting in approx. 85 responses, 13 additional comments received after the report had been prepared; areas of concern expressed including: air quality; highway safety, pedestrian safety as Glenfrome Road is the walking route to the local school; existing contamination on site; the appropriateness of the site for industrial use had also been questioned.

f.        On the issue of the contamination left following the decommissioning of the Gas Works in 2013 committee was referred to the comments of the statutory consultees. The Environment Agency and BCC Land Contamination Officer comments are accompanied with the necessary conditions to be attached if permission is granted.

g.       A prominent theme amongst the responses received was the suggestion that the pedestrian walkway, that measures in places 1.6-1.7 metres should be widen by demolishing the red brick boundary wall and widen the footway to 2 metres.   This was discussed between all parties with the Applicant making the case that such a request was disproportionate.

h.       The applicant proposes to widen the access entrance to 15 metres; to keep the gate open during the hours of operation; said to be from 07:30hr to 18:30hrs and 08:00hrs to 13:00hrs on a Saturday; together with the proposed Traffic Regulation Order imposing two restrictions; firstly double yellow lines on the opposite side of the road and a right turn ban directing traffic exiting the site towards the M32 away from the direction of the school.  These measures combined with a number of other conditions set out in the report, would support road safety giving all road users better visibility, including HGV vehicles entering and exiting the site.

i.         The Transport Development Manager (TDM) concluded that; there is no net increase of trips on the local network and no new exposure, therefore no concerns regarding air quality for this development.  Public Forum respondents have taken issue with the conclusion drawn, expressing concerns about the increase to traffic along Glenfrome Road and claiming that there will be an impact on air quality.  

j.         The Officer Recommendation is for the Application to be Granted subject to Planning Agreement and conditions set out in the Amendment sheet.

Questions for clarification were answered as follows:

k.       Officers confirmed the management of the exit off site would be secured by a legal agreement that is, a Traffic Regulation Order, and any breaches would be enforceable.

l.         Members challenged the conclusion drawn by the TDM Officer and sought further assurances on this together with the matter of pollutants from the increase traffic flow along Glenfrome Road.

m.     Officers acknowledged that the area was subject to congestion at peak times but explained that the conclusion drawn by the TDM Officer was based on the relocation of the business, no additional traffic was being added to the existing network.  However, should a future application for use of the vacant site be made, consideration would then be given to the cumulative impact on the local road network and also air quality.

Debate

n.       Cllr Breckels remained concerned about the issues surrounding peak traffic flows on Glenfrome Road; the need to do more to support visibility for pedestrians; wondered whether a review of the boundary wall could be further considered by Officers via delegated authority.  Officers responded that such a requirement would not be appropriate in this case because mitigation was required by the regulations to be related to the impacts of the development in scale and kind.

o.       Cllr Smith viewed the business operation as both new to that locality and additional strain on the networks, to Glenfrome Road in particular; acknowledged and accepted the advice from TDM that it is not reasonable to expect the applicant to address an inherent issue on the highway.

p.       The Chair moved, Cllr Wright seconded, that the Officers recommendation to Grant together with the additional conditions set out in the amendment sheet.

q.       When put to the vote:

r.        Resolved (7 - for;2 -Abstentions: 0 – Against) that the application be granted as set out in the Officer recommendation with additional conditions set out in the Amendment sheet.