To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 December 2020 (Minute Nos. to-follow).

To consider application 18/504562/FULL – Ellens Court, Lady Margaret Manor Road, Doddington, Kent, ME9 0NT

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 December 2020 (Minute Nos. 373 – 375) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

18/504562/FULL – Ellens Court, Lady Margaret Manor Road, Doddington, Kent, ME9 0NT

The Major Projects Officer drew attention to the tabled update which outlined comments from Kent Police.  The update had been emailed to Members and published on the Council’s website prior to the meeting.  The Major Projects Officer reported that officers remained of the view that the proposal was acceptable and in-line with the Council’s Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and he recommended that planning permission be granted.

The Chairman moved the officer recommendation to approve the application and this was seconded by Councillor Ben J Martin.

The Ward Member spoke against the application.  He raised the following points: access to the site was via very narrow lanes and would be an issue for construction vehicles; the remote nature of the site made it unsuitable for the proposed use; the site was within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which the NPPF stated should be enhanced; it was a 100% increase in floorspace; it had an adverse impact on Greet Cottage; and it was too big for the site.

Resolved: That application 18/504562/FULL be approved subject to conditions (1) to (35) in the report and as amended by the tabled update to the Committee meeting on 15 October 2020.