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sw/12/0952 (2.3) - gh dean & co, hempstead farm, hempstead lane, bapchild, sittingbourne
PRESENT: Councillor Prescott (Vice-Chairman in the Chair), Councillors Bobbin, Andy Booth, Adrian Crowther, Mike Henderson and Roger Truelove.
OFFICERS PRESENT: Julie Coxon, Philippa Davies, Alun Millard, Kevin Tucker and James Wilson.
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Paul Sharpe (Agent), Mr Hudson (Bapchild Parish Council), Mr Stewart Wood (Tonge Parish Council), David Ansell, Michael Jacobs, Mr Miller, F Murphy, KM Murphy, Ian Smith (Local Residents).
APOLOGIES: Councillors Barnicott, Mick Constable, Derek Conway, Mark Ellen, June Garrad, Bryan Mulhern, Pat Sandle, Ghlin Whelan, Nick Williams, Alan Willicombe and Jean Willicombe.
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site visit
The Major Projects Officer explained that the proposal was for a new controlled atmosphere fruit store, new empty fruit bin store and associated hard standing for access, circulation and for open storage. The ridge height of the new stores would be nine metres high, with a total area of 2,697 square metres. The existing access to the site would be retained and the proposed development would be one hundred metres from the nearest dwelling, and the controlled atmosphere building a minimum of 180 metres from 13 Hempstead Lane.
The Major Projects Officer reported that Environmental Health and Kent Highway Services had raised no objection to the proposal. He considered the colour of the additional buildings, and improved landscaping would help to reduce the visual impact. The Major Projects Officer advised that the proposal was in accordance with local and national planning policy and that the proposed amendment to condition (10) to read: 'Only fruit grown on farms within the County of Kent shall be stored, packed or tested in the controlled atmosphere storage building hereby approved' was acceptable, and in line with the corresponding condition on an existing building at the site.
Mr Sharpe, the Agent, provided an overview of the proposal and advised that the new store would provide cold storage for the increased yield in fruit that would be grown on the farm holdings, as an estimated four times the yield of fruit was predicted than was previously being grown on the holdings. He advised that the cool store was specialised for the fruit industry and he emphasised the importance of getting the fruit to the cool store as soon as possible. Mr Sharpe advised that the hard standing would be used for stacking bins and that it, and the mechanism for the cool atmosphere, would be positioned at the rear of the proposed building. He explained that the bin trains would only be used within the farm, and not on the public highway, where articulated lorries would then be used for volume trips, rather than multiple bin trains. There would be around six to eight HGV trips per week, from November to May in a typical year, to remove the fruit from the coldstore and take it away to the packhouses. Mr Sharpe explained that the suggested amendment to condition (10) was less restrictive for the farm in terms of its business borrowing potential and guidelines set by the EU.
Mr Stewart Wood, Tonge Parish Council, supported the proposal, and considered this was a central point for storage in a high yielding and growing business.
Mr Hudson, Bapchild Parish Council, raised concern with the traffic movements associated with the proposals on the site. He considered it was impossible to enforce restrictions on the volume of traffic. Mr Hudson explained that the proposal was beyond the viability of the farm and was in fact a commercial development, which would not be permitted in the countryside under Policy E6 of the Local Plan.
Local residents raised the following points: no objection to cool store, but concerns about increased traffic movements; cooling mechanism will generate noise, including background noise; concern over the potential non-restriction of the supply of fruit to the store; access problems; there will be too many vehicles on the road; the store should be located in an industrial area; large lorries on narrow roads; local amenity will be affected; and increased carbon dioxide and other pollutant emissions.
The Environmental Health Officer explained that he did not have concerns with the improved design of modern condenser fans.
Responding to concern that the volume of traffic using Tonge Road had increased since the opening of the Sittingbourne Northern Relief Road, the Kent Highway Services Officer suggested that some vehicles might be using the route to avoid congestion through the town at peak times, but that traffic movements associated with the farm were likely to be spread throughout the day, and would not generally coincide with those times. He also advised that traffic movements of picked fruit being brought to the farm could not be restricted, but the capacity of the proposed coldstore would limit the HGV movements associated with the proposal itself to around 8 per week during the 23 week period after the harvest.
In response to questions by Members, the Applicant confirmed that the equipment to provide the cooling was state of the art and that with regard to condenser-less cooling, this was not an option at the moment, as financial and maintenance issues had to be taken into consideration.
The Environmental Health Officer confirmed that he would look into the design ambient level and proposed equipment sound levels. He considered that a condition regarding installation of new equipment had been recommended in the report that would satisfactorily ensure that existing noise levels from the site would not increase as a result of the proposal.
The Agent confirmed that most of the traffic would come via the A2 and that a revised condition (10) would enable fruit from farms, other than those that comprise GH Deans business centred on Hempstead Farm, to bring fruit to the store.
The Applicant advised that it was difficult to be specific about employment opportunities that would arise, particular to this proposal.
Members then toured the site with the Major Projects Officer, Environmental Health Officers and Highways Officer.
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