planning working group
MINUTES of the Meeting held at the site listed below on Monday 8 August 2011 from 9:30 am to 10:10 am.
Present: Councillor Alan Willicombe (elected Chairman for this meeting), Councillors Andy Booth, Adrian Crowther, Mike Henderson, Roger Truelove, Ghlin Whelan and Jean Willicombe.
Officers Present: Rob Bailey and Kellie Mackenzie.
Also In Attendance: Mr and Mrs Bryant, Mr and Mrs Nyberg, J Spann, R Wharfe, Mr Blackwell, Mr Taylor, Mr Thundoyll, Mrs Agley and Mr and Mrs Cotter (local residents) and Mrs Joyce Fuller (Chairman of the Sittingbourne Society).
Apologies: Councillors Barnicott, Bobbin, Derek Conway, Mark Ellen, Lesley Ingham and Prescott.
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declarations of interest
No interests were declared.
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sw/11/0409 (2.7) - land r/o 95 borden lane, sittingbourne
The Area Planning Officer explained that the application sought planning permission for the demolition of private stables within the rear garden of 95 Borden Lane and the erection of two detached four-bed houses. Unit One would be positioned approximately 18 metres from the rear elevation of the existing dwelling and unit Two would be positioned a further 20 metres beyond that. He further explained that vehicular access to the properties would be from the road leading from the new development at the rear of 83-93 Borden Lane.
The Area Planning Officer stated that conditions in respect of dust suppression and hours of construction would alleviate the impact of construction on residential amenity and the Head of Service Delivery raised no objection.
The Area Planning Officer stated that Swale Borough Council (SBC) had previously resisted development at the site to avoid harm to the character and amenity of the area.
The Area Planning Officer advised that although Planning Policy Statement 3 had recently been amended, and the presumption in favour of developing domestic curtilages had been removed, there was no presumption against such development. Each application had to be considered on its merits, having regard amongst other things to the impact on the character and appearance of the area. He stated that, as the current proposal would amount to a continuation of the appeal development, it would be extremely difficult to defend refusal on the basis of harm to the character and appearance of the area at appeal.
The Area Planning Officer stated that although the scheme as submitted would give rise to harmful overlooking, the plans could be amended to address this.
He considered that the proposed development was acceptable as a matter of principle and would not have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the area. He advised that subject to receipt of the amended plans the application should be delegated to Officers to approve or refuse on the basis that it would cause harm to residential amenity by virtue of overlooking.
Mrs Fuller, Sittingbourne Society, raised objection and considered the proposal would be an over-intensification of the site and would lead to further traffic congestion in Borden Lane.
Local residents raised the following concerns: the proposed properties had been advertised before permission had been granted; access road to existing development had not been completed; should not make a decision on this proposal until the current one had been fully completed by the developer; unhappy about the handling of past applications at the site by Officers at SBC; unhappy about the handling of the Planning Inquiry; residents feel let down by SBC; conditions attached to application SW/09/0111 had not been enforced by SBC; lack of turning area at the site had lead to lorries reversing out of the site onto a busy road; the long gardens were a positive feature of Borden Lane and should be protected; developer had shown no consideration towards local residents; would cause severe overlooking to 97 Borden Lane; current development was an eyesore; how would refuse vehicles access the site; how would existing trees and hedges at 97 Borden Lane be protected; would increase traffic and parking problems; would set a precedent for similar developments in the area; access from the site was onto an accident black spot; contrary to E1 of the Swale Borough Local Plan; there was no dropped kerb at the access to the site so the Police would not be able to take enforcement action if vehicles blocked the access; dismay that a small application for a garage at the site was recently refused permission as it was considered it would be harmful to residential amenity; Government Policy on backland development had changed since the appeal was considered; area should be developed as a car park and not for housing; developer should be prosecuted for allowing construction vehicles to drive over a footway; skylights had been installed in the roofline above the garages at the existing development without planning permission; would lead to a degradation of the area; detrimental to the amenities of No. 97 Borden Lane; increase in noise pollution; object to the piecemeal nature of the development; and dormer windows at the existing development cause overlooking.
In response to queries from the Ward Members, the Area Planning Officer advised that with regards to a precedent being set each application had to be considered on its own merits. With regard to Government Policy on backland development, the Area Planning Officer stated that, whilst the presumption that garden land should be considered for planning permission had been removed, there was no presumption against it either. Therefore, as the site was within the built-up area, the scheme was still acceptable in principle. He confirmed that the applicant was the same as for the previous applications.
Members requested that Officers provide the following information for the meeting on 18 August 2011: details of the impact of the development on nearby trees and details of how the development at the adjacent site had been monitored and how any authorised development had been dealt with.
Members then viewed the site and visited a neighbouring property with Officers.
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All Minutes are draft until agreed at the next meeting of the Committee/Panel
View the Agenda for this meeting 
