Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Bard, Tunnacliffe and Price

No declarations of interest were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 September were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair

The Committee considereded an application for the temporary change of use of the former Park & Ride site to a replacement depot for Cambridge City Council for a period of 3 years. The proposal also included a storage building, electric vehicle charging points, waste storage bays, vehicle wash-down facility, cycle storage facilities, porta cabin, storage racks and welfare building. The application was a Regulation 3 application under Town & Country Planning General Regulations 1992.

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report.

     i.        Sought clarification regarding the location of disabled parking and whether it would be close to the office block?

    ii.        Raised concerns over fuel storage and potential contamination of the site.

   iii.        Questioned whether larger vehicles would be using the site including HGV’s.

  iv.        Questioned whether the site would exacerbate traffic congestion in the area particularly at peak times.

   v.        Asked for more detail on the type of waste to be stored on the site and whether the smell from the waste could cause a problem.

  vi.        Queried where the depot would move to after the three years temporary consent period.

In response to Members’ questions the Planning Officer said the following:

     i.        Confirmed disabled parking bays already existed toward the entrance of the site near the welfare building. At least 5% of all the parking allocation was for disabled parking.

    ii.        Highlighted that the Access Officer had raised concern about disabled access to the mobile office building and recommended the applicant agree to the imposition of a condition which required a submission and approval of the proposed ramp. The applicant agreed.

   iii.        Confirmed that a condition would be imposed which prohibits any on site storage of fuel or placing of any fuel storage facilities on the site without specific planning permission to do so

  iv.        The largest vehicles expected to use the site would be small vans used by Street & Open Spaces Operatives and no HGV’s.

   v.        Rubbish collected by Operatives would be sorted on this site and then taken to Waterbeach Waste Management Park for disposal. The organic waste would not be on site long enough to begin to compost so odours would not become an issue. Environmental Health officers had not raised any concerns.

  vi.        Outlined that a transport assessment had been undertaken, the County Highways Authority were content with the results. The land had previously been used as a park and ride site and that generate significantly more traffic than the proposed new depot. The early nature of staff working hours meant that busy periods would avoid rush hour congestion.

 vii.        The City Council Property Services applied for temporary permission because future plans for the site and wider regeneration of the Cambridge Northern Fringe East were still unclear.

With the approval of the Chair, the Principal Transport Officer from Cambridge County Council joined the Committee at the table. He outlined that the transport modelling provided with the Transport Assessment had shown enough capacity on the network to cope with the additional traffic anticipated as a result of the application. A Travel Plan would be undertaken annually to ensure effective monitoring of the situation. The applicant had also been advised to become a member of Travel Plan Plus because membership worked well with other employers in the area.

The Committee:

Resolved (by 13 votes to 1) to grant the application for planning permission in accordance with the officer recommendation, for the reasons set out in the officer report, and subject to the conditions recommended by the officers.

It was agreed by members that the following additional condition and informative would be added;

Fuel stores

12. No fuel stores will be placed on the site unless approved by the local planning authority under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Reason: To protect the amenities of nearby office space in accordance with Policy 4/13 of the Cambridge Local Plan 2006.

INFORMATIVE:  Fuel stores

No permanent or temporary fuel stores are permitted on the application site.  The storage of fuel in permanent or temporary fuel stores on the application site will require planning approval under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

DECISION:         Approve with conditions as recommended together with the additional Fuel Stores condition 12 and Informative above.

The Committee received an application for full planning permission to retain the existing marketing suite at Great Kneighton (Clay Farm) for a further period of three years.

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report.

     i.        Raised concern that the original plan was for the site to become an open communal space after the initial period, this application meant that residents would not be able to use the land for a further three years.

    ii.        Queried whether the planning permission could be for a shorter period of time than 3 years?

   iii.        Sought clarification regarding the role and purpose of the suite. Asked whether an unsold property could be used as the suite in order to free up this land for alternative community use?

  iv.        Stated that selling the properties at a cheaper price would speed up the rate of sale.

The Vice Chair confirmed that the occupants of the site did not have to stay for the whole three years, they could vacate sooner.

In response to Members’ questions the Trainee Planner said the following:

     i.        The suite was designed to help sell the remaining properties on the site. The housing market had been slow so there were more properties available than expected.

    ii.        Highlighted that the land around the suite could be used communally already.

The Committee:

Resolved by 10 votes to 0 (SCDC Councillors did not vote) to: grant the application for planning permission in accordance with the officer recommendation, for the reasons set out in the officer report, and subject to the conditions recommended by the officers.